Tag Archives: AG mills

RME announces THUNDERBOLT MAGNUM Recoilless Hammer range release

Automation, Equipment maintenance, Mineral processing, Mining maintenance, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

RUSSELL MINERAL EQUIPMENT (RME) says it is marking the official release of its fourth-generation recoilless hammer with a special introductory bundle offer for its customers – the ‘THUNDERBOLT MAGNUM Precision Pack’.

This all-inclusive pack offers incredible value and includes both the THUNDERBOLT MAGNUM 2000 and THUNDERBOLT MAGNUM 1000 Recoilless Hammers (the latter included at no cost), the THUNDERBOLT MAGNUM Power Pack (swappable between both models), the higher-reach THUNDERBOLT MAGNUM Mobile Jib (useable across the entire THUNDERBOLT range), as well as a comprehensive set of ancillaries and spares, according to the company.

With the THUNDERBOLT MAGNUM 1000 HAMMER included at no cost, the ‘THUNDERBOLT MAGNUM Precision Pack’ represents 20% off the standard price of the individual equipment purchased separately, RMW says. This exclusive offer is available immediately on all orders placed before December 31, 2021, with a delivery date prior to June 30, 2022.

Christian Kramer, THUNDERBOLT Product Manager, RME, says: “We know from 35-plus years partnering with customers on mill relines, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to worn liner bolt knock-in. In fact, industry benchmark operations will use the hardest hitting hammers for difficult-to-dislodge bolts at discharge end and breaking-in on the first inch, then swap to a high repetition hammer for ploughing through shell lifter liners.

“This is why we’re excited about the new THUNDERBOLT MAGNUM Precision Pack. Not only do MAGNUMs hit harder and faster than the previous range, but also, when paired together, they provide four selectable levels of power for an even greater ability to select precisely the right level of power for the specific knock-in application. Combined they’ll reduce mission-critical relining knock-in hours, especially on high-wear relines, which means higher mill availability.”

In developing the new THUNDERBOLT MAGNUM Recoilless Hammers, RME applied 10,000-plus hours of research and development using customer-led design principles, to deliver quantifiable upgrades in strike energy, speed, serviceability and operator safety. The range sports two ergonomically designed hammers with each offering customers a unique advantage to shorten the mill reline knock-in phase, it says.

Designed specifically for large and medium SAG and AG mills, the THUNDERBOLT MAGNUM 2000 delivers an incredible 2,000 joules per blow 70 times a minute to plough through the toughest of knock-in phases, such as tough, stuck and deeply-wedged liner bolt bolts at a mill’s discharge end or breaking-in shell liners on the first inch, with ease, RME says. In initial commercial trials, the MAGNUM 2000 has even demonstrated the ability to knock-in peened liners without resorting to dangerous and time consuming lancing, the company claims.

“The THUNDERBOLT MAGNUM 1000 will excel in any reline environment across SAG, AG and ball mills small, medium and large,” the company says. “Its accelerated strike rate up to 1,000 joules 140 times a minute outperforms every other liner removal tool when it comes to work-rate speed and safety.”

John Russell, Founder and Executive Chairman, RME, says: “When the first-generation THUNDERBOLT was released in 1997, it was a game changer for the minerals processing industry. As the world’s only true recoilless hammer, it replaced hazardous manual methods and unfit-for-purpose tools which seriously jeopardise reline efficiency and operator safety. The fourth-generation THUNDERBOLT MAGNUMs not only build on RME’s fundamental fast-reliable-safe principles, they improve on them in every way. We’re so pleased to give our customers early and exclusive access to this incredible time-saving mill relining technology through the new THUNDERBOLT MAGNUM Precision Pack.”

Additional feature highlights exclusive to the THUNDERBOLT MAGNUM range, RME says, include:

  • Intelligent programmable power for precision performance – THUNDERBOLT MAGNUMs usher in a new ‘MAGNUM Mode’ which allows operators to program strike energy and speed for greater safety, precision and control. This selectable power also reduces the risk of high-velocity bolt projectiles, which can damage mill relining equipment and put crew at-risk, at the end of liner bolt knock-in.
  • Extended service intervals – Service intervals on the new MAGNUMs have increased by 150% to 100,000 blows through engineering and the highest manufacturing standards. Longer life components, improved component accessibility, smarter diagnostics and improved shock absorption reduces maintenance requirements for greater equipment uptime and reliabilit.
  • Smarter condition monitoring – New THUNDERBOLT MAGNUM Power Packs feature new sensors and diagnostic controls for improved performance monitoring and maintenance optimisation. Optimal tuning and blow data is now stored within the hammer for accurate operational insights and better lifecycle decision making. The new MAGNUM Power Pack is swappable between the MAGNUM 1000 and MAGNUM 2000 Hammers for efficient total cost of ownership.
  • Designed to provide the most comfortable, and safest operator experience – Improved ergonomics and a 90% reduction in recoil dry fire shock minimises both machine stress and reline crew fatigue. Hydraulic systems have also been redesigned for improved operational safety and use. A dual-action contact trigger safety mechanism eliminates risk of accidental firing. Streamlined operator inputs and improved mechanical and electrical controls protect crew working around the hammer and enhance the safety of mill reline operations.
  • Safer steadier suspension – With this product launch comes a new higher-reach THUNDERBOLT MAGNUM Mobile Jib with greater clearances, upgraded stability and a safety brake. This higher reach means access to more rows of liner bolts and can reduce the number of inching movements and inching time per reline. The MAGNUM jib can also be used across the entire hydraulic THUNDERBOLT Recoilless Hammer range.

Metso Outotec and Boliden renew service contract for Aitik copper mine

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining safety, Mining services, , , , , , , ,

Metso Outotec and Boliden have signed an extension of their service contract for Boliden’s Aitik copper mine in Gällivare, northern Sweden.

The “3+2-year extension” of the Life-Cycle Services agreement covers the supply of mill lining, chute lining solutions, preventive maintenance of the grinding circuit and recycling of used wear parts, the mining OEM said. The first part of the contract has been booked in Metso Outotec’s orders received in the September quarter of 2020.

The contract is a performance-based cost-per-tonne agreement, in which Metso Outotec gets paid according to the output of the customer’s process. The goal is to ensure the availability of the grinding circuit and to maximise valuable production time, striving for a common goal that benefits both parties, the company said.

Metso Outotec and Boliden have cooperated since the 1960s. Throughout the decades, the collaboration has evolved to meet new emerging needs, while continuing to improve uptime and annual production, Metso Outotec said.

“Safety is Boliden’s top priority and enhancing it is also embedded in the scope of the new contract,” the OEM said. “Metso Outotec will provide solutions that simultaneously cut maintenance time and increase the wear life of parts even further.”

The new contract also focuses more on the management of worn wear parts, with Metso Outotec developing capabilities to recycle and dispose of them more sustainably. The AG mills in Aitik will continue to use Metso Outotec’s innovative Megaliner™ mill lining.

Megaliner helps to maximise the availability of large mills by using an innovative design that speeds up liner replacement. The larger-than-average liners mean fewer individual pieces are needed. Megaliner also has fewer attachment points compared with conventional liners, further improving installation and removal time, Metso Outotec says. It also improves worker safety during maintenance as the liners are bolted into position from outside the mill.

The pebble mills and two regrind mills at Aitik will be lined with rubber and Poly-Met mill linings, Metso Outotec said.

Aitik is one of the largest copper mines in Europe. In 2019, the mine produced close to 41,000 t of copper, employing nearly 800 people.

Metso completes mill lining hat-trick with Discharge End Megaliner

Automation, Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, Mineral processing, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining safety, Mining services, , , , , , , , , ,

Metso has once again flexed its R&D muscles, launching a new and innovative product that, it says, can speed up and improve the safety of one of the trickiest and riskiest processes mill personnel carry out.

The Discharge End Megaliner builds on the Metso Megaliner™ concept the company introduced in 2012. Designed to reduce downtime by minimising the number of parts and people inside the mill during a relining process, the Megaliner has so far been installed in over 30 mills around the world.

A Megaliner element integrates multiple lifter and plate rows and has a minimum number of attachment points. Covering an area several times larger than conventional liners, these liners are light weight in relation to their size and, with threaded bushings, enable safer and faster relining processes to be conducted.

The initial 2012 Megaliner launch saw these lightweight liner parts developed for the mill shell. In 2015, Metso expanded the lining concept to the feed end of grinding mills. The company is now ready to tackle the tricky mill discharge end to complete the hat-trick.

Anssi Poutanen, Vice President of Metso’s Mill Lining product line, said the mill shell was the obvious starting point in the Megaliner evolution.

“The shell represents the largest number of components to install so the potential for time savings for customers was large, hence why the Megaliner started there,” he told IM. “We have since extended to the feed end of the mill and now to the discharge end.”

The new product, which has been in the development pipeline for some time, according to Poutanen, is by no means just a bolt on to the existing Megaliner range.

“Even though the discharge section of the mill lining process is not as big from a volume perspective, the need for long bolts and a complex fixing arrangement in conventional installations makes it one of the most time-consuming and risky processes to carry out,” he said. “The Discharge End Megaliner is a highly valued addition to our Megaliner range as many of our customers struggle with the process.”

The conventional process Poutanen references here is worth spelling out.

With grate discharge mills – typically SAG, AG and ball mills – the conventional relining process at the discharge end usually involves removing the dischargers and grates, replacing with new lined versions and hammering in large, long bolts through the layers to secure the liner components.

“Even if modern recoilless hammers are used, it is still a challenge,” Poutanen said. “When the bolts become loose, they are hazardous and can potentially injure personnel.” In this process, personnel are also inside the mill – one of the most dangerous sections of the whole process plant.

On top of the large, long bolts, nuts are also required to fix the panels in place with conventional lining processes, adding up to multiple individual pieces and attachment points that must be fixed securely from inside the mill, Poutanen explained.

The Discharge End Megaliner, meanwhile, sees dischargers, grates and segments preassembled into one large unit. These are equipped with threaded bushings that are secured with “short bolts” from – very importantly – outside of the mill, he said.

This makes for an up to 50% faster lining installation using up to 70% fewer parts than the conventional process, according to Metso.

Poutanen says the new Discharge End Megaliner can be applied to any type of grate discharge mill – there is no prerequisite for Megaliner liners in the shell and feed end, for example – as long as there is a wide enough trunnion opening to remove and replace the liners, and a liner handler of sufficient capacity.

Metso is targeting the large end of the grinding mill market with this new development. The larger the mill, the greater the throughput, which has a direct impact on the costs associated with potential downtime caused by the relining process, Poutanen explained.

This has already been tested out at Boliden’s Aitik mine, in Gällivare, Sweden, which is currently undergoing an expansion to 45 Mt/y throughput.

The base metal mine already has Megaliner mill liners on the shell and feed end of both of its primary AG mills and has tested the new Discharge End Megaliner over nine months at one of these 38 ft (11.6 m) mills.

The Aitik trial has proven around 70% fewer parts are required compared with the conventional process. Relining has also been carried out much quicker and safer, according to Poutanen.

Similar to LHD operators being removed from the cab in order to remotely operate loaders in potentially unstable areas of underground mines, the ability to carry out the relining process from outside of the mill ‘danger zone’ could be considered an initial stage towards a fully automated relining process.

Poutanen agreed: “I think at some point, we will see a higher degree of automation. It is unlikely to be binary; it will be a gradual process.”

He said the combination of the Megaliner and Metso’s camera-based liner positioning system – which is offered to all Megaliner customers as an “add on” to the liner handling equipment – could help make the process more autonomous.

In order to be able to develop this kind of fully autonomous package, a close collaboration with customers and liner handler suppliers is required, he said. “I think we are still a few years away from having the process move to fully autonomous mode.”