Tag Archives: haulage

MLG Oz extends service ties with Evolution Mining at Mungari operations

MLG Oz Ltd is set to extend its relationship with Evolution Mining Limited after being selected as its preferred service provider to service its Mungari operation, located in the Goldfields region of Western Australia.

The award of the new contract for the provision of haulage and integrated site services issued under Evolution’s wholly owned subsidiary, Evolution Mining (Mungari) Pty Limited, is for an initial contract term of two years, with a provision for a further one-year extension at Evolution’s discretion. The contract, MLG says, leverages its large Kalgoorlie-based resourcing pool and off-road haulage assets.

The Mungari district, now under the single ownership of Evolution, has a significant mineral endowment with a large portfolio of resources delivering long term feed options to the company’s centrally located Mungari processing infrastructure. Mungari produced 115,829 oz of gold at an average all-in sustaining cost of A$1,453/oz ($1,003/oz) in the financial year ending June 30, 2021.

MLG founder and Managing Director, Murray Leahy, said: “We commenced our first contract with Evolution less than a year ago and we are delighted to be awarded this opportunity to enhance our long-term relationship. This contract marks a significant milestone in our pursuit to provide superior integrated services to our customers.”

The new contract will see annualised revenue with Evolution effectively double to some A$15-$18 million, MLG said. The company’s scope of works builds on the recent integration of the Kundana operations into Evolution’s Mungari portfolio, with MLG engaged to service the combined sites bulk haulage and road maintenance requirements under a single service provider arrangement.

Fenix takes control of road train haulage business to cut Iron Ridge costs

Fenix Resources says it has signed definitive agreements with Newhaul Pty Ltd to acquire Newhaul’s 50% interest in Fenix-Newhaul Pty Ltd, resulting in the consolidation of 100% ownership of the haulage business into Fenix.

Factoring in the upfront consideration of A$7.5 million ($5.2 million) in cash and 30 million Fenix ordinary shares – with contingent consideration of a further 60 million Fenix shares subject to achievement of significant value-based performance milestones – the additional cash flows generated from the consolidation of the company’s haulage operations will result in higher earnings for Fenix and higher dividends available to Fenix shareholders, it said.

Fenix-Newhaul was incorporated in October 2020 as a 50:50 joint venture company to implement the strategic alliance between Fenix and Newhaul. It was established to provide haulage and logistics services to Fenix’s Iron Ridge Project, in the Mid-West region of Western Australia, 490 km from Geraldton Port.

Fenix-Newhaul operates a fleet of 25 quad road trains which provide a daily haulage capacity to Fenix of up to 4,000 t/d. In the last 18 months, Fenix-Newhaul has hauled the equivalent of over 1.72 Mt of high-grade iron ore to Geraldton, completing over 15,000 round trips travelling almost 15 million km.

The Fenix-Newhaul business provides additional logistics support to Fenix’s operating iron ore loading facilities at Iron Ridge.

The business includes a driver change-over facility and a driver accommodation base at Cue, as well as a company-owned 110,000 sq.m depot in Geraldton with 24-hour workshop and administration support.

Fenix said the transaction will deliver lower operating costs for Fenix with additional value expected from operational flexibility advantages, as well as unlocking new growth opportunities that can now be explored for the benefit of Fenix. It quantified the former as cutting FOB costs by circa-A$10/t ($6.9 t), enabling Fenix to target total C1 FOB cash costs of circa-A$70/t (wet).

Rob Brierley, Managing Director of Fenix, said: “Consolidation of Fenix-Newhaul ownership is an important strategic initiative as it immediately reduces our haulage costs. It provides Fenix with a significant advantage over our peers given haulage costs are the largest cost input for Mid-West iron ore miners.”

John Welborn, Chairman of Fenix, said: “Fenix-Newhaul is a highly profitable state-of-the-art logistics business which is an essential component of Fenix’s business success. Consolidating 100% ownership is a smart move which will reduce our costs and provide operational flexibility. These advantages will make our business significantly more resilient and robust to commodity price volatility. The transaction is a key outcome from the board’s recent strategic review and provides Fenix with a vastly improved platform to evaluate and acquire further growth opportunities.”

Bis to haul bauxite for Rio Tinto at Gove operations

Bis says it has signed a multi-year bauxite haulage contract with Rio Tinto for its Gove operations in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Bis will deploy an efficient, high payload haulage solution to Gove, enabling a day shift only approach, which will also provide a strong foundation for managing employee attraction, it said.

Bis Chief Executive Officer, Brad Rogers, said the new contract is testament to the company’s focus on innovation and safety.

“I’m very proud we are able to offer a tailored and efficient haulage solution to Rio Tinto in a way that is conducive to a compelling employee value proposition.

“Given the remoteness of the operation – Gove is 1,000 km from Darwin – the ability to meet Rio Tinto’s production requirements in a cost efficient manner, with day shift only operations, will help to deliver a safe and reliable operation. We are excited to commence at Gove and look forward to supporting Rio Tinto at this important operation.”

The haulage and road maintenance contract will see Bis provide off-road haulage of bauxite, road grading, dust suppression and associated support services.

Assets include 230 t haulage combinations, loaders, graders, a water cart and other support equipment. Mobilisation of the new Gove contract begins immediately.

Bis has a long history of providing haulage, material handling and site services in the Northern Territory across a variety of commodities including manganese, iron ore and bauxite, it said.

This latest contract award comes only weeks after the company announced it had also secured a project with new customer, Stanmore Resources, at its Bowen Basin operation in Queensland.

Bis devises bespoke on-road haulage solution for Hunter Valley Operations

Bis says it has signed a multi-year on-road haulage contract with Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) at its New South Wales-based processing facility.

The load and haul solution features a bespoke high payload on-road haulage rig ideally suited for the Glencore- and Yancoal-owned joint venture, which is located 115 km northwest of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.

Comprising A-Double and B-Double trailer configurations, loading and road maintenance equipment, the dedicated fleet will transport material from HVO’s preparation plant to its Newdell train load out facility, Bis said.

Bis Chief Executive Officer, Brad Rogers, said: “Building on our existing long-term relationship with Glencore, we are delighted to continue our support to the HVO joint venture operation for Yancoal and Glencore. The NHVR-approved Bis haulage solution adopted at HVO was specifically designed by our in-house team to cater for a greater payload capacity thereby reducing the number of overall truck movements, operational health and safety risks and fuel consumption.”

The contract comes only months after Bis secured another new multi-year haulage contract on the eastern seaboard for Anglo American’s Capcoal operations near Middlemount, in Queensland’s Bowen Basin.

CSI to deploy ‘innovative’ screening solution at Roy Hill iron ore operations

CSI Mining Services (CSI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mineral Resources Limited (MRL), has been awarded a mining services contract by Roy Hill at its iron ore operation in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

This new contract builds on CSI’s long-standing relationship with Roy Hill, which has seen CSI provide crushing and screening works since early project inception. The new contract will see CSI deliver an expanded scope of work which includes crushing, screening and haulage services.

CSI says it is uniquely positioned as a key service provider to Roy Hill given its strong track record of exceeding performance targets and detailed understanding of the mine and its operational processes and procedures.

In delivering the new contract CSI will deploy an innovative new screening solution to deliver industry-leading efficiencies to the project. The screening solution is an exclusive product to CSI and is not available on the market, giving CSI a distinct design advantage.

Mineral Resources’ Chief Executive Mining Services, Mike Grey, said: “We are very pleased to be selected as preferred mining contractor by Roy Hill to provide safe and efficient crushing, screening and haulage services, following the successful completion of our previous contract.

“Our track record at the operation demonstrates that we can mobilise quickly and exceed production targets, while maintaining an industry leading safety record.

“Our mining services business has delivered strong growth year-on-year and this new contract for Roy Hill reinforces CSI’s position as a market leading mining services contractor.”

Roy Hill Chief Operating Officer, Anthony Kirke, said: “CSI has been a valued partner to Roy Hill since February 2017, initially providing crushing services, followed by the addition of screening and associated haulage services for our Direct Shipped Ore. CSI’s agility in responding to changing operational requirements, commitment to innovation and continuous improvement and alignment with our values have resulted in positive outcomes for Roy Hill.

“The award of this new and expanded multi-year contract reflects the strong relationship between our two companies and we look forward to the deployment of CSI’s new screening solution at our mine site.”

Wagners to haul McArthur River zinc-lead concentrate for Glencore

Following the completion of a competitive tender process, Wagners says it has secured a new haulage services contract with McArthur River Mining Pty Ltd (MRM), a subsidiary of Glencore, for the haulage of zinc and lead concentrate from McArthur River Mine, in Queensland, Australia, to the Bing Bong Loading Facility and the Mount Isa Mines metal processing facility.

Glencore owns and operates combined surface mining, underground mining, processing and smelting operations in Queensland and Northern Territory for the production of zinc, lead and copper concentrate. This includes the mine which is operated by MRM.

Wagners’ scope of works will include the loading of the zinc and lead concentrate at the mine and its haulage to both the Bing Bong Loading Facility and the processing facility in Mount Isa. The haulage services will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the term with haulage services planned to commence in December 2021.

Based on forecast haulage requirements, the contribution to the company’s revenue over the contract term is expected to be in the vicinity of A$33 million ($24 million), Wagners said. This will remain subject to the mine’s production and ability to make the required volume of material available to meet the haulage tonnage forecast.

Wagners’ Chief Executive Officer, Cameron Coleman, said: “Wagners has a long-standing relationship with Glencore and is very grateful to be provided with the opportunity to service the McArthur River Mine operations in the delivery of these haulage services, which is a new project for us. This project will provide many employment opportunities throughout both the Northern Territory and Queensland and will require substantial capital investment to increase our haulage fleet, demonstrating Wagners’ commitment to this area of our business and the resources sector.”

Fe Ltd locks in Campbell Transport for JWD iron ore haulage

Fe Limited says it has executed a haulage contract with David Campbell Transport Pty Ltd under which the company will act as lead haulage contractor for the JWD iron ore project in Western Australia.

Under the contract, Campbell Transport will provide haulage of a minimum of 1,200 t/d, which comprises circa-60% of the intended initial JWD volumes, and will also provide road train loading services to the other haulage contractors performing the remainder of the haulage.

Campbell Transport is an experienced haulage contractor that has been established for more than 20 years with a long history of bulk commodity haulage with a focus on iron ore, Fe Ltd said.

Under the terms of the contract, the haulage rate is fixed for the first six months and then reverts to a floating rate (above a floor rate) that is based on FEL’s realised iron ore price. “This provides upside to the contractor in times of elevated pricing such as presently exists and also provides protection for FEL by reducing haulage costs if iron ore prices decline in the future,” the company said.

At the same time as the contract announcement, Fe Ltd reported that the crush and screen plant has mobilised to site, with assembly complete. Commissioning is underway, with first production of saleable product expected to be on the product pad over the course of this week.

Mining operations at JWD are now fully established with the load and haul of ore and waste progressing in accordance with the mine plan, the company reported. Run of mine ore stocks are available for commissioning and first production from the crush and screen plant.

FEL Executive Chairman, Tony Sage, said: “We are pleased to have secured the services of Campbell Transport as our lead haulage partner for JWD. It has been well documented that road trains are in short supply at present so to secure the services of an experienced contractor in this market speaks volumes for the Fe Ltd team and the potential of the JWD project.”

He added: “Port and offtake remain the key items for us to complete. These are well advanced, and we expect to update shareholders shortly.”

FEL classes the project as a low capex, direct shipping ore development, which will produce a high-grade (resource average circa-63.7% Fe), low impurity iron ore. A January 2021 presentation claimed the mining and transport of the first 300,000 t of iron ore is required by September under the iron rights agreement.

Trolley assist to take off, ABB’s Hammarström says

Thanks to Boliden’s recent trial at its Aitik open-pit mine, in Sweden, the subject of trolley assist is back on the mining industry’s agenda.

Offering environmental and productivity benefits, trolley assist technologies have been spoken of for decades. In the height of the oil crisis of the 1970s, numerous studies examining applications were completed and miners made preparations to reduce their reliance on diesel.

Despite this, widespread industry adoption has not occurred. There have been some installations in Africa, in addition to one in Turkey (Kisladag), but the technology has not caught on to the extent many thought would happen.

ABB, which supplies not only batteries, drives and motors for battery-electric equipment, but can also provide the infrastructure required for trolley assist projects, believes the market is about to turn once again. Gunnar Hammarström, Global Product Manager Trolley Electrification Systems for ABB, thinks there are three main reasons why it is about to take off.

“One is the legislation and environmental part of the business case,” he told IM.

Boliden, which has moved from the 700 m trolley line trial at Aitik to confirming it will install an additional 3 km of trolley line at the mine, plus 1.7 km at Kevitsa (in addition to the accompanying conversion of diesel-electric haul trucks), says it will reduce its diesel consumption by 5,500 cu.m/y when its investment is complete. That is a big number.

“Another completely different reason for why demand has been picking up, especially for larger trucks, is there are a lot of diesel-electric trucks coming into mines,” he said. These trucks already have an electrical system on board to tap into, which makes it easy to put them on a trolley line.

Lastly, fuel prices are increasing all the time, Hammarström said. This is leading miners to diversify their energy mix to help reduce input costs.

When added to the productivity gains that can be achieved with trolley assisted haul trucks and the reduction in noise when trucks run on this line, it is hardly surprising Boliden is not the only one charging into trolley assist.

In the last year alone, First Quantum Minerals has said it will equip its Cobre Panama copper-gold mine, in Panama, with trolley assist, while Austria iron ore miner, VA Erzberg, has announced it intends to electrify the main haul road of its Erzberg mine site and operate a fleet of T 236 trucks from 2021 under trolley assist.

On top of this, RNC Minerals has said it is studying the use of trolley assist at its Dumont nickel-cobalt project in Quebec, Canada.

While trolley assist has been used long before the mine electrification phenomenon we know today gained traction, Hammarström sees trolley assist helping facilitate this market move.

“Generally speaking, I think for most of the vehicles you have in a mine, you can go on battery, but it is very far into the future where you have major uphill transportation of all your production in the mine through batteries,” he said.

The technology involved with stationary charging and the ability to re-charge the battery when going downhill would need to improve on the biggest haul trucks to make it a viable proposition, he explained.

“Yet, if you look into the future – and not that far – a diesel electric trolley might be an intermediate phase,” he said. “If you have invested in trolley now, you can certainly use it when you have batteries (driving the trucks).”

This could see battery-powered haul trucks carry out tasks ‘off-line’ when going downhill or on a flat before they ‘attach’ back onto the line for uphill transportation of material when the battery is recharged.

“I think after diesel-electric powered haul trucks, it will be a really good chance for on-board charging,” he said of the trolley infrastructure.

Scania pictures the future of mine site haulage with AXL

In September, Scania joined Komatsu in announcing it had come up with a cabless automated haulage concept for mines and construction sites that, it said, was a significant step towards smart transport systems of the future.

Having the Scania modular system at the heart of the design, the first live demo of Scania AXL took place at TRATON GROUP’s Innovation Day on October 2, at Scania’s demo centre in Södertälje, Sweden.

Following this, IM spoke with Karin Hallstan, Head of Corporate Communications and PR at Scania, to find out a little more about the concept machine.

IM: Why have you decided to launch the AXL now? Why do you think the mining and construction markets are ready for such an innovation?

KH: Autonomous transport solutions, in different levels of technological sophistication, are already well established within the mining industry. Scania already has autonomous trucks in a customer operation (Rio Tinto at the Dampier salt operation in Western Australia).

Also, mines are like closed industrial areas and have trained professionals in command of operations meaning they are well suited for automation. Autonomous vehicles can also make mining operations safer for people employed within the sector.

The reveal of Scania AXL as a concept had to do with Scania having a good opportunity to showcase this in relation to other news we also have planned.

IM: The success of autonomous equipment on mine sites – in terms of boosting productivity, lowering costs, increasing utilisation, etc – has often been predicated on having robust network communications to relay information from the equipment. How will Scania ensure all its customers leverage the technology to its fullest without insisting on 4G/5G/LTE, etc networks.

KH: A certain communications infrastructure will need to be in place to ensure the onboard communications equipment work. Which type and with which capacity may vary.

IM: What payload is the initial concept vehicle? What range of payloads do you expect to cater for in the mining/construction sector?

KH: Scania AXL is based on a 8×4 donor vehicle with a 410 hp diesel engine (G410B8x4NA) running on biofuel HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil). However, since it is based on Scania’s modular approach, it can be equipped with any engine and wheel configuration available in the Scania modular system. The Scania AXL can load up to 40 tons using existing heavy-duty components.

IM: Based on this, what type of mining operations are you aiming to sell into (coal, iron ore, copper, etc)?

KH: It is important to note that this is a concept which we are building and piloting to primarily learn from in terms of the autonomous capabilities and removing the cab from a truck, rather than something with a set plan to commercialise. We believe that we will start in open-pit mines in this learning process. That said, Scania AXL is specifically constructed with a low tipper truck body that is suitable for underground tunnels with as little as 2.8 m headroom. Above ground, the truck body could be bigger.

IM: You mentioned that this is the first time the company has built a truck that has many new components and technologies – can you expand on what these are and what results you expect to achieve by incorporating them in the AXL design?

KH: The fact that there is no safety driver as backup has led to several innovations with regards to system integration and safety related processes and technical solutions. For example, the original electronic braking system has a ‘safe mode’ that hands control back to the (manual) driver which, in this case, doesn’t exist. Situations like these must be handled with redundancy.

IM: How does the automation system you have developed for the AXL differ to other solutions on the market? 

KH: We will comment on our own solutions, not necessarily on others’. What we can say about the automation system for Scania AXL is that the vehicle creates its own picture of its environment and performs its task based on its own view of whether the path/road is drivable and what the assignment is. It is not a solution for automated guidance by GPS-signals or where vehicles follow a loop in the ground.

IM: LiDAR appears to be a big part of the company’s design for the AXL. Has this LiDAR technology been transferred from another vehicle in the Scania range? Or, is it from another sector?

KH: Most of the sensors (radar, LiDAR, antennas and cameras) are, in essence, early prototypes at this stage and are not available in the existing Scania range.

IM: Where and when do you expect to trial the AXL first? What do you anticipate this trial involving (testing out the full capabilities, trialing the self-driving, loading the machine, etc)?

KH: We have trialled it in our own test facilities. If, and when, we work with a customer in a location outside our test environment, we will disclose this broadly publicly.

IM: When could the AXL be available commercially and, going back to a previous question, what payload class is this likely to be in?

KH: This is a concept and a pilot, so we are not commenting on commercial availability.

Anglo American goes for truck overhaul ahead of automation at Dawson coal mine

Anglo American has taken the decision to overhaul the existing truck fleet at its Dawson open-pit coal mine in Queensland, Australia, following the completion of a study weighing the introduction of autonomous haulage systems (AHS) for a portion of the fleet.

The AHS study was timed to align with a key decision on whether to undertake major overhauls on the Cat 797 fleet (23 trucks), or replace them, a spokesperson for Anglo American said. The company announced the study back in June.

The spokesperson added: “Following the completion of the study, the decision has been taken to overhaul the existing fleet, rather than purchase new trucks and implement AHS at Dawson mine at this time.

“In the future, this decision will be revisited as we look to replace the fleet in a few years.”

While the study found that AHS do present opportunities to improve truck fleet performance, Anglo will be prioritising other measures to achieve safer and more productive operations at Dawson, in line with its productivity program and FutureSmart Mining™ approach, which applies innovative thinking and technological advances to address mining’s major challenges, the spokesperson explained.

“The accelerating pace of technological innovation, particularly in the areas of digitalisation, automation and artificial intelligence, is opening up opportunities for the mining sector to be safer, more productive and sustainable,” the person said.

“In addition to our open-cut technology program, our scale as the largest underground coal miner in Australia provides us with the opportunity to leverage the development of technology in our operations, through initiatives including remote longwall operation from mine surface, and the development of our Australian-first electronic tablet device certified for use in underground coal mines, which was launched at our Moranbah North mine earlier this year.”

While Anglo has decided not to proceed with AHS at Dawson, Whitehaven Coal is currently in the process of trialling AHS with partner Hitachi at its Maules Creek operation in northwest New South Wales, Australia.