CANADIAN TECHNOLOGY
“ The industry has definitely made the most of addressing the challenges presented by the pandemic – really raising its game in terms of technology solutions ,” he said . “ These advances are important in strengthening the mining supply chain globally , while continuing to promote productivity , efficiency and sustainability .
“ While many of the market ’ s offerings had been introduced at previous ISEE conferences , there was more confidence in their capabilities this year and a better likelihood of uptake . Some smaller vendors … also presented more open platforms , making these easier to integrate with other solutions .”
According to Christiaan Liebenberg , BME ’ s Product Manager Software , this year ’ s event was also a chance for BME to demonstrate its digital tools , which enhance its ability to integrate with the BME digital product suite .
“ This included our BlastMap blast design software and our Xplolog data capturing system , as well as our advances in digitising our emulsion trucks ,” he said . “ It was an important opportunity to show our integration capabilities and our offerings throughout the blast preparation value chain .”
He noted enthusiastic adoption of BlastMap in the last couple of years , as the market has grown more familiar with its ease of use , integration capability and powerful features . There has also been a significant shift towards strategic collaboration within the digital space , as many players realise the value of sharing aspects of their expertise in the interests of better customer products and solutions .
“ In addition to sharing our insights , the ISEE continues to be an important forum for BME to learn more about leading-edge developments and to identify potential partners in our technology journey ,” he said .
Alberts highlighted that BME has developed specific requirements based on its customer mapping , and seeks out strategic alliances with partners to fulfil the technological opportunities it has identified for success .
BME ’ s Global Manager Blasting Science , D Scott Scovira , presented a paper on ‘ Breaking the Nitrate Based Explosives Greenhouse – The Dawn of Production Scale Hydrogen Peroxide Emulsion ( HPE ) for Industrial Blasting ’ in the ISEE technical sessions . Scovira noted that this year ’ s presentations included more papers by primary researchers and consultants – giving the event a valuable proportion of fundamental research to augment those papers which were more application or product focused .
ISEE delegates visiting BME ’ s exhibition booth were also able to catch up on the company ’ s developments in North American markets . Alberts said BME was well advanced in preparing for its service contract with a gold miner in
Newtrax has been expanding in Africa , having recently collaborated with Kamoto Copper Company SA to deploy its Proximity Detection Technology at the KTO underground copper and cobalt mine near Kolwezi , in the DRC
Canada , having commissioned its on-site emulsion plant .
“ Our exciting infrastructure development is the BME Centre of Excellence outside the town of Nairn Centre , where we have completed our detonator plants ,” he said . “ Our AXXIS and Viperdet modular lines are now installed and commissioned , and production is to begin shortly .”
An emulsion plant has been completed on the site , with a second being relocated there from another location in Sudbury . The plans for a HPE plant are also underway . BME Mining Canada is a joint venture of BME and Canada-based mining and construction contractor Consbec .
“ With our staff count now at almost 50 , we are leveraging our assets and the industry relationships of our strategic partner in building our networks ,” Alberts said . “ This year is going to be game changing for us , as we step up our capability in the underground space .”
Newtrax reports ‘ flawless ’ KTO PDS implementation
Newtrax has also been expanding in Africa , with the Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions entity recently collaborating with Kamoto Copper Company SA ( KCC ) to deploy its Proximity Detection Technology ( PDT ) at the KTO underground copper and cobalt mine near Kolwezi , in the DRC .
Newtrax said the implementation and commissioning of the system at KTO went
Timberland Equipment Limited ' s Cassette System is designed for rapid on-boarding and off-boarding of a suite of innovative and durable mining tools
“ flawlessly ”, with no lost time incidents and no deviations to the schedule , paving the way for advanced proximity detection and operations management .
“ With phase two commencing , it will synchronise with our Mining Data Platform providing KCC with a real-time view of their underground operations ,” the company added .
KTO ’ s operations are outlined in the latest KCC Technical Report . The deposit is currently divided into three categories of dip / plunge , and the three mining methods applied throughout the zones are room and pillar with hydraulic or cement hydraulic backfill at dips of less than 12 º; transversal longhole retreat with backfill between 13 º and 55 º; and longitudinal longhole retreat with backfill at dips greater than 55 º.
Canadian cassette changes
In the mining utility vehicle space , Timberland Equipment recently ran some final tests on its latest cassette system cassettes – the Water Tank and Scissor Cassettes – both of which were engineered at its headquarters in Woodstock , Ontario .
Timberland ’ s Cassette System is designed for rapid on-boarding and off-boarding of a suite of innovative and durable mining tools .
The tools that featured on the recent test were : n A scissor lift cassette with a 2,722 kg lifting capacity , plus a slide deck feature that uses double acted hydraulic cylinders to move 0.61 m in either direction ; and
30 International Mining | APRIL 2024