Tag Archives: Australia

CSIRO’s catalytic VAMMIT technology heads for commercialisation after latest trials

Coal technology, Environmental, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , ,

New CSIRO technology that destroys methane at mine sites is showing great promise – and attracting great interest from industry and governments worldwide, the organisation says.

Released from coal during the mining process, methane is a highly explosive gas and therefore a serious safety concern in coal mining.

Underground coal mines use large-scale ventilation systems to move fresh air into the mine to flush out methane and other gases. This dilutes methane in the mine to make working conditions safer. However, ventilation air methane (VAM) is then released into the atmosphere, significantly adding to fugitive greenhouse gas emissions.

Dr Yonggang Jin, Team Leader for Environment and Sustainability within CSIRO’s Mining Research and Development Program, explained: “Over 60% of emissions from coal mining is from VAM. VAM emissions account for about 15% of total Australia methane emissions and about 4% total greenhouse gas emissions.”

Atmospheric methane levels have more than doubled since pre-industrial times, largely due to human activity. As methane is much more potent than carbon dioxide per molecule in trapping heat in the atmosphere, this is an important environmental issue.

With this in mind, CSIRO researchers have been developing a suite of three patented technologies that mitigate methane emissions at mines:

  • VAMMIT the destroyer is a methane mitigation unit with a compact flow reversal reactor and regenerative bed that destroys methane;
  • VAMCAP the concentrator is a capture and enrichment unit that collects and separates methane from ventilated air using carbon composites; and
  • VAMCAT the generator uses a catalytic combustion gas turbine to create electricity from captured methane, creating energy from a mining waste product.

In particular, a novel catalytic VAMMIT unit has recently shown great potential for addressing safety and environmental concerns, with, in December 2023, Yonggang and his research team completing a world-first pilot scale trial of a catalytic VAMMIT unit at an Australian mine, funded by Coal Innovation New South Wales. This mine site is understood to be the Appin coal mine.

While successful, this trial highlighted technical and economic limitations that would prevent the unit’s large-scale adoption, so this year, Yonggang’s team fast-tracked changes to address these limitations.

With funding from the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, they developed a prototype catalytic VAMMIT unit with a unique honeycomb-shaped catalytic regenerative bed. This optimised design was recently tested in a small-scale pilot trial at CSIRO’s Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies (QCAT), with outstanding results, CSIRO claims.

Catalytic VAMMIT keeps its cool

The enhanced catalytic VAMMIT unit shows several distinct advantages over its predecessor, regenerative thermal oxidiser (RTO) VAMMIT.

Significantly, catalytic VAMMIT achieved self-sustaining destruction of VAM with 0.15–0.4% methane, compared with RTO VAMMIT that can only destroy methane above 0.3% VAM.

This makes catalytic VAMMIT more suitable for Australia’s low level VAM conditions. It also achieved this at significantly lower temperatures than RTO, making it safer and more economical to run, according to the company.

Dr Marc Elmouttie, Acting Research Director for the Sustainable Mining Technologies Program, said: “A big benefit of catalytic VAMMIT is the ability to deal with the lower concentration methane. When it’s at higher concentrations, you can utilise it or you can flare it. When it’s at low concentrations, that’s a technically challenging thing.”

The catalytic VAMMIT unit has around five times the throughput capacity of the RTO VAMMIT unit, despite being smaller and requiring less power consumption. It also has a much lower pressure drop, at around one-third the pressure of RTO VAMMIT. This means it is more efficient and economical to operate, and produces less GHG emissions itself, CSIRO says.

However, arguably its most important advantage is its lower operational temperature of between 450 and 600°C, compared with RTO VAMMIT’s operational temperature of around 1,000°C. This not only enhances workplace safety, but also significantly reduces operational costs.

Yonggang says: “The first benefit is a lower safety risk with the lower temperature. There is a reduced risk of ignition of methane in the mine. With high temperature, air expands and a larger volume goes through the reaction bed. With a lower temperature there is lower pressure and reduced operating costs for electricity to drive the fan to push air through the reactor.”

A lower operational temperature also helps to maintain the unit, reducing risk of sintering (forming solid mass through heat or pressure, without melting it) and ceramic corrosion.

Catalytic VAMMIT has potential to not only improve industry conditions and efficiencies but could also play a key role in helping the Australian Government achieve its Net Zero Plan. This plan aims to reduce domestic emissions by 43% of 2005 levels by 2030, and reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Catalytic VAMMIT could also play a key role in achieving the Global Methane Pledge. Under this pledge, more than 120 countries, including Australia, committed to collectively reducing global methane emissions across all sectors by at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030.

The urgent need for this sort of technology has led CSIRO to explore a rapid commercialisation pathway for catalytic VAMMIT.

Yonggang says: “We are already starting to explore opportunities and working with potential commercial partners for full-scale development. If everything’s successful, we can come to some arrangement to commercialise and bring our technology to the market fully.”

Yonggang and his team are currently refining catalytic VAMMIT to improve heat and mass flows to optimise performance, and further lower the pressure drop at high ventilation air flow rates. They plan to start a full-scale catalytic VAMMIT trial at a New South Wales coal mine this month.

“We really want to fast track the commercialisation of this, because if this technology has been fully demonstrated on-site, and has been taken up by industry, we can simultaneously reduce net carbon emissions and safety risks,” Yonggang said.

Epiroc Pit Vipers, SmartROC D65s on their way to Newmont Boddington

Automation, Explosives and blasting, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , , ,

Epiroc says it has won a large order for surface mining equipment from Newmont in Australia, with a fleet of Epiroc Pit Viper 231 and SmartROC D65 drill rigs set to be used at the Boddington gold and copper mine in Western Australia.

The rigs, which will be operated tele-remotely, will replace an older fleet of Epiroc equipment.

The equipment order is valued at about SEK335 million ($32 million) and was booked in the September quarter of 2024. Epiroc will also provide service on the machines.

“We have a long-standing partnership with Newmont, which is on the forefront of advanced mining operations,” Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s President and CEO, said. “We are happy to support them as they continue to make their operations as safe and productive as possible.”

Chris Dark, Newmont’s General Manager for the Boddington mine site, says: “Newmont and Epiroc have had a long-term relationship on the Boddington site. This order recognises and continues this successful relationship that has enabled the success of the Boddington drilling operations over the life of the mine. Together we look forward to unlocking the long-term future of the Boddington site, which is recognised globally as a Tier 1 gold asset.”

The Pit Viper 231 rotary blasthole drill rig is a flexible workhorse that can be configured in many different ways for a wide range of rotary and down-the-hole drilling operations, Epiroc says. The SmartROC D65 rig consistently delivers high-quality blastholes with accuracy and precision. Both machines are built tough, loaded with intelligent features and very fuel efficient, the OEM claims.

Delivery of the fleet will commence immediately and will continue into the first half of 2025.

Tax incentives needed to drive electrification of Australia’s mining fleet: EMC report

Environmental, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

The mining industry is at a crossroads as latest industry insights reveals that electric mines can operate at costs between 56% and 88% lower than their diesel-powered counterparts.

However, just 60% indicate that their next mining operation will transition to electric.

Nearly all (84%) of industry professionals believe that Australia’s mining sector will not meet the government’s goal of achieving 82% renewable energy penetration by 2030.

These startling numbers were published within the ‘Electric Mine Consortium: 2020 to 2024: What we learnt from four years of a radical experiment in cross-company collaboration to build a zero particulae and zero carbon mining industry’ report.

The primary barrier to adopting electric equipment, cited by 76% of miners, is the high capital cost, which is rated 1.5 times more significant than the next major concern: confidence in operational effectiveness.

The report went into this a little more, stating: “There are several reasons why Australian miners have not adopted battery-electric underground load and haul equipment, while around 15% of Sandvik’s Canadian and European order book is battery electric.

“The overriding reason is a lack of clear policy support in Australia. Canada has had clear air quality standards for some time, leading most famously to the Borden mine’s first move to electrify. In support of this are a price on carbon, a 30% capital tax write-off for electric equipment and supporting infrastructure and substantial grants to fund early fleet adoption, such as the Canadian Government’s funding of A$12 million ($8.3 million) to fully electrify Glencore’s Onaping Depth mine.

“In contrast, Australia maintains a generous diesel fuel tax credit that will cost Australian taxpayers A$37 billion between 2024 and 2030.

“For BHP’s iron ore operations in 2023 alone, this tax credit is worth over A$500 million. Unsurprisingly, while BHP has committed to large electrification of its Chilean fleet of 200-plus heavy haul trucks before 2030, any electrification targets in Australia are for the period 2030 to 2040. This is seemingly a policy difference laid bare. As of 2024, Chile imposes a tax on diesel for miners (of around $0.12 per litre), whereas Australia does not.

“The Australian mining industry is also not subject to a universal price on carbon, at any price, unlike Canada and Europe. The closest policy instrument is the Safeguard Mechanism, but this covers only 200 facilities in Australia, of which most are coal mines or LNG facilities. At a 100,000 t C02-e per annum threshold, only a small handful of large iron ore mines are captured as well as very large base metals mines
like Olympic Dam and Newmont’s Telfer gold mine, and downstream alumina and aluminium processing facilities. The vast majority of mines are not subject to a compulsory carbon market.

“In a more subtle way, our mining regulations are also a major challenge to electrification. In Western Australia, ventilation regulations do not differentiate between diesel or electric equipment, which means that the ventilation benefits from using electric equipment, estimated to be anywhere from 20 to 40%, cannot be captured.”

In light of these findings, the industry is urging the government to implement tax incentives to accelerate the decarbonisation of mine sites.

“With diesel particulates posing severe health risks such as lung cancer, and with current Australian standards being over 6x higher than level considered safe by Safe Work Australia for underground miners, electrification is not just an economic opportunity; it’s a health imperative,” Graeme Stanway, Chair of the Electric Mine Consortium, said. “Investing in cleaner technologies can eliminate these hazards and support our commitment to sustainability.”

This is also where the EMC come up with their operating cost reduction assumptions (see table below):

Base case Scenario 1

New technology, new economics

 Scenario 2

Global carbon pressure

 Scenario 3

Technology and external pressures align
Fleet capex OEM quotes Sep 2024

BEV up to 50% higher

 BEV matches diesel equivalent OEM quotes Sep 2024

BEV up to 50% higher

 BEV matches diesel equivalent
Fleet lifecycle  

15,000 hrs

 

 20,000 hrs 15,000 hrs 20,000 hrs
Battery performance Sep 2024 performance 30% improvement Sep 2024 performance 30% improvement
Employee costs Typical Australian labour rates 5% labour cost reduction 5% labour cost reduction 5% labour cost reduction
Energy costs Diesel $AU1.20/L Diesel $AU1.20/L Diesel A$1.70/L

(Aus rebate removed)

 Diesel A$1.70/L

(Aus rebate removed)
Product premium Gold price US$2,000/oz US$2,000/oz +5% premium +5% premium
Carbon costs  

No carbon cost

 

 No carbon cost Carbon A$100/tCO2-e Carbon A$100/tCO2-e
 

Net present cost

 

 120% of diesel 88% of diesel 87% of diesel 56% of diesel

These findings are based on the first and most extensive collaborative financial modelling exercise on mine decarbonisation undertaken in the Australian mining industry, allowing executives to identify to granular detail the risks, opportunities and pathways to electrify.

Mark Norwell, Managing Director & CEO of Perenti, whose business recently teamed up with their client IGO and business partner ABB, to complete one of the first studies of converting an underground mine’s fleet from diesel vehicles to BEVs, said all stakeholders had a role to play in the shift to mine electrification.

“The study we recently conducted demonstrates that we are getting closer to an all-electric mine and that collaboration is the key to make it happen,” he said.

“We are optimistic that in time an electric underground mine will be the most economic and socially responsible mining method. The electrification of underground mines will deliver significant benefits to health, environment and cost.”

The CEO of Sandfire, Brendan Harris, noted, “Our purpose is to mine copper sustainably to energise the future, so we welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with industry peers to build a deeper understanding of electrification. Renewable energy already accounts for 73% of our electricity needs and we have a decarbonisation plan to reduce emissions by 35% by 2035 and achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050.”

Ivan Vella, Managing Director and CEO of IGO Limited, added, “Our collective journey toward decarbonisation will only be achieved through collaboration and cooperation across our industry. More than just helping demonstrate the value case for mine electrification, the EMC has facilitated the sharing of findings and been an effective advocate for our industry as we pursue our respective decarbonisation roadmaps.”

Context: Mining and environmental sustainability

  • The global mining industry contributes 8% of total emissions;
  • Over 80% of listed miners have committed to net-zero targets;
  • Currently, less than 10% of the Australian mining sector utilises renewable energy;
  • While 15% of Sandvik’s global haul truck production is battery-electric, no BEVs have been sold in Australia to date for on-going load and haul production; and
  • It is estimated 90% of the mining workforce will experience hearing impairment by age 50.

Specific areas of cost reduction

Transitioning to electric mines presents substantial benefits, including:

  • A 100% reduction in Scope 1 & 2 emissions for fully electric mines powered by renewables;
  • Up to 30% reduction in overall operating costs;
  • Up to 50% reduction in energy costs;
  • A 20% decrease in maintenance costs; and
  • A 30% reduction in ventilation costs.
EML369 Multi-Load

An evolution in ‘hands free’ exploration drilling

Automation, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Evolution Drill Rigs out of Queensland, Australia, believes it has come up with a cost-effective and time saving solution to one of the most labour-intensive parts of the exploration drilling operation: handling drill rods.

Its Evolution EVO Multi-Load drill rod handling system is a true “hands free” diamond drill rod & casing handling and storage system, according to General Manager, John Slattery, explaining that it has been designed to work with most current exploration drill rigs, including the Evolution FH2000 & FH3000 and Sandvik DE840 & DE880 drills.

Evolution is not the first to come onto the market with a hands free rod handling system – readers may be thinking of Boart Longyear, Epiroc, Major Drilling, MEDATech Engineering’s Borterra division and others here – but Slattery is convinced the EVO Multi-Load system has the potential to make the biggest market impact.

“By choosing to design a system to work in conjunction with existing rig designs, the drilling contractors are able to utilise existing equipment with a few small changes,” he told IM. “Rather than invest in completely new drill rigs and handling systems, they can save significant capital outlay by investing in the EVO Multi-Load system.”

The other benefit of working with the existing rigs is the increased efficiency of rod tripping operations by using the existing rig main winch, he explained. “The ability to trip rods in 9-m lengths on deep holes during bit changes and ‘Navi-runs’ is a significant time saving method when compared to tripping rods in either 3-m or 6-m lengths as some other rod handling systems are limited to,” Slattery added.

The company already has one company speaking to these benefits too, with South32 recently running a 12-month trial of the EVO Multi-Load prototype at the Jessica and Cararra exploration projects in the Northern Territory of Australia. The company conducted this trial with its contract partner DDH1 Drilling, owned by Perenti, and said it was a “success” with plans to deploy the system on other South32 exploration projects in its 2025 financial year. South32 also provided funding to support Evolution’s prototype field trial and ensure the equipment was suited for ongoing use.

Slattery said the company’s ongoing testing of the prototype rig – in the workshop and the field – had led to an ongoing improvement plan ahead of commercialisation.

“Our engineering staff have worked closely with our customer DDH1 Drilling during the EVO Multi-Load development and our workshop team continued this during the testing phase and field trials,” he said. “We identified some areas for improvement during the workshop testing, which were incorporated into the rod loader prior to the field test: the sequencing of adding and removing rods from the loader has simplified the operation and helped with productivity.

“We have a few more updates in the pipeline to streamline the tripping process and increase overall productivity.”

This process has been aided by collaboration with DDH1 Drilling, according to Slattery, allowing the company to understand the contractor’s methods and requirements for handling rods during deep coring and directional drilling. “This allowed us to further develop our concept into a working prototype,” he said.

DDH1 Drilling’s experience with the use of several other types of drill rod handling system has allowed Evolution to benchmark operational cycle times against competitor products and confirm the productivity of the EVO Multi-Load system, he added.

Outside of the top head drive multi-purpose drills the Evolution system has already been designed to work on, there is the prospect of expanding this list further with a few small tweaks.

“In regions outside of our native Australia, such as Africa and South America, there is a large existing fleet of multi-purpose drills that could most likely use the system,” Slattery said.

This speaks to the faith Slattery has in the global potential of the system.

“We believe the majority of the drilling contractors and mining companies are interested in improving the operational safety around drilling projects in general, and drill rod handling is a big part of that,” he explained. “The EVO Multi-Load drill rod handling system has been designed around the needs of deeper core and directionally drilled holes, large volumes of drill rods, as well as the need to deal with different pipe and casing sizes. These more complex drilling programs are normally undertaken by the larger mining companies that have been calling for reduced human involvement in the drill rod handling process for some time.”

He concluded: “Our system has been designed to work with a range of rod and casing sizes and is flexible enough to be used on any brownfields exploration drilling program that involves the need to drill deep holes.”

BASF to sell mining flocculants business to Solenis

Base metals, Energy minerals, Mining consumables, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

BASF has signed an agreement with Solenis, a global producer of specialty chemicals headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, to sell BASF’s flocculants business for mining applications.

The divestment of BASF’s flocculants business to Solenis is part of BASF’s portfolio optimisation, aiming to focus on core strategic areas. Pending approval by the relevant merger control authorities, the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2024. The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial details of the transaction.

The product portfolio includes products used for solid liquid separation and material handling in mining applications under the trademarks Magnafloc®, Rheomax®, Alclar®, Alcotac®, Jetwet®, Aerowet® and Alcotech®.

With activities across the globe, the business has established a strong presence in key mining regions.

“BASF continuously evaluates its product portfolio to sharpen our strategic focus,” Anup Kothari, member of the Board of Executive Directors, BASF SE, said. “The search for strategic partners plays an important role in this. For our flocculants’ portfolio for mining applications, we have found such a partner in Solenis, and we are confident that the divestiture will further promote and develop the product range in the future to meet customer need.”

Caren Hoffmann, Vice President, heading BASF’s mining solutions business, added: “We are convinced that the agreement with Solenis will deliver significant value to our mining customers. At the same time, we will thus be able to further concentrate on the continued development and commercialisation of our flotation reagents and expanding our innovative solutions in the field of solvent extraction and leaching.”

In 2019, BASF transferred its paper wet-end and water chemicals business to Solenis.

Kaiser Reef brings in Gekko Wolff Batch Centrifugal Concentrator to improve gravity recoveries at gold mine

Environmental, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining project news, , , , ,

Kaiser Reef Limited has commenced installation of a Wolff Batch Centrifugal Concentrator (BCC) gravity circuit and ancillary equipment at the Maldon gold processing plant as part of an upgrade program at its operations in Victoria, Australia.

The Maldon plant is just 3 km from the company’s Union Hill Mine, which produced 2.1 Moz of gold, and has a processing capacity of 250,000 t/y, currently operating at between 20% and 30% of its full capacity.

The Wolff BCC comes with features such as a segmented bowl and a rotary union tailored for dirty water applications. These advancements minimise maintenance needs (eliminating the need for cranes during bowl changes) and reduce the demand for clean water, thereby reducing both capital and operational costs, according to manufacturer Gekko Systems.

The gold gravity circuit at Maldon will collect the unusually high concentration of coarse gold observed from the company’s A1 goldmine after the SAG mill. This will enhance recovery by collecting coarse gold separately and earlier from the leach feed than through the current mill flowsheet, the company says.

Kaiser has previously seen gold “held up” withing the processing plant because of gold’s very soft and malleable nature and high density. This has required regular mill liner removal to collect the entrained gold. The company expects this initiative to help enhance and smooth cash flow and also improve overall gold recovery. This equipment is currently being installed and should be operational by early August.

In addition, Kaiser has purchased a previously used Terex cone crushing unit to reduce the size of the crushed ore product from the jaw crusher prior to feeding ore into the SAG mill. The cone crusher further reduces the average rock size delivered by the Terex crusher currently in operation from 75 mm down to below 25 mm.

“Reducing the rock size reduces the time required to grind ore in the ball mill and thereby reduces the company’s energy and power costs,” Kaiser Reef says. “This will increase the effective treatment capacity rate, leading to greater operational efficiency and reduced processing costs. The calculated payback period is approximately eight months.”

These upgrades to the fully permitted Maldon processing plant advance the company’s strategy to significantly ramp up production and cashflow from its Victorian gold projects, particularly the high-grade A1 Gold Mine, Kaiser Reef says.

Tribe Tech and IMDEX to jointly work on future mining tech developments

Automation, Mineral exploration, Mining equipment, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, , , ,

Tribe Technology says it has entered into a joint development agreement with IMDEX Ltd to develop future technology, including through integration of both parties’ unique services, offerings and experience

IMDEX provides an integrated range of drilling optimisation products, cloud-connected rock knowledge sensors, and data and analytics to improve the process of identifying and extracting mineral resources for drilling contractors and resource companies globally. Its end-to-end solutions for the mining value chain span four portfolios: Drilling Fluids, Drilling Optimisation Technology, Rock Knowledge Sensors and Software, which provides the IMDEX platform that merges these key silos.

While the agreement does not involve any minimum or guaranteed revenues for the group, Tribe Tech and IMDEX will seek to work together to develop future technology, including through integration of  both parties’ unique services, offerings and experience.

Tribe Tech’s proprietary technology is designed to improve productivity, reduce costs and improve safety across the global industry, it says. This includes the company’s TTDS GC 700 autonomous drill rig, of which the first unit has been built and sold to Major Drilling Group International Inc, for use at a Tier 1 iron ore mining asset in Australia.

Charlie King, Chief Executive Officer at Tribe Tech, said: “Our strategic partnership with IMDEX represents an important step in our journey towards becoming a market leader in drilling automation in the mining industry. We are always looking to enhance our offering and the agreement with IMDEX provides an opportunity for Tribe Tech to add compelling new features to further capitalise on existing market opportunities.”

Paul House, Chief Executive Officer of IMDEX, added: “IMDEX pioneered the transition of many of our technologies from specialist service provider operated systems to driller operated. With Tribe Tech we are taking first steps in the transition for these technologies from driller operated to machine operated systems.”

Rio Tinto takes over Ranger uranium mine rehabilitation plan

Environmental, Mining services, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , ,

Rio Tinto says it will manage the Ranger Rehabilitation Project in Australia’s Northern Territory on behalf of Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ERA), under a new Management Services Agreement (MSA) signed today.

The MSA will build on ERA’s existing rehabilitation work with Rio Tinto’s technical expertise in designing, scoping and executing closure projects. Transition to Rio Tinto management of the project will start immediately and is expected to take about three months.

The agreement follows an approach to Rio Tinto from ERA’s Independent Board Committee (IBC) to submit a proposal to provide services and advice to progress the project. Rio Tinto owns 86.3% of ERA’s shares.

Under the MSA, Rio Tinto and ERA aim to complete the Ranger Rehabilitation Project in the safest and most efficient way, and to a standard that will establish an environment similar to the adjacent Kakadu National Park and that is consistent with the wishes of the Traditional Owners of the land, the Mirarr people, it said.

Rio Tinto Chief Executive, Australia, Kellie Parker, said: “With the signing of this agreement, we are pleased to be able to directly provide more closure and project delivery experience and know-how to this critical task. So far, ERA has made progress in key areas, including water, tailings treatment and management and pit rehabilitation.

“We are aligned with ERA in wanting to build on this work using Rio Tinto’s expertise in closure projects and our commitment to strong stakeholder relationships. We look forward to working in partnership with the Mirarr Traditional Owners and other stakeholders to complete the project.”

ERA CEO, Brad Welsh, said: “The ERA team has worked incredibly hard and made good progress rehabilitating Ranger. However, as the project moves into a new phase it will benefit from Rio Tinto’s global expertise in mine closure.

“We look forward to working with and supporting Rio Tinto on the safe and efficient delivery of this important project.”

Rio Tinto plans to build on the expertise and relationships existing within the ERA team to finalise required studies and execute the necessary rehabilitation activities, it said. Management of ERA matters outside the Ranger Rehabilitation Project, including corporate matters, financial affairs, assets and governance will remain the responsibility of ERA.

BHP BMA’s Goonyella met coal mine receives ABB electrification upgrade

Coal technology, Communications in mining, Mine operation news, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , ,

Sustainability, employee protection and operational insights are the drivers of a cutting-edge electrification upgrade at BHP BMA’s Goonyella Riverside Mine in Queensland, Australia, ABB says in a recent case study.

At the BHP-Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) conjoined metallurgical coal mines Goonyella and Riverside in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, Subra Nedunuri, Senior Project Manager, Goonyella Riverside Mines (GRM), is responsible for delivering capital electrical projects without compromising environment, safety, quality, or mining schedules.

When a 43-year-old section of Goonyella Riverside’s power infrastructure became unreliable, Nedunuri began designing an upgrade with ABB capabilities, which protect employees, equipment and the environment, and enable predictive maintenance of 16 pumps critical to the mine’s operation.

Nedunuri said: “A rehabilitation project to move earth from one side of the mine to the other may cost $20 million, but in contrast this $3 million electrical upgrade can save lives and hundreds of millions of dollars in downtime.”

To power the coal wash treatment plant, pumps are used to direct water for reuse or into tailing dams: without them the plant can’t operate. In the past, the now obsolete electrical system communicated only three states of condition for the pumps operation – “On”, “Off” or “Fault”. The system had no protection against arc flash incidents (explosive releases of energy when an electrical arc travels through ionised air to ground or another part of the electrical system), which endanger the lives of service technicians and nearby workers.

For the upgrade, BMA wanted not only the safest switchgear to protect its employees, but a human-machine interface (HMI) that would enable remote and on-site monitoring and control of the electrical system and pumps around the clock.

ABB’s system-integrated Ultra-Fast Earthing Switches (UFES) formed the basis of GRM’s upgrade with safety, and protection of the people within the vicinity of the equipment in mind.

“The switch is installed into the panel to prevent an arc flash, if it occurs it will be detected and switch off the power in less than four milliseconds,” Nedunuri said. “In addition to UFES-enabled switchboards, the mine wanted to take advantage of new and trending technology in the form of digital communications between the switchboard and the plant.”

ABB Ability™ Electrical Monitoring and Control for Distribution Networks, known as ZEE600, integrates diverse devices from a variety of suppliers, under the IEC 61850 standard of communication preferred by BMA, ABB explained. At GRM, this condition monitoring solution harnesses the real-time diagnostic data of substation equipment and electrical assets – primarily the pumps – to alert on-site teams to respond with preventive maintenance.

“Via the HMI, you can actually see the health of the pumps, motors and starters – everything. Our analysis and improvement team also continuously collect the data and analyse it for troubleshooting and future enhancements,” he said.

Nedunuri said it’s all connected back to plant supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA).

Installation and commissioning of the upgraded system took place during the mine’s biannual three-week-long scheduled maintenance shutdown in August/September 2022.

Prior to the shutdown period, Nedunuri constructed the system at ABB premises in Brisbane. Together with the ABB technicians, they matched cabling inlets and outlets with a template of the GRM system.

Henry Lin, Project Manager for Electrification Service at ABB in Brisbane, says ABB customers need to reduce the risk of costly downtime. “Our main objective in these projects is to ensure that our customer’s assets operate at peak performance levels and are available as required,” he said.

BMA has performed much research on the digitalisation of its mines and the ongoing upgrade of infrastructure involves a constant rollout of individual projects. When it comes to the safety and reliability of electrical infrastructure, Nedunuri said the company doesn’t compromise, regardless of the cost.

“All upgrades must not only comply with Australian Standards, but also require ongoing modifications to meet the higher bar set by BHP BMA to make sure it runs efficiently and effectively into the future,” he said.

“I feel proud that I eliminated a huge risk to the business through the pump electrification project. We are protecting people using the new system with arc flash mitigation and at the same time, the monitoring and control enabled by ABB ZEE600, not only improves pump efficiency, but also adds a lot of functionality – it’s easy to operate and easy to maintain.”

BMA and ABB are collaborating on a pipeline of further potential upgrades to existing on-site installations, with each project planned to deliver greater safety, reliability and sustainable growth, ABB says.

NACG’s MacKellar Group banks five-year met coal contract in Queensland

Coal technology, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , ,

North American Construction Group Ltd says the MacKellar Group has been awarded a five-year contract extension by a major metallurgical coal producer in relation to a mine in Queensland, Australia.

The contract contemplates the provision of fully maintained equipment and related services at the site operated by the producer.

The award extends the expiry date from June 6, 2025, to June 30, 2030, and qualifies as contractual backlog given minimum hour commitments in the agreement, NACG says. Rental scopes are estimated at C$100 million ($74 million) per year resulting in a total value from this extension of C$500 million, the company added.

The contract requires the addition of two loading units and one service truck, for between C$20 and C$25 million, which will be purchased by the end of the year and bring the total dedicated fleet at this site to approximately 70 heavy equipment units.

NACG acquired MacKellar in July 2023 for C$395 million.

Joe Lambert, President and CEO of NACG, said: “We are excited about this extension and look forward to continuing the relationship we have with our customer at this site. This is the first material contract we have signed in Australia since the acquisition of MacKellar and are very proud of how well the first five months have gone.

“MacKellar has provided an excellent platform to grow our business in Australia as we leverage our operational and maintenance expertise in the region. We believe this ‘locking in’ of fleet is indicative of the strong demand for heavy equipment in the Australian mining sector. In light of this demand, and bolstered by long-term contracts, we have begun to take steps towards prudently increasing fleet size in Australia, including potentially transferring underutilised Canadian fleet into that market with the goal of maximising overall utilisation.”