Tag Archives: Newtrax

Sandvik unlocks ‘automation’s full potential’ with AutoMine Access API

Automation, Communications in mining, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , ,

Sandvik has opened its AutoMine® platform to the rest of the industry with what it says is the mining sector’s first interoperability platform for autonomous underground loaders and trucks.

The AutoMine Access API delivers on the company’s promise made earlier this year at Goldcorp’s #DisruptMining event and is the next step in Sandvik’s continued journey to “set the industry standard for mine automation and digitalisation”, it said.

The application programming interface (API) gives mines the power to connect non-Sandvik equipment to AutoMine – moving underground mining digitalisation even further, it said.

This interoperability move comes just over a year since

Patrick Murphy, President Rock Drills & Technologies, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology, said: “As a world leader in underground automation, we have a responsibility to make this game-changing technology easier to implement for the mining industry.

“While we think customers will achieve the highest performance with Sandvik equipment, we recognise the need to unlock automation’s full potential for all equipment regardless of manufacturer. Customers with mixed fleets will now have the full power of AutoMine behind them.”

The AutoMine Access API is a standard set of pre-defined interfaces for connecting third-party loaders and trucks to AutoMine. This means a mixed fleet of underground loaders and trucks can now be managed and controlled with one seamless system.

“An API is a set of functions and procedures that allows the creation of applications that access the features or data of an operating system, application, or other service,” Sandvik said, adding that the third-party equipment is required to meet the AutoMine safety standards.

The API is another step in Sandvik’s journey to drive a digital ecosystem that makes mining smarter, safer and more productiv, it said.

In 2018, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology released its Interoperability Policy outlining how Sandvik systems can communicate within a digital ecosystem including data accessibility, fleet data compatibility, data rights and control, and data privacy.

The momentum continued in 2019 with the acquisition of Newtrax, a leader in wireless IoT connectivity for underground hard-rock mining, and the announcement that My Sandvik, Sandvik’s telemetry solution for machine health and productivity data, would also be available for non-Sandvik equipment.

“Sandvik has been leading the market in underground digitalisation for years, with thousands of pieces of equipment around the world connected to our digital technology,” Murphy said. “As more customers embark on their digital journeys, interoperability will be a requirement. We are proud to leverage our experience to drive digitalisation further in the mining industry.”

Sandvik opens up connections following Newtrax buy

Automation, Communications in mining, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining safety, Mining services, Mining software, , , , ,

Following the acquisition of Newtrax, Sandvik has announced that the My Sandvik telemetry offering will be extended, creating the opportunity to connect non-Sandvik fleet to the My Sandvik platform.

The move, which is expected to see the first non-Sandvik machine connected to My Sandvik via Newtrax technology in the December quarter, will be done in line with Sandvik’s Interoperability Policy, released in April 2018, it said.

The company explained: “Through solutions such as My Sandvik, OptiMine® and AutoMine®, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology has developed and deployed a leading suite of technology offerings to enable digitalisation of mining operations.

“These products and related services have proven to be extremely valuable in helping customers to improve safety, drive productivity to new levels and reduce costs.”

To date, Sandvik has connected well over 3,000 pieces of mobile equipment to My Sandvik, OptiMine and AutoMine, according to the company.

The company continued: “Although Sandvik has built an impressive portfolio of digital solutions, the first step of the digitalisation journey is often for customers to connect mobile assets through My Sandvik. This Sandvik telemetry solution provides significant, valuable operational insights and enables easy fact-based decision-making through the reporting and visualisation of machine health and productivity data.”

The acquisition of the digital mining technology company Newtrax, completed earlier this year, “strengthens Sandvik’s leading position in automation and digitalisation”, the company said. “The digital tools for analysing and optimising mining production and processes, in combination with Newtrax’s leading technology in wireless IoT connectivity, provide the customer with a streamlined digital solution regardless of the origin of their fleet.”

Michaël Bruninx, VP Parts & Services Commercial, says: “We regard mixed fleet interoperability to be the next logical step for the My Sandvik platform. While we believe Sandvik has the best products within our scope of offering, mixed fleets at our customers’ mine sites are a reality.

“We’ve formed an impressive foundation with Sandvik machines at over 170 mine sites around the world connected to My Sandvik. Now those customers, and new ones, will be able to leverage My Sandvik telemetry reporting across their entire fleets, regardless of brand.”

Sandvik bolsters underground automation and digitalisation capabilities with Newtrax buy

Automation, Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, , , , , , , , ,

Newtrax Technologies says it has now officially been acquired by Sandvik to be run as an independent business unit within the Rock Drills and Technologies division of the Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology business area.

Newtrax, headquartered in Montreal, Canada, generated revenues of approximately C$26 million ($19 million) in 2018. The deal was previously announced in April, with Henrik Ager, President of Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology, saying, at the time, the inclusion of Newtrax into the Sandvik family helped “further strengthen our leading position in areas related to automation and digitalisation”.

The combined expertise of Sandvik and Newtrax will, according to Newtrax, create the “most powerful, streamlined digital solution to improve safety and efficiency for underground hard rock mines” with Newtrax’s leading technology in wireless IoT connectivity, and Sandvik’s leading suite of digital tools for analysing and optimising mining production and processes, including OptiMine® and My Sandvik.

Founded in 2009, Newtrax started as a university project led by Alexandre Cervinka, Founder and CEO, with Co-Founder Vincent Kassis. In 2014, Newtrax received a major investment from Jolimont Global Mining System, an Australian private equity investor in high growth mining equipment, technology and services.

Since acquiring the mining division of ISAAC Instruments in the December quarter of 2016, Newtrax says it has reinforced its position as the world leader in vehicle telemetry systems for underground hard rock mines.

“Newtrax will operate as an independent business unit committed to having an open architecture and will continue to interface with other vendors in the mining digital ecosystem,” the company said.

Cervinka, President of Newtrax, said: “By joining Sandvik Group, we can now confidently say that we have the world’s leading digitalisation solution for underground mining customers.”

Newtrax AI helps out Agnico Eagles’s Goldex mine maintenance team

Communications in mining, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining safety, Mining services, Mining software, Precious metals, , , , , , ,

Newtrax Technologies says it has applied machine-learning algorithms to help Agnico Eagle Mines’ Goldex mine predict mobile equipment maintenance issues up to two weeks in advance.

With the two companies already having an existing relationship at the mine, in Quebec, Canada, Newtrax was approached in the fall to discuss the data Agnico had collected from sensors over the past six years. This amounted to 10 billion data points, according to Newtrax.

“This data was exactly what was needed to apply machine-learning algorithms in order to predict mobile equipment maintenance issues at least two weeks before they were supposed to happen,” Newtrax said.

Daniel Pinard, Team Lead, Special Projects with Agnico Eagle, said this predictive Newtrax AI solution allowed the company to intervene before incurring serious problems that could potentially break vehicle engines.

“Through the use of machine-learning algorithms with Newtrax, we were recently able to analyse an engine that had a potential problem and we saved it from failing. This helped Goldex mine avoid serious damage on that engine which saved them C$85,000 ($63,610).”

The Newtrax AI solution is unique in three ways, according to Michel Dubois, VP QA & Artificial Intelligence at Newtrax, “first, Newtrax has years of unique data that is extremely well suited for machine learning (ML)”.

This creates a source of training data for ML that is unique in the world, with the data growing every time a mining company decides to join in, he said.

“Second, we have a unique AI team who knows how to generate actionable results using existing AI algorithms. And, third, we have a unique approach where our AI specialists go underground and focus on quick wins, and they leverage those existing algorithms to solve high-value problems.”

This is the first ever applied case study for ML in the underground hard-rock mining industry with a defined return on investment, according to Newtrax.

Newtrax said it worked with artificial intelligence and ML researchers such as IVADO to apply existing algorithms to the data collected in mine sites.

Newtrax helps haulage operations at Glencore’s Matagami zinc-copper mine

Base metals, Communications in mining, Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , , ,

Newtrax says its Mobile Equipment Telemetry (MET) system has helped Glencore raise productivity and increase operational awareness at its Matagami zinc-copper underground mine in Quebec, Canada.

The operation, which mines the Bracemac and McLeod deposits, first installed the MET system back in 2016 on trucks and LHDs in order to maximise its haulage efficiency. It has ended up doing much more, according to a case study from Newtrax.

Newtrax said: “Glencore Matagami mine has been faced with a continual challenge: how to haul ore to the surface most efficiently. Normally, this isn’t the most difficult challenge a mine faces but, at Matagami, all their ore is hauled with trucks.

“Efficiency is vital at the mine because those haulage trips are more than 8 km in each direction. The huge distance means it’s essential to get every tonne possible onto the truck before it heads to the surface.”

As part of its overall haulage efficiency aim, Glencore needed more information about its operation, Newtrax said – enter Newtrax and MET.

MET solutions provide mine operators with essential information and indisputable data pulled directly from mining equipment, according to Newtrax. “The ability to access this data empowers mining companies to understand the precise manner in which their machines are being used, how well each individual machine is functioning, and can offer predictive suggestions to increase both productivity and profit,” the company said.

“The MET works with all equipment brands and models, and was easily integrated to Matagami mine’s mixed fleet of trucks and LHDs,” Newtrax added.

Glencore Matagami mine used the system in multiple ways, including to monitor the standard production times of equipment; to calculate utilisation of ore haulage; to calculate overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), and; to calculate loads per cycle.

Christian Ngoma, Underground Operations Superintendent of Matagami, said Newtrax technology allowed mine management to get a clearer idea of what is actually going on, thanks to hard data.

“The Newtrax system enables us, from a managerial perspective, to make decisions based on facts that are measurable, instead of perceptions,” he said.

Glencore Matagami installed a custom fit Payload Monitoring System, which interfaces directly with the OEM’s existing sensor network. This, according to Newtrax, enables:

  • Real-time payload data available on the Newtrax Scoreboards and cab display for the operators, and;
  • Real-time payload broadcasted to the Newtrax MET telemetry recorder every five seconds, with no operator intervention.

Ngoma said: “We now have production trucks equipped with Newtrax scoreboards to show tonnage, and the LHD operators use this tool to load the trucks in an optimal way. We now noticed that four out of five of our trucks have an average tonnage of approximately 60 t in comparison to 55 t before.

“The impact of that technology is to optimise the loading of trucks. Especially with the long haulage distance, that is our biggest challenge here.”

Since implementing the solution, Glencore Matagami has been able to raise its average tonnage from 55 t to 60 t, which has increased productivity; especially given the long haulage distances the operation is facing.

Trucks currently travel 8 km on an average cycle, but there is a possible extension to 10.4 km in the coming years, Ngoma said.

After using the Newtrax MET system for one year, the Glencore Matagami team observed the following results, according to Newtrax:

  • Five to six per cent increase in utilisation on ore haulage;
  • Four per cent increase on the OEE, and;
  • Five per cent increase on loads per cycle.

Glencore Matagami Haulage Team Supervisor, Dany Lavoie-Mercier, said: “The standard production time report is an improvement that is more representative of our daily operations. From personal experience, after having presented it to my team, I presented it again the following shift and there was a clear difference in our operations. Everything was optimised from one shift to the next.”

Solutions provided by Newtrax can be used across a number of platforms and systems, allowing for easy adaptability, the company said.

Mohammed Lamine-Lamrani, Reliability Engineer at Matagami, said: “The Newtrax system enables us to transfer data via different networks, which facilitates its adoption into different mines. The system helped us identify the different delays of activities, in terms of our machines, which allowed us to intervene, improve, and increase our OEE.”

Matagami Mine General Manager, Mark Furlotte, said digitalising the operation is part of the company’s plan for keeping the mine looking to the future.

“At Glencore, and Matagami mine, we really want to continue investing on our people, our infrastructure, and our assets. And one of the areas we want to continue investing in is technology,” Furlotte said. “We want to take things that are done elsewhere in the industry – things that are done in open-pit mines – and really bring that underground. We really want to be considered as one of the innovative mines around not only Quebec, Canada, but also the world.”

Photos courtesy of Newtrax