Tag Archives: Sandvik

Sandvik launches the CT55 and CT67, its most advanced top hammer tool systems yet

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Featuring an industry-first curved thread design, Sandvik’s new CT55 and CT67 top hammer tool systems are, the OEM says, the most advanced it has launched.

The unique design increases efficiency and reduces cost while saving fuel and simplifying automated drilling in surface bench and underground longhole applications, it says.

The new multi-patented, first-of-its-kind curved thread design from Sandvik reduces stress levels by distributing them over a larger area inside the tool. This enables the system to handle higher drilling power and a drill rig’s full potential.

“We are proud to offer an innovation that delivers significantly increased efficiency, since higher drilling parameters are allowed with fewer stops for breakages,” Anders Brungs, Vice President Product Line Top Hammer at Sandvik, said. “Our design increases productivity by 15% while reducing fuel consumption by 15%, as faster drilling means less flushing time.”

Sandvik’s unique new curved thread CT system is designed to increase drilling productivity and reduce cost both underground and on the surface.

“Surface drill rigs have much more power than current standard tools can handle,” Fredrik Björk, Product Manager for Top Hammer Surface Tools at Sandvik, said.

“This means the full potential of the drill rig cannot be used. Our new CT system radically increases the fatigue strength and we’ve also seen 30% longer tool life together with better hole precision in our product evaluation tests with early-adopting customers. This is a fully optimised system that includes the drill rig, the rock drill and the rock tool. The CT system also brings out the full potential of Ranger™ DXi and Pantera™ DPi rigs.”

The higher productivity of the CT systems can be reached with more aggressive settings for parameters like percussion, rotations and feed.

“Trouble-free drilling is key when operating underground,” Robert Grandin, Product Manager for Top Hammer Underground Tools at Sandvik, said. “In addition to higher productivity and lower cost, the extended service life of our CT system will be especially important for underground operations where tool breakages create frustration and interrruptions.

“The stronger geometry that comes with the curved thread design boosts tool service life by more than 30%. The curved design also makes the CT system automation-ready, since easy coupling and uncoupling in itself is an important enabler for automation, a vital technology in many underground operations.”

Sandvik’s new curved thread systems, CT55 and CT67 for surface mining and CT67 for underground mining, are now available. Drill bit diameters are 89-127 mm on CT55 and 102-140 mm on CT67, plus reaming bits 152-204 mm.

Sandvik to build largest US mining facility to date in Elko, Nevada

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To better serve its mining customers in the United States, Sandvik is investing more than $50 million in the company’s largest US facility to date, in Elko, Nevada.

Construction will begin before the end of this year and the new facility is expected to open in the March quarter of 2025. It will cover 14 acres (5.67 ha) and replace the company’s existing Elko office and separate warehouse.

The $51.4 million investment includes larger warehouse and workshop facilities. The new 31,250-sq.ft (2,900-sq.m) warehouse will nearly triple the size of the existing Elko warehouse, while the workshop will grow from 17,800 sq.ft (1,650 sq.m) to 25,000 sq.ft (2,325 sq.m). The two-story facility will also include 13,800 sq.ft (1,280 sq.m) of office and training space.

Designed with circularity, waste reduction and carbon footprint top of mind, the completely new facility will include dedicated infrastructure to support battery-electric vehicles, a training centre, welding areas, a painting booth and a simulator area. The facility will accommodate the current 85 employees with additional capacity for training and growth.

Victor Tapia, Vice President, Sales Area USA, Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, said: “This facility will be our largest of several branches serving the US mining market. We are creating a new, modern work environment for our people and, in turn, for our customers, who operate in rapidly changing market conditions with fast-evolving technology. The new building will facilitate increased collaboration opportunities and enable us to better serve our customers for years to come.”

Sandvik to explore surface drilling automation, digitalisation, electrification advances at new testing facility

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In support of the shift towards electrification and the advancement of autonomous and optimisation technologies in surface drilling, Sandvik has acquired a new testing facility in Finland to develop and prove future surface drilling technologies.

The surface test mine is 40 km northwest of Tampere and Sandvik’s underground test mine. The area, which has previously served as a quarry, will be developed by its own drilling plan. The site is Sandvik’s first dedicated exclusively to surface drilling on such a large scale.

Petri Virrankoski, President, Surface Drilling at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, said: “The development of comprehensive solutions that not only harness the latest technologies but also deliver productivity and reliability in our customers’ real-life applications and conditions requires a real-life test environment. The surface test mine will facilitate the exchange of our deep know-how in equipment manufacturing, rock tools, automation and digitalisation, supporting the design and development of even more new products and solutions in the future.”

Sandvik is currently developing the site, officially known as Sandvik Test Pit, and testing its first drills there. Over the next two years, the company plans to construct permanent office buildings and designated customer facilities at the location.

Sandvik will use the test mine for R&D as well as hosting customers for technology demonstrations, particularly those related to automation, digitalisation and electrification of surface drills. The site will enable technology development and training for both surface boom and rotary drill rigs, as well as rock tools, parts and services and related digital technologies such as automation and fleet telematics and monitoring solutions.

The test mine will also allow Sandvik to explore and demonstrate power source alternatives in a real-world environment, in which infrastructure to support both boom and rotary drilling electrification can be provided.

Dave Shellhammer, President, Rotary Drilling at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, said: “Decarbonisation is accelerating across our industry, and the role of electrification in surface mining sustainability will help guide our development of new systems and solutions. Testing is a major part of our R&D cycle. This new test mine will help us shorten time to market and verify even more swiftly that we’re delivering the safest, most reliable and productive drill rigs to our customers.”

Vesconite Hilube bushings provide boost at Codelco operations

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Codelco has achieved exceptional results through the implementation of Vesconite Hilube wear-resistant bushings on underground LHDs, according to Vesconite.

Departing from traditional bronze bushings, the mining company’s adoption of Vesconite Hilube on Sandvik and Caterpillar LHD booms has led to an unprecedented increase in bushing lifespan, exceeding their initial expectations, it says.

Previously, the company relied on bronze bushings and with 1.5 months of operational life. Vesconite Hilube bushings were introduced in December 2022, with an initial goal of extending bushing life to three months. The reality, however, has far surpassed this objective, as the Vesconite Hilube bushings have endured for nine months and counting.

This transformation has been particularly significant, with the Vesconite Hilube bushings fitted to 30 LHD booms in 2023, with only one instance of a boom fitted with Vesconite Hilube bushings requiring repairs. Notably, the company’s repairer has reported that the bronze bushings occasionally suffered from cracking, making it clear this is not a recurring issue with Vesconite Hilube bushings.

The copper producer has expressed its satisfaction with the results obtained and is actively exploring the expansion of Vesconite Hilube bushings for other applications, Vesconite says. These include trials on mining jumbos and larger LHDs, as well as applications for bushings associated with rear shaft oscillating movement.

Vesconite Bearings’ Argentine distributor, Vesarg, plays a pivotal role in supplying the mine with Vesconite Hilube bushing stock. During a visit to the Chile site, close to Santiago, where booms were being fitted with Vesconite Hilube, Leandro Panzini of Vesarg was briefed on the outcomes of the Vesconite Hilube bushing testing.

Panzini says: “As the world’s leading copper producer explores broader applications for Vesconite Hilube, the mining industry, where Vesconite first proved itself, is showing itself to be an important market for Vesconite products.

“Vesconite Hilube lasts much more than three times the length of bronze in this application.”

Mark Norwell on the Perenti mining services differentiator

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Perenti continues to make inroads across the mining value chain, reflected of late with the recent acquisition of DDH1, record 2023 financial year results and deployment of some of its initial artificial intelligence-backed solutions from the idoba technology business.

Against this busy backdrop and a keynote address at IMARC in Sydney, IM caught up with Mark Norwell, Managing Director & CEO of Perenti, to talk technology in the mining services space.

IM: The contract mining and mining services business is a very competitive space (especially in Australia). How are you readily leveraging technology for your mining clients as a competitive advantage?

MN: The industry has always been competitive, and that global competition continues to evolve.

I would say Barminco has been at the top of the game for three decades. Having that technical competence, the process, the scale and the people drives competitive advantage in its own right. As we have seen some shift in technology and new technology initiatives, the adoption has added to productivity and, therefore, our competitive advantage has grown again.

In terms of how we are adopting technology, there are a couple of areas to mention.

To come back to Barminco, one aspect has been through deploying point solutions for productivity improvement. This has been ongoing and part of our DNA.

More broadly, when we launched the idoba technology division a few years ago, we took the view that as we see greater shifts and acceleration of technology opportunities in mining, we needed the internal capability to drive that change from the inside out; not from the outside in.

We have the deep domain expertise in mining that, when combined with our technology business, further improves our existing contracting services, as well as creates new potential lines of business.

The differentiator for idoba is the ability to develop products and trial them within our own captive ‘sandpit’. A lot of technology companies don’t have this option. They develop solutions and go to mining companies with a great idea that lacks the evidence of trial data needed for many mining companies to implement the solutions. As a result, the trials never get off the ground. We don’t have that problem given we have operations – and supporting clients with matching values – to allow us to trial products in the field. This has been witnessed of late where we are rolling out some products to test across our underground mines in Australia (idoba recently announced that its Mine Performance Navigator AI-powered decision-support and analysis tool had been rolled out to a dozen underground Barminco-operated mine sites).

IM: In terms of automation, digitalisation/digitisation and electrification, where are you looking to take the lead for your mining clients?

MN: They are all interconnected to some extent. Digitisation, for example, really drives the value from deploying automation and electrification. That digital platform is imperative for mines of the future and is where idoba comes into play.

We want to be at the forefront with digitisation and the digital platform; likewise with electrification.

With our Barminco business, we are one of the world leaders in hard-rock underground mining, and electrification just makes sense for underground hard-rock mines – there are so many benefits. What’s also important is the collaboration associated with that. We heard this week from Perenti, ABB and IGO on the IMARC panel discussion that no-one has all of the capabilities to effectively electrify a mine, so choosing partners is crucial to execution.

Under an agreement between mine owner AngloGold Ashanti, Barminco and Sandvik, the Sunrise Dam gold operation in Western Australia began trialing the prototype 65 t Sandvik TH665B on September 14

When it comes to automation, it is an area we are working through. We have established teleremote and remote operating centres in the recent past – operating multiple machines at remote mine sites from Perth, for example – but, at this stage, we are not accelerating these developments at the same pace as electrification and digitisation due to timing really being of the essence for these two.

Saying that, our work with Sandvik and Newtrax on Level 9 collision intervention is related to this, being a building block of automation more broadly as well as a major game changer from the safety perspective. Once we nail that with a digital platform, we will continue to advance automation more broadly. We are closing in on that with Level 9 collision intervention trials expected to take place in the near term.

When we look at idoba and the work we are doing on DiiMOS (Distributed, Intelligent, Integrated Mining Operating System), we are agnostic to the equipment, the mine planning software and the broader mining processes at play. If we are not agnostic, we could end up locking our clients into one route that potentially ends up destroying value. We are also building out a capability where some clients can pick and choose, or take the full suite, from idoba.

The focus is on providing solutions bespoke to the mine’s needs.

IM: How are you balancing your close relationships with the technology vendors and your own internal technology developments through idoba? Who are the most obvious first customers for the idoba platform?

MN: There is always going to be some overlap and crossover, but we come at this with an operator mindset, where technology can augment this. The OEMs come at it from an equipment mindset with associated technologies to bolt on. The combination and partnership of these two approaches makes sense as you have the equipment, technology and operations covered.

There will be areas where we still have some competition but, ultimately, it is limited.

The full value is going to be generated through how we partner and collaborate with all the companies within the value chain. We have a long history of collaborating with Sandvik, for instance, as well as recent history with ABB, and everyone brings something different to the table. Without that combination of capabilities, we are not going to see the industry shift at the rate it needs to.

Our starting point for idoba will be servicing our current customers as we develop new products and support them on their journey. We will see some clients want more of our solutions than others. As we service our current clients with these, we can take what we have learnt to service new clients. The new clients might be mine operators themselves, where we provide digital solutions as a software-as-a-service. This opens up new potential markets to us, which goes to the broader strategy we set in 2019. This recognises the deep domain expertise we have in mining – which has served us extremely well and is not something everyone has. The plan back then was to leverage this and build out the services beyond that current offering; technology being one of those.

As we develop this new technology, we have learnt that we have the ability to offer lower capital intensity solutions that can serve us well throughout the mining cycles.

IM: Looking at decarbonisation and, more specifically, the agreement you have in place with ABB to ‘reduce the risk and uncertainty of electrifying both green and brownfield operations’; could you talk me through what risk mitigation processes you will be using as part of this? How do you tackle the uncertainty associated with making investments in infrastructure, people and technology against a very ‘fluid’ technology backdrop?

MN: There are a couple of areas that need to be front and centre through that journey. The digital integration platform is one of those – the complexity of what we’re solving for these days is far greater than what we were used to. Whether you are putting in a point solution, or a whole mine to electrify, having a digital platform is critical to making the right decisions at the right time.

As the technology evolves, this digital platform is even more integral to reinforcing decision making. If you go straight to the hardware without the digital backbone and the distributed network of energy needed to electrify, you are setup to fail in the long term.

idoba recently announced that its Mine Performance Navigator AI-powered decision-support and analysis tool had been rolled out to a dozen underground Barminco-operated mine sites

The other aspect that needs consideration from a risk mitigation perspective is having the leadership and culture in place to see these projects through. Leaders have to be ready to unlearn and relearn throughout this process.

Not only that you need to try to engineer out risk wherever possible through critical trials, a strong operational methodology and an assessment of the causal factors of what can go wrong and where those points are within the design. This could be through a traditional engineering methodology or technology adoption.

IM: You set up the Denver office a few years ago now. Outside of Hemlo and Red Chris, what does the pipeline of opportunities look like in North America? Does this client base require a different type of offering to what you traditionally have in Australia?

MN: We’re currently about A$100 million ($64 million) of revenue between those two agreements. We are looking for that to grow to A$400-500 million over the next three to four years. We see the pipeline in Canada and the US as significant. We have also installed the former head of AUMS in this business, looking to replicate the success we had in Africa over eight years in North America.

It’s fair to say the contractor model for Barminco is well understood in Australia and Africa; more so than in North America. In North America, they have a contract model that tends to be based on a charge-by-the-hour type of agreements, whereas we are looking to bring a technical approach to all our contracting.

At the same time as looking to grow this business, we are conscious of growing too quickly. Bringing in a new mining methodology takes a lot of change management. We don’t want to go too quick and have a misstep.

IM: What about ongoing M&A? Are there still gaps in the portfolio you are looking to fill?

MN: In terms of our strategy, we have said we will continue to build our portfolio to leverage our core competency in mining and adjacent areas to add value. We ultimately want a complete portfolio of businesses that have adjacencies to our core businesses.

We are still open to further M&A as long as it leverages our core capabilities and makes sense to our investors.

Cat R2900 XE

Cat R2900 XE diesel-electric LHDs brought into Gold Fields net zero plan

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As part of a strategy to reduce carbon emissions from its operations and achieve a ‘net zero’ status by 2050, Gold Fields is investing in three Caterpillar R2900 XE diesel-electric loaders for its underground mines in Western Australia.

The gold miner’s ESG strategy, launched in December 2021, was at the same time embedded as one of three pillars in the company’s strategy. Gold Fields has demonstrated this focus over the last few years, especially when it comes to its efforts to decarbonise its mining operations.

In addition to constructing and commissioning several solar plants, renewable microgrids and low-carbon gas turbines across some of its operations in South Africa and Australia, Gold Fields has been at the forefront of decarbonising the load and haul part of the underground mining cycle.

In 2021, Gold Fields started trialling a Sandvik LH518B 18 t battery-electric underground LHD, in addition to a 50-t-payload battery-electric Z50 truck, also from Sandvik. The machines were put through their paces at the Hamlet North mine, part of the St Ives operation, near Kambalda in Western Australia. The results of these trials were shared with members of the Electric Mine Consortium (EMC).

Rob Derries, Unit Manager: Innovation & Technology at Gold Fields Australia, says the results from testing the loader and truck at St Ives have shown the need for an alternative to assist the battery swap functionality for its local underground mines.

“The depth of our mines and the resultant ramp inclines indicate that a battery swap system alone will be a challenge from an infrastructure or financial perspective when rolling out on a larger fleet-wide basis,” he told IM.

Alongside this work, Gold Fields has trialled a hybrid diesel-electric drive Komatsu WX22H (formerly the Joy 22HD), which uses a Kinetic Energy Storage System to capture and reuse braking energy from each of the four wheels, reducing fuel burn and boosting productivity, according to the OEM and Gold Fields.

In 2021, Gold Fields started trialling a Sandvik LH518B 18 t battery-electric underground LHD

Now, the company has committed to bringing three Caterpillar R2900 XEs into two of its underground mining operations, according to Derries.

Built on the platform of Caterpillar’s most popular underground loader, the R2900G, this LHD features a switch reluctance electric drive system alongside a Cat C15 diesel engine, which offers up to 335 kW of power. The OEM says the machine comes with about 30% increased fuel efficiency compared with the R2900G, with its lower engine revolutions per minute resulting in reduced fuel burn, heat, noise, vibration and exhaust emissions.

Derries said Gold Fields does not consider the R2900 XE a “hybrid” machine given it has no battery or energy storage component on board, but stressed that it still offers the reduced fuel burn and productivity advantages the company is looking for as part of its modernisation strategy.

“From the field-follow trial reports we have seen, it can produce a 35% fuel burn reduction,” he said. “This is why we consider it to be part of our plan to transition our operations to zero emissions, just like the Epiroc machine we are working on.”

Last year, Gold Fields entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Epiroc to develop and test a proof of concept for the 65-t class Minetruck MT65 E-Drive with the aim of having a prototype diesel-electric truck running at the miner’s Granny Smith mine, near Laverton in Western Australia, in late 2024.

Derries says the company is also continuing discussions with all OEM partners on potential battery-electric vehicle deployments at its Australian underground mines, explaining that variations on trolley infrastructure, battery charging and battery swapping were being evaluated.

EMC collaboration builds confidence

The field-follow trials Derries references were integral to Gold Fields making the investment in the Caterpillar diesel-electric vehicles.

“In Australia, there were four field-follow units that Cat sent out, all of which went to EMC member operators,” he said. “The feedback and learnings that came back from these trials, which was shared internally within the consortium, provided the confidence we needed to make the investment decision.”

The EMC is a growing group of leading mining and service companies, all of whom are driven by the imperative to accelerate progress towards the fully electrified zero CO2 and zero particulates mine. In the short time since establishment, the consortium’s membership has grown almost two-fold with over 40 equipment trials in 15 different locations mobilised.

Outside of these Caterpillar R2900 XE field follow units, Westgold Resources took delivery of the first commercial R2900 XE at its Midwest operations in Western Australia, as part of an agreement with WesTrac. The mining company has since agreed to purchase another six of the diesel-electric vehicles.

A separate R2900 XE is due to be delivered to another mining operation in Australia later this year, IM understands.

Derries says Gold Fields has felt the benefits of signing up to the EMC.

“The EMC is a great platform for operators like us to gather information without having to trial everything out there,” he said. “Like the companies that shared their data from the R2900 XE field-follow trials, we shared the learnings from our Sandvik trials – not just our operational performance data.

“We were then able to do a cross check between our battery-electric trial data and the field-follow trials from the Caterpillar machines, giving us the confidence to invest in the three LHDs.”

Derries says the new units are expected to arrive at its operations in the next 12 months.

Centamin-Sukari

Centamin to boost Sukari underground fleet with Cat, Sandvik, Normet and Volvo units

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The transformation of Centamin’s Sukari underground mining operations looks set to continue, with the company having committed some $16 million of capital towards an underground fleet expansion in 2024 and 2025 as part of a push towards increasing mining rates.

Centamin issued a new life of mine plan for the asset in Egypt earlier this month, saying the plan would deliver long-term increased gold production, lower operational costs, reduced operational risk and significantly reduced carbon emissions, according to owner Centamin.

The underground operation, which the company transitioned to owner-operator status last year, is set to become a bigger contributor to the overall operation in future years. This will see underground output rise from 800,000 t/y in its 2022 financial year to 1.4 Mt/y.

This is a shade under the optimal mining rate of 1.5 Mt/y that came out of an underground expansion study completed in the December quarter of 2022, but Centamin said full engineering of this plan had provided opportunities to simplify the mine plan by removing the requirement to expand production by developing underground portals in the open pit, and therefore further reducing the delivery risk. Not only did this reduce the complexity of a potential expansion, it also brought the capital cost down to $16 million, from the $25-35 million previously mooted.

This capital will be deployed on a new equipment fleet for the operation, which includes three 63-t payload Caterpillar AD63 trucks, three 18.5-t payload Caterpillar R2900 XE diesel-electric loaders, one Sandvik DD421 face drill, two Sandvik DL421 longhole drills, one Normet Charmec emulsion charger, a Normet Spraymec concrete sprayer, two Normet Utimec material transporters and a Volvo L120F integrated tool carrier.

Earlier this year, a spokesperson for Centamin told IM that the company was assessing a staged approach from conventional diesel units to hybrid diesel-electric units in the interim at Sukari, with plans to move to full battery-operated loading and haulage units over the longer term.

The Caterpillar 2900 XE offers such an interim step, being a loader that features both a diesel engine and a switch reluctance electric drive system.

Sandvik adds DD322i and DD422i development drills to Digital Driller simulator line-up

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Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions has introduced two new virtual training simulators to its Digital Driller™ offering. The new Sandvik DD322i and Sandvik DD422i Dual Controls simulators feature the latest software and advanced training methods for underground drill operators and maintenance teams, the company says.

Digital Driller simulators offer an authentic, safer learning environment for operator training across all underground hard-rock drilling applications. The virtual training environment means operators can be trained on site with zero damage to equipment or the mine environment, and no impact on machine availability.

Tiia Pohjanlehto, Sandvik Underground Drilling Training Academy Manager, said: “With the addition of the DD322i and DD422i Dual Controls models, we’re enabling even more comprehensive operator training. We can tangibly improve efficiency, productivity and safety, as operators can be trained before the drill rig arrives, on site, or during rig maintenance.”

The new DD322i and Dual Controls simulators complement the introduction of Sandvik DD322i and DD422iE Dual Control development drills to the Sandvik underground drilling portfolio in 2022.

Both new simulators retain the classic features of Digital Driller – such as total location flexibility, easy setup, customisable training courses and group learning – and now feature upgraded software for a more sophisticated and authentic operator experience, Sandvik claims.

The Dual Controls simulator, showcased earlier this year at the CIM Convention in Montreal, replicates the unique dual drilling control panel available for Sandvik DD422i and Sandvik DD422iE rigs, and can be further customised to include either one or two control panels during training, depending on the application. Operators can experience true multi-task operations from a single control panel, including bolting, boring and meshing.

The innovative Digital Driller simulators also offer environmental and sustainability benefits, with no rock tools or fuel consumed during training, zero damage to the rig or mine and zero harm to personnel, Sandvik says.

These simulators can be used across all competency levels, from product familiarisation and basic training for novice operators, to developing and refreshing the skills of experienced operators. Trained operators receive a formal qualification in Beginner, Professional or Drill Master levels after each module has been completed, the company added.

Sandvik launches new ‘fully electric’ crushing solution

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Sandvik Mobile Crushers and Screens has built a new ‘fully electric’ crushing solution based off its CJ412 jaw crusher that, it says, continues to drive the sustainability shift in the crushing and screening industry.

The Sandvik UJ443E is built upon a new ‘fully electric’ track platform and features high quality, reputable componentry throughout, as well as the latest generation Sandvik CJ412 jaw crusher.

Its new modular feed station includes a larger hopper, two feeder options with larger grizzly cassettes and an optional under screen for greater natural fines extraction before crushing, allowing operators to optimise their process flow depending on feed conditions and material, the company says.

The UJ443E is designed for hard and abrasive rock applications, making it ideal for the quarry, mining and contractor segments, the company says.

Aligning with Sandvik’s “make the shift strategy”, the UJ443E has been designed with an increased focus on sustainability, productivity and durability, while retaining the look, feel and value proposition customers’ demand.

The fully electric UJ443E provides customers with up to 30% reduction in fuel consumption, the company says, and up to 30% increase in throughput versus previous generation products.

It features electric final drives and an onboard generator set, meaning it can be operated in a more sustainable way, being powered by either an external electricity supply, HVO or diesel from the onboard genset.

Operating while connected to the external electric source can bring several advantages, including lowering running costs, extending drive train service intervals, reducing time spent refuelling, reducing on-site emissions and lowering noise levels. The fully electric track drives also decrease the use of hydraulic oil on the plant by up to 91%, the company claims.

The UJ443E features a 125 Amp downstream connection which allows customers to operate a downstream plant such as a screener or scalper, providing up to 20% decrease in fuel consumption compared with running separate units.

The unit comes with improved access to maintenance, including new access platform under and a newly designed automatically locking folding hopper sides, that can be operated from ground level. The new automation system with Optik™ intuitive user experience, includes simplified operation controls and total integration with the Sandvik My Fleet telematics solution. Diagnostic support, pre-installed guides for troubleshooting and real-time information allows customers to know exactly how their equipment is being utilised, Sandvik added.

De Beers taking major technology steppingstone at Venetia Underground

Automation, Comminution of minerals, Communications in mining, Diamond mining, Environmental, Explosives and blasting, IoT, Mine shafts and equipment, Mine ventilation, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining project news, Mining safety, Mining services, Mining software, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Making the transition from an open pit mine that has been operating successfully for 30 years to an underground operation that could become one of the most mechanised and automated in the world is not something that happens overnight.

De Beers Group embarked on the $2.3 billion underground expansion of its Venetia asset in Limpopo Province in 2012, in a move that represented the biggest single investment in South Africa’s diamond mining industry in decades.

Underground production began at the mine back in June this year, at a point when construction completion was estimated at 70%.

The introduction of autonomous mining systems performing multiple mining processes to deliver up to 6 Mt/y of kimberlite ore – for circa-4 Mct/y of diamonds – is now beginning, with a ramp-up process occurring over the next four years, according to Moses Madondo, Managing Director of De Beers Group Managed Operations.

“The technologies we are implementing – some of which are under development themselves – will be gradually phased in,” he told IM. “Where appropriate, we will take advantage of ‘proven’ technologies first to ease the change management process, before advancing to less mature technologies thereafter.

“The process should see us start operating areas of the mine in autonomous capacity by 2027.”

De Beers has engaged Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions for its automated production machines, with the OEM delivering a 34-strong fleet made up of LHDs, ADTs, twin-boom drill rigs, roof bolters, cable bolters and production long hole drills. A further 12 units will be delivered in the future. These iSeries machines include 17- and 21-t payload LH517i and LH621i LHDs, 51-t payload TH551i ADTs, DD422i face drills, DS412i roof bolters, DS422i cable bolters and DL422i production drills.

Employee in the cab of one of the fleet of Sandvik machines

The underground mine will use sublevel caving to extract material from its K01 and K02 orebodies. Initially the ore will be hauled to surface using a combination of underground and surface haul trucks. As the operation matures, the hauling systems will transition to an automated truck loop in combination with vertical shafts for steady-state production.

Sandvik is also providing its AutoMine® system for the remote operation of loaders and trucks and its OptiMine® system for machine health monitoring, task management and location tracking.

Automation will be applied through a phased approach, beginning with manual operation and close monitoring of performance through data analytics. Automation will then gradually be introduced with the necessary training and experience in the operation and support of these technologies.

Madondo explained: “Our current fleet is made up of manually operated machines, which are optimised with automated task management. This process still requires an on-board operator, although many functions are automated.

“The next step would be autonomous machines, operated and overseen from surface, with our training centres already set up to deliver that.”

A pilot project to prepare the production team for the use of remote loading at the drawpoints and autonomous tramming to the tip is in the process of being established, with trials set for later this year and into 2024.

With sublevel cave mining, there is a risk of mud rushes and water ingress at drawpoints and remote loading will allow material to be loaded without putting operators at risk.

This pilot project will have a single loader operating under AutoMine Lite in a dedicated area on 46 Level that is isolated from other areas of the mine, with the machine controlled locally from a mobile tele-remote station just outside the autonomous operating area (ie not from surface).

An integrated operations centre on surface has been constructed and is in the final stages of commissioning.

Moses Madondo, Managing Director of De Beers Group Managed Operations

This is but a fraction of the emerging technology the company plans to employ at the mine, as Madondo highlighted.

“Of course, we will be integrating more technologies into the mix – digital mobility, data analytics, a cave management system, collision prevention, personnel alert systems, equipment location and tracking, production management through digital platforms, centralised blasting systems and digital twins,” he said. “All of these projects have people working on them to deliver our project objectives.”

For Madondo, the business case for employing such high levels of mechanisation and automation has only strengthened in the 11 years since the first shovel was placed in the ground for the underground project.

“This is a challenge with deep underground mining projects – they take a long time to develop and, in that period, technology and economics change,” he said. “It is, however, clear that mechanised mining allows you to take on these advanced technologies as the years go by.

“The investments are not just for technology’s sake. The business case must be built on our ability to improve safety and keep our people away from harm; as well as to make us more efficient and beat inflation, ensuring the margins we promised investors are realised.”

On the former, the company has partnered with Booyco Electronics on rolling out the South Africa-based company’s Level 9 – as defined by the Mining Industry Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) organisation of South Africa – Booyco Electronics CWS850 collision prevention system at the mine.

“All of our Sandvik equipment is Level 9-enabled and we’re busy on this rollout,” Madondo said. “We’re already employing Level 7 (a system that warns pedestrians of their proximity to trackless mobile machinery) for this equipment. It’s now just a matter of getting to that new advanced level efficiently and safely.”

The company is also employing the Mobilaris Mining Intelligence platform for personnel location and situational awareness to help locate individuals in case of an emergency and notify them of incidents should they occur.

On the productivity side, the company is employing a cave management system to prevent overdrawing, Madondo says, linking the sub level caving mine plan with on-board LHD diagnostics and bucket weighing for efficiency and safety.

Process controller overseeing processing operations within the Venetia Mine

On top of OptiMine and AutoMine from Sandvik, the company is looking to integrate Howden’s Ventsim™ CONTROL system for monitoring, control and optimisation of underground mine ventilation in a ventilation on demand (VoD) application.

“We will gradually introduce VoD and Ventsim CONTROL as it allows us to 1) optimise the use of air and ventilation; and 2) retain the right condition and hygiene levels in the areas of the active mine,” Madondo said.

In an automated mining scenario, Ventsim CONTROL could potentially start ventilating an area of the mine in line with the expected arrival of the autonomous equipment, optimising the process and environment, and, as a result, reducing energy use.

Reaching the pinnacle

Also part of that discussion is decarbonisation – an area the company has already made significant progress on with its move underground.

“Transitioning from surface to underground has reset the energy balance,” Madondo said. “This has seen the site become far less reliant on energy from fossil fuel sources, with the big trucks and loaders from the pit replaced with smaller underground equipment and more electrical infrastructure.

“We predict by that, by 2030, 85% of all energy consumed will be electrical and only 6% will be diesel. That is a significant shift from the open-pit operation where nearly 85% of all energy consumed was from diesel.”

The company’s broader electrification work is currently in the review stage, but Madondo did provide some insight into the focus areas.

“We are looking at battery LHDs and trucks; we will consider trolley assist hauling loops and tethered electrical loading in some of the areas too,” he said. “It is all part of a progressive shift that will be integrated with the sourcing of renewable power for the mine.”

De Beers itself has set targets to become carbon neutral across its operations by 2030, Venetia Underground included.

The first electrification project the company is likely to embark on is a battery-electric retrofit of one of its light duty vehicles, Madondo said, explaining that this technology is relatively mature and comes with less infrastructure requirements due to the ability to charge the machines on surface.

“Our wider electrification plans are being influenced by the maturity of the technology; it may be more beneficial to wait until the adoption rate and learnings increase before we commit,” he added.

Even with the planned integration of such advanced technology at Venetia Underground, Madondo says De Beers still has some way to go to achieve the FutureSmart Mining innovation-led approach to sustainable mining that its parent company, Anglo American, advocates for.

“The pinnacle of De Beers mining expertise will probably be realised when we get to rollout our Diamond FutureSmart Mining, which ultimately is a mine design that we can use to develop future mines that make mining safer, more efficient, more sustainable and with a smaller environmental footprint,” he said.

“Of course, Venetia is certainly a steppingstone to that, but we will hopefully apply the learnings from Venetia for Jwaneng Underground (in Botswana) in the not-too-distant future. That could represent a different, more technologically advanced proposition where all processes are setup to benefit from the latest innovations.”

He concluded: “This will ensure we help create a healthy environment, that we catalyse thriving communities, and that we build trust as a corporate leader. We are shaping a future that creates shared value for all our stakeholders.”