Tag Archives: Mexico

Metso cuts the ribbon on Mexico screening media factory

Metso has celebrated the inauguration of its screening media factory in Irapuato, Mexico, a new facility that, it says, will significantly increase its supply and delivery capabilities for mining and aggregates customers in North and Central America.

The screening media center employs 46 people and is located on a 9,000-plus sq.m lot. The new screening media factory uses advanced and sustainable manufacturing practices, and the installed solar panels will cover approximately 50% of the needed electricity, according to the company.

Alfredo Monreal, Vice President, Sales and Service, Mexico and Central America, Metso, said: “We are very pleased to officially inaugurate our new screening media factory in Irapuato. This milestone is yet another indication of our deep commitment to customer success. The Irapuato region is an important centre of excellence for high-quality products for our mining and aggregates customers.”

Metso’s screening installed base in the Americas has grown significantly: last year alone Metso delivered a total of 250 new screening machines to mining and aggregates customers.

Jouni Mähönen, Vice President, Screening business line, Metso, said: “Our target is to continuously develop our operations close to customers to further improve our service capability. The investment of a new factory in Mexico aligns with our strategy and improves our lead times, and it offers scalability in production volumes in a very important region.”

Today, Metso has approximately 730 employees working in production, sales and field service in Mexico.

In the same industrial area in Irapuato, Metso also has a new rubber and Poly-Met media factory. Construction of a new polymer filter plate factory will be finalised during 2024 and the factory will be operational in early 2025.

Metso’s screen offering consists of banana screens, horizontal screens, inclined screens, mobile screens, portable screens and ultrafine screens. It says it offers versatile screening media systems for a wide range of screening applications with solutions that range from rubber and polyurethane to classic wire.

Torex Gold Resources heralds breakthrough at Media Luna project

Torex Gold Resources Inc has announced the successful breakthrough of the Guajes Tunnel at its Media Luna Project in Mexico, ahead of schedule.

The Guajes Tunnel unifies the Morelos Complex by connecting the existing operations on the north side of the Balsas River with the growing resource base of the Media Luna Cluster on the south side.

Jody Kuzenko, President and CEO of Torex, said the breakthrough represents a critical milestone in the development of the Media Luna Project, which remains on track for first concentrate production in late 2024.

“The Guajes Tunnel will be the primary conduit for transporting ore and waste from the Media Luna deposit on the south side of the Balsas River to the processing plant on the north side and will materially improve efficiencies associated with the movement of employees, contractors, equipment, services, and supplies between both locations.

“Breakthrough of the Guajes Tunnel was achieved three months earlier than scheduled in the March 2022 Technical Report, primarily driven by the world-class advance rates achieved by our team. Rates north to south have averaged 7.1 m/d since the start of the year, including a record average advance rate of 8 m/d in November. The advance rates are truly impressive considering the dimensions of the tunnel are 6.5-m high by 6-m wide and that secondary development and installation of services have kept pace with overall tunnel progress.

“We expect to commence anchor bolting for the 7-km overhead conveyor in early 2024, which will pave the way for the installation and then commissioning of the conveyor in August 2024 well ahead of completing the necessary upgrades to the processing plant.

“I would like to personally thank all employees, contractors and suppliers involved in driving the Guajes Tunnel for achieving this significant milestone safely and ahead of schedule.”

Record Rokion battery-electric vehicle order set for Torex Gold’s Media Luna

Torex Gold’s Media Luna project in Mexico has been behind a surge of battery-electric vehicle contract activity of late, with the latest recipient being Saskatoon-based Rokion.

The gold mining company has ordered a 28-strong fleet of BEVs from Rokion, set to start being delivered at the back end of the year.

These vehicles will be crucial in providing zero emission and effective personnel transport and production support functions at the project, which is set to extend the life of mine of its El Limón Guajes (ELG) Complex through at least 2033.

Media Luna is located 7 km south of the existing ELG Complex comprised of the El Limón, Guajes and El Limón Sur open pits, El Limón Guajes underground mine, plus the processing plant and related infrastructure. It is an underground deposit primarily containing gold, copper and silver mineralisation, separated from the ELG Complex by the Balsas River.

The underground mine is designed for an average production capacity of 7,500 t/d, predominately using a mining method of longhole stoping with paste backfill, supplemented by mechanised cut and fill stoping where appropriate. It will be a fully mechanised operation with the primary access to the mine via the Guajes Tunnel, which, itself, will have a length of approximately 6.5 km, creating an underground connection between the ELG Complex and the Media Luna mine. The ELG site will continue to serve as the base of mine operations, with all production levels accessible from the internal mine ramp.

Torex expects to bring Media Luna into commercial production in early 2025, ramping up to 7,500 t/d by 2027 and creating one of Mexico’s largest underground mines. It contains reserves of approximately 2.1 Moz gold, 18.9 Moz silver and 444 Mlb copper.

As of March 31, 2023, physical progress on the project was approximately 24%, according to Torex, with detailed engineering, procurement activities, underground development and surface construction advancing. The project continued to track to overall schedule and budget, the company noted.

Equipment deliveries will be key in advancing the project in line with the schedule and, earlier this year, both Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions and MacLean announced sizeable equipment orders – both battery- and diesel-powered – related to the mine’s development and production phases.

Now, IM can reveal that Torex has also sealed an agreement with Rokion.

Rokion are to supply 27 of its battery-powered utility trucks to the operation along with one R700 forklift – the latter representing the company’s first order for a battery-powered forklift.

According to Rokion, these trucks can navigate mine sites with 20% grade at a full gross vehicle weight and full speed while traveling more than 70 km per charge. This is more than enough to get through a full shift without charging. And, while availability is a key selling point, Rokion says its battery-powered vehicles have been designed for simple and easy maintenance. The modularity of the components are “ideal for remote mining locations where the priority is to have dedicated service personnel with expertise in production mining equipment”.

When it comes to vehicle specifics, Rokion outlined that Torex would receive 10 R200 battery-powered trucks – configured to carry up to five passengers – two R200 trucks set up as two-passenger surveyor utility vehicles, two R200 two-person “6×6 Surveyor” utility vehicles and four R200 two-person “6×6 Electrician” utility vehicles. This would be complemented by seven R400 vehicles fitted out to carry 12 passengers – which have four-wheel steering to greatly improve manouevrability, according to Rokion – and two R400s equipped for three passengers able to carry out mechanic duties.

The Rokion order from Torex for Media Luna includes 16 of the company’s R200 battery-electric vehicles

Gertjan Bekkers, Vice-President, Mines Technical Services with Torex, said: “Our light-vehicle fleet will be used to drive fairly significant distances between our work sites on every shift, so the flexibility and range of these vehicles were key considerations for Torex during the procurement phase. The tunnel connecting Media Luna with ELG is like our horizontal shaft, connecting to the internal ramp of the Media Luna mine. Of course, we’ve also carefully considered equipment reliability and we were particularly impressed by the enhancements that Rokion has made to their portfolio since entering the underground hard-rock mining market.”

Kipp Sakundiak, CEO of Rokion, said the two companies have struck up a very important partnership over the last year or so when the engagement began.

“After getting to know the team at Torex, we are excited about the opportunities,” he told IM. “It is a good thing when you have a vendor-supplier relationship whereby both companies share similar values.”

Deliveries of the vehicles will start in October, with the full fleet set to be in place in 2025, according to Sakundiak.

Guanajuato Silver reduces costs, optimises workflow with Micromine software solution

Micromine says Guanajuato Silver Company has chosen Micromine as its primary geological and mine design software provider.

Micromine Origin and Micromine Beyond software will soon be implemented across four active mine sites – El Cubo, Valenciana, San Ignacio and Topia.

Guanajuato Silver chose Micromine Origin and Micromine Beyond due to the comprehensive functionality, which has enabled the company to replace multiple geological modelling, mapping and mine design applications with Micromine’s powerful all-in-one solution, Micromine said.

James Anderson, Chairman & CEO of Guanajuato Silver, said: “We believe both Micromine Origin and Micromine Beyond will enhance the performance of our mine exploration and engineering teams. By consolidating multiple software licences into one comprehensive package, we have been able to reduce our software costs while optimising workflows. We are also confident that Micromine’s strong support and commitment to customer success will help us achieve our goals as we continue on our journey to reactivate silver and gold mines in Guanajuato.”

Guido Perez, Micromine’s Regional Manager for the Americas region, said: “I regularly hear from geologists who are frustrated about the amount of time they are losing transferring data between multiple applications. It’s been a great experience for us to work with Guanajuato Silver to solve this problem for their team. By implementing a single software solution that covers multiple steps in the mining process, their team can stop worrying about managing software and start focusing on what matters.”

As one of the fastest-growing silver producers in Mexico, Guanajuato Silver also placed high importance on access to multi-language training and support for its rapidly growing team, the software provider said. Micromine has responded to this need quickly, already hosting in-person training sessions with over 50 users on-site in Guanajuato, Mexico.

The implementation of Micromine Origin and Micromine Beyond is just the first step in the ongoing relationship between Guanajuato Silver and Micromine, according to the latter. The organisations are currently collaborating on a program to support mining students in the Guanajuato region in developing the technical skills required for their future careers.

Metso Outotec makes screening media production changes in North, Central America

Metso Outotec says it is developing its global supply chain operations by reorganising its screening media production in North and Central America, with the opening of new capacity in Mexico and the discontinuing of operations in Missouri, USA.

The new screening media production capacity in Irapuato, Mexico, is planned to significantly increase supply and delivery capabilities for mining and aggregates customers in the region. The new factory in Mexico will start operations gradually during the first half of 2023 and, once fully operational during the September quarter, is expected to double the total production capacity by 2024 compared with the current level.

The new screening media center is expected to employ around 46 people.

Today, Metso Outotec has approximately 370 employees in its rubber and Poly-Met operations in Mexico. In 2022, Metso Outotec announced it would invest in establishing its first polymer filter plate production unit in Mexico.

The screening media production in Warrenton, Missouri, will be ramped down by the end of 2023, with the closure expected to affect approximately 40 employees in total.

Heikki Metsälä, President, Consumables Business Area, said: “We will serve customers with shorter lead times and faster deliveries by utilising a production site optimised for screening media products. The new factory is located close to our rubber and Poly-Met factory in Irapuato, and it further strengthens Mexico’s position as a centre of expertise for producing high-quality consumables.

“Our global supply footprint is under continuous development to ensure sustainable and profitable growth and to serve our customers’ growing needs. Closing a factory is a hard but necessary decision to make. We will support our employees throughout the transition.”

Metso Outotec to invest in polymer filter plate production plant in Mexico

Metso Outotec says it will invest in its first polymer filter plate production unit in Mexico in response to global demand for high-quality filtration solutions for its mining customers’ filter presses.

The company expects to invest a total of around €28 million ($28 million) to acquire the land and develop the production facilities by 2025.

The construction work will begin as soon as the acquisition of the land and the planning of the facility have been completed.

The construction of the new factory is expected to begin in 2023 and reach full capacity during 2025, following a gradual ramp-up. Once fully operational, the new factory is expected to employ around 60 skilled personnel.

Tomas Hakala, Senior Vice President, Beneficiation, Dewatering and Hydrometallurgy Services, said: “Polymer filter plates are strategic and critical spare parts. To serve our customers’ growing needs, we will further develop our supply capabilities by investing in a new state-of-the-art factory where quality and safety are key focus areas. We also have maintained and will maintain a strong network of suppliers globally.”

Hakala says the company has selected Mexico as the target country for its potential to reduce lead times, transportation distances – especially to the Americas – and CO2 emissions for its end customers.

Metso Outotec has high sustainability targets for CO2 emissions for its own operations and the supply chain. The target is to have net-zero CO2 emissions in the company’s own operations by 2030, and a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions from logistics by 2025.

In addition, the goal is for 30% of suppliers by spend to make a commitment to the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and set reduction targets for CO2 emissions by 2030.

The new factory will be located in the central region of Mexico, where Metso Outotec already has a rubber and Poly-Met factory.

ABB looks to acquire Siemens’ low voltage NEMA motor business

ABB says it has signed an agreement to purchase Siemens’ low voltage NEMA motor business in a move that could see NEMA’s mining customers in North America benefit from improved support.

With manufacturing operations in Guadalajara, Mexico, this acquisition provides a well-regarded product portfolio, a longstanding North American customer base, and an experienced operations, sales and management team, ABB says. The business employs around 600 people and generated revenues of approximately $63 million in 2021.

This transaction is part of the ABB Motion business area’s profitable growth strategy, allow the NEMA motors division to enhance its product offering, expand its supply chain relationships and improve support to its North American customer base, ABB said. It also offers the opportunity to better support the customers in Mexico with local manufacturing and sales.

ABB expects to benefit from identified synergies and to use the R&D expertise, supply chain relationships and market access to bring the combined portfolio to its full potential.

“This bolt-on acquisition creates strong value for ABB’s NEMA motors division,” Tarak Mehta, President ABB Motion, said. “Investing in the business and opening up sales opportunities in North America and especially Mexico will allow this business to be margin accretive to the ABB Motion business within 24 months.”

Jesse Henson, President of ABB’s NEMA motors division, added: “We have long appreciated the quality and design of these motors. Now that we have met the leadership team behind them, I am even more confident that, together, we can grow our combined businesses faster than either of us could alone. We look forward to adding the Siemens low voltage NEMA motor portfolio to our existing offering of ABB and Baldor-Reliance® industrial electric motors.”

The global NEMA motor industry, roughly $2.7 billion in size, ABB estimates, comprises industrial electric motors primarily used within North America. NEMA motors are essential components used to run equipment in industries such as food and beverage, oil and gas, mining & aggregates, and water & wastewater and in applications like those which move air, liquids and units.

Atlas Copco VSD electric compressors help improve Autlán’s manganese ore sorting capacity

Atlas Copco’s E-Air V1100 Variable Speed Drive (VSD) electric compressors are helping Mexico-based manganese producer, Autlán, improve the effectiveness of its ore sorting process by providing clean, dry compressed air whose temperature doesn’t exceed 20°C above ambient, the company says.

Compressed air is an essential component in the production of manganese nodules, with one such area being the company’s mineral sorting machine, which helps to classify the manganese ore. It blasts air at stones deemed to be waste, separating them from stones with high manganese content.

To do this, it needs clean, dry compressed air whose temperature doesn’t exceed 20°C above ambient. The amount of free air (FAD) needed to do this task is 45 Nm3/min at 150 psi.

Atlas Copco Power Technique Mexico worked closely with Autlán to understand and define the optimum airflow for the process. It advised Autlán that a constant flow of air was not required because the air shots were not continuous (only when stones with low manganese grades needed to be separated). Because of this intermittent requirement, Autlán could specify a compressor that met its FAD requirements but saved energy and lowered costs.

The suggested solution was to install three E-Air V1100 VSD mobile compressors: two compressors for production and one for stand-by purposes. These electric mobile air compressors with VSD technology are built to operate in harsh and outdoor conditions. Because of their robustness, Autlán did not need any special installation or compressor room, saving money on civil works, Atlas Copco says.

Atlas Copco’s E-Air VSD comes with the standard spillage-free frame that offers 110% fluid containment, providing reassurance against possible spillages on site. This was a key feature for Autlán, avoiding the possibility of polluting the soil of the mine, which is strongly regulated.

Moreover, the compressors come equipped with potted motor windings to prevent dust and water ingress, an IP65-rated controller, an IP67-rated water-cooled drive, single-sheet steel, non-welded undercarriage, and a three-layer anti-corrosion paint system, the company explained.

As the compressed air quality is vital for this project, Atlas Copco recommended adding its UD+ filter after the cooler to ensure the air guns didn’t clog. The UD+ filter is a patented design, two-in-one coalescing filter that takes out oil aerosols, dust and water, providing clean compressed air with hardly any pressure drop or efficiency loss. Moreover, this system is a space-saving option compared with traditional filter packages, according to Atlas Copco.

Julio Ponce, Sales Engineer & Air Master for Atlas Copco in Mexico and Central America, says: “The E-Air VSD provides Autlán with a reliable flow of compressed air without any CO2 emissions.”

The E-Air’s integrated VSD-driven permanent magnet electric motor only requires low power for start-up, so there is no need to oversize the power supply. The VSD and permanent magnet motor also make an important contribution to efficiency. Combined, they offer the best-in-class efficiency at partial load and ensure that power consumption closely follows the air demand trend, according to Atlas Copco.

These electric mobile air compressors with VSD range include the Atlas Copco’s PACE system (Pressure Adjusted through Cognitive Electronics). This enables users to control the pressure between 5 and 12 bar, in precise 0.1 bar increments, thereby adjusting the flow to the optimal level for their application. Because of this, one compressor can handle various jobs that previously would have required multiple units.

The E-Air VSD features the Smart Air Xc4004 controller. This increases the efficiency of operations by providing insights and features in an easy-to-use interface that allows a simultaneous view of several parameters, including pressure and flow. Additionally, top structured alarm settings allow for operation monitoring.

The E-Air VSD range is also equipped as standard with an after-cooler, providing high-quality air for applications like sandblasting.

Epiroc to deliver underground drills, bolters, LHDs and trucks to Fresnillo

Epiroc says it has won a large, $17 million order for a variety of underground mining equipment and automation solutions from Fresnillo plc in Mexico.

Fresnillo, the world’s leading silver producer and Mexico’s largest gold producer, has ordered multiple Epiroc underground mining machines for use at five of its mines.

“Epiroc and Fresnillo go back many years as productive partners, and we look forward to continue supporting their work to optimise productivity and sustainability in their operations,” Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s President and CEO, says.

The equipment ordered, manufactured in Örebro, Sweden, includes Boomer face drilling rigs, Boltec and Cabletec rock reinforcement rigs, Simba production drilling rigs, Scooptram loaders, and Minetruck haulers.

Automation features include teleremote operations, Epiroc’s Rig Control System and ABC (Advanced Boom Control) Total, which enables drilling a sequence of holes (full round) automatically. The units will also be equipped with Epiroc’s telematics system, which allows for intelligent monitoring of machine performance and productivity in real-time.

Alamos Gold hits production milestone at La Yaqui Grande

Alamos Gold Inc has announced initial gold production from the La Yaqui Grande mine, in Mexico, following the completion of construction this month, ahead of schedule.

Stacking rates continue to ramp up with leaching activities beginning earlier in June, it noted.

To mark the occasion, the company held a ceremony at site with President and Chief Executive Officer, John A McCluskey, members of the Alamos Gold Board of Directors, and employees from the La Yaqui Grande mine.

McCluskey said: “This represents a significant achievement with construction of La Yaqui Grande having been completed ahead of schedule while navigating a challenging environment over the past few years with COVID-19. On behalf of Alamos, I would like to congratulate our entire team at Mulatos. La Yaqui Grande represents another in a long line of discoveries that have continued
to extend the mine life of the overall Mulatos Complex since it began producing in 2005.

“Given its higher grades and recoveries, La Yaqui Grande underpins a strong outlook for Mulatos with higher production and lower costs driving growing free cash flow in the second half of this year and beyond.”

The Mulatos mine is a conventional open-pit, heap-leach operation with gold recovered through a carbon-in-column circuit.

A total of 991 oz of gold were produced from the initial pour.

La Yaqui Grande is expected to produce approximately 3,000 oz in June, which is already factored into June quarter consolidated production guidance of between 100,000-110,000 oz of gold.

Consistent with full year 2022 guidance, stacking rates at La Yaqui Grande are expected to ramp up through the second half of the year driving production higher and costs lower at Mulatos and company-wide, starting in the September quarter.

First announced in July 2020 as Alamos Gold’s next low-cost, high-return project in the Mulatos District, this large-scale construction project will extend the life of mine for at least five years, thus sustaining the company’s presence and importance in the production of gold in the state of Sonora, Mexico, the company said. La Yaqui Grande was completed ahead of schedule generating more than 1,000 jobs during the construction phase and will continue to sustain 450 direct jobs.