The best innovations and their initiators in underground production

We will be closing the nominations for the International Mining Technology Hall of Fame in August. Do you wish to nominate someone who has contributed in an outstanding way to technology development in underground production or efficiency, safety, productivity, etc.in that discipline? Contact [email protected] about nominations.

The chosen nominees will be inducted at the International Mining Technology Hall of Fame gala dinner at the Hyatt Regency at Colorado Convention Center, Denver on February 25, 2019. The dinner is a key event in the SME Annual Conference week.

The current nominations shortlist in Underground Production has the Sandvik TH551/TH663 – a new modular product range for large trucks; nominees:  Project Engineer: Hannu Helen, Project Manager: Jouni Teppo, and Project Sponsor:  Minna Pirkkanen. The large truck market is particularly attractive, with high margins, and Sandvik needed to develop new products in order to regain its market position. There was also a need for a new truck in the 50 t size class, so these two market needs were combined into a single product development to develop a modular truck range to meet the many requirements. Another important target was to use as many common solutions and common components as possible within the range. There was also a longer term vision that the same platform could be later used in developing even larger size haulage trucks with 80-90 t capacities, plus electric versions for trolley applications.

Metso’s SmartTag is a radio frequency identification (RFID) based technology designed to allow tracking of ore from its source through blasting, run-of-mine (ROM) pads, crushers, intermediate stockpiles and finally into the concentrator. Successful applications of the SmartTag system have encouraged development to allow the system to be used in a wider variety of plants, in particular plants with finer crushing and screening stages.

Readers are encouraged to vote for these or other nominations as they are reported.

The last inductee was Hermann Paus, an innovator in underground mining equipment and a great ambassador between the mining industries of the West and the former Soviet Union. He founded the company Hermann Paus Maschinenfabrik in 1968. Since 1974, the company has been designing and producing machines for mining. http://www.im-halloffame.com/underground-production-2/

There is a total of 12 categories and nominations are welcomed for all of them: Bulk Handling, Concentration, Comminution, Exploration, Environmental Management and Stewardship, Metallurgy, Mining Software, Safety, Surface Mining, Underground Development, Underground Production and Outstanding Innovator.

www.im-halloffame.com