Tag Archives: Salt Lake City

Rio Tinto backs BEV use at Kennecott Underground with growing Sandvik fleet

Rio Tinto is progressing its mobile equipment electrification move at the Kennecott underground operation near Salt Lake City, Utah, having transitioned from using Sandvik Mining & Rock Solutions battery-electric loaders and trucks in a proof of concept to commercially deploying Sandvik battery-electric TH550B trucks and a Sandvik LH518iB loader.

Just last year, Rio Tinto approved $498 million of funding to deliver underground development and infrastructure for an area known as the North Rim Skarn (NRS). Production from the NRS is due to commence this year and is expected to ramp up over two years, to deliver around 70,000 tonnes of additional mined copper over the next 10 years alongside open-pit operations at Kennecott.

This followed a September 2022 announcement where Rio Tinto approved development capital totalling $55 million to start underground mining in an area known as the Lower Commercial Skarn (LCS) at Kennecott. Underground mining within LCS started in February 2023 and is expected to deliver a total of around 30,000 tonnes of additional mined copper through the period to 2028.

These two investments will support Kennecott in building a world-class underground mine which will leverage battery-electric vehicle (BEV) technology, following a trial with Sandvik equipment in 2022 involving an LH518B loader and Z50 truck.

The first LH518iB loader in North America has just been delivered to site, with the automation-capable vehicle equipped with Sandvik’s patented self-swapping battery system, including the AutoSwap and AutoConnect functions, to minimise infrastructure needs and enable the loader to return to operation significantly sooner than ‘fast-charge’ mining BEVs, Sandvik claims.

Since launching the vehicle in March 2023, Sandvik has confirmed orders or made deliveries of the LH518iB to operations owned by LKAB, Boliden,Torex Gold, Foran Mining, Rana Gruber and Byrnecut.

Rio Tinto will complement these machines with a fleet of Sandvik TH550Bs, some of which are already operating on site. This 50-t payload truck combine Sandvik’s 50 years of experience in developing loaders and trucks with Artisan™’s innovative electric drivelines and battery packs. The electric drivetrain delivers 560 kW of power and 6,000 Nm of total torque output, allowing for higher ramp speeds for shorter cycle times and an efficient ore moving process, according to the OEM. All of this comes with zero emissions.

They also come with AutoSwap and AutoConnect functions that Sandvik has refined for battery swap processes that take only a few minutes.

Rio Tinto has previously stated on battery-electric vehicle use: “BEVs create a safer and healthier workplace for employees underground, increase the productivity of the mine and reduce emissions from operations.”

BBA expands in North America with new Salt Lake City office

As part of its international growth strategy, BBA has opened an office in Salt Lake City, USA, bringing the consulting engineering services company closer to its clients in a region that, it says, offers attractive business opportunities, particularly in the mining and metals sector.

Hassiba Lkoun, Director of Engineering, and Marc Tardif (pictured on the left with Jérôme Pelletier, President and CEO of BBA), an expert in process control and operational technology, have been on site for several weeks now preparing to open this new branch in the United States.

“We’re already busy building strong relationships with local partners and stakeholders, as well as carrying out automation and electrical engineering mandates at Rio Tinto’s Kennecott mine, located some 30 minutes from Salt Lake City,” LKoun said.

BBA has been providing a wide range of consulting engineering services for over 40 years. Today, its engineering, environmental and commissioning experts team up to, the company says, quickly and accurately pinpoint the needs of industrial and institutional clients, including those in the energy and natural resources industry.

Weir Minerals opens new Salt Lake City distribution centre

Weir Minerals says it has opened a new distribution centre in Salt Lake City, Utah, providing proximity to customers in the heart of US mining country.

The new facility boasts over 10,000 high-density pallet storage locations, 16 active docks with full safety features and four assembly bays. It will allow the company to expedite deliveries and significantly reduce lead times for customer deliveries, Weir Minerals says.

At the ribbon cutting ceremony, Jon Stanton, Weir CEO (pictured in the centre), said: “We’re confident that this centre will serve as a hub of productivity and enable us to reach new heights in terms of speed, accuracy, and customer satisfaction.”

Weir Minerals already has a Linatex facility in Salt Lake City, while its ESCO division also has a branch there.

Murray & Roberts’ da Costa heralds positive impact of TNT, Insig on mining platform

The global mining platform of Murray & Roberts has significantly extended its capabilities over the past several years with two key acquisitions in the US and Australia, Mike da Costa, CEO of the platform, says.

The two companies in which majority interests have been acquired are San Diego, USA-based Terra Nova Technologies, a materials handling specialist, and Australia-based start-up Insig Technologies, which develops and provides digital solutions in the mining field.

Terra Nova designs, supplies and commissions overland conveyors, crushing/conveying systems, mobile stacking systems and in-pit crushing and conveying systems. It has delivered around 75 projects in more than 15 countries, according to Murray & Roberts.

“Terra Nova is a perfect fit for M&R’s mining platform and gives us the capability of delivering, for example, conveying systems of up to 12 000 t/h capacity,” da Costa says. “Its biggest market is North America but it is also active in South America and has an office in Santiago, in Chile. It has, in fact, just won a major contract in Chile.

Our intention is to grow the business by leveraging our global footprint. We will soon establish an Australian arm and we could also bring the company’s services to the African market.”

Commenting on the Insig Technologies acquisition, da Costa says the company is playing a key role in the mining platform’s move towards greater digitalisation of its operations.

“We’ve been working on a digital strategy for the mining platform for some time now and the acquisition of Insig is central to our digital journey,” he says. “Insig’s speciality is extracting data from underground mining environments in real time and then using this data to optimise operations. The company also has in-depth capability in the remote control of machines. We will be using its systems in house initially but will eventually market them to the wider mining industry.”

Interestingly, Insig is playing a key role in developing an energy-saving solution at an Australian mine where our Australian company is working. “Basically, we’re looking at capturing the energy that would normally be wasted in a hoisting shaft and storing it in batteries,” da Costa explains.

Insig Chief Technology Officer, Giacomo Alampi; Toran Filippi – Manager Operations Technology; Peter Ellery, Growth Executive; and Brett Hartmann – Manager Digital & Technology at Murray & Roberts, went into detail about this project in a discussion with IM earlier this year.

The Murray & Roberts mining platform consists of three regional businesses. These are Murray & Roberts Cementation, headquartered in Johannesburg but with branches in Kitwe in Zambia and Accra in Ghana; Cementation Americas (which incorporates Cementation USA), based in Salt Lake City, which handles the Americas; and RUC Cementation, which operates out of Perth in Australia and works throughout Australasia and South-east Asia.

Redline to supply CBRS spectrum and Private LTE solution to Salt Lake City mine

Redline Communications Group Inc is set to provide industrial-grade Citizens Broadband Radio Systems (CBRS) spectrum and Private LTE connectivity solutions for what it says is a leading salt and minerals mine in Salt Lake City, Utah. USA.

The provider of mission-critical data infrastructure for remote and harsh environments is supplying the company with its 150 MHz mid-band CBRS spectrum, enabling the mine to access its Private industrial LTE (iLTE) service and maximise spectral efficiency, it says. Leveraging Redline’s industrial-grade broadband wireless solution, using the CBRS spectrum, the mine can harness the power of superior broadband access, increased network stability and mobility, according to Redline.

“With Salt Lake City being an extremely harsh environment for equipment, the company chose Redline because of its consistent capability to deploy durable products and best-in-class wireless solutions in some of the most challenging working conditions,” Redline says.

Redline’s iLTE is currently deployed at the mine connecting a wide variety of Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) devices, pumps and laptops to support operations. The partnership will eventually expand connectivity services to mining trucks by early 2022.

Reno Moccia, Redline Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, says: “While Wi-Fi coverage is great for some businesses, it has some limitations and is not always the best choice for demanding business and mission-critical applications. The CBRS band combined with Redline’s private iLTE solution overcomes those limitations and provides the mines with two times the capacity and up to four times the range of Wi-Fi.

“With a more reliable, secure and efficient network capability, Redline ensures continuous connectivity for all of their real-time applications and PLC devices.”

Weir ESCO takes advantage of expansion opportunities in Utah, Quebec

Weir ESCO’s growth trajectory has continued in 2021, with the ground engaging tool (GET) major capitalising on two fast-moving expansion opportunities in western USA and eastern Canada in the March quarter.

The acquisitions represent exciting new platforms for sales and brand recognition growth in the two regions, according to the Weir subsidiary.

With one of ESCO’s largest dealers, based in the Western US, set to retire last year, Weir ESCO decided to fill the void.

The company explained: “Without the dealer to represent us, our future with a significant mining operation in the region – a mine that generates approximately 11% of annual copper production in the US – was at stake.”

The mine’s cable shovels are outfitted exclusively with ESCO GET and multiple other pieces of equipment, including hydraulic machines and front-end loaders, are also fitted with ESCO products.

The company’s teams jumped into action to secure the business, with the new Salt Lake City branch becoming operational in early January. It got right to work establishing a direct service relationship with the key customer, Rio Tinto Kennecott, and expanding market share with other mining and infrastructure companies customers in the territory, the company said.

Up north in Canada, the launch of Weir ESCO’s Quebec branch resulted from seizing a timely, high-stakes opportunity, as well, the company said.

Quebec is home to Canada’s largest operating open-pit gold mine, Canadian Malartic. The mine employs more than 2,000 workers around the clock and many pieces of equipment are outfitted with ESCO GET, according to the company.

“When changes in the local distribution channel occurred, Weir ESCO began considering how to parlay the situation into market expansion opportunities,” it said.

Weir Minerals, a division of the Weir parent company, already had an established presence in the area, presenting additional synergy opportunities.

By the end of January, Weir ESCO’s new Quebec team was on board and sharing office space with the Minerals branch (office pictured).

As in Salt Lake City, the Quebec branch will focus on growth through a direct service approach with customers, it said.

Pete Huget, Managing Director for North America, said: “This is an energising time for us as we move with more speed and agility to take advantage of market opportunities to grow the business. We are looking forward to capitalising on these opportunities to service our own customers directly. No one can service a customer like an ESCO employee.”