Tag Archives: bolting

SandvikLH621i

Sandvik loaders, development drills and bolter heading to Byrnecut at Kathleen Valley

Automation, Energy minerals, Equipment maintenance, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mining contractor Byrnecut has chosen Sandvik to supply automated loaders, underground drills and rock tools as it gears up to deliver underground mining services at the Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia.

Sandvik will supply Byrnecut with seven 21-t-payload Toro™ LH621i loaders with AutoMine®, three Sandvik DD422i development drills with Dual Controls and a Sandvik DS422i cable bolter. The equipment order was primarily booked in the September quarter.

Sandvik will also supply Byrnecut with rock tools for the operation over four years.

The deal follows Liontown Resources awarding Byrnecut with the circa-A$1 billion ($656 million) contract for development and production at the mine in August 2023.

The Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia’s northern Goldfields region is one of the most significant new long-life lithium projects anywhere in the world, owner Liontown Resources says, with a mineral resource estimate of 156 Mt at 1.4% Li2O and 130 ppm Ta2O5. The operations have been optimised for an initial 3 Mt/y, producing approximately 500,000 t/y of spodumene concentrate with a 4 Mt/y expansion planned in Year 6, to deliver approximately 700,000 t/y of spodumene concentrate.

Byrnecut is investing A$125 million in new equipment for the project, with mobilisation having already commenced and first production is targeted for mid-2024.

Wayne Scrivens, Vice President, Sales Area Australia and New Zealand, Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, said: “Byrnecut and Sandvik have a long history of collaboration on projects across the country and we’re delighted that Byrnecut is once again investing significantly in Sandvik equipment and rock tools for this major project. This deal highlights the growing understanding across the Australian mining sector that Sandvik’s advanced solutions help mines run safer, more efficiently and more sustainably.”

Sandvik’s Toro LH621i underground loaders (one pictured above) are engineered for rapid mine development and large-scale underground production, according to the OEM. Smart boom geometry optimises hydraulic power for fast bucket filling and the handling of large rocks.

Under AutoMine Multi-Lite an operator can remotely control and simultaneously supervise multiple Toro LH621i loaders from a comfortable environment, reducing exposure to dust, noise, vibrations and other mine hazards. This creates a safer work environment for both the operator and mine personnel, Sandvik says.

When used in combination with Sandvik’s Dual Controls package, Sandvik DD422i face drills can be used for a wide variety of underground applications, including boring, bolting and meshing. The package improves drill optimisation, versatility and performance and was designed to address needs identified by mining contractors.

Sandvik will also provide Byrnecut premium rock tools as well as a range of added services and digital solutions to support its drilling operations. The deal will also include carbide recycling, with Sandvik’s Carbide Recycling Program helping both the OEM and the wider industry to meet circularity goals and ensure raw materials are used efficiently and sustainably.

Technofast hydraulic bolting solution brings speed, safety benefits to Motion Australia

Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Mining services, , , , , ,

A company dedicated to optimising the safety and performance of industrial plant installations and maintenance is upgrading the safety of bucketwheel reclaimer head fastening with a Technofast hydraulic bolting solution available throughout North America.

Motion Australia – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company – uses Technofast EziTite® hydraulic bolts to precisely and swiftly secure iron ore reclaimer drive heads in Australia, doing the job multiple times faster than alternative methods – often four or five times more swiftly with less handling and more safety, according to the company.

The same range of products are applicable for reclaimer applications globally, according to Technofast founder and CEO, John Bucknell.

Technofast products are distributed throughout North America, with permanent and long-established representation in the region.

Motion Australia’s Engineering Services Manager, WA, Harrison Hart, said: “While eliminating high labour inputs, the big benefit of this technology that matters most to miners is the safeguards the EziTite fasteners offer against OH&S hazards. These include hand and fatigue-related hazards occurring with slower and less precise fastening methods.

“Because of their safety, speed, and precision in operation, we have adopted the technology widely, using hundreds of EziTite M56 fasteners on bucketwheel reclaimer heads over the last couple of years. We have introduced them as an integral part of our broader service solutions that respond to the needs of big primary producing industries, such as mining, which are absolutely focused on safety.”

He added: “The hazard reduction and accuracy of these precision-engineered, high performance, hydraulically operated bolt tensioning devices is immediately apparent to miners and OHS personnel in multiple industries that operate bucketwheel reclaimers.”

EziTite bolts are screwed into place by hand, then stretched hydraulically with direct axial force to achieve precise and repeatable tension and clamping force on the joint. When this force is attained, they are then locked in place mechanically for as long as they are needed. The process is simply reversed for maintenance: by reapplying the hydraulic pressure, releasing the simple, secure mechanical lock ring and then relieving the input pressure, allowing removal by hand, again saving time and manual handling.

“Rather than using torque methods to secure a nut, they can be set up and operated four or maybe five times faster than alternative methods,” Hart says. “They achieve highly accurate and measurable consistency over multiple bolts or sets of bolts.”

This same precision is possible even when the EziTite bolts are daisy-chained to apply joint clamping force simultaneously, or, as in this application, actuated individually.

Hart added: “The Technofast hydraulic fastening method ensures precise uniformity of fastening and clamping as required by individual applications. We have found its accuracy well in excess of other methods. It easily provides huge forces needed for large diameter bolts with consistent and even bolt tension for joint integrity, to make the installation stronger, longer-lasting and more durable, thus adding another layer of safety.”

Silver Technofast EziTite hydraulic fasteners installed by Motion Australial on a bucket wheel reclaimer head

Speed a bonus to safety

“Speed is mostly a bonus in this application, but a highly worthwhile value-add nevertheless when you consider that bucket wheel reclaimers are often handling anything from 500-20,000 t/h. With ore and coal prices fluctuating this year between a $80 and $130 a tonne, greater uptime and throughput is definitely a consideration. Labour input cost is always much more expensive than an EziTite bolt is ever going to be. We save on maintenance time and put the machinery to work sooner, shifting ore and making money.”

Speed and ease of use are illustrated by the fact that it typically takes Motion Australia about a minute to apply accurate pressure to one bolt. The old system has a long setup time, with the result that the Technofast solution is, according to the company, four to five times faster.

Hart says: “As a strongly service-committed solutions provider, whose integrity and advice are highly respected by these on-site partners, we are very pleased with the quality and prompt supply by Technofast of this locally manufactured product. We appreciate also the excellent support from Technofast’s WA Manager, Watson McIlveen, who always gives realistic timeframes and reliable undertakings.

“But the biggest plus – and reason we have introduced EziTite as part of our holistic solutions – is safety. By reducing handling and eliminating rotational hazards from the bolting process in this application, the technology responds to customer expectations upon us, as a trusted advisor and solution provider, for safer and more accurate solutions.”

Technofast Founder and CEO, John Bucknell, says the experience of people such as Harrison Hart speaks volumes about the global standards of quality and backup provided by the Technofast family of technologies.

Bucknell says: “Technofast technologies are in demand because of quality, service backup – and because we are local, typically halving delivery times for technologies such as fasteners, tensioners, and lifting cylinders up to 1,000 tonnes, which are in high demand from companies seeking to protect themselves against supply chain disruption.

“Motion Australia (formerly CBC) is dedicated to improving component performance and increasing plant up-time with safety paramount. Maximising safety and productivity are central to everything they do, providing their globally connected customer base with world-class solutions. They have an outstanding national reputation, dealing only with top quality suppliers, which is a great compliment to us.”

Sandvik brings new Alpha thread profile to top hammer drilling applications

Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, , , , , , ,

Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions is launching Sandvik Alpha™ 340 asymmetric drilling tools, a new thread concept within its top hammer drilling offering for mining and tunnelling that replaces the Sandvik Alpha 330 thread system.

The new concept delivers up to 30% longer service life and increased productivity, according to the company.

The new Sandvik Alpha 340 thread is designed for use in face drilling and bolting in mine development and tunnelling, with hole sizes ranging from 43-51 mm. It features an entirely new asymmetric thread profile and has a larger diameter on the bit end thread of the drifter rod, reducing stress levels in critical areas, according to the company. Uncoupling is also easier than in previous designs, saving both time and effort.

Perhaps the biggest potential lies in the increased service life of the drill rod: with Sandvik Alpha 340, customers can achieve up to 30% longer service life – significantly increasing productivity and reducing cost per metre advanced, Sandvik says.

Robert Grandin, Product Manager Top Hammer Underground Rock Tools at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, said: “The Sandvik Alpha 330 concept has served our customers extremely well over the past 20 years, ensuring highly reliable and productive drilling. With the launch of its successor, we create a revolutionising new way of working with top hammer rock tools, thanks to its asymmetric design. This new concept will deliver both immediate and long term value for our customers.”

The new thread concept also comes with improved drill bits. Sandvik’s PowerCarbide™ grades will be more widely available in the standard assortment, and many bits get design upgrades with more gauge angles or larger buttons for increased robustness.

“The new system is the driller’s choice,” Grandin said. “It is very user friendly and provides easy uncoupling – which saves a lot of frustration for the driller – but also increases productivity, leading to better drilling results.”

The new Sandvik Alpha 340 thread concept will replace its predecessor Sandvik Alpha 330 in a phase-out process over the coming quarters.

Bolting head upgrade gives Sandvik DS300 drills new life at New Afton mine

Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A like-for-like Sandvik Bolting Head (SBH) upgrade at the New Afton mine, in British Columbia, Canada, is delivering a significant productivity boost at the New Gold-owned operation, according to Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions.

Launched over a decade ago, New Afton’s now ageing Sandvik DS300 drill rigs are being given a new lease of life, thanks to an upgrade that sees a current generation bolting head fitted in a like-for-like replacement. Not only is maintenance more straightforward and spare parts easier to source, the new bolting head is delivering a remarkable productivity increase – of 25% – Sandvik claims. In fact, so successful has the mine’s 2021 upgrade been that New Gold has recently confirmed a second of its Sandvik DS300 drill rigs will be given the treatment.

Bolting rigs are used to stabilise hanging and side walls in underground mine applications.

“The upgraded SBH bolting head fitted to the Sandvik DS300s is the business end of the drill and features the latest RD300 series rock drill,” Francois Nell, Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions’ Head of Rebuilds and Upgrades, says. “This makes it perfect for rock reinforcement in underground mines with small-and-medium cross sections. Different bolt type and length configurations are available, providing an extensive bolt selection, while a full bolt carousel ensures the DS300 is capable of installing up to 15 bolts, ranging from 1.6-3 m in length. Bolt types include cement grouted, resin grouted, anchor point and friction bolts.”

There are several benefits of adding new technology to ageing drills, according to Nell.

“The new SBH is already proven in the field and gives an instant performance boost, thanks to the RD314’s much improved penetration rates,” he explained. “Added to that is the convenience of being able to source readily available current parts more easily, as well as increasing mine’s parts commonality across more drills.

“Also, the new SBH doesn’t put the rest of the D300 under additional strain; in fact, due to the lighter RD314 drifter compared to the drill it replaces, machine strain is, if anything, reduced.”

The SBH upgrade itself is straightforward, coming in kit form, and can be conducted by a mine’s in-house technical teams using the instruction manual the SBH comes with, according to Sandvik. Taking at most a couple of shifts to complete, customer feedback regarding the installation process has been universally positive, the OEM says.

With several hundreds of Sandvik’s Lyon, France-built D300s still working around the world, Sandvik says it expects that this SBH upgrade will be as popular with other mines as it is at New Afton.

Epiroc makes the ‘impossible possible’ with launch of Boltec ABR

Automation, Explosives and blasting, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Epiroc has taken another significant step forward in its rock reinforcement automation journey with the release of the Boltec Auto Bolt Reload (ABR).

Combining the company’s ground support nous with its mechanisation and automation knowledge has resulted in a solution able to remove operators from the front end of the bolter – where personnel are most at risk of rock falls from unsupported ground – and increase bolting productivity, especially in poor ground conditions.

With mining operations steadily going deeper as they develop existing and newly discovered orebodies, the rock stresses associated with mining these orebodies are typically increasing, too. This often results in more challenging rock conditions with fractured rock mass, rock burst and squeezing ground, requiring more regular rehabilitation work. The Boltec ABR, with improved operator safety, flexibility and productivity, is the obvious choice for such conditions, Epiroc says.

Epiroc claims the Boltec ABR is the first ever underground rock reinforcement drill rig designed in such a way that the bolt type and machine work together in synergy to deliver optimal safety, performance and quality. The machine can also be equipped with a mesh delivery system.

This synergy also leads to improved accuracy in bolt installations and a reduced need for re-bolting, according to Peter Bray, Global Product Manager, Rock Reinforcement at Epiroc’s Underground division.

“By using a Boltec ABR, you are better able to install bolts and mesh correctly with high quality, reducing the need for re-bolting, re-meshing…and rehab work in the future,” he told attendees of a webinar announcing the product launch today.

The mechanisation of the bolting process – in tandem with the use of self-drilling anchors (SDAs) and pumpable resin – should provide operations with the comfort to follow recommended bolting patterns, reducing the need for the installation of additional bolts that go above and beyond optimal industry practice.

The main design feature of the Boltec ABR is the fully mechanised bolt reloading system. The system automatically feeds bolts from a large carrier magazine – able to hold 44 bolts in 2.4-m or 3-m lengths – to the feed magazine – able to hold eight bolts – all while the operator remains safe inside the cabin. This innovation removes the need for manually reloading the feed magazine, thereby reducing the associated risk to the operator.

The fast auto reloading sequence speeds up the production cycle, with a total of 52 bolts able to be installed in a heading before manual reloading of the carrier magazine. The carrier magazine is mounted on a swing arm that lowers the magazine to ground level for easy reloading behind the machine’s front support jacks – where ground support should already be in place.

Productivity can be further boosted with the operator carrying out the reloading process when bolting is being carried out in multi-bolt auto mode, according to Bray.

The Boltec ABR opens the door to other safety and productivity-enhancing autonomous functionalities previously not compatible with underground bolting machines, according to Epiroc. Tele-remote control and the aforementioned multi-bolt auto are now available options that can provide bolting potential during shift changes or when conditions preclude having an operator physically on the machine. The machine is also available with a battery-electric driveline.

Bray said the development and integration of SDAs and pumpable resin on conventional Boltec machines have been integral to achieving this new functionality.

“If you think about our face drills and long hole production rigs, they have had automation for many years,” he said. “There hasn’t been a mechanical reason why we couldn’t automate a bolting machine; the stopping point has been the type of legacy rock bolts used.”

SDA bolts, which, according to Epiroc, offer faster bolting times and higher quality installation, are not sensitive to varying conditions and will achieve consistently fast installation. This provides easier scheduling accuracy for mine planning and forecasting.

The pumpable resin, developed to address inconsistent and unreliable bolt installations as mines go deeper and rocks become less competent under added pressure, offers fast setting times and full bolt encapsulation, ensuring speed and quality of installation, the OEM says. An added plus is the resin’s insensitivity to wet ground conditions, which can be a desirable characteristic for many deep underground operations.

“Given that it is much cleaner and easier to use than traditional cement, the pumpable resin reduces hours spent on cleaning the machine,” Bray said. “Hence, it is increasing productivity by providing more bolting time.”

Like other Boltecs in the range, the Boltec ABR comes with a boom-mounted bolting system, providing flexibility in terms of coverage and bolt installation angles, according to Bray.

“It’s very rare that you have perfect straight drive profiles in underground mining,” he said. “The boom-mounted bolting system offers the flexibility to address this.”

LKAB, along with the European Institute of Innovation & Technology, have been key partners in the development of this machine, with the prototype tested out at both the Kiruna and Malmberget mines in northern Sweden.

Kiruna suffered a significant seismic event during May 2020 where several areas underground were adversely affected, providing a good test case for the new machine.

These affected areas required rehabilitation with bolts and mesh to make them safe for production again, according to Bray – a process the iron ore miner is continuing to carry out at Kiruna with the prototype Boltec ABR unit.

“The Boltec ABR was the perfect machine for the challenge; it has proven to allow safer operation and significant productivity increases when compared to LKAB’s conventional bolting fleet,” he added.

Epiroc said that up to double productivity gains were achieved in a trial with the Boltec ABR in LKAB’s Malmberget mine when compared with the miner’s conventional bolting fleet.

Bray concluded: “This solution has made the impossible possible. We can now install bolts where it used to be extremely difficult. Giving some relief to the bottleneck that rock reinforcement had become.”