CONTINUOUS CUTTING
Rock solid
The tireless work of the mechanised rock excavation community continues with more hard-rock trials , tests and commercial deployments , Dan Gleeson reports
The last stage of the three-stage R & D program for the MC51 at Garson includes a 70-m development stretch featuring a 25 m radius curve at increasing grades
The mechanical rock excavation ( MRE ) and continuous cutting space is gaining traction in mining . At every point of the value chain , companies are more readily engaging with the host of technologies on offer .
Whether it is mining companies dealing
directly with equipment makers , contractors weighing up mechanised mine development options , or organisations like the Canada Mining Innovation Council ( CMIC ) brokering consortium agreements to get new innovations to a relevant technology readiness level , there is action on all fronts .
Looking for coal-like continuity
Sunniva Haugen ’ s coal sector awareness has undoubtedly influenced her interest in mechanical rock excavation . Knowing how productive continuous mining systems can be in the soft-rock sector , she is hopeful the new crop of technologies being progressed for hard rock can make similar headway .
“ I have knowledge of continuous mining processes in coal , which some of my Boliden colleagues haven ’ t got ,” she told IM . “ As a result , I have always been able to compare the discrete mining processes in hard rock with the continuous miners and longwalls in coal mining from my familiarisation with the coal mines Norway has on Svalbard .”
As Senior Advisor Mining Technology at Boliden Mines Technology , she has been looking for a fully mechanised continuous process for hard-rock operations that eradicates the inefficiencies inherent with the discrete processes in place at mines around the world .
Sunniva Haugen and several of her colleagues witnessed the latest testing of the firstgeneration MX650 prototype at Mittersill in Austria
“ I have also been looking for something that is electric in nature , with no fossil fuels , and something that is easy to automate ,” she said . “ This is all part of how Boliden sees mining of the future .” This has led Haugen to investigate the technologies currently being developed for hard-rock applications in the MRE space .
“ There are obviously different applications for mechanical rock excavation technologies ,” she said . “ When I initially started on this project , I was thinking of room & pillar and panel ( drift and slash ) mining , plus cut & fill . Obviously , there is an application for mine development too .
“ The focus now at Boliden is on rapid development – long development drifts or exploration drifts – where the objective is to bring a new deposit or part of a deposit into production as early as possible .”
With this remit in place – alongside a necessity for excavations that have square cross sections and a machine with the flexibility to deal with curves and inclines / declines – Boliden is currently involved with developments on Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions ’ MX650 machine .
This machine , which leverages roller disc undercutting technology , has been designed for mine developments in hard rock in excavations from 4 x 4 m to 5.1 x 7 m .
International Mining | NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2023