Tag Archives: Rock breaking

Breaker Technology and Creighton Rock Drill to collaborate in Sudbury mining market

Base metals, Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, Steel and iron ore, , , ,

Creighton Rock Drill (CRD) is to distribute and service Breaker Technology’s (BTI) underground mining vehicles, rockbreaker systems, and hydraulic breaker attachments in the key Sudbury market as part of a recently signed agreement.

The move comes as both companies look to improve their customer service and support in the mining industry, BTI said.

Under the terms of the agreement, CRD will sell capital equipment and parts, as well as service BTI equipment from its location in Lively, Ontario. CRD has been BTI’s distributor for construction and aggregate equipment for the past 18 years.

Al Creighton, Senior Vice President of CRD, said: “We’ve had a location in Lively now for over three years and are looking to grow our team with people that can understand our key values of service first as a way to promote sales. We will do that through attention to detail, local parts stocks for fast turnarounds on order fulfillment and by listening to our customers. It is important to us to build the BTI and CRD brands together as a symbol of quality and reliability in the mining sector.”

BTI said Creighton will be promoting BTI’s line of underground equipment including the extensive range of rockbreaker systems such as the MRHLP low-profile model and the PB series for rockbreaking directly at the grizzly ore pass.

CRD will also promote BTI’s mining vehicles including its latest mechanical underground scaler, ScaleBOSS 3D/ 3DE, the Mine Runner underground utility vehicle (pictured), RMS Scaler, Vibratory Pick Scaler and Hammer Feed Scaler.

Breaker Technology’s BIS finds admirers and prize in China

Mineral commodities, Mining equipment, Mining industry recognition, Mining safety, Mining services, Mining software, Precious metals

Breaker Technology Inc (BTI) has received the ‘second-class prize’ in China Gold Association’s 2017 Science and Technology award for its contribution to improving underground productivity and safety, through the latest version of the Breaker Intel System (BIS) at Shandong Gold’s Xincheng gold mine.

“We appreciate being recognised for our contribution toward improving the safety and productivity at our customer’s operation,” BTI President Don Sissons said.

BTI’s BIS is a multi-faceted control system that maximises rockbreaking operations and creates a safer, more secure working environment while easily connecting to the mine’s existing process control system, according to the company.

“The system not only includes long distance controls but also offers an abundance of other features such as force and speed control, automated movements, collision avoidance, monitoring and diagnostics and the ability to operate multiple rockbreaker stations with a single remote,” it said.

Sissons said: “All over the world, we are seeing a growing desire to remove operators from hazardous work locations and, at the Xincheng gold mine, BTI commissioned its multi-boom remote control station in an above-ground office to operate eight different rockbreaker systems underground.

“The operating station provides employees with a comfortable, clean and air-conditioned office environment with immediate access to all rockbreaker operations (see photo). The new system also reduces the number of operators needed while adding improved efficiencies. furnish employees with the tools they need to be safe and productive.”

He added: “This trend certainly aligns well with BTI’s top priorities: safety, quality, and productivity.”

Before installing BTI’s BIS, the mine encountered several issues in its production rate and safety. The mine employed 32 operators to work three shifts at eight underground rockbreaker stations in conditions that exposed operators to dust and flyrock in ambient temperatures above 40°C.

“With BTI’s BIS, the mine reduced the number of operators to eight, while also improving productivity by providing them with immediate access to all rockbreaker systems, rather than having to travel to each station, which took up to an hour for each operator, which creates a more efficient workflow,” the company said.

Sisson said BTI’s vision was to develop autonomous rockbreaking equipment, and it was pleased with its progress. “We have several successful installations with remote operation, similar to Xincheng gold mine, operating around the world.”

For BTI, the project at Xincheng was an ideal opportunity to develop its BIS further to include multi-boom operation, another stepping stone in BTI’s development towards full automation of rockbreaker systems.

According to Sissons, the company’s next steps are to add automated movements, allowing the operator to perform a few simple, routine sequences such as ‘park’ or ‘deploy’ with the touch of a button.

“We look forward to continuing to develop this technology toward complete autonomous operation that will provide the safest and most productive rockbreaking solutions in the world,” he said.