Tag Archives: Anglo American

Drones continue to make mining activities safer, Anglo American says

Automation, Communications in mining, Equipment maintenance, Explosives and blasting, IoT, Mine surveying, Mineral exploration, Mining equipment, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining safety, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Anglo American, in its 2018 annual report, says its use of drones for safety, surveying and security is continuing to expand as it looks to remote-control more of its mining activities.

The company has used drones attached to manned aerial-reconnaissance planes for many years and, today, considers itself an industry leader when it comes to drone use.

Anglo said it has an expanding fleet of drones, from fixed-wing aircraft to quadcopters, with about 50 skilled operators and another 30 people working in drone maintenance across the group. This is spread across its platinum group metal operations in South Africa, the Kumba iron ore mines (also in South Africa), and at De Beers diamond asset sites in Canada, Namibia and South Africa.

“Drones are an important part of our drive to remote-control many of our mining activities while gathering enhanced data and real-time operational performance metrics,” Anglo said. “They provide rapid visual access and multiple views, with smaller drones being used to inspect confined spaces on mines and in processing plants, while bigger aircraft are able to fly at night and stay aloft for up to eight hours.”

Drones are being used in varied tasks such as exploration, mine mapping and calculating the volume of stockpiles, Anglo said, adding that they are proving to be cost effective.

“The deployment of drones is assisting in making our activities safer. Crucially, their use avoids the need for people in potentially hazardous areas,” the company said.

Drones are now being used to inspect and monitor high-risk areas, including stockpiles, mine slopes, ore passes, tailings dams and chemical-storage facilities, Anglo said. They can check for the presence of personnel in a blast area, and measure fragmentation or the direction of dust movement after a blast. By employing them in such applications, it removes the possibility of Anglo personnel entering dangerous areas.

Other applications the company is using them on include traffic management at operations, as well as monitoring rehabilitation activity, including in areas where it can be difficult and risky for people on the ground to gain access.

Frans Kruger, Anglo American’s Global Aviation Safety Principal, said: “Drones increase our safety and efficiency, and they let us take human beings out of potentially dangerous environments.”

Anglo concluded: “Drone technology is evolving fast and, as a responsible operator, we are working closely with other drone operators and South Africa’s Civil Aviation Authority, for example, to develop appropriate standards, while also serving with other mining companies on the technical advisory committee of the Flight Safety Foundation.”

Anglo readying predictive maintenance solutions following Barro Alto implementation

Automation, Base metals, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , ,

Anglo American has highlighted its predictive maintenance efforts on equipment at its Barro Alto nickel mine in Brazil in its recently-published annual report.

The company said it is developing predictive models so it can make better informed operational decisions. These models, built by data scientists and often powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, contain advanced algorithms that leverage the power of data to generate predictions, according to the company.

“At the operational level, we are using customised learning algorithms across a range of different applications,” Anglo said. “In one such instance, we monitor equipment health at a number of our operating sites, with the aim of improving operational performance through predictive maintenance.”

The company said at Barro Alto, which has two rotary kilns and two electric furnaces that smelt nickel ore, it is focusing its predictive maintenance efforts on key pieces of high-power equipment.

Anglo said: “By building a comprehensive data platform that monitors 38 major elements of the Barro Alto operation, we are increasing our knowledge of the performance of the equipment and we are using data to accurately forecast failures before they happen.”

Soon, the company will be able to “dynamically manage” maintenance intervals – only replacing parts when required – Anglo said. This ensures greater operational uptime and product throughput, according to the company. “The implementation is expected to improve furnace reliability, as well as realise cost savings for the nickel business,” Anglo said.

The learnings from Barro Alto are also being applied to fixed-plant assets in other operations, Anglo said. “This nascent project is on track to deliver considerable value from just one data analytics application.”

On the technology in general, Anglo said: “Data analytics augments the intelligence in our people by helping them make better, confident data-driven decisions. Remote monitoring of assets takes people away from physical equipment and helps avoid high-energy failures, which leads to a safer working environment. Reducing unplanned equipment failures can also bring significant environmental benefits owing to the reduced likelihood of spillages.”

Anglo plans to extend the reach of its data analytics platforms to all aspects of its value chain and extend operational decision support to the mining and processing phases of its assets, it said.

Anglo American on the potential of bulk sorting technology

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Anglo American has talked up the use of bulk sorting in its operations as one of several projects it is spending $100-$500 million/y on as part of its technology and innovation investments.

The company, which reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of $9.2 billion for 2018 (up 4%), said bulk sorters could potentially be applied to all of its copper assets, in addition to mines in its Platinum Group Metals and Iron ore divisions.

An Anglo spokesman told IM late last year that the technology was going into the El Soldado copper mine in Chile and the company had plans to introduce it at the Barro Alto nickel operation in Brazil and the Mogalakwena platinum group metals mine in South Africa (pictured) as “next steps”.

The bulk sorters in question use sensors to determine ore content prior to processing, with gangue removed using the natural heterogeneity of orebodies.

In the company’s 2018 results presentation, Anglo said this technology provides immediate grade assays, unlocks production capacity by rejecting waste early in the process, allows for lower cutoff grades – as a result extending mine lives – and reduces both mining costs and complexity.

In a copper-related context, Anglo said the use of bulk sorters could reduce water and energy intensity by more than 10%.

In British Columbia, Canada, Teck Resources is currently using sensors mounted on shovels – MineSense’s ShovelSense product – to carry out effective bulk sorting at the Highland Valley Copper operations.

Amplats goes down innovation path for further operational gains

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In Anglo American Platinum’s 2018 results, the company revealed how its latest technology and innovation efforts were coming along.

Amplats, in 2018, recorded earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of ZAR14.5 billion ($1.03 billion), compared with ZAR11.99 billion a year earlier, as total platinum group metal production rose 4% to 5.19 Moz.

In the company’s strategic overview of the business – under a section titled: “Extracting the full potential from our operations through our people and innovation” – the company talked up several processes it was pursuing to “drive improvement in operational performance from current levels”. This was through “greater stabilisation and process optimisation, towards best in class in the industry, known as P100”.

Amplats said: “The next step is to operate our assets and equipment at levels beyond what is currently thought to be possible in the industry, known as P101.”

Examples of areas of P101 improvement include increasing the rope shovel performance at its massive Mogalakwena PGM mine (pictured) in South Africa, from 26 Mt/y to over 45 Mt/y, increasing throughput at the concentrators by over 10%, boosting operating time of concentrators to over 94%, increasing recoveries of concentrators to over 83% and increasing the operating factor at processing facilities (defined as availability multiplied by utilisation).

“Beyond P101, a number of step-change technologies are being developed and deployed, including coarse particle flotation, which can reduce energy intensity by over 30%; advanced fragmentation and shock-break technology at concentrators, which has the potential to also reduce energy intensity by 30%; and fine recovery of chrome and PGMs, in conjunction with bulk sorting, which can lead to a 10% increase in feed grade and recoveries,” Amplats said.

Shock-break technology at concentrators has the potential to eliminate the use of SAG mills, according to Amplats. The company is piloting this technology after successful tests of Mogalakwena pebbles indicated a more than 50% saving in power consumption.

Pilot plant trials, “leveraging Element 6 wear resistant tools”, started in April 2018, according to Amplats.

To “unlock” this additional value through P101 and a number of FutureSmart Mining™ technologies and digitalisation, additional investment in a number of fast payback, value enhancing projects is required, Amplats said. “This is expected to deliver EBITDA margin uplift of 5-8% on a mine-to-market basis, within a three- five-year-time horizon, before the benefit of any expansion projects using 2018 prices and exchange rates”.

Capital guidance, including for these fast-payback and P101 investment projects will be in the region of ZAR1.5–1.8 billion in 2019, and around ZAR2 billion for each of 2020 and 2021.

Anglo American selects Epiroc drilling equipment for Quellaveco copper project

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Epiroc has been awarded a “significant” order from Anglo American for its new copper mine in Moquegua, Peru, Quellaveco.

The diversified miner has ordered multiple drill rigs and related equipment to be used at the planned open-pit copper mine as it looks to build an operation with optimal safety, productivity and efficiency, Epiroc said.

The order totals about $44 million, with most of the contracted value booked in the December quarter of 2018 and a smaller portion booked in the current quarter, Epiroc said.

Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s Senior Executive Vice President Mining and Infrastructure, said: “We are proud to once again team up with Anglo American and play a key role in making sure that its new mine in Peru is operated in the most productive, safe and cost-efficient manner possible.”

The order includes Pit Viper 351 and SmartROC D65 drill rigs, BenchREMOTE remote operator stations (pictured), rock drilling tools and HB 10000 hydraulic breakers.

“The machines incorporate state-of-the-art technology features,” Epiroc said, adding that operators are, for example, able to run rigs remotely from a safe distance.

Delivery of the machines will start in early 2020 and continue through 2021, in line with Anglo American’s plan of first copper production during 2022.

Fluor is carrying out the project build at Quellaveco as part of an EPCM contract. With a reserve of 1,300 Mt at 0.58% Cu, Quellaveco 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.

Brain Industries devises versatile self-filling tanker for sludge, slurry clean up

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

An underground coal mine in Australia is piloting the use of a self-filling tank to help clean up sludge and slurries.

The mine in question is Anglo American’s Moranbah North coal operation in Queensland and the product is a new hydraulics-fitted version of Brain Industries’ self-filling tanker, Brain said.

Brain’s Managing Director, Gillian Summers, said the tanker is an advancement on Brain’s air-driven model which enables vacuum recovery, haulage and dumping of heavily solids laden slurries and sludges containing lumps up to 150 mm in size.

Summers said the new 6 cu m tanker has been produced in response to calls from the underground mining industry for more versatility and can be run from any LHD.

She said powerful jet pumps mean Brain’s self-filling tankers vacuum-load continuously to achieve high loading rates. Also, it is constructed aluminium free to comply with mining regulations.

“While the new hydraulics version was produced for underground mines, our self-filling tankers are also suited to applications in hard-rock mining, tunnelling and contract cleaning services,” she said.

“With no moving parts in contact with the material, continuous loading of large lump solids, including waxy, fibrous and abrasive materials, is possible without detriment to the pump.”

Loading stops automatically at a high level when handling wet materials, according to Brain. Excess water can be drained from the tailgate valves to allow top-up of load, maximising hauled solids.

Summers said the tanker is not only easy to use but easy to empty, with the use of a 250-mm diameter dump hatch or full-sized rear door.

Existing customers can also benefit from this new technology, with the company’s line of air driven self-filling tankers able to be retrofitted with hydraulics.

Brain’s self-filling tankers can be skid-mounted or trailer-mounted. The skid-mounted unit is made to be transported on a flatbed trailer or truck using the side-accessed forklift sockets, with the multi-purpose vehicle unit also able to be transported above ground in this way. The trailer-mounted self-filling tanker has a rocker arm, load sharing wheels with oil-filled hubs and solid tyres, Brain added.

Anglo resumes operations at Minas-Rio iron ore mine

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Anglo American has resumed operations at its Minas-Rio iron ore mine in Brazil almost nine months since it suspended activities following the discovery of two leaks along the 529 km slurry pipeline.

The restart of the integrated iron ore operation follows a technical inspection of the pipeline that carries the iron ore in slurry form from the mine to the port, the repair of certain sections of the pipeline and receipt of the appropriate regulatory approvals, Anglo said.

“The inspection of the entire pipeline by specialist pipeline inspection devices (PIGs), and the analysis of the collected data by expert teams drawn from Brazil and internationally, confirmed the pipeline’s integrity,” the company added.

As part of Anglo’s “responsible approach” to the leaks, it has pre-emptively replaced a 4 km stretch of pipeline where the two leaks of non-hazardous material occurred, as well as a small number of individual sections of pipe where the PIGs detected minor anomalies below the normal threshold for intervention. It also shortened the intervals for future inspections by PIGs from five years to two years to ensure the long-term integrity of the pipeline, while also fitting a fibre-optic system of acoustic, temperature and vibration sensors along critical sections of the pipeline to monitor performance.

Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: “The protection of the natural environment surrounding local communities and the overall integrity of the pipeline have formed the focus of our work to restart Minas-Rio and meet our obligations to our host communities, employees, customers and other stakeholders.”

Cutifani said the majority of Minas-Rio employees have been deployed across its operations in Brazil during this year, including on the construction work required to secure its Step 3 operating licence for Minas-Rio. Safety and other refresher training has been under way since early November in preparation for the restart, he added.

Anglo American expects the operation to ramp up to 1.2 Mt/mth (wet) and to produce approximately 16-19 Mt (wet) of iron ore in 2019, with the expectation that the Step 3 licences are received as planned.

Anglo’s Brazil chief executive, Ruben Fernandes, told Reuters earlier this year that the company expects to hit the 26.5 Mt/y (wet) nameplate capacity some time in 2021.

Anglo’s Dawson coal mine shifting to semi-autonomous mode with help of FLANDERS

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After months of preparation, Anglo American’s metallurgical coal business in Australia has drilled a hole at its Dawson mine using a machine remotely operated by a controller some 4 km away.

The overburden (OD14) semi-autonomous drill is the first in the business’ fleet to be fitted with this capability, Anglo said.

“This is a significant step towards Future Smart Mining™ at Metallurgical Coal,” Matt Graham, Anglo American’s Principal, Open Cut Technology and Automation, said.

The introduction of the semi-autonomous drill brings a number of benefits, including safety improvements, increased productivity, and a reduction in shift change times, according to Anglo. This is especially relevant somewhere like Dawson where the operation spreads across 50 km.

The project team received guidance from colleagues in other parts of Anglo including its copper business in Chile and Kumba Iron Ore in South Africa. There are 12 drills currently in use across the group, Anglo said.

“They worked with electrical control system supplier, FLANDERS, and Dawson’s maintenance and engineering team to upgrade the drill system’s on-board computer, sensors, and new safety devices,” Anglo said, adding the information management team also upgraded the mine’s Wi-Fi network to ensure connectivity.

Dieter Haage, Head of Mine Modernisation on Anglo’s technical and sustainability team, said applying technology in this way is “how we modernise our approach, and the Dawson mine has taken an important first step on this journey”.

Work will continue on the OD14 while the team focuses on automating the drill rod changing process, Anglo said. Once this is complete, the team will explore opportunities to upgrade other drills in the metallurgical coal fleet.

Anglo American’s OiS improving employee safety at Rustenburg base metal refinery

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Anglo American’s real-time data analytics platform, Operational Intelligence Suite (OiS), is helping its platinum subsidiary tackle potential health hazards at the Rustenburg base metals refinery in South Africa.

The company’s Occupational Health and Information Management teams worked in partnership to develop OiS, which is able to interrogate data feeds, manual uploads and events, Anglo said.

“The diagnostic results generated by the platform helps users make the right decision, at speed, when things go wrong, in terms of performance and health and safety at our mine sites.”

The information can then be used to do a “deep dive” analysis, to get to the root cause of problems and prevent repeat occurrences.

Cas Badenhorst, Anglo’s Occupational Health and Hygiene lead, said the company developed the product in response to a growing need in the business.

“Some of our key stakeholders needed a tool that would allow them to evaluate workplace and external environments and impacts on communities as well as monitor control performance,” he said.

The key difference between Anglo’s OiS system and other, off-the-shelf, products is its ability to receive, record, and analyse data such as air flow, gas levels etc. from multiple sources on to a single platform that also has analytical and reporting capabilities, Anglo said.

OiS is already in place at several of Anglo’s businesses including subsidiary Anglo American Platinum, where potential exposure to health hazards is being reduced by real-time monitoring of dust, noise, and gases.

“In fact, application of the OiS platform has assisted the Rustenburg base metals refinery (RBMR) team to achieve significant reductions in personal exposures to airborne pollutants within 12 months by optimising control measures,” Anglo said.

When asked about the value contribution of the OiS platform, RBMR General Manager Fortune Mashimbye said: “OiS informs me daily of health-related control performance and supplies me with data and information, so I can act on substandard conditions. Having access to real-time information on workplace conditions and control status empowers me and my team to actively protect the health of the RBMR employees.”

The system is currently being introduced at Anglo’s Kumba Iron Ore business, its Coal South Africa company and Copper division’s Chagres site in Chile. Further roll-outs are planned for Brazil and Botswana in 2019, the company said.

“The next phase of development will include predictive analysis that could, potentially, prevent control failures and health and safety incidents from happening,” Anglo said.

The system was recognised at the 2018 USA National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Awards, where it took the award for Technology Innovation in Health and Safety.

HCL looks to the cloud for Anglo American IT infrastructure extension

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HCL Technologies (HCL) has extended its partnership with Anglo American, agreeing a five-year infrastructure services deal that will see the diversified miner use more cloud-based solutions.

The multi-year deal is aimed at reducing Anglo’s global data centre footprint through the continued consolidation of its on-premises infrastructure and partial migration to an Infrastructure-as-a-Service operating model. HCL will also continue to provide regional and local service desk support and end-user computing services, it said.

HCL was enlisted as Anglo American’s IT services partner in 2013 and has served in the same role for De Beers since 2014. Through the renewed deal, HCL will further improve quality and consistency by standardising and centralising IT infrastructure services across both organisations, HCL said.

Sandeep Saxena, Senior Vice President of HCL Technologies, said: “Rather than standing still, our engagement with Anglo American has expanded into other areas where we can drive further value for its business through our more strategic Mode 2 offerings, such as Cloud Native Services.

“Our global delivery model also has a particularly important role to play, adding significant value through a mix of onsite and offshore technical skills that set Anglo American on course for future success.”

HCL provides IT infrastructure services and has the competency to execute large-scale, complex IT infrastructure transformation projects, the company said. Its Mode 1-2-3 growth strategy encompasses next–generation IT infrastructure services, leveraging automation, artificial intelligence, analytics and cloud to build service-oriented, future-ready IT infrastructure.

Anglo American runs mining operations across Southern Africa, North and South America and Australia and has a global workforce of 69,000 people.