Tag Archives: utility vehicles

BTI expands western US mining reach with Arnold Machinery agreement

Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, , , , , ,

Breaker Technology Inc (BTI) says it has selected Arnold Machinery Co to distribute rockbreaker systems, mining mobile equipment and breaker attachments to the western US mining market.

Serving the US mining industry for 90 years, Arnold Machinery is well-versed in mining methods and equipment and is positioned to provide top-notch sales, service, and parts from their facilities throughout the Western US, BTI said. The move will improve Breaker Technology’s position in the US mining industry, according to the company.

Terry McKague, BTI’s Director of Sales, said the company knows Arnold Machinery well having worked together in the construction industry for some time.

“We have always been impressed with their commitment to serve the customer, it is in their culture. Providing quality equipment with a long-term view fits well with BTI’s strategy,” he said.

BTI has over 60 years of experience in providing rockbreaking technology and offers an extensive line of rockbreaker systems, scalers, and attachments that power productivity and get mining companies ahead of the grade, the company said. “Additionally, Breaker Technology’s Mine Runner offers a 6,000 lb (2.7 t) payload and is available in various configurations including a personnel carrier, mechanic’s truck, utility pick-up or a simple flat deck.”

Tom O’Bryne, Arnold Machinery’s COO and Mining Equipment President, said: “Arnold Machinery Co’s Silver Service® is the engine of our growth and customer satisfaction is our focus. BTI and Arnold Machinery Company’s cultures align for one common purpose, customer satisfaction is our only policy.’”

Arnold Machinery has been in business since 1929. It is a full service distributor of construction, material handling, and mining equipment, and a wholesale distributor of farm implements in the western US.

Back in August, BTI signed a deal with Creighton Rock Drill (CRD) to distribute and service its underground mining vehicles, rockbreaker systems and hydraulic breaker attachments in the key Sudbury market.

Zeal Motor Inc brings off-road FAT TRUCK to mine utility vehicle market

Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Mining services, , , , , , , , , ,

Zeal Motor Inc has launched the FAT TRUCK™, the first in a series of industrial off-road utility vehicles specifically designed for the transportation of personnel and materials in difficult terrains.

Recently established in the Bromont industrial park, Quebec, Zeal Motor said production of the FAT TRUCK, which will create 15 jobs in the manufacturing plant, should lead to solid future growth. The project has required an initial investment of C$1.5 million ($1.13 million).

The startup received C$573,300 in financial assistance from the Government of Quebec and the Government of Canada, which will allow it to grow and quickly break into the market, the Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) said in a press release.

The CED added that the FAT TRUCK would meet the requirements of energy providers and mining companies.

Zeal Motor said: “The founders, Maxim O’Shaughnessy, Benoit Marleau and Amine Khimjee, all three experts in the field of industrial vehicles, are pursuing their mission of creating innovative products in this specialty market segment.”

O’Shaughnessy, President of Zeal Motor, said: “Until now, there is no efficient solution meeting the requirements and safety standards of the industrial sector. FAT TRUCK will address the specific needs of contractors working on power lines, pipelines, telecommunications and wind farms. Moreover, FAT TRUCK will become an essential vehicle for search and rescue.”

The US, Canada, Australia and the Scandinavian countries represent the company’s main target markets, it said, with several customers and international dealers having already shown a “keen interest”.

Through its Programme Exportation, the Government of Quebec granted Zeal Motor C$54,300 to help with the implementation of an international marketing strategy. In addition, Investissement Québec offered the company a C$150,000 loan guarantee.

The Government of Canada granted the business C$369,000 in financial assistance. The National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program provided a non-repayable contribution of up to C$150,000 for a research and development project to support Zeal Motor Inc. in developing a prototype model of this new type of vehicle.

For its part, CED granted the company a repayable contribution of C$219,000 under the Quebec Economic Development Program, which allowed Zeal Motor to finalise product development (final drawings, certification, patent) and launch marketing activities in Canada and the US.

Forefront’s HEX-RITE draws a crowd at International Symposium on Block and Sublevel Caving

Base metals, Coal technology, Energy minerals, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Mining services, Precious metals, Steel and iron ore, , , , ,

Australia company, Forefront launched an innovative charging product to the world’s mining community at the fourth International Symposium on Block and Sublevel Caving, held in Vancouver, Canada, last month.

The event allowed the company to launch HEX-RITE®, a lifting tool used for charging high explosives into drawpoints associated with block-cave, sublevel-cave and open-stope mining.

Forefront said the growing popularity of block caving and sublevel caving around the world is largely due to the very low production cost and the intrinsic safety associated with these mining methods. They are often the only viable mining methods for some of the lower-grade massive orebodies that are becoming too deep for open-pit mining.

“Australian mines such as Ridgeway, Cadia East, Argyle and Northparkes have adopted these mining methods to great success,” Forefront Director Anthony Redfern said. “There’s now an increase in interest from international companies, so we were excited to present HEX-RITE in person to some of the mining industry’s top experts.”

HEX-RITE was initially designed to be used in block-cave mines. In the block-caving mining method, the orebody is undercut so the base of the orebody starts collapsing, or caving, due to the mass of overlying material.

“The orebody subsides under gravity, gathering at draw points for collection and, later, processing. At the same time, the caving process gradually propagates upward and further into the orebody. Often, overly large fragments can block an extraction draw point. The culprit can be a single boulder or a stringed arch of smaller boulders. These blockages are referred to, by block-caving miners, as ‘hang-ups’,” Forefront said.

“Stresses created by the blockage transmit to important mine structures, such as draw point brows, structural pillars and extraction-level drives. Damage can go as far as causing footwall heave and failure of sidewalls and the extraction of these hang-ups can create a fatal work environment for miners as they manoeuvre equipment and explosives to eradicate any obstacles.”

The HEX-RITE removes personnel from the line of fire while safely, and efficiently, clearing oversize material hangups, according to Forefront. This was a solution symposium delegates from almost 100 different companies and 14 countries were introduced to at the show.

“This was an incredible opportunity to showcase Forefront’s secondary break application tools to a global market,” Redfern said, who was joined by Forefront Product and Design Manager Ron Bell and Business Development Manager Nick Clift at the show.

“The symposium was deemed a success with potential partnerships formed with block and sublevel cave mines in the Americas, Asia and Europe,” Forefront said.

Additionally, the Australian Centre for Geomechanics has invited Forefront to be involved in an experiment with leading industry engineers to test the seismic load failure point of ground support mechanisms.

Forefront concluded: “There are many countries who already share Australia’s high standards of work safety but don’t have the resources to implement them. We hope the introduction of our products will encourage the mining industry worldwide to adopt our safety measures and to support Australian innovations like ours.”

MacLean sees big future for LR3 utility vehicle in Australia

Base metals, Energy minerals, Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Precious metals, Steel and iron ore, Uncategorised, ,

A fifth LR3 Boom Lift unit is soon to be delivered into Freemantle port in Western Australia, and MacLean Engineering is banking on there being plenty more of its heavy load/high reach utility vehicles reaching Australia’s underground mines soon.

The LR3 has been manufactured by MacLean to solve a number of elevated work platform needs at high-back mines across the world.

In addition to the heavy load/high reach features – which sees the LR3 able to provide lifting capacity of up to 10,000 pounds (4.5 tonnes) from the ground up to 8 m – the utility vehicle has articulated steering for tight cornering, a radio remote drive system and is equipped with a Mercedes 906 engine with 150 kW rated output. It also has +\-15 degree boom swing and +/- 30 degree deck swing ranges, providing flexibility in tunnel headings of 5 m or more.

The machines are also equipped with an auxiliary hydrostatic drive system that, when working in parallel with the regular drive system, allows the unit to advance or retreat while the basket is in the air, increasing productivity.

George Fisher, part of the Mount Isa Mines complex, received one of the units back in February and has been using it to access heavy-weight ventilation fans at height underground at the mine. Such a task previously carried extra risk, according to Stephen Thomas, Account Manager for MacLean in eastern Australia.

“[Australian underground operators] were using an IT (integrated tool) unit to put the D Shackle or daisy chain on, and were standing on the handrail as they needed the extra height,” he told IM. Another option was to fill an LHD bucket with sand, ask a worker to climb in and get the LHD operator to lift them up to access these fans.

Neither sounds safe, but John Botelho, Product Manager for Utility Vehicles at MacLean, said these practices were accepted because no other option existed.

That is, until recently.

The LR3 is fully compliant with the new elevated work platform standards across Australia and is certified to lift and access the weighty ventilation fans that previously caused problems for underground operators.

The vehicle is built for more than this, with the LR3 able to carry out water pipe installation, drilling, and electrical services underground thanks to the ability to interchange cassettes with other MacLean vehicles. This means existing customers can get the most out of the unit’s heavy load/high reach capabilities by detaching cassettes from, say, a scissor truck and reattaching it to the LR3.

“It’s a multi-purpose unit with the main target being the twin fan installation and that reach just provides us with all sorts of other flexibility to do so all sorts of smaller jobs,” Botelho told IM.

Even though it is early days for the LR3 – MacLean only announced the launch of the LR3 in February last year – it has already had an interesting start to life.

The first unit ever manufactured is working at Glencore’s Bracemac zinc-copper-silver operation in northern Quebec (pictured in operation), the second is with contractor Barminco – and is now operating at AngloGold Ashanti’s Sunrise Dam operation – while the third and fourth are operating in northern Manitoba and southern Mongolia (Oyu Tolgoi), respectively.

A fifth is due to be delivered to Freemantle port next month and Thomas is confident of soon confirming a buyer.

Such is the company’s confidence in the product and the market demand for it – especially from Australia’s underground mining sector – that MacLean is building the units ahead of orders.

“The units are being built to an Australia specification and shipped to accommodate shipping times over that distance,” Botelho said, explaining the units spend a month on the water being transported from Canada to Australia.

Some of North America’s larger heading underground mines, plus some operations in Europe, are also registering an interest in the LR3, the company said.