Category: New technology

Weir Minerals has developed a custom-engineered mill lining system with Vulco R63 rubber liners for James Hardie Philippines (JHP), a regional manufacturing hub of the global leader in fibre cement production, James Hardie. Due to a substantial increase in demand for their product and in order to increase overall throughput of the site, JHP wanted to increase the output of their ball mill which was processing a mixture of coarse and fine silica. The incumbent rubber mill liners were only lasting between six and nine months and contributed to a 25% drop in output after just six months in operation. Weir Minerals mill lining specialists, renowned for their expertise in mill lining systems and wear materials, conducted extensive testing and...

Epiroc’s Boomer S10 S provides near surgical precision in drilling and major cost savings throughout the cycle – all thanks to being the world’s first one-boom jumbo featuring Epiroc’s Rig Control System. The consistent, repeatable, and quality-assured results are made possible by advanced automation, operator-assisting features, and digital drill plans. “With Boomer S10 S as our latest addition, we are proud to offer a sustainable automated operation for the small segment, with a complete range of automated rigs for face drilling, production drilling and rock reinforcement underground”, said Sarah Hoffman, VP Sales & Marketing at Epiroc’s Underground division. The great value of automation Thanks to the digital drill plans and Epiroc’s Rig Control System the drill rig is perfectly aligned...

Bridge the gap and Unlock vendor limitations Today’s technology has set new benchmarks and possibilities to safely manage environmental responsibilities across thousands of square kilometres for mining operators. According to Control Logic’s product marketing manager, Martin Daines. New opportunities existing in transparent information flows right down to the real-world sensors. Daines says an Australian Tier 1 mining company looked for an optimum way to safely manage its environmental responsibilities through the capture of environmental dust and water quality metrics. With hundreds of environmental field sensors strategically positioned around the mine site connected to a Red Lion’s FlexEdge Intelligent Edge Automation Platform. Daines says this environmental data is continuously fed to a centrally hosted cloud historian and dashboard, allowing the business...

Explorac RC30 Smart improves productivity and safety in exploration drilling operations. Highly automated, reliable and ready for the future. “We have made improvements in both functionality, automation and safety – continuing our focus on being an industry leader in the development of sustainable Reverse Circulation drilling products”, says Cole Carpenter, Global Product Manager at Epiroc Surface division. The new Explorac RC30 Smart is an automation-focused machine, with increased capabilities when it comes to both productivity and safety. With the latest RCS architecture, advanced hands-free functionality and increased pullback capacity, the Explorac RC30 Smart ensures unparalleled operator safety through the entire drilling process whilst maximising productivity. The Explorac RC30 Smart provides 30 tons of pullback capacity to deliver the meters of...

Weir Minerals and AVEVA have signed a digital business framework for strategic cooperation. The objectives of the agreement include: Digitally enabling the mining industry by simplifying data access and data sharing with easy and secure on-premises or cloud integration between Weir Minerals and its customers. Establishing the data foundation for technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to optimise equipment and processes and thereby maximising sustainable performance. Pioneering new and innovative digital solutions supporting our common customers digital transformation and adoption of intelligent solutions. Weir Minerals will utilise the AVEVA PI System to collect, contextualise and analyse data streams, which will become the data foundation of its Synertrex digital ecosystem. This – along with AVEVA Data Hub, a cloud-native hub for aggregating...

A scalable, flexible, and reliable Configurable Safety Controller Available from Control Logic is Emerson’s PACSafe Configurable Safety Controller for integrated Category 4, Performance Level e, SIL3 machine safety applications in the packaging, food and beverage, life sciences, and manufacturing industries. With an extensive library of TÜV-certified SIL3 function blocks, and icon-based, drag-and-drop configuration, the PACsafe controllers enable quick deployment and a safe state reaction time of 15ms, so you’ll no longer have to choose between performance and flexibility. Emerson’s PACSafe solutions easily scale from small to complex machines, with the intuitive graphical-based software, complete with an extensive library of TÜV-certified SIL3 function blocks. This can enable quick integration of e-stops, pull wire, interlock gates, optical sensors, two-hand controls, safety mats...

Newcrest’s Cadia Valley Operations has taken its Cadia East Underground Mine to new heights, with the successful implementation of the first semi-autonomous integrated production level. The flagship project for the Mining Innovation and Automation Team (MIA) at Cadia has undergone a series of project stages and due to its success, has now moved into full operation as the site prepares for automation to be a standard part of its future operations. Cadia’s General Manager, Aaron Brannigan, said the MIA team is changing the way the site operates. Not only is Cadia operating a semi-autonomous integrated production level, but the team has also developed industry leading technology which integrates automation into all third-party mobile equipment on the level. “Innovation and technology...

As the worldwide movement towards a zero-emission global economy gathers momentum, hydrogen is increasingly being thrust into the limelight as the new pathway to decarbonisation. On May 5, the Australian Government allocated more than $100m to three ‘green’ hydrogen pilot projects as it aims to position the nation as a clean hydrogen-producing powerhouse by 2030. This followed the release of its Technology Investment Roadmap, which singled out hydrogen as one of five priority technologies to accelerate development and commercialisation of low emission technologies. The private sector is also ploughing money into research and development to improve the economic viability and scalability of the ‘fuel of the future’ with several world-first projects happening around Australia. The Australian Mining Review spoke to...

The green energy arm of Fortescue Metals Group is investigating a green ammonia supply chain between Australia and Japan. Fortescue Future Industries, IHI Engineering Australia and IHI Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore export avenues between Tasmania and the world's third largest economy. The parties will jointly assess the economic and technical feasibility of supplying green ammonia produced in Bell Bay to Japan for blending into existing power generation. Work under the MOU is a crucial stepping stone to FFI’s feasibility and development program for the 250MW green hydrogen and ammonia Bell Bay project, which will have capacity to produce 25,000 tonnes of green ammonia each year. Ammonia is considered ‘green’ when it is produced carbon-free...