Tag Archives: Dr John Russell

Mill relining system major RME celebrates 20 years in South America

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

OEM RUSSELL MINERAL EQUIPMENT (RME) is celebrating its 20th anniversary in South America, highlighting its ongoing deep connection and commitment to the region.

RME says it is seizing the milestone to express its gratitude to the team members, customers and suppliers who made RME the region’s most trusted OEM of mill relining technologies.

RME’s history in South America dates to 1996 with the export of the first RUSSELL Mill Relining Machine (MRM) to the region. With a steady stream of technology installations in the years that followed, RME established a direct presence in the region in 2004 to better serve its growing customer base.

Today, RME has five dedicated RME Regional Service Centres in Latin America and its equipment operates on 77 Latin American mine sites across Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama and Peru.

RME Founder, Executive Chairman and Chief Engineer, Dr John Russell, described South America as a cornerstone of RME’s operations.

Dr Russell said: “From the arrival of the first RUSSELL MRM on the continent in 1996, the opening of our regional service centre in Chile in 2004, and the opening of offices in Peru and Brazil in 2021 and 2022, respectively, RME has invested, and continues to invest in building our capacity and customer delivery capabilities in the region.

“Latin America is home to some of RME’s oldest and most loyal customers, with well-maintained RUSSELL MRMs routinely exceeding 20 years of field operation. An unwavering dedication to precision engineering and quality manufacturing ensures our mill relining systems perform optimally, translating to a lower total cost of ownership and higher return on investment for our customers across Latin America and beyond.

“With more than 100 RME employees in Latin America, the region is also home to RME’s largest cohort of specialised local technical staff, outside Australia. We are committed to transferring our knowledge and skills to benefit career development of local employees, as well as their families and communities, while ultimately improving the safety of our customers’ reline crews and mill relining productivity. As we celebrate 20 years in South America, and also approach 40 years since RME was founded, we look to the future and remain deeply committed to expanding our business in Latin America.”

The first commercial adoption of THUNDERBOLT SKYWAY, RME’s technology that roboticises the operation of THUNDERBOLT Recoilless Hammer for safer and faster worn liner knock-in, was in Panama.

Securing this initial site in 2019 was an important step in commercialising RME’s advanced relining methods and technologies. Not only did the company gain valuable insights for its innovation program, but this installation demonstrated to industry that it’s possible to eliminate fatal risk and move workers out of the line of fire during mill relining operations, RME says.

Dr Russell said: “RME’s Latin American customers have been early adopters of products from our world-first, award-winning RME Advanced Technology Mill Relining System that ultimately allows mill operators to relocate crews to work outside the mill during liner exchange and achieve step-change improvements in safety and relining speed.

“Thanks to their safety leadership, over 30 relines globally, utilising various products from the RME Advanced Technology Mill Relining System, have demonstrated the system’s broad applicability to diverse mine sites, especially in Latin America which operates some of the world’s largest mills, long-life mines and high-altitude sites.

“The region continues to work at the forefront of advanced safety and automation technology adoption with growing interest and investment in the world’s best safety technologies.”

RME to bring Masterblasters into mill relining machine supply fold

Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, Mineral processing, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, , , , , ,

Mill relining systems OEM, RUSSELL MINERAL EQUIPMENT (RME) has entered into an agreement to acquire industrial blasting and protective coatings business, Masterblasters.

Under the agreement, RME will acquire Masterblasters’ assets and operations. Masterblasters’ owner, Tim Hamblin, and Business Manager, Liz Hamblin, will also join RME, and all roles will be retained under this agreement.

Founded in Toowoomba, Queensland, in 2006 by Tim Hamblin, Masterblasters is a leader in abrasive blasting and industrial coatings. It delivers high performance surface protection for structures and equipment in challenging environments, including mining, oil and gas, utilities, defence, agriculture, transport, construction and manufacturing.

For more than 15 years, Masterblasters has been a key, high-performing and reliable supplier to RME.

RME Founder, Executive Chairman and Chief Engineer, Dr John Russell, described the acquisition as an opportunity to strengthen RME’s position as the most trusted OEM of mill relining technologies.

“RME’s commitment to quality manufacturing and machine longevity extends throughout the manufacturing process, including superior finished treatments with protective coatings,” he said.

RUSSELL Mill Relining Machines are used in mineral concentrators where acidic process waters and airborne contaminants present significant corrosion hazards and risk.

As such, abrasive blasting and industrial coatings are critical steps to ensure the durability and longevity of its equipment. All RME’s fabricated components are free from weld splatter, grit-blasted and painted independently, prior to machine assembly.

“RME’s equipment is built to last, sustainably delivering decades of reliable service,” Russell added. “Lower asset lifecycle costs are assured for mill operators when equipment is genuinely built to last and properly maintained.

After identifying a gap in the market, Tim Hamblin started Masterblasters with a single paint and blast booth.

“From the beginning, our focus was on delivering the highest quality service for our Customers,” he said. “The first few years resulted in significant growth, confirming the demand. “Not long after starting, we identified RME as a customer, focused on quality and timely delivery. Within a couple of years, we went from protecting and finishing a few of their parts to protecting and finishing their industry-changing, RUSSELL Mill Relining Machines.

“Our customer roster continued to grow, as did the need for larger premises, more equipment, more staff and more training. Today, Masterblasters has become a trusted advisor to our customers. We adhere to the highest levels of comprehensive quality management and job testing.

“With some of the largest capacity blast and paint facilities in the region and an Association for Materials Protection and Performance certified employee, the business is also certified and fully compliant with the requirements of ISO quality, occupational health and safety, and environment management systems.

Russell continued, “We look forward to welcoming Tim, Liz and the whole Masterblasters team into our business.

“They are joining a global team of diverse and inclusive people who are working together to engineer innovative solutions that aspire to improve the human condition through responsible access to metals at lower cost. Forty years on, we remain steadfast in our aspiration as the world strives for a carbon-neutral future.

“RME is proud of the local jobs we have created, our contribution to Australia’s sovereign industrial capabilities, and our efforts to better the communities in which we operate.

“It has taken persistent innovation and enduring commitment from an exceptionally talented team at RME, forward-thinking Customers and reliable suppliers.

Settlement of the acquisition is expected to occur in the near future, following completion of customary transaction conditions.

RUSSELL MINERAL EQUIPMENT to highlight mill relining engineering progress in 40-year anniversary campaign

Automation, Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, Mining maintenance, Mining services, , , ,

Mill relining systems OEM, RUSSELL MINERAL EQUIPMENT (RME), has launched a global campaign celebrating the company’s upcoming 40-year anniversary, highlighting its engineering and pioneering progress from the past four decades.

RME Founder, Executive Chairman and Chief Engineer, Dr John Russell, said: “Since 1985, RME has innovated mill relining technologies and services with an unwavering commitment to improving the safety and productivity of our customers’ operations and the safety and development of our people. We are also proud of the local jobs we have created, our contribution to Australia’s sovereign industrial capabilities, and our efforts to better the communities in which we operate.

“It has taken 40 years of persistent innovation and enduring commitment from an exceptionally talented team at RME, forward-thinking customers and reliable suppliers.”

Launching today, the “40 Years of Innovation | We are RME” year-long campaign will showcase RME’s ground-breaking engineering innovations, the stories of the people who have made them possible, and the impact they have had on safety and productivity.

The anniversary campaign will also explore how RME continues to shape the future of the industry with pioneering innovations that enhance its customers’ ability to produce minerals, like copper, necessary for the energy transition. This includes RME’s recently announced world-first semi-automated mill relining system. It enables faster mill relining and unmatched safety with zero personnel required inside the mill during liner
exchange.

To mark the launch of the campaign, RME is releasing a new “We are RME” film. Featuring RME team members and local suppliers, the film shines a light on the characteristics, achievements and aspiration that set RME apart.

One of 25 RUSSELL TWIN Mill Relining Machine sets, where two machines work side-by-side as a system to increase the speed of the relining process

RME Non-Executive Director Dr Peter Rubie, who held the role of Chief Engineer at RME until 2019, said: “Whether it’s our 400 kg RUSSELL Mill Liner Handlers or 10-t-capacity RUSSELL Mill Relining Machines, our durable technology solutions are built to last with 90% of those we’ve manufactured in the past 40 years still in operation.

“In partnership with our customers, we have set new industry-wide safety standards. And with safety continuing to drive the evolution of our advanced technologies, we can now perform liner exchange with zero personnel inside the mill.

“RME was founded on the belief that we can make things better. Through ‘juntos’, meaning our togetherness, collaborating across RME teams and with industry, we continue to push the boundaries and pioneer new means to continually improve industry safety standards and productivity gains for mill relining.”

RME aspires to improve the human condition through responsible access to metals at lower cost, it says.

Dr Russell added: “It’s an aspiration that sees us charged with the responsibility of our people and customers’ safety and wellbeing. And in the race to a carbon neutral future, it sees us charged with the responsibility of enhancing our customers’ ability to meet the growing demand for the metals and minerals essential for the energy transition.

“Furthermore, RME’s liner exchange machines are electro-hydraulically powered, and unlike fossil fuel-driven mining equipment, are ready for sustainable energy sources without requiring power system modifications.

“RME believes that future development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability for the ongoing improvement of the human condition. That same belief underpins our inventions.

“Through collaboration with our customers and suppliers, we have made mill relining safer and faster, while also positively impacting local jobs, livelihoods and living standards in the regions where we operate.

“Forty years on, we remain steadfast in our aspiration as the world strives for a carbon neutral future.”

John Russell founded RME in 1985 in Toowoomba, Queensland, setting out to mechanise the mill relining process to improve safety, shorten reline times and increase mine site profitability. Through a dedicated and highly skilled team, loyal and forward-thinking customers, and dependable suppliers who are integral to RME’s success, RME has grown to support customers in 64 countries, with 13 international sales and service centres, employing more than 450 people worldwide. Today, there are more than 440 mine sites across the planet served by RME’s equipment and services, including more than 570 RUSSELL Mill Relining Machines.

From enabling the development of larger liners that reduced the total number of pieces requiring change out to the creation of larger SAG mills, RME’s suite of mill relining technologies have changed grinding mill relining, globally.

RME heralds ‘world-first’ semi-automated mill relining system deployment

Automation, Equipment maintenance, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mill relining systems manufacturer RUSSELL MINERAL EQUIPMENT (RME) has deployed what it says is the world’s first semi-automated mill relining system, delivering significant safety and commercial outcomes for its customer and the wider industry.

The reduction in mill relining risks and shutdown duration was achieved through a combination of: roboticising RME’s mature and proven technologies; compatible liner and bolt design; and strong collaboration and change management with site management and reline crews.

RME says its automated system addresses the two main phases of mill relining: worn liner removal and new liner placement, and enables the completion of these necessary maintenance processes without anyone inside the mill. This system was developed and implemented in close collaboration with some of RME’s existing customers, including PT Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI).

RME Founder, Executive Chairman and Chief Engineer, Dr John Russell, describes the new paradigm for fast, automated mill relines as the ultimate in safety and improved commercial performance for concentrators.

He said: “RME’s goal has been to enable our customers to reline mills with no one inside, providing them with remarkable safety and efficiency benefits. By eliminating human-machine interaction, we can speed up the machines and relining processes, consistently and repeatably. This advanced capability is now a reality.

“We are grateful to our customers, and to our liner and bolt technology partners, for their shared commitment to achieving these results. I would also like to recognise and thank our team at RME who has made our shared vision a reality.”

The results achieved to date can be attributed to RME’s systems engineering approach, it says. Safety inside and outside the mill was the priority and every step was carefully reviewed according to RME’s 24 Steps to Mill Relining Standard.

“We understood from our 35-plus years as an OEM that to safely automate mill relining, we would need to consider the many interdependent tasks across the entire process,” Russell added.

“The engineering result is now a tightly-integrated system of advanced modular technologies that automate manual repetitive tasks, eliminate risks and speeds-up relining.”

Consequently, RME’s automated system enables a staged implementation whereby upgrades happen within planned maintenance windows over multiple reline events. This ensures customers will not experience additional costly mill downtime scenarios.

One major advantage of RME’s semi-automated mill relining system is that its underpinning technologies are well-established and well-used by the industry, according to the company.

Dr Peter Rubie, who held the role of Chief Engineer at RME until 2019 and is a Non-Executive Director at RME, played a key role in the development of the company’s automation technologies.

“Mining can be conservative when adopting new technologies, due to economic risk,” Dr Rubie said. “For some of our customers, even one hour of downtime can cost upwards of $200,000 of production. We can avoid these impacts by automating existing proven systems. The beauty of RME’s mill relining technologies ecosystem is that the elements are modular and future-proofed. Miners of all sizes can deploy the base components and then incorporate additional automation steps at their own pace.”

The centrepiece of RME’s semi-automated mill relining system – the RUSSELL 7 Model R AutoMotion™ Mill Relining Machine (MRM) – is a highly advanced configuration of the industry’s most adopted 7-axis liner exchange machine, the RUSSELL 7 MRM.

It is complemented by THUNDERBOLT SKYWAY, a semi-automated knock-in system used on the exterior of the mill. Operational since 2020 at sites in Central America and Indonesia, SKYWAY is well-proven, the company says. This technology is now also available as a portable lift-in solution called THUNDERBOLT SKYPORT. It is another automation of RME’s established technology that increases asset utilisation by being sharable between mills onsite.

These systems, working together with INSIDEOUT™ Technology tooling and compatible liner and bolt design, can grab knocked-in worn liners off the shell or from the charge, and place new liners against the shell with millimetre precision and without personnel working inside the mill, according to the company. The securing of liners, nuts and bolts from the mill’s exterior can also now be achieved using RME BOLTBOSS.

RME has been collaborating with customers across several sites to progressively automate mill relining, including upskilling their customers’ local crews.

Analysis of historical reline shutdown data using conventional relining methods, compared with filmed data using some, but not all, of RME’s automated mill relining technology suite, reports a 65% risk reduction for activities inside the mill and 30% productivity uplift for a 38 ft SAG mill, RME says.

Following a staged implementation, PT-FI recently completed its first reline using the combination of THUNDERBOLT SKYWAY and the RUSSELL 7 Model R AutoMotion MRM. While the performance data is currently being analysed, early indications point to an even greater reduction in risk and increase in productivity than was originally targeted.

Director Metallurgy and Strategic Planning at Freeport-McMoRan, Dr John Wilmot, summed up the outcomes FCX is seeing as safer and faster mill relining at the recent SAG 2023 conference in Vancouver, Canada.

“PT-FI Indonesia has largely removed crew from inside the mill as we reline,” he said. “While there are still a few residual activities where we need to enter, such as wash-down, we’re executing relines faster and safer than before. Mill relining is no longer on the critical path.

“RME’s modular systems approach enabled us to progressively implement the technology, which meant we could quantify the safety and productivity improvements at each reline event, even as the new technology was being deployed.

“The staged implementation also provided an opportunity to create strong buy-in from our reline crew. In our experience, when the crew is part of the optimisation journey, the change program is infinitely more successful. At PT-FI Indonesia, our reline crew has now taken full ownership of the process.

“Leveraging RME’s equipment and methodologies, as well as the compatible liner and bolt designs, our crew has experienced the difference that automation can make. They’ve found it to be safer and faster, and they won’t go back to conventional methods. We’re incredibly proud of their work. By collaborating closely with all the stakeholders involved, we are engineering the risk out of mill relining.

“We believe RME’s collaborative and staged approach can serve as a model for the mineral processing industry. It is already achieving step-changes in safety and mill availability for our customers and we’re excited to see the impact it may have industry-wide.”

Dr Russell concluded: “We have now completed more than 30 real world relines using the various products of RME’s Advanced Technology suite. It gives me the confidence to present our system as the safest solution for our industry. And the data we’re seeing from the 30-plus relines, gives me the confidence to state that this system better for productivity.

“The transition to net zero requires an enormous increase in the minerals that are essential to the decarbonisation of our economies. We are delighted to be able to play a part in safely speeding up the production of those minerals. We’ve achieved these results in partnership with our customers, using the same pioneering mindset with which we’ve approached the past 35 years.”