CONTINUOUS CUTTING
MX650 is also now in the works .
This new-generation machine is being developed in collaboration with a consortium of five mining companies under a Canada Mining Innovation Council ( CMIC ) -led project .
At the same event in Tampere , Agnico Eagle Mines Finland ’ s Development Manager , Jari Nasi , confirmed the gold miner was among this consortium , with the others including mining groups based in both North America and Europe , IM understands .
Nasi said : “ With the Sandvik MX650 , we are evaluating whether this can replace the drill , blast and muck conventional mining sequence . The equipment has significant benefits as it is continuous mining , decreases worker exposure to dangerous locations and offers a better tunnel profile . The current challenge is to prove the viability of the equipment in rock above 150 MPa .”
Lewis expanded on the progress-to-date with the CMIC-led consortium : “ We conducted a trial at Mittersill with the companies , which has been concluded successfully . Representatives from the mining companies came to the test mine and evaluated the machine and the mining setup , with a full report produced and shared among the members . We are now in discussion with them on the next steps , which , with all the lessons learnt , would be to design the next version of the MX650 .”
CMIC told IM that the demonstration project earlier this year enabled a unique ‘ level-setting opportunity ’ for all involved , allowing participants to grow an appreciation for the technology and the requirements for mine-ready implementation .
“ The experience was all enabled through a combination of the industry participants ’ drive to adopt hard-rock mechanical cutting and Sandvik ’ s openness and commitment to cutting technology ,” Trevor Kelly , CMIC ’ s Innovation Manager – Mining , said .
He added : “ CMIC is looking forward to this exciting opportunity with Sandvik and our members to collaboratively co-develop the next version of the MX650 . This is another step on our transformation journey , which connects directly to the CMIC hard-rock mechanical cutting program and the vision of a continuous underground development platform .”
Some of the ‘ lessons learnt ’ Lewis mentioned revolve around both the loading and bolting operations that come with using the MX650 .
“ We have always been confident we can cut the hard rock , and this has been proven as far back as the MN220 Reef Miner and , before that , the ARM1100 ,” Lewis said , referring to the reef hard-rock cutting machines that were designed to operate in 1.15-m-high stopes , delivering low volume ore at the desired grade .
The ARM1100 was developed by Voest Alpine in Zeltweg , Austria , in the early 2000s ( Voest Alpine was acquired by Tamrock in 1996 , with Sandvik taking full control of Tamrock in 1998 ) together with Lonmin . It was deployed at its South African platinum operations , but also at KGHM ’ s Polkowice copper mine in Poland , with the MN220 a result of learnings from these machines . The MN220 has also been previously operated on a trial basis at two Anglo American mines in South Africa .
So why weren ’ t these earlier machines commercialised at the time ? “ The cutting wasn ’ t the problem ; it was the rest of the materials handling , logistics , concept , operational readiness , etc that needed refining and understanding ,” Lewis said .
Cut to today , and the company ’ s newest narrow reef production system , the Sandvik MN330 , is in place at a mine in South Africa awaiting assembly . This machine has been developed in collaboration with Anglo American , to be deployed at one of its PGM mines .
The solution consists of the innovative hardrock cutter , the Sandvik MN330 , able to operate in stopes up to 1.5-m high , and a Hencon blower / conveyor system that extracts the cut material from the mine using suction , sending the material through a series of separators and filters .
The reef miner will face challenging conditions with one of the requirements being its ability to
Twice as fast as conventional drill & blast
The world ’ s first successful rectangular tunnel boring machine
The Robbins MDM5000 is designed with mines in mind , capable of boring long drifts and access tunnels at 10-12 m / day in hard rock .
ROBBINSTBM . COM