Tag Archives: Anglo American

Anglo American’s O’Neill gives analysts a taster of hydrogen haulage plan

Mining equipment, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , ,

Tony O’Neill, this week, provided analysts with some more detail around Anglo American’s hydrogen haulage plan and how the mining company plans to operate a haul truck on hydrogen power alone within the next 12 months.

O’Neill, the company’s Technical Director, mooted this goal in the company’s 2018 sustainability performance presentation in April, saying that oversizing the photovoltaic (PV) generation capacity at one of its mine sites would allow it to capture enough hydrogen to potentially power a haul truck.

During a roundtable discussion with analysts, O’Neill presented a new graphic of the hydrogen haulage plan (see below), and said the plan, which would see excess hydrogen produced with oversized PV unit capability, could reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a large site by 30% in the plant and 100% in the trucks.

On top of this, it could increase the truck power by 5% compared with diesel power, provide energy security and price security, allowing the company to move to the “hydrogen economy” and design the “next generation” in mining vehicles.

Anglo American is not the only mining company looking into hydrogen as a fuel source for its operations. Late last year, Fortescue Metals Group signed an agreement with CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, to look at hydrogen technologies.

This hydrogen haulage program is just one of several projects the company is pushing forward with as part of its FutureSmart Mining™ technology and innovation initiative. These are focused on the Concentrated Mine™, the Waterless Mine, the Modern Mine and the Intelligent Mine.

Pleuger pumped up with Collahuasi copper mine contract win

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Water management, , , , ,

Germany’s Pleuger Industries has installed six robust high-performance pumps at the Anglo American- and Glencore-owned Collahuasi copper mine in Chile, helping the operation continue to produce more than 5,000 tonnes of fine copper every year.

At Collahuasi, two open-pit mines, Rosario and Ujina, provide the necessary copper ores, which are smelted on site into copper concentrate and cathodes. Pleuger’s 10 in pumps come in during the flotation process at Collahuasi, where they help dewater the copper sludge for copper concentrate extraction.

The acceptance of the six pumps, for which the technical management of the mine together with the pump distributor Wellford had travelled from Chile to Hamburg, took a week. “This is not unusual when one considers the significance of the new submersible motor pumps for the processing of copper sulphide,” Pleuger said. “If the pumps fail, the production process comes to a standstill until the pumps are repaired. Reliability, therefore, has top priority.

“The decision in favour of a pump manufacturer is, therefore, less a question of one-time costs than of confidence in the technical know-how of the engineers.”

Wellford, from Chile, Collahuasi’s pump supplier, brought Pleuger into play because the German pump manufacturer has decades of experience in designing pump units for the special requirements of the mining sector, the Germany-based company said. “Pleuger’s engineers have acquired their expertise in various customising projects around the globe, which the Hamburg-based company continuously uses in the construction of its engines.”

Process pumps like the ones used at Collahuasi are placed under extreme operating conditions, Pleuger said.

“Copper… quickly oxidises the materials from which pumps are usually made. In order to counteract this process, the engineers at Pleuger Industries rely on a corrosion protection concept specially adapted to the customer when designing the pumps,” the company said.

“In addition, the new pump systems must be energy-efficient, because Collahuasi’s copper production follows an energy management system based on international standards.”

Element Six synthetic diamond will help hard rock cutting achieve true potential

Diamond mining, Explosives and blasting, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Element Six, as a company, was set up to harness the unique properties of synthetic diamond (polycrystalline diamond or PCD) and tungsten carbide to deliver supermaterials that improve the efficiency, performance and reliability of industrial tools and technology, including in mining.

IM recently met with Element Six (E6) Global Sales Director, Mining, Road & WP, Markus Bening, to better understand what this means for the mining industry and what progress has been made.

It is worth remembering that the company while focussing on advanced materials also has a unique position in the industry, with diamond mining major De Beers Group the 100% owner of the technologies part of the business, and De Beers Group, itself, part of global mining company Anglo American. Some of the industry’s leading hard rock cutting technologies are already being used by these operators, at Anglo’s Twickenham platinum mine, for example. E6 also has all the required raw material sourcing and manufacturing capability such as advanced high pressure/high temperature presses in house to allow it to supply PCD solutions in the quality, consistency and quantity that will be needed to the mining global market.

In mining one of the most interesting markets is hard rock cutting, where the potential for Element Six materials is enormous in rock tools. In relevant ASTM tests such as B611-13, PCD performs up to 500 or 650 times better than tungsten carbide. Of course it has a significant price premium but its performance far, far outweighs this price gap. Bening stated: “PCD is a supermaterial so has a higher price but massive advantages in performance that come with it.”

 

 

 

 

 

Due to confidentiality agreements, Bening would not specify which OEMs are trialling PCD in the hard rock cutting space but confirmed that E6 is working on PCD prototype testing and trials with several leading players and has achieved impressive results.

Taking a hard rock cutting unit, E6 can supply the PCD material on its own, the whole component, the pick or the disc cutter, whatever the customer wants, but primarily E6 is a materials expert.

Bening told IM: “Today there is a lot of advanced testing and fine tuning using our PCD in the cutting tools of the latest hard rock cutting mining machines. In the next five to ten years I see continuous hard rock cutting going commercial throughout the mining industry and E6’s PCD technology will undoubtedly form an important part of that.”

As previously published by IM, major developers of continuous hard rock cutting machines for mining include Epiroc (Mobile Miner), Sandvik (MX650), Caterpillar (Rock Header/Rock Straight) and Komatsu (DynaCut).

And hard rock cutting is not the only mining focus. PCD also has potential in down the hole (DTH) drilling where Percussive Diamond Inserts are used on the bits, and again advanced trials are ongoing with the main global manufacturers of drill bits, with a lot of success so far. PCD means a lot of energy savings in bit use, and bits keeping their shape much longer meaning no regrinding is needed.

Mitchell’s UIS drilling contract extended by Anglo American

Coal technology, Environmental, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , ,

Mitchell Services has won a contract extension from Anglo American that will see it continue underground coal drilling and gas drainage services at the miner’s Grosvenor and Moranbah North coal mines, in Queensland, Australia.

The variation to the ASX-listed company’s Underground In-Seam (UIS) drilling contract with Anglo American will see Mitchell provide up to six UIS rigs and provide specialist underground services at the sites.

It also resulted in the extension of the contract expiry date to December 31, 2021 with a further two-year extension option available.

Mitchell said: “Whilst the company anticipates a significant long term revenue and EBITDA benefit as a result of this extension and scope increase, the company notes that, given the timing of the variation, the expected start date of the additional rigs and the anticipated level of associated ramp up, the variation is not likely to have a material impact on the recently provided financial year 2019 revenue and EBITDA guidance numbers of A$110-$120 million ($77-84 million) and A$21-$23 million, respectively.”

Anglo American, Rio Tinto back World Bank’s clean technology developments

Environmental, Mining finance, Mining industry recognition, Mining policy, Mining services, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , , , ,

Anglo American and Rio Tinto have committed to the World Bank’s Climate-Smart Mining initiative by becoming founding donors to the Climate-Smart Mining Facility.

The Climate-Smart Mining Facility is the first-ever fund dedicated to making mining for metals and minerals a more sustainable practice that complements the global energy transition, according to Anglo.

Building on the World Bank’s initial $2 million investment, Anglo American and Rio have joined governments (the German government being one) as a donor. Anglo said it would provide $1 million to the facility over the next five years.

“The facility’s work will support the sustainable extraction and processing of mining products used in developing clean energy technologies, such as copper used in energy storage and electric vehicles,” Anglo said. “The fund will also work with governments and operators in developing countries to establish strategies for sustainable mining operations and legal frameworks that promote smart mining.”

Anglo American said it shares the World Bank’s view that the energy transition will be mineral-intensive, creating economic opportunities for resource-rich countries and the mining sector.

Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: “To have real impact we must work together with governments and operators to bring changes. That is why we are supporting the World Bank with this facility, to provide funds that can transform our industry for the future.

“Mining cannot continue its long path of simply scaling up to supply what the world needs. We need to do things in dramatically different ways if we are to transform our footprint and be valued by all our stakeholders. Our first responsibility is to reduce our energy and water usage, and our emissions.

“At Anglo American, we have set ourselves on a journey to carbon neutrality operationally, with our 2020 and 2030 targets as staging posts. Our FutureSmart Mining™ technologies will be a key driver of this.”

Rio Tinto CEO, J-S Jacques, said: “The transition to clean energy solutions presents both a significant opportunity and responsibility for the mining industry, as it provides the materials that make these technologies possible.

“We want to be part of the solution on climate change and the best solutions will come from innovative partnerships across competitors, governments and institutions. Our collaboration with the World Bank and many others is aimed at making a real difference by promoting sustainable practices across our industry. We look forward to supporting the Climate-Smart Mining Facility by contributing not just funding but also expertise as a leader in sustainable mining practices.”

The World Bank said the facility focuses on “helping resource-rich developing countries benefit from the increasing demand for minerals and metals, while ensuring the mining sector is managed in a way that minimises the environmental and climate footprint”.

The facility, which supports the sustainable extraction and processing of minerals and metals used in clean energy technologies, such as wind, solar power, and batteries for energy storage and electric vehicles, will also assist governments to build a robust policy, regulatory and legal framework that promotes climate-smart mining and creates an enabling environment for private capital, the World Bank said.

Projects may include:

  • Supporting the integration of renewable energy into mining operations, given that the mining sector accounts for up to 11% of global energy use and that mining operations in remote areas often rely on diesel or coal;
  • Supporting the strategic use of geological data for a better understanding of “strategic mineral” endowments;
  • Forest-smart mining: preventing deforestation and supporting sustainable land-use practices; repurposing mine sites, and;
  • Recycling of minerals: supporting developing countries to take a circular economy approach and reuse minerals in a way that respects the environment.

Riccardo Puliti, Senior Director and Head of the Energy and Extractives Global Practice at the World Bank, said: “The World Bank supports a low-carbon transition where mining is climate-smart and value chains are sustainable and green. Developing countries can play a leading role in this transition: developing strategic minerals in a way that respects communities, ecosystems and the environment. Countries with strategic minerals have a real opportunity to benefit from the global shift to clean energy.”

The World Bank is targeting a total investment of $50 million, to be deployed over a five-year timeframe.

GIW pumped with Anglo American Quellaveco copper project order

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GIW Industries says it is to deliver four MDX 600 cyclone feed pumps to Anglo American’s Quellaveco copper project in Peru.

GIW, a subsidiary of KSB, won the order based on the reputation of its centrifugal slurry pumps and the firm’s commitment to customer support, it said. “Decades of experience in slurry transport means GIW is in the perfect position to partner with Quellaveco.”

Anglo American plans on first copper production coming out of Quellaveco in 2022, which, with a reserve of 1,300 Mt at 0.58% Cu, is expected to have a 30-year mine life at an average production capacity of 127,500 t/d. This could see the mine produce around 300,000 t/y of copper.

The Quellaveco project marks a significant milestone for GIW as it continues to invest in the region, the company said. In 2018, it expanded its service capabilities in South America to meet the needs of current and future customers.

Local GIW technicians will be on-site to assist Quellaveco for the installation, commissioning, and start-up of the four MDX 600 cyclone feed pumps, according to the company.

“The MDX pump was selected for the Quellaveco project because of its success in copper and gold applications around the world,” GIW said. “The MDX product line has undergone extensive development; in fact, the latest technology features a remotely adjusted mechanical suction liner.

“The pumps for Quellaveco are specially designed to operate in the most extreme duty conditions. Critical wear parts are made of GIW’s proprietary white-iron alloy, Endurasite. This material extends wear life and optimises pump performance.

“These features combined have a direct impact on Quellaveco’s total cost of ownership – proving the MDX is the most reliable pump on the market.”

Hernan Palavecino, South America Region Manager for GIW, said economic stability and continuous growth in the country have facilitated the investment of new mining projects in Peru, with the country, over recent years, becoming a key player in the global market.

“GIW recognises the importance of the Quellaveco mine to the region,” he said. “The greenfield project solidifies Peru’s position as a substantial player in the South American and global mining markets. The award is a result of GIW’s drive for continuous improvements in slurry technologies. We are committed to offering high-quality service while building a long-term partnership with Quellaveco.”

GMG members devise mine automation guideline

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The likes of Anglo American, BHP, Barrick Gold, Glencore, Newmont, Rio Tinto, Teck and Vale have collaborated on the Global Mining Guidelines Group’s (GMG) latest guideline on automation.

The Guideline for the Implementation of Autonomous Systems in Mining offers a broad view of the implementation of these systems, which are being used more and more frequently due to their potential for making the mining industry safer and more productive, according to GMG.

Christine Erikson, General Manager Improvement and Smart Business at Roy Hill, said the guideline “covers all aspects of operations, including people, safety, technology, engineering, regulatory requirements, business process and organisation models”. She added: “The guideline considers all perspectives in the industry, making it relevant and practical in implementation.”

The guideline provides a framework for mining stakeholders to follow when establishing autonomous mining projects ranging from single autonomous vehicles and hybrid fleets to highly autonomous fleets, GMG said. It offers guidance on how stakeholders should approach autonomous mining and describes common practices.

“More specifically, the publication addresses change management, developing a business case, health and safety and risk management, regulatory engagement, community and social impact, and operational readiness and deployment,” GMG said.

“There has been an incredible level of engagement in this project since its launch last year,” said Andrew Scott, Principal Innovator, Symbiotic Innovations, and GMG Vice-Chair Working Groups, who facilitated many of the workshops. “The industry interest reflects the growing importance and relevance of autonomous systems in mining and the industry’s need for a unified framework for mitigating risks and managing change while maximising the value of autonomy.”

Chirag Sathe, Principal, Risk & Business Analysis Technology at BHP – one of the project co-leaders alongside Glenn Johnson, Senior Mining Engineer, Technology at Teck – said the guideline is relevant even to those who have already embraced autonomy: “I would say that even though some mining companies have implemented autonomy, it hasn’t been a smooth ride and there are a number of lessons learned. This guideline would be a good reference material to everyone to look at various aspects while implementing autonomy. It is not meant to provide answers to every potential issue, but it at least may provide some guidance on what to look for.”

Erikson concurred, saying, “Roy Hill’s involvement has given greater insight into industry learnings that we have considered as part of our own autonomous projects.”

The guideline also promotes cooperation between the involved parties as a means of easing the implementation process, according to GMG. Andy Mulholland, GEOVIA Management Director at Dassault Systèmes, said: “Mining companies will need to rely heavily on their technology partners.” This guideline “sets down a great framework to be able to collaborate”, he added.

Sathe said: “As technology is moving very fast, guideline development also should keep pace with the change.”

As a result, the guideline will be reviewed and updated on a regular basis, according to GMG.

GMG said: “Although implementing autonomous systems creates new challenges, such as changes to the workforce and the workplace, their successful deployment adds definite value, with improved safety and efficiency and lower maintenance costs. As more operations move toward the application of these technologies, this guideline will be an invaluable asset.

Mark O’Brien, Manager, Digital Transformation at CITIC Pacific Mining, said the process of developing the guideline highlighted “just how much there is to factor into deciding whether to implement autonomy, whether you’re ready for it and what the journey is going to look like.

“Having this all captured in a single, well-considered document is a terrific resource.”

Anglo’s O’Neill sets 12-month goal for hydrogen-fuelled trucks

Mining equipment, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

During Anglo American’s 2018 sustainability performance presentation this week, Technical Director, Tony O’Neill, said the company was working on an innovative solution to power haul trucks by hydrogen using solar panels.

By oversizing the photovoltaic generation capacity at a site, the company would be able to capture enough hydrogen to potentially power a haul truck.

O’Neill said this was all part of the company’s plan to create a “smart energy mix that allows us to become carbon neutral”.

“That leads us straight to hydrogen,” he said.

The approach the company is working on required a different mindset from O’Neill and his team.

“What some in my team have done is say, ‘OK, we’re not worried about a return. As long as the project washes its face, what does that do?’ And, what does it do, particularly, if you oversize your power consumption enough that you can actually generate hydrogen?”

The decision-making process changes with such a viewpoint, he said.

“All of a sudden, we had enough hydrogen, so we could stick it in our trucks. We looked at the trucks and re-engineered the way they work. Voila, we found we could get 5-10% more out of our trucks,” he said.

And, this line of thinking and re-engineering has allowed O’Neill to make a bold statement:

“Our aim, is to get, hopefully, in the next 12 months, a truck running around using hydrogen.”

Solutions like these could provide energy security, price resilience, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, move Anglo to a “hydrogen economy”, and help it develop the next generation mining vehicles, the company said.

Anglo and emapper to rehabilitate Dawson open-pit coal mine

Coal technology, Environmental, Mine operation news, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , ,

Anglo American says its Australian operations will invest more than A$162 million ($116 million) in mine rehabilitation projects over the next five years.

Chief Executive Officer of Anglo American’s Metallurgical Coal business, Tyler Mitchelson, said the company was committed to the highest standards of environmental performance.

“Over the next five years (2019 – 2023), we’re investing more than A$162 million on industry-leading rehabilitation activities across our five mine sites,” he said.

Anglo American’s Australian operations include five metallurgical coal mines in central Queensland; two open pit and three underground. Around A$83 million will be spent on rehabilitation at the open-pit Dawson mine, near Moura, and almost A$40 million at Capcoal open-pit mine, near Middlemount, over five years.

“We continue to innovate and pursue best practice mine rehabilitation across our business, and this approach is already delivering outstanding results,” Mitchelson said.

“Anglo American’s Dawson mine has been leading the way in innovative rehabilitation approaches, including the successful rehabilitation of an area previously containing void highwall, and use of rehabilitated land for cattle grazing.

“In partnership with emapper, other miners and industry suppliers, our Dawson mine has also been part of an innovative METS Ignited (the Federal Government Growth Centre for Mining Equipment, Technology and Services) project using drone technology to aerially map rehabilitation areas.

“Rehabilitated areas at our Dawson mine cover more than 1,800 ha so this project is a significant step forward in improving the safety, efficiency and accuracy of our mine rehabilitation monitoring programmes,” he said.

The project, delivered through environmental monitoring web-mapping platform, emapper, has used drone technology to collect environmental monitoring data including landform geometry, erosion and vegetation. All data is processed in the emapper platform against pre-determined rehabilitation performance standards, according to Anglo American Australia. All metrics are uploaded to the secure emapper platform allowing on-demand access to data visualisation, reporting and data collaboration and sharing, it said.

“A key part of Anglo American’s global Sustainable Mining Plan is to maintain a healthy environment – particularly in the local areas around our operations,” Mitchelson said.

“We’re committed to innovative and sustainable environmental practices, including rehabilitation, and our work in this area is a clear demonstration of this.”

The Emapper project, METS Ignited said, aims to develop a multi-scale and multi-source environmental data platform to monitor, manage and reduce mining’s footprint with application and transferability within the global mining industry.

The key focus of the solution is deriving maximum benefit from digital sensing technology, including integrated analysis of the data and functionality to enable technical and non-technical staff to use the platform for reporting and management decisions. In this way, the platform will accelerate the wider adoption of sensors and data analytics in the industry, METS Ignited said.

The project will result in cost reduction for environmental management and compliance for mining operations.

Metso reduces downtime and improves safety in Kumba Kolomela crushing circuit

Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , , ,

Kumba Iron Ore’s Kolomela mine in South Africa has reduced crusher liner replacement downtime and improved safety using a concave carousel and removal trays system provided by Metso, the mining equipment manufacturer reports.

Located in the Northern Cape Province, Kolomela contacted Metso for assistance in reducing its primary gyratory crusher concave liners replacement time.

The mine produces over 13 Mt/y of iron ore and is one of Kumba’s (majority-owned by Anglo American) largest operations in the country.

In mineral processing, crusher efficiency can be compromised over time, affecting production time and, most importantly, the safety of employees, Metso said. A major factor affecting crusher efficiency is the amount of downtime. The longer it takes to replace the wear parts inside the chamber of a primary gyratory crusher during a maintenance shutdown, the less uptime and, thus, less production. By reducing the number of lifts, the replacement can be done much faster and safer, according to Metso.

Kolomela approached Metso’s expert team to help it reduce the average downtime the operation encounters when replacing concave liners of their Superior SG60-110 primary gyratory crusher.

Metso’s Regional and Technical Support Manager Crusher Wears, Andrew Stones, said: “When the mine approached us with a request to help them speed up the process of changing the concave liners on the primary gyratory on site, they asked us to replicate the methodology that we once used at one of Anglo American’s major copper mines in South America, Los Bronces, which included the use of special tooling such as carousels and removal trays to remove the liners.

“Following the review of the Los Bronces system, we identified that we used different parts and installation methods not suitable for Kolomela’s operating model.”

Metso’s team looked at an alternative solution not only for different fixing arrangement on the carousels, but also changed parts. Instead of the mine having six rows of concaves to install, Metso reduced the rows to four. This minimised the installation time, according to Metso.

In addition to this, the team supplied Kolomela with removal trays – which enable a faster removal of the worn segments – as well as with modified attachments to help lift and install the carousels.

Metso’s solution has reportedly halved the downtime required for a concave liner change, but reduced downtime was not the only value add provided; the mine also reduced the injury exposure rate by 95%, according to the company.

Metso said: “Unlike the previous system that the mine used, which required people to be in the crusher when lowering each concave, Metso’s innovative carousel system provided optimised operating labour and safer installations. It is not dependent on human interaction.”

Kolomela’s Section Manager Engineering, Pieter Malan, said: “At Anglo American, we are unconditional about the safety of our colleagues. When the Metso team highlighted the safety element that the carousel methodology brings, it was indeed an added benefit and advantage. We understood, at that point, that Metso will also prioritise the safety and well-being of all individuals. There is no price on safety.”

Metso’s Vice President Mining, Africa and Middle East, Qasim Abrahams, said: “Previously, the Kolomela mine used 288 lifts to remove and install each concave liner; a process that has been identified as potentially hazardous work for the liner replacement team. Our new concave carousel concept reduced the lifts to 16, substantially improving both uptime and safety. The carousel allowed an entire tier of new concave segments to be lifted in place at once.”

Metso’s relationship with Kolomela was established in 2010, when the company provided the mine with the installation and commissioning of its crushers and the supply of original equipment manufacturer spare and wear parts. Other Metso equipment on site include two MP800 cone crushers and one MP1000 cone crusher.

Metso said: “The removal trays and carousel systems can be used on any primary gyratory crusher – Metso or third party.”

While this was a known and tested concept, this project required a completely new carousel and removal tray design and also new wear parts which included new concave liner design, patterns and trial castings, according to Metso.

Metso’s team of experts completed this project in six months, from customer order until delivery.