Tag Archives: Orica

Orica announces commercial launch of wireless blast initiation solution, WebGen 200 Surface

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

Orica has announced the commercial release of WebGen™ 200 Surface, its latest wireless blast initiation solution tailored to surface mining applications.

Developed based on the success of more than 5,000 WebGen 100 blasts around the world, containing over 150,000 primers, WebGen 200 Surface will change how the industry blasts, resulting in more safer and efficient blasting for customers, according to the company.

The company conducted the first surface blast with WebGen 200 at TerraCom’s Blair Athol coal mine in Queensland, Australia, at the back end of 2022, as part of its Alpha trial program to verifiy and validate product testing in the field. Another trial at a partner customer mine in northern Chile has since followed.

Specifically designed for surface mining applications, WebGen 200 Surface eliminates physical wired connections to a blast or within the blasthole, opening up a whole new range of possibilities, Orica says. It enables customers to optimise their entire mining process from reducing exposure on bench to geological hazards, such as stemming dust, working next to highwalls, reducing vehicle interactions, and removing people from harm’s way.

The WebGen 200 system revolutionises mining operations by enabling customers to carry out operations during the lightning storm season or turning a loaded blast into a temporary haul road with the award-winning blasting method Mine Schedule Flexibility, the company said.

Orica Senior Manager, WebGen Commercialisation, Rhys Patterson, said: “It is the culmination of years of research and development across technology, marketing, commercial, supply and manufacturing teams. We are pleased to announce that WebGen 200 Surface is now commercially available for our customers.”

In addition, the safe passage of mining equipment over loaded blastholes by maintaining parallel mining, and drilling, and loading activities is now a reality, which can significantly increase the vertical advance of surface mines, Orica says. Production delays associated with exclusion zones around loaded blast patterns during lightning storms can also be eliminated using WebGen.

Orica’s global underground customers started the transition to WebGen 200 Underground Pro, with Newmont Borden being the first underground customer reaping the benefits of adopting this technology in late 2022. Engineered to deliver robust safety and reliability, the four variants of WebGen 200 (WebGen 200 Surface, WebGen 200 Surface Pro, WebGen 200 Underground Pro and WebGen 200 Dev) have been built with enhanced capabilities, security, and versatility, ensuring it meets the extreme mining conditions faced by surface and underground customers.

Orica engages Cognizant for data-based ESG reporting of Net Zero strategy

Environmental, Explosives and blasting, IoT, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , ,

Cognizant is to deliver an environmental, social and governance (ESG) data strategy and digital platform to Orica that, it says, complements the explosives and blasting leader’s “Net Zero strategy” and, specifically, its A$37 million ($27 million) Kooragang Island Decarbonisation Project.

The digital platform is, through agile methods, expected to provide real-time reporting and forecasting of Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

As part of the agreement, Cognizant will leverage Orica’s existing technology investments, specifically its Microsoft Azure data lake, and provide Orica with a single ESG data platform.

This platform is expected to capture and curate Orica’s GHG emissions data, including structured, unstructured and real-time data, with the goal of enabling Orica to monitor, report and forecast its GHG emissions reductions and track the origination of Australian Carbon Credit Units.

Orica has installed catalyst abatement technology at its nitric acid production facility at Kooragang Island (pictured), forecasting a significant reduction in GHG emissions, specifically nitrous oxide. The Kooragang Island decarbonisation initiative is forecasted to provide cumulative emission reductions of 4.7 Mt of CO2e by 2030.

Chris Crozier, Chief Information Officer, Orica, said: “There is a growing market-driven need for large organisations in the resources industry to understand, report on and reduce their carbon footprint. As a major supplier to mining and construction companies, Orica also has an important role to play in reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions. As such, we needed a trusted partner with a similar focus on ESG goals and sustainability and one with an expertise in data analysis, AI, design and IoT. We look forward to working with Cognizant to help us achieve our own sustainability objectives, while we look for ways to support our customers meeting their own goals.”

Jonathan Smith, Sustainability Lead, ANZ, Cognizant, added: “Data is a crucial factor that allows companies to analyse their current emissions and measure against ESG goals over time, and we are incredibly proud of having been appointed as the data, AI and analytics partner for Orica to be able to measure Orica’s ESG efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.”

Orica has previously engaged Cognizant to move its IT infrastructure to the cloud to enable Orica to achieve higher levels of efficiency, agility and business impact and optimise operating costs.

Orica looks to enhance blast design value generation with OREPro 3D Predict

Explosives and blasting, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , ,

Orica has announced the release of its latest OREPro™ 3D Predict modelling software that, it says, predicts blast movement in near real time and optimises grade control value.

Over 30 years of research and development (R&D) coupled with significant cloud-based computing power have led to the creation of OREPro 3D Predict software, which is at its heart a blast movement simulator and grade control polygon optimiser. The solution leverages the power of Orica’s original OREPro 3D modelling expertise with an addition of the enhanced predictive SmartVector™ technology, it said.

The company explained: “No longer are blast designers relying on simple rules of thumb or luck to optimise blasting for grade control; OREPro 3D Predict opens the door to iterative designs and the quantification of value in each blast design.”

Using readily available mine data as inputs, including blast designs and in-situ block models, physics-based algorithms predict movement dynamics throughout the entire blast volume to create a “swelled post-blast grade control block model”. The polygon optimisation tools will then suggest delineations that can help achieve the highest value possible, according to Orica.

Orica Vice President Digital Solutions, Rajkumar Mathiravedu, said: “Orica’s purpose is to mobilise the earth’s resources sustainably and we aim to achieve this by integrating end-to-end workflows across the mining value chain, and it all starts with a better understanding of the orebody and the way in which it moves during extraction.

“With OREPro 3D Predict, our customers can now predict blast results, allowing blast designers to rapidly create blasts that increase value in near real time instead of waiting until the blast is excavated to understand the impacts.”

Understanding where the rock mass has moved during the blast is critical to separating ore and waste effectively and creating downstream efficiencies in the mining process. OREPro 3D Predict takes this a step further by simulating post-blast topography when it cannot be surveyed safely, handling complex boundary conditions with ease and providing enhanced transparency by animating the entire predicted movement, Orica said.

OREPro 3D Predict further enhances Orica’s Digital Solutions offerings by allowing customers to plan effectively and track material through complex interactions with the surrounding geology. This product is a cornerstone of iterative optimisation and complements the reactive software OREPro 3D, creating value for its customers through a complete grade control workflow offering, the company added.

Orica, Epiroc and Agnico Eagle carry out world-first development charging milestone at Kittilä

Automation, Explosives and blasting, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Orica and Epiroc, in partnership with Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, have successfully commenced live blasting with Avatel™ – the world’s first semi-automated wireless underground development charging solution at Agnico Eagle’s Kittilä mine in Finland.

The milestone brings to life an industry-driven concept that dramatically improves safety at the face, which is one of the highest risk activities in underground mining today, Orica and Epiroc say.

Avatel enables a single operator to prepare and wirelessly complete a full charging cycle from the safety of an enclosed cabin while offering the best available blast outcomes through the integration of Orica and Epiroc’s flagship digital, automation and blasting technologies.

The first successful blast was loaded and fired on November 22, 2022, comprising 61 Orica WebGen™ 200 Dev wireless primers and 295 kilograms of Orica’s Subtek™ bulk emulsion loaded to a development face at the Kittilä mine.

Orica Chief Technology Officer, Angus Melbourne, said: “Together with Epiroc and Agnico Eagle we are extremely proud of the team in creating a solution that keeps people out of harm’s way during what is considered one of the highest risk activities for underground miners around the globe.

“With Avatel, we can now effectively manage risk for the people who spend the most time every shift directly exposed to hazards at the development face while delivering all of the blast optimisation benefits that Orica’s flagship technologies bring. The combination of digital, automation and wireless blasting technologies and by partnering with customers and peers, we can continue to solve the industry’s biggest challenges across safety, productivity and sustainability, together.”

Sami Niiranen, President for Epiroc’s Underground division, said: “This is a true milestone achieved for our industry where Epiroc in partnership with Orica have led the way to safer underground operation. By building on our recognised solutions and advanced Rig Control System, Avatel paves the way to safe productivity for the mining industry.”

Jari Näsi, Development Manager – Kittilä Mine, Agnico Eagle, said: “We are proud to create history here at Kittilä where the first mechanised and wireless development blast was initiated. There is always some risk when working close to the face; being able to do this work safely and efficiently from the cabin is promising, and mechanising the process will give a better blasting result.”

The first commercial implementation of Avatel will take place at Newcrest’s Cadia Valley Operations from December 2022.

GroundProbe chooses Tucson for location of second manufacturing facility

Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , ,

GroundProbe has announced plans to build a second dedicated manufacturing facility in Tucson, Arizona, USA, marking a new chapter in its commitment to better serve its customers in the Northern hemisphere.

The expansion of GroundProbe’s manufacturing capabilities comes following significant growth in recent years.

Announcing its plans at the recent International Slope Stability Symposium in Arizona, GroundProbe CEO, David Noon, said the new facility will open its doors in early 2023.

“As our global footprint and customer base continues to grow, so too does the volume and variety of products that we produce,” he said. “We saw it as an absolute necessity to bolster our offering and extend our manufacturing capability from Asia Pacific to the Americas.

“It means that, from early 2023, we will be able to more readily deploy our safety-critical systems – systems that are integral to their ongoing operations and productivity – to our Northern hemisphere customers.”

GroundProbe, which currently manufactures its products in Australia, says it is widely accepted as the global leader in real-time technologies that detect instabilities and predict when mine and dam collapses will occur.

The addition of a second manufacturing facility signifies an important step for GroundProbe’s future growth, especially for North and South America, for GroundProbe’s Chief Commercial Officer and VP Americas, Ben Moke.

“When scouting locations for a second site, Tucson quickly became the preferred location,” Moke said. “It’s central to our customers, and it’s close to a number of geotechnical consulting firms and university partners, including the Geotechnical Center of Excellence at the University of Arizona.

“It’s going to be fantastic to have a facility where the geotechnical community can experience our state-of-the-art technology being manufactured and deployed to mine sites across the Americas. With a track record that speaks for itself, GroundProbe’s technologies are the industry’s most robust and reliable, having never failed to detect a collapse.

“The second facility will manufacture every one of our products to the same level of quality that we are known for and that is expected of us as market leaders.”

Orica and Alpha HPA strengthen high-purity aluminium ties

Base metals, Energy minerals, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , , ,

Orica has expanded its strategic relationship with Alpha HPA Limited, including acquiring a 5% equity interest and establishing a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to investigate the feasibility of establishing a new high-purity aluminium (HPA) manufacturing facility in North America.

The funds from the equity investment will be used to accelerate final engineering and product marketing for the full-scale HPA First Project at Gladstone, Queensland, and to advance feasibility studies on the potential of an additional HPA manufacturing facility in North America, with the remaining funds used for general working capital.

The non-binding MoU, meanwhile, will see the comapanies mutually investigate the technical and commercial feasibility of establishing a new manufacturing facility in North America to produce HPA products for the rapidly expanding future-facing industries in the region. The facility would seek to leverage and replicate the chemical process synergies that have been successfully established between Orica and Alpha HPA in the development of the HPA First Project at Gladstone. This would include the supply of process reagents and the offtake of process by-products to/from Alpha HPA’s and Orica’s manufacturing facility, supporting circularity between the two parties.

Orica and Alpha HPA previously executed binding, definitive agreements with each other related to the supply of process reagents and the offtake of process by-product to/from Alpha HPA’s First Project and Orica’s Yarwun manufacturing facility (pictured) within the Gladstone State Development Area in north Queensland.

Alpha HPA’s First Project represents the commercialisation of the production of circa-10,000 t/y equivalent of HPA and related products using the company’s proprietary licensed solvent extraction and HPA refining technology. The technology provides for the extraction and purification of aluminium from an industrial feedstock to produce 4N (>99.99% purity) alumina for the intended use within the lithium-ion battery and LED lighting industry.

Orica Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sanjeev Gandhi, said: “Building on our successful partnership with Alpha HPA in Australia, we are thrilled to further expand our relationship and explore opportunities for growth and circularity in North America. The Alpha HPA First project in Queensland has demonstrated how industrial partnerships can optimise resource use, simultaneously creating value and reducing waste.”

Alpha HPA Managing Director, Rimas Kairaitis, said: “Having established a strong working relationship in developing our HPA First Project, the mutual ambition to expand our relationship into North America and establish Orica as a strategic shareholder in our company is a welcome progression of our relationship. Importantly, we see these initiatives as a strong endorsement of the ongoing development of our business.

“Orica has a detailed understanding of our process technology, the advanced nature of our marketing activities, and a strong appreciation of our commitment to building a sustainable business to help decarbonise critical future-facing industries. We welcome Orica as a new shareholder in our company and look forward to taking this exciting next step in our development together.”

GroundProbe cancels out atmospheric ‘noise’ with new slope stability monitoring algorithm

Environmental, IoT, Mine surveying, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , ,

A collaboration with mining operations across the globe has resulted in the development of a new atmospheric correction algorithm for Slope Stability Radar (SSR) that, GroundProbe says, provides a step change in the way atmospherics are treated and managed.

Precision Atmospherics is the most advanced correction algorithm in the market today, according to the company, able to distinguish and significantly reduce the noise caused by the most turbulent atmospheric conditions, providing a decisively clearer picture of real deformation.

It is the result of several years of rigorous development, testing and evolution, and represents one of the most significant research and development projects GroundProbe has ever undertaken, the company says. GroundProbe partnered with a global collection of mines in different climatic regions in the extensive validation program, including one of the largest open-pit mines in the world, Rio Tinto Kennecott’s Bingham Canyon copper mine in Utah, the US.

Rio Tinto Kennecott’s Senior Engineer, Geotech, Dustin Hicks, has been part of Precision Atmospherics development and testing since 2019, when first presented to Kennecott’s Bingham Canyon mine.

“GroundProbe delivered an SSR-Omni equipped with Precision Atmospherics to Bingham Canyon to demonstrate its capability in the rapidly changing atmospheric environment that our site experiences,” Hicks said.

“The Precision Atmospherics algorithm effectively managed a variety of atmospheric conditions including blast and wind induced dust plumes, rain and snow, which resulted in significantly less contaminated data.

“It reduced the noise on a scan-by-scan basis, which opens the door for tighter alarm configurations that would otherwise overburden the geotechnical team.”

In complex atmospheres, especially at large mines, atmospheric variability can hinder the ability to detect early-stage movement.

Precision Atmospherics is currently available on GroundProbe’s 2D Real Aperture Radars fleet. The combination of real aperture technologies with this algorithm allows mine sites to have better deformation detection capability in all seasons and conditions, according to the company.

GroundProbe’s Chief Executive Officer, David Noon, said Precision Atmospherics is a game changer in tracking both slow and rapid trends.

“With the smoother plots and cleaner maps that Precision Atmospherics provides, customers can focus their attention on recently started or slow-moving deformation,” he said. “This is important for gleaning the potentially significant geotechnical problems that can only be detected through long-term analysis.

“Both rapid and slow trends are shown in a single data set, and unlike other techniques, there is no post-processing required to detect slow movements.”

Alberto Cabrejo, GroundProbe’s Global Practice Lead – Geotechnical Advisory, added: “Precision Atmospherics is the most important addition to the monitoring practice using interferometric radars. It responds directly to the most important request from Geotechnical Engineers around the world: data quality.

“With this algorithm, we can finally use tight alarms appropriate for rock mass deformation rather than alarms that will not be triggered by weather changes.”

GroundProbe and Orica collaborate on ‘world-first’ BlastVision solution

Comminution of minerals, Explosives and blasting, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , ,

GroundProbe, a member of the Orica Group, has launched BlastVision®, a world-first solution that, it says, delivers actionable blast performance insights for optimal safety and productivity.

The crucial data aids in the detection of potential misfires and out-of-sequence firing and in identifying and tracking fly rock, according to the company. Intra-blast monitoring also adds valuable wall control insights, such as monitoring and mapping instantaneous blast damage to slopes and identifying movement on significant structures.

GroundProbe, a specialist in geotechnical monitoring, leveraged the partnership with Orica, a leading mining and blasting solutions provider, to gain information around current blast monitoring methods through interviews with engineers, according to GroundProbe CEO, David Noon.

“Through talking to mine site engineers responsible for blasting on the ground, we identified that many sites were still using quite simple and sometimes unsafe methods for blast analysis.

“Techniques included recording blasts with ground-based camera systems and conducting visual inspections of this footage to determine areas of concern.

“From this, the idea of using drone footage and automated algorithms to quickly identify key areas of interest was born.”

BlastVision takes custom high-speed drone footage of a blast as it happens, using world-first advanced proprietary algorithms and modern AI frameworks to convert the footage into analytics data, according to GroundProbe. Data is then remotely analysed in its custom software platform, with insights swiftly reported back to the site. From these insights, mine site personnel can optimise blasting and monitor the impacts of blasting, improving both safety and productivity, the company said.

The solution has been tested, trialled or demonstrated across over 60 mine sites around the globe, positively impacting hundreds of drill and blast team members across these mine sites, according to GroundProbe.

GroundProbe’s VP – Technology, Fernanda Carrea, said that no other solution provides the range of insights from the whole blast area that BlastVision provides, from start to finish.

“BlastVision provides an increased level of safety, efficiency, accuracy and productivity through our software algorithm automatically identifying key areas and issues,” Carrea said.

“Data is also able to be captured before, during and after a blast, and covers the blast area in its entirety.

“We can proudly say that this patent-pending technology is a world first.”

Orica ups the fragmentation monitoring ante with FRAGTrack Gantry

Automation, Comminution of minerals, Explosives and blasting, Mineral processing, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , ,

Orica has announced the release of what it says is its most innovative fragmentation monitoring solution yet, FRAGTrack™ Gantry.

The company calls FRAGTrack Gantry a market-first haul truck measurement solution that combines real-time oversize detection alerts and accurate particle size distribution (PSD) of fragmentation on all models and sizes of haul trucks.

The new product combines the success of the existing suite of automated post-blast fragmentation monitoring solutions – covering the original FRAGTrack release and the release of FRAGTrack Crusher earlier this year – and the feedback from customers experiencing loss of production due to crusher blockage.

FRAGTrack Gantry uses advanced machine vision and machine learning technologies to enable autonomous triggering and processing, without interfering with the haulage operation, Orica claims

It leverages real-time oversized detection through artificial intelligence (AI), with the machine-learning capability applied to real-time detection accomplished within seconds, with alerts syndicated via Fleet Management Systems (FMS), email or SMS for the re-routing of trucks. Operators can also predetermine customisable oversize limits, enabling a reduction in crusher blockage/damage frequency due to oversize material, the company says.

Orica Vice President – Digital Solutions, Raj Mathiravedu, said: “The full adoption of AI technology into our architecture, coupled with our strategic partnership with Microsoft, allows us to expedite the delivery of capabilities that were not previously possible, and FRAGTrack Gantry is another example of how we are leveraging AI to help deliver intelligence and value to our customers.”

The reliable and accurate fragmentation information from FRAGTrack Gantry enables customers to optimise their drill and blast operations for downstream processes without impacting the haul circuit operation, Orica says. The addition of a Gantry option complements the suite of FRAGTrack measurement systems currently available for shovel-, crusher- and conveyor-mounted configurations.

Orica conducts first surface blast with WebGen 200 at Blair Athol mine

Automation, Coal technology, Explosives and blasting, Mine operation news, Mining consumables, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , ,

Orica says it has hit another milestone in its “Alpha” trials for the wireless WebGen™ 200 solution, with the first surface mining blast conducted at TerraCom’s Blair Athol coal mine in Queensland, Australia.

Orica’s WebGen team recently successfully loaded and fired the first open-pit coal blast with the through-the-earth, fully wireless initiating system at the operation.

WebGen technology provides for groups of in-hole primers to be wirelessly initiated by a firing command that communicates through hundreds of metres of rock, water, and air. This completely removes constraints often imposed by the requirement of a physical connection to each primer in a blast and importantly allows us to remove people from harm’s way, according to Orica.

Engineered to deliver robust safety and reliability, WebGen 200 has been built with enhanced capabilities, security and versatility, ensuring it meets the extreme mining conditions faced by surface and underground customers. It harnesses digital technology to allow advanced features including digital inventory management, an improved user interface and increased quality assurance.

The Alpha trial program is a comprehensive verification process and validation product testing in the field. Orica has hit some successful milestones recently with Alpha trials for its WebGen 200 Surface primer in the US, Chile and now in Australia with Blair Athol being the first coal mine globally to trial the new generation technology.

Orica Senior Manager WebGen Commercialisation, Rhys Patterson, said: “We’re excited about what the future holds for the industry with WebGen 200 as we progress towards commercial release of WebGen 200 Surface, which is expected in early 2023. The success of the program would not be possible without the trust and willingness of our valued customers to partner with us.”

Commenting on this trial, TerraCom Managing Director, Danny McCarthy, said: “TerraCom is pleased to be at the forefront of this technology with our valued partner Orica. We welcome innovative ways and techniques to make our workplaces safer and, of course, more productive.

“We appreciate the efforts of everyone involved from our team on the ground at Blair Athol to everyone at Orica for their commitment to a safe and successful trial.”

Orica closed out Alpha trials of its second generation fully wireless initiating system for the underground market in September. Orica’s underground customers around the world have started to transition to the WebGen 200 Underground Pro, with customers reaping the benefits of adopting this technology, according to the company.

Orica unveiled a WebGen 200 product range that included the WebGen 200 Surface, WebGen 200 Surface Pro, WebGen 200 Underground Pro and WebGen 200 Dev at MINExpo 2021 in Las Vegas, in September last year.

Since then, it has initiated trials at the Moose Creek Quarry in Canada, where the team on site loaded and fired the first production blast for WebGen 200 on a customer site, successfully blasting 130 units.

A WebGen 200 wireless initiation system is also on board Avatel™, Orica and Epiroc’s jointly engineered fully mechanised development charging system. Avatel recently achieved a world first with the automated loading of its fully wireless initiating system into a blast hole.