CONTRACT MINING
Outside of Australia , Minopex , a DRA Global company , recently acquired a majority shareholding in South Africa ’ s UMM Contracting Services , adding underground mining services to its offering .
This underground mechanised mining capability provides Minopex and its clients with access to skills and experience in commodities best mined using caving methods such as block , panel , sublevel or any of their derivatives , DRA said , listing current UMM clients such as Palabora Mining Company , Consolidated Diamond Mines , Gold Fields and Petra Diamonds .
UMM says it is focused on leveraging technical expertise and industry insight to operate , maintain , engineer , advise and optimise mining operations .
“ Our team of Mining Engineers , Drill & Blast Engineers , Mine Planners , Surveyors , Project Managers and Technical Services personnel are experts in mining production , planning , scheduling , survey and reconciliation ,” it said . “ Operations include mechanised underground contract mining including mine development , secondary support , longhole mining and production .”
UMM also offers maintenance services including trackless mechanised fleet maintenance , maintenance contracts and engineering services .
Technology take-up
Many more service providers are turning to technology to differentiate their offering , collaborating with OEMs or developing in-house expertise to foster growth in this area .
Leading Australia-based contract miner Byrnecut has a strong relationship with Sandvik that has seen the two involved in several industry firsts .
Byrnecut now plans to purchase six Sandvik battery-powered loaders with AutoMine ® for use at OZ Minerals ’ operations in South Australia .
Under a deal with Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions , Byrnecut will take delivery of the LHDs in 2023 and 2024 for use at the Prominent Hill copper , gold and silver mine and the Carrapateena copper and gold mine . Byrnecut has been engaged by OZ Minerals to provide underground mining services at the mines and currently has a fleet of Sandvik LH621i loaders equipped with autonomous solutions operating on both sites .
Max Woods , Asset Manager for Byrnecut , said : “ Not only will the use of electric vehicles significantly improve the working environment underground , but it will also help our customers to work toward their emissions reduction goals – something that is increasingly important in the mining sector .”
He said the purchase of the electric loaders is part of Byrnecut ’ s commitment to explore and embrace new technologies that make its operations safer , more efficient and more sustainable .
The company worked closely with Sandvik prior to purchase to model various application scenarios , including both manual and automated operation .
“ We ’ re expecting the loaders to provide greater throughput in both manual and automated modes , while delivering a similar total cost of ownership per tonne delivered to their predecessors ,” Woods said .
The new Sandvik LHDs are also expected to bring major cost savings across their entire lifecycles , according to Woods , requiring fewer replacement parts and coming with more efficient and simple servicing .
Thiess is also looking at decarbonised haulage operations for its clients , having been one of 21 patrons steering the Charge On Innovation Challenge , which is aimed at developing new concepts and solutions for large-scale haul truck electrification systems that significantly cut emissions from surface mining . It has also joined the HYDRA Consortium in Chile , which is working on validating the business case of using a hydrogen fuel cell-based powertrain for heavyduty mobility within the mining sector .
In the automation space , meanwhile , Thiess , together WesTrac and Caterpillar , completed a world-first for autonomous drilling , successfully rolling out a system that involved three Cat ® drill rigs being remotely operated by a single operator .
The solution is part of an ongoing program to ultimately achieve full autonomy , with the current stage focused on a single operator working from a remote on-site operating centre issuing commands to three drill rigs simultaneously , instructing them to commence single-row autonomous drilling . This has seen one multipass Cat MD6250 rig and two single-pass Cat MD6310s operated simultaneously from a single remote operator station .
Apart from the operator instructing the rigs to move to the next row and commence drilling according to the pre-defined pattern , all operations are carried out using Cat autonomous technology . Ultimately , the program will see drill rigs complete entire drill patterns across multiple rows in fully autonomous mode , according to Thiess .
Since the program went live earlier this year at a project in New South Wales , Australia , Thiess has reported a 20 % improvement in drilling performance , including increased rig utilisation with operating times above 20 hours per drill per day , according to WesTrac . Accuracy has also improved with no re-drilling required since the solution was rolled out ( as of early-September ).
Thiess also trialled Plotlogic ’ s OreSense solution at the Austral Resources ’ owned Anthill copper project in Queensland , this year .
The OreSense technology scans rock to distinguish high-grade resources from waste , Thiess explained , providing real-time information that eliminates the need for a week or more waiting for testing results , according to the company .
The technology , trialled over a four-week period , was expected to create environmental benefits through lower fuel usage and machinery consumables and a more optimised heap leaching process at Anthill , according to Thiess .
Another company leveraging new technology expected to have a positive environmental impact is NRW Holdings . The company recently entered into an agreement with MaxMine to install its technology across the Gascoyne Resources-owned Dalgaranga gold mine contract in Western Australia .
The MaxMine platform harnesses cutting-edge hardware , digital automation , advanced artificial intelligence-based analytics and human-powered coaching to empower mine sites to increase environmental efficiency and operational productivity , according to the company .
NRW was seeking a mining technology provider who could provide reliable data-driven , automated optimisation of its operations on site , NRW said .
MaxMine ’ s technology automatically captures , enhances and contextualises up to 10,000 times more data at open-pit mining operations relative to the industry standard fleet management system products , according to the company . Its data processing pipelines automatically contextualise equipment , operator and site data relative to each other , and dynamically to the conditions within the shift , such as weather , or other external factors .
This contextualised site data is translated , in tandem with implementation coaching , to generate tangible increases in asset productivity and reliability of equipment , it says . These outcomes are evidenced by existing customers who experience , on average , an 11 % payload increase and halved tyre costs after implementing MaxMine , the technology company claims .
Underground mining contractor Murray & Roberts Cementation says it is making progress with its own digitisation strategy .
According to Mike Wells , Managing Director of Murray & Roberts Cementation , its new projects are increasingly embracing the power of digital technology to streamline operations and drive down unit costs .
“ Progress in applying Wi-Fi technology to underground mines is allowing us to introduce a range of digitisation initiatives in our projects ,”
42 International Mining | NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2022