UNDERGROUND RAIL
Clayton ' s contract for Macheng covers seven 55 t ( CBT55 ) and five 32 t ( CBT32 ) hybrid locomotives
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Paul Moore looks at some developments in the underground mining rail market , from China to Canada
China and South Africa represent the world ’ s largest market for underground mining rail systems . Looking at developments in China , the Macheng iron ore mine in Hebei Province in northern China , part of huge iron ore and steel company Shougang Group , through operating company Luannan Macheng Mining , is one of China ’ s largest new underground mines in development , and is adopting advanced and mature mining and processing production technology to build a leading advanced underground mine . It will produce 22 Mt / y of iron ore with an extensive underground transport system consisting of a tracked transport system for the ore transport phase and a trackless transport system for the mining phase .
Shougang owned Beijing Soly is the EPC for the underground mine automation system design and development – one of its project managers recently told IM : “ Each trackless mining stage is connected to each other mainly through the secondary shaft , the main ramp and the mining area ramp , while the trackless mining stage is connected to the tracked transport stage mainly through the secondary shaft . A total of two underground rail transport levels have been included for Macheng with electric locomotives pulling bottom unloading type mine cars .” It is understood the two rail systems will operate as loops .
UK-headquartered Clayton Equipment has secured the contract to supply a fleet of 12 hybrid battery trolley locomotives to Macheng . The contract covered the supply of seven 55 t ( CBT55 ) and five 32 t ( CBT32 ) hybrid locomotives for delivery in 2022-2023 , using the latest hybrid technology enabling safe haulage in the nonelectrified loading and unloading areas of the mine . The battery trolley locomotives supplied are automation compatible and Clayton will be partnering with Beijing Soly .
Each of the machines are equipped with a cloud-based system designed to allow remote monitoring of the performance of locomotives anywhere in the world , whether mainline or below ground , giving real-time performance data further enhancing production efficiency , maintenance and safety via remote access to the machines . This prevents unscheduled downtime , troubleshoots performance issues , investigates faults , installs software updates and customises the operating parameters to suit the mine operators .
Steve Gretton , CEO at Clayton Equipment said : “ We are extremely pleased to supply 12 Clayton hybrid locomotives to be used in one of the largest Chinese iron ore mines , this contract was secured in a very competitive marketplace . A single order for 12 locomotives enhances Clayton ’ s worldwide reputation as a leading supplier of locomotives to the mining sector . The locomotives will provide sustainability and will be environmentally compliant to meet our customer ’ s commitments in investing in new technology and provide cost savings .”
North Bay , Ontario , Canada-based Nordic Minesteel Technologies Inc has the mining cars contract for the trains , with the first train of 12 NMT mining cars of 20 m 3 , two loading chutes and one unload station built in Canada and the rest of the contract being completed in China .
Clayton ’ s landmark order for Onaping Depth
Clayton Equipment has also sold and delivered five ( with an option for a sixth ) CB12.5 state of the art lithium-ion battery locos for Glencore ’ s Onaping Depth nickel-copper mine in Sudbury , which are notable as being the first Li-ion battery electric machines to be operational on site . These will operate on the main 1,200 m haulage level which was positioned there as that is at the top of the existing Craig Mine ore and waste pass system , so effectively utilising that system ’ s capacity .
Onaping Depth is set to start production in 2024 . The Onaping Depth mine will have a rock production capacity of 1.74 Mt / y which is waste and ore combined , of which some 1.4 Mt / y will be ore , constrained by the hoist capacity of 248 t / h , with the waste backfilled via an underground paste backfill plant .
Gretton told IM : “ Glencore is not new to mining rail – we sold then Xstrata some 25 t battery locos going back about six years for the Fraser mine . So they are well used to rail underground and to Clayton products . Those machines were good solid units with the best electronic controls available at the time , but these locos for Onaping Depth are on another level , equipped with full WiFi , peer to peer communications and the latest Li-ion batteries plus a customised safety logic system .”
Clayton has also enabled wireless connection to remote driving stations at the discharge point and the loading point which is linked to the feed rate of the loading point . “ It is quite a sophisticated solution to their materials handling needs and has been designed in conjunction with the team at Glencore .”
Gretton said that when the mine gets its own network up and running ( wireless mesh or LTE ) the trains will use that network both to communicate with the overall mine control
One of five Clayton CB12.5 battery electric locomotives at Glencore ' s Onaping Depth
52 International Mining | JUNE 2023