Global
Russia: Olimpiada’s transition to automation
Edited by Leon Louw
Gold mining company Polyus has introduced eight
automation solutions at its Olimpiada mine in Russia.
Olimpiada in a nutshell
Equipment needs to operate in extreme condition in Siberia, Russia. The temperature can reach −45°C in winter.
A
utomation specialists RCT recently
installed tailor-made solutions on five
of the mine’s Caterpillar 777F trucks,
a Komatsu 1 PC-3000-6 hydraulic shovel and
D-275A-5 dozer, and an Atlas Copco DML
drilling rig. Olimpiada is an opencast mine in
the Krasnoyarsk region of Eastern Siberia. The
project is a crucial turning point for the gold
mine’s transition into an autonomous machine
operation and will allow the site to operate
more safely and efficiently. The solutions allow
operators at the gold mine to simultaneously
clean up landslip while continuing production
in the same area, significantly increasing
productivity by reducing downtime associated
with manual operation of the mobile machines.
This is made possible thanks to the
customisation of the teleremote solution to
incorporate the multiple machine selection
(MMS) feature, which allows one operator to
swap between machines when production tasks
change. This is particularly significant to aiding
productivity, as the mine operates 24 hours a
day, seven days a week.
Prior to the installation of RCT’s automation
solutions, the mobile machines were operating
in hazardous areas prone to rockfall and
exposed to extreme weather conditions all year
round. Today, the operators work from a central
control station, complete with modern comforts
such as heating, which is essential at a mine
experiencing such extreme temperatures.
According to RCT’s CIS business
development manager, Stephen Macarow,
two control centres were deployed on site.
“One control centre controls the trucks,
dozer, and shovel and the second controls the
[10] MINING MIRROR MARCH 2019
drill. Providing operators with a comfortable
working environment has proven to increase
productivity as they remain more alert during
shifts,” says Macarow. All RCT’s products were
designed to withstand the extreme temperatures
experienced in Russia. All components have to
operate efficiently in temperatures ranging from
−45°C in winter to temperatures as high as
45°C in summer.
Adapting to extremes
Visibility was another factor that had to be
taken into consideration due to the mine’s
location. To ensure seamless operation during
the evening shifts and the winter months,
additional external lighting was fitted to the
trucks and loaders, ensuring adequate visibility
during the mining process during these times.
This extensive project also required the
reinvention of the design of RCT’s existing
surface drill console, which was installed to
control the Atlas Copco drilling rig on site.
“The drill console was downsized and thanks
to the latest ControlMaster technology, RCT’s
custom department was able to reproduce it
into a more manageable size with the same
functionalities it previously possessed,” says
Macarow.
The console now consists of four joysticks
that can be used over four different modes
to perform 50 functions necessary to operate
a surface drill via remote control. It was also
integral that the drill icons would translate well
into Russian but also have a universal meaning.
“Everything we have implemented on this
console has been to serve a specific function. It
Located in one of Russia’s most
prolific gold mining provinces,
Olimpiada is Polyus’ largest operation.
The mine began production in 1996
and currently accounts for over half of
the company’s total gold output. The
ore mined at the site is processed at
three plants with a combined capacity
of 12.2 million tonnes of ore annually.
To treat Olimpiada’s sulphide
ores, Polyus employs Bionord, the
company’s proprietary bio-oxidation
technology.
was important that we catered to every function
the operator would have, as if they were in the
cab of the machine,” says Macarow.
To further ensure operators have the same, if
not better view of the operating area, pan-tilt-
zoom cameras — capable of remote directional
and zoom control — were added to the drill.
The end result was a modernised console that
met all the criteria for this drill that will lay the
foundation, to be adapted to various drills for
years to come.
The project involved more than 40 employees
from four companies: VT, RCT, Neman, and
Sercons. Four tonnes of high-technology RCT
equipment was delivered from Australia to the
remote mine site in Russia. The project further
involved designing and building two operator
stations, obtaining six certification (permission)
documents. It took six months for installation,
full testing, and commissioning.
RCT drill console.
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