WORLD PROSPECTS
KMMP signs landmark ultraclass truck pact with Antamina
Komatsu-Mitsui Maquinarias Perú ( KMMP ) and copper miner Minera Antamina have entered into an important commercial agreement that , KMMP says , “ also becomes a commitment to the future of mining and development in Peru ”.
It involves the acquisition of a fleet of 20 Komatsu haulage trucks , model 980E-5SE , with a load capacity of 400 tons ( 363 tonnes ). These are units equipped with 4,400 hp Cummins QSK95 engines , recognised for having the highest power on the market . A vehicle and an engine that , together , KMMP says make this mining haul truck the fastest and most productive in the industry .
But it adds that this trade agreement has great potential , as it contemplates the possibility of purchasing up to 100 trucks with the same characteristics . A fact that , if materialised , would become a historic purchase agreement for mining in Peru .
Tomás Martinez , Executive President of Komatsu-Mitsui Maquinarias Perú , said : “ Without a doubt , it is a milestone within the mining industry and , therefore , also for Komatsu-Mitsui . Never had a company made an equipment purchase agreement of this dimension and magnitude in Peru . We are proud of the trust that Minera Antamina has placed in us and in our technology offer , through our Komatsu and Cummins brands .”
The relationship between both players in the mining sector will also include the signing of a ‘ Loyalty for Benefits Agreement ’, which allows KMMP to be Antamina ’ s strategic business partner for a period of five years in regards to haulage trucks of 400-ton class .
“ This is a key step to enhance the productivity of our client ’ s operations , hand in hand with highly productive , efficient , environmentally friendly machinery , as well as reliable , due to its quality and excellent performance ,” Martínez concluded . www . kmmp . com . pe ; www . antamina . com
Matrix , GRT-VALLEY RUBBER collaborate on truck lining sensors
Indiana-based Matrix Design Group is entering the truck bed analytics and monitoring market through a partnership with rubber body manufacturer GRT-VALLEY RUBBER , IM discovered at the SME MINEXCHANGE 2023 Annual Conference & Expo in Denver , USA , last month .
Matrix , renowned in mining for its proximity detection and vision-based safety solutions , recently entered into a partnership with Arkansasbased GRT-VALLEY RUBBER . The two companies have deployed a prototype ‘ smart ’ truck body solution to showcase the benefits of GRT-VALLEY RUBBER ’ s rubber truck bed liners ( RTBL ).
GRT-VALLEY RUBBER is a well-known name in the wear resistant moulded rubber products sector , providing both OEMs and mine sites rubber lining solutions that , the company says , reduce maintenance associated with consistent shovel and payload interactions , while improving the operator experience .
Michael Redford , Head of Operations : Analytics at Matrix , and Greg Elliott , Product Manager – Haul Trucks at GRT-VALLEY RUBBER , revealed this new development at the Denver event .
TOMRA Mining says it is breaking ground with a new ejection module for its COM Tertiary X-ray Transmission ( XRT ) sensorbased sorter specifically developed for sorting small particle sizes .
The COM Tertiary XRT Fines sorter , featuring the new TS100C module and the recently introduced image processing unit , is capable of
At a mine in the Iron Range of Minnesota , Matrix has installed an integrated solution consisting of a series of sensors on a steel truck bed , and one truck with GRT-VALLEY RUBBER ’ s rubber truck bed liner solution . The system is benchmarking the results of shovel loading on truck beds both with and without the bed liner . Having this setup established for over six months now , the two companies have been able to quantify a significant reduction in “ energy events ” when using GRT-VALLEY RUBBER rubberbased solution , Redford told IM .
Initially , the project was scoped to outline the maintenance benefits of using rubber-liners on trucks , yet it has also highlighted the significant improvements in reducing operator impact forces and noise reduction that come with using GRT- VALLEY RUBBER ’ s solution .
“ In terms of attracting and retaining haul truck drivers , these results could prove to be very important ,” Elliott said . “ Not only is there less physical harm done to operators by using our rubber linings due to reduced shock impacts , the reduction in decibel levels from a noise perspective is massive .”
The two companies are planning to roll out
TOMRA Mining on the ore sorting fine print
sorting particle sizes down to 4 mm in highcapacity applications with much higher energy efficiency , delivering a high-quality product at low operating costs , according to the company . Field tests have shown it can deliver a 70 %
reduction in energy use on a production scale .
The new high resolution TS100C ejection module
features a new type of ejector that is four times faster than previous iterations . Together with the new image processing unit , it delivers higher
this solution on several other rubber-lined haul trucks in the next few months .
“ We service several industries – not just mining – with a wide range of rubber products ,” Elliott said . “ We have many companies interested in seeing the benefits at their sites , so it is just a matter of getting the hardware installed and getting it speaking to the software .”
Redford said truck impacts may be the initial focus of this sensing system , but there is scope to expand into productivity improvement functions – educating shovel operators of optimal loading patterns , for instance .
He concluded : “ We ’ re very much at the beginning of where this technology will go .” https :// matrixteam . com ; https :// www . valleyrubber . solutions precision in sorting small particle sizes at high throughputs . The mechanical design of the sorter has also been improved by the introduction of a new splitter plate and more precise calibration equipment to ensure greater precision in the alignment between detection and ejection systems required for fine particles , according to TOMRA . The ejection module uses significantly less compressed air to eject the particles , therefore , reducing the energy consumption . www . tomra . com / en / solutions / mining
6 International Mining | APRIL 2023