MINE MAINTENANCE
analysis , and understanding site conditions ,” Siwale said .
The system monitors 19 critical parts and auxiliaries – such as statics ( frame ), rolls , selfaligning bearings , power drives , hydraulics , greasing and oil lubrication – for not only working condition deviations but also critical root causes of component failure .
“ To give you an idea on the risks involved here , the failure of a roll bearing is a lossequivalent to $ 3 million , whereas the direct cost of its repair is 77 times lower ,” Siwale explained . “ Recently , the AMPS prevented our customer from this significant loss level thanks to the monitoring of multiple root cause failure modes , such as oil contamination , torque , skew levels , etc .”
The addition of tk Mining has further reinforced the digital solutions FLSmidth can offer HPGR users , with a Stud Detection System capable of both online wear monitoring and identification of damaged studs .
“ There is no longer a need for stopping the machine to carry out human visual inspections ,” Siwale explained of the SDS . “ This is replaced by regular daily digital laser scans , removing safety risks and inherent human errors .”
This same philosophy is applied to the digital platforms associated with gyratory crushers , with some of the monitored components being the countershaft , main shaft , bearings ( eccentric bushings and rings ) and hydraulics .
“ The added value in this case is to prevent downtime and losses by monitoring more than 20 key parameters of deviations in working conditions and the root causes related to these critical parts such as dust , the hub , misalignments , etc ,” Siwale said .
The gyratory crusher digital monitoring systems are in use at both open-pit and underground operations , generating additional hours of lifetime and preventing unnecessary production losses , the company says .
FLSmidth ’ s digital solutions are geared towards reducing clients ’ total cost of ownership ( TCO ) through innovative cost models that lock in maintenance costs , while also considering the local specific condition in which the equipment is operating , Siwale says . Such an offering is a product of assembling , recording and analysing millions of hours of operating data in comminution circuits .
“ The TCO contracts we offer act like a window looking to the past operation and maintenance conditions within which the assets have been working ,” she said . “ The understanding of the specific conditions is transformed to accordingly re-design the maintenance strategies to mitigate
Elphinstone acquires Beltor MED Puller
While attending Austmine 2023 , Dale Elphinstone was awarded the Champion of Innovation award , recognising his significant contribution to innovation in the mining , equipment , technology and service ( METS ) sector .
The award celebrates an individual who has pioneered and championed innovation and has changed the course of the mining industry through their outstanding vision , inspirational leadership , passion for innovation and advancement of mining equipment , safety , technology and services .
As Executive Chairman of Elphinstone Pty Ltd , he has a legacy of over 45 years in the underground mining realm , continuing in the ethos and values of the company he founded in 1975 .
Operator safety and mine productivity has always been a priority at Elphinstone which has a long and successful history designing and manufacturing underground hard-rock mining equipment from its headquarters in Burnie , Tasmania .
The company ’ s ongoing commitment to safety and mine productivity was demonstrated in March , when it announced the acquisition of MED Pty Ltd , the owner of the intellectual property for the underground Mine Extraction Device ( MED ) also known as the “ Beltor Puller ”, developed by the founder of Beltor Engineering , Aldo Beletich , back in the 1980s .
The MED was invented in response to a need by underground miners to extract buried or bogged equipment in a safe and efficient manner without damaging the mine or negatively impacting production .
When Beletich invented the first Beltor Mine Extraction Device – or MED Puller as it ’ s commonly called – back in the 1980s , mining equipment was much lighter than it is today .
The first MED , with a pulling capacity of 90 t , was introduced to the market in 1988 to meet the needs of the underground thermal coal miners in and around Newcastle , New South Wales .
With the increase in size and weight of underground mining equipment , there was a need for larger extraction devices to recover buried or bogged equipment .
As a result , higher capacity MEDs were introduced to ensure underground mining operations could return to full production with minimum delay .
Subsequently the 150-t ( MED150 ) and 210-t ( MED210 ) versions of the device were introduced in line with the industry ’ s growth .
In addition to the retrieval of buried equipment , the higher capacity
The MED range complements Elphinstone ’ s range of support vehicles for the underground mining industry
models are also capable of extracting drill rods embedded in the rock face . The expansion did not stop there . In 2020 , the largest version of the extraction device was launched , the MED360 , with a pulling capacity of 360 t for much larger underground coal and hard-rock machinery .
The MED range , now sold and serviced by Elphinstone Pty Ltd direct to end users , has revolutionised the way buried underground equipment is extracted and made this process safer , according to the company .
“ What makes the ( Elphinstone ) MED unique is that it eliminates the need , damage and disruption of using other production equipment to remove the buried machine and operates in a more controlled and safe way ,” Tim Mitchell , Elphinstone ’ s Global Sales and Marketing Manager , says .
“ When the MED is towed into position in the mine , the boom is raised against the roof and the wheels are lowered on the floor , effectively wedging the machine into position . A bridle assembly is interlocked into the teeth of the MED racks which are then pulled via hydraulic cylinders .”
The process is conducted in relative silence , according to Mitchell , allowing the operators to hear and see exactly what is happening during the extraction . This is in stark contrast to the traditional method with wheeled or tracked tow vehicles that produce noise and dust .
38 International Mining | JANUARY 2024