CANADIAN TECHNOLOGY technical specialists installed the first conveyor analysis system in December 2011 .
In February 2021 , WipWare ’ s technical specialist met with the Rosebel team to begin installing the updated reliable and rugged system . After meeting with the team , WipWare ’ s technical specialist , due to travel restrictions , A assisted the Rosebel team remotely to configure the system and capture the images for analysis . The on-site team installed this new system in the same location as the older Momentum 3 system about a metre away . The Momentum system is a completely automated conveyor material analysis system . This system measures the size distribution of unconsolidated material on conveyor belts in real time without disrupting production . In addition to PSD data , it provides shape data ( sphericity ratios ), volumetric reporting , and can detect waste or distinct materials . “ This technology is highly configurable and performs well in harsh industrial environments for process automation and historical reference . Rosebel Mine ’ s application of this technology throughout the process plant is an excellent use of the system . It is also an ideal example of the intended function of the Momentum .”
The Rosebel gold mine is located in the mineral rich Brokopondo district in north eastern Suriname , South America . The Rosebel property lies approximately 85 km south of the capital city of Paramaribo .
Canadian-born BEVs
A fleet of MacLean battery-electric vehicles ( BEVs ) are set to operate at the Odyssey Mine , one of Canada ’ s largest underground gold mining projects , after the OEM and Canadian Malartic Partnership agreed on a fleet order .
The mine , currently under construction , is owned 50:50 by Yamana Gold Inc and Agnico Eagle Ltd . The partners have already said it is expected to be one of the most modernised electric underground mines , with all major mobile production equipment ( such as trucks , scoop trams , jumbos , bolters , and longhole drill rigs electric powered ).
The MacLean BEV fleet at Odyssey Mine will be used for ground support installation , explosives charging , materials transport , and construction and maintenance , the OEM said .
The Odyssey Mine , located near the Town of Malartic in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of northern Quebec , will extract ore from an orebody that lies underneath the historical East Malartic Gold Mines , whose Mine Manager from the late 1930s to late 1940s was none other than ‘ Ducky ’ MacLean , father of Don MacLean , who founded his namesake mobile equipment company in 1973 and spent close to a decade of his childhood in the Malartic mine camp .
Don MacLean ’ s son Kevin MacLean now leads
the mining vehicle manufacturer , having assumed the role of company President in 2009 . He said : “ Every fleet order is special but this one has particular resonance because it connects the MacLean family past with the MacLean company future in the form of battery-powered mining vehicles . The underground project of the partnership provides a perfect opportunity for MacLean mobile equipment to return to East Malartic in support of diesel-free operations .”
Don MacLean added : “ I ’ m thrilled to see underground mining coming back to Malartic and grateful that the partnership has put their faith in MacLean BEVs to get the job done safely and productively .”
Tony Caron , MacLean VP of Quebec , Nunavut , and Latin America , said : “ The fact that the MacLean fleet in Malartic will represent a return to Don ’ s childhood roots adds a special dynamic to this story , one that everyone at the MacLean branch in Val-d ’ Or will keep at heart as we dedicate ourselves to supporting the success of Odyssey Mine .”
The partners approved construction to transform the Odyssey Project into the Odyssey Mine over the coming years in February , spelling out plans to extract 19,000 t of ore at an estimated grade of about 2.75 g / t Au and roughly 5,000 t / d of waste rock during peak operation . It will be accessed by a ramp and a shaft estimated to be 1,800 m deep .
Underground potash miners
Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions has recently been awarded a contract from BHP for the Jansen potash project , located in the province of Saskatchewan , Canada . The contract follows several years of close collaboration with the customer BHP to develop the underground mining equipment and automation solution . Sandvik confirmed to IM that the contract will include its borer miner technology . It follows joint development work over a number of years on the MF460 borer miner model , which has included testing in a German salt mine . The crawlermounted MF460 borer miner is the world ' s heaviest and most powerful continuous miner . It is specially engineered to cut and deliver material to the rear of the machine in a single continuous operation .
The total contract value is approximately SEK 2 billion ( about US $ 216 million ) and the delivery period of the equipment is expected to commence in the third quarter 2023 and extends to 2026 . An order value of approximately SEK 500 million will be reported in each of the first , second and fourth quarter in 2022 , as well as in the second quarter of 2023 . The Jansen project has the potential to be the largest potashproducing mine in the world and is expected to operate for up to 100 years , providing a rich
source of potassium for soil fertilisation purposes and hence supporting food production . Start of the production is targeted for calendar year 2027 .
In its half year results to end-December 2021 , BHP stated that its potash developments are tracking to plan . It added that the Jansen shaft project at end-2021 was 98 % complete ( target project completion in CY22 ) and the Jansen Stage 1 project has commenced contract awards . The shaft project involves the excavation and lining of the production and service shafts and continuing the installation of essential surface infrastructure and utilities . Stage 1 involves design , engineering and construction of an underground potash mine and surface infrastructure , with capacity to produce 4.35 Mt / y . Stage 1 was 3 % complete at end-2021 .
The other main player in the potash miner market is Prairie Machine with its broad , lowprofile Xcel 44 Rotor Continuous Boring Miner which is equipped for high-quantity production in sites with spatial restrictions . Its four cutting rotors and horizontal cutting chain system work together to form a flat , smooth cutting channel , no matter the environment . The design of the Xcel 44 Rotor Continuous Boring Miner allows it to cut and convey ore to a site ' s conveyor belt system or to the Prairie Machine Flexiveyor while continuously tramming forward . The company states that it is “ a vital component in some of the most productive potash , salt , and trona mines across the globe , and engineered to safely and proficiently meet the highest production demands .” The mining machines also have the ability to run autonomously , cutting below while being controlled from above .
One of the company ’ s largest customers is potash mining major Mosaic at its K3 potash mine near Esterhazy in Saskatchewan , Canada . Production at K3 continues to ramp up with the addition of ore from the south shaft – reaching a new daily record of more than 43,000 t by mid- November 2021 . Total tonnes are continuing to increase with the recent addition of a ninth Xcel 44 four-rotor mining machine and with two more mining machines set for delivery by June 2022 .
“ Safely and efficiently commissioning these automated mining machines requires teamwork — especially between our assembly , maintenance , production and automation teams ,” says David Steiger , Sr . Mine Manager . “ Each one is assembled in the shop then trammed to mining areas to begin production .”
The machines make three passes to mine an area . On the first pass , they set the direction and forge a new path through rock while another automated machine follows behind them installing hardware to build a conveyor belt . During the second and third passes , the machines follow the path of the conveyor belt to mine ore —
APRIL 2022 | International Mining 57