Tag Archives: Western Australia

Orexplore’s GeoCore X10 to start scanning core at Wiluna Mining gold operation

IoT, Mineral exploration, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , ,

Orexplore Technologies says it has signed a binding agreement with Wiluna Mining Corp to deliver site-based drill core scanning services for the ASX-listed gold miner at its namesake operation in Western Australia.

The globally focused mineral scanning technology company says the purchase order is valued at A$170,000 ($127,418) and covers a two-month agreement for the scanning and analysis of circa-2,000 m of NQ core on-site. This work, Orexplore says, will support the current exploration drill campaign activities.

Subject to site conditions and the campaign status, additional core quantities may be added to the scanning program to be determined by Wiluna.

Orexplore will deploy to site a self-sustained containerised unit using the in-field GeoCore X10® platform and the Orexplore Insight analysis software. The company will also deploy to site a scanning technician to operate the unit and effectively integrate it into the site workflows.

The significance of the agreement is that it represents a fully commercial site deployment of Orexplore’s exploration value proposition that delivers improved rapid decision making from near-real-time field-based core analysis that seeks to deliver time and cost savings across exploration programs, Orexplore said.

Orexplore’s technology platform comprises its field sensing GeoCore X10 product that extracts information from drilled core potentially hours after its extraction. GeoCore X10 is the result of over 20 years of X-ray research, algorithm development and sensor technology, offering non-destructive measurements and no drill core preparation ahead of time.

The Orexplore Insight software then connects geological decision makers anywhere in the world to analyse and interpret results to accelerate decision making, the company said.

Orexplore’s Managing Director, Brett Giroud, said: “We are extremely pleased to collaborate with Wiluna Mining as they leverage technology to increase exploration value. This agreement further confirms the increasing demand for operators to receive fast, in-field information from drilling that is fit for purpose and highly targeted towards improving dynamic exploration decision speed and quality.”

He added: “The in-field deployment of the patented GeoCoreX10 technology that combines high resolution 3D tomography with a large range of detected elements is a unique combination for the mining sector. The deployment at Wiluna, in conjunction with their exploration drilling, further supports Orexplore’s strategy and vision, and we look forward to delivering value to Wiluna.”

To date, Wiluna Mining has outlined 5.53 Moz of resources and 1.29 Moz of reserves within a 1,600 sq.km tenement package in the Northern Goldfields of Western Australia. The company, last week, said it had produced 3,855 t of gold concentrate since ramp-up (7,800 oz) at an average grade of 69.9 g/t, while three shipments and 4,488 oz of gold had been dispatched.

RME supplies Northern Star’s Thunderbox mine with 500th Mill Relining Machine

Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , , ,

In what it says is a major milestone, Russell Mineral Equipment (RME) has designed and completed production of its 500th Mill Relining Machine (MRM) for Australia-based gold producer Northern Star Resources Ltd.

This custom-made RUSSELL MRM will be accepted by Northern Star at a ceremony at RME’s global headquarters in Toowoomba, Queensland, this month. This MRM will service Northern Star’s new SAG mill at its Thunderbox project in the Goldfields of Western Australia.

RME and Northern Star began their relationship at the Kanowna Belle Operations, some 30 years ago with the purchase of RUSSELL MRM number five (MRM005). Northern Star owns six RUSSELL MRMs, including the 400th RUSSELL MRM, commissioned in 2018 at Kanowna Belle. Thismachine replaced a RUSSELL MRM that had been in operation at Kanowna Belle for 25 years.

The 500th RUSSELL MRM is a RUSSELL 7-axis, 6,000-kg capacity machine. The RUSSELL 7 is RME’s signature model sold globally, and this unit also comes with advanced RME INSIDEOUT™ technologies. These proprietary new technologies, developed by RME, enable placement and removal of grinding mill liners without any crew working on the charge inside the mill, greatly reducing exposure of personnel to significant hazards, the company says.

Since the introduction of the very first RUSSELL 7-axis MRM in 1992, traditional mill relining times have been quartered and many health and safety hazards have been eliminated, RME says.
Chief Customer Officer, Cherylyn Russell, says RME is a proud supplier to the hard-rock mining and mineral processing industry, primarily those processing gold and copper.

“This milestone is a chance to acknowledge the technology and safety advances of the RME Mill Relining System that enable giant grinding mills to get back to work quicker after regular relining,” she said. “Mill relining is the most specialised maintenance task in the mineral concentrator process and often dictates the length of shutdowns. RME’s innovative, customised, robust equipment helps increase mine site profitability, all while improving the safety of the working environment.”

Thiess to deliver mining services to Mount Holland lithium mine JV

Energy minerals, Explosives and blasting, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , ,

Thiess says it has been awarded a four-year contract by Covalent Lithium to deliver mining services at the Mount Holland lithium mine in Western Australia.

Covalent Lithium is a joint venture between Wesfarmers and Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM), one of the world’s largest lithium miners.

Under the contract, Thiess will deliver drill and blast services, mining of overburden and ore, and equipment maintenance with a strong focus on community development and environmental protection, it said. Thiess commenced mobilisation and early mining operations in January.

Thiess Executive Chairman and CEO, Michael Wright, said: “We are very pleased to be selected by Covalent to undertake mining at the Mount Holland mine. This award recognises our team’s ability to deliver sustainable mining solutions and deliver enduring value for our clients across diverse commodities.

“We look forward to working with Covalent Lithium to safely position their operations for optimal efficiency, productivity and cost performance, and contribute strongly to a clean energy future.”

The Mount Holland Mine produces lithium-bearing ore that is concentrated and refined to produce lithium hydroxide, a mineral used to enable electric vehicles and battery-based energy storage systems. EPC contractor, Primero, is currently constructing the Mt Holland concentrator to process ‘run of mine’ ore at a rate of circa-2 Mt/y and produce an output of circa-400,000 t/y of spodumene concentrate to feed the company’s integrated lithium hydroxide conversion refinery situated in Kwinana.

Cobham confirms seven-year FIFO extension for Murrin Murrin mine site

Base metals, Mining services, , , , , , , , ,

Cobham Regional Services has been awarded a new seven-year contract with Minara Resources (wholly owned by Glencore), to provide fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) services to its Murrin Murrin site in the eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.

Minara Resources is Australia’s largest cobalt producer and a major producer of nickel, and a foundation FIFO client of Cobham.

Cobham Regional Services Managing Director, Claude Alviani, said that Cobham had been providing FIFO services to Murrin Murrin since the mine commenced operations in 1996.

“We are absolutely delighted to continue the relationship we have with Minara as their aviation partner of choice,” Alviani said. “The operators of Murrin Murrin were pioneers of FIFO in Western Australia, using an airbridge to connect workers to site well before it became common practice.

“Over the past six months, Minara has transitioned to our modern, lower carbon emission aircraft with the E190 and Q400 now servicing the site.”

Brett Fowler, General Manager, Minara Resources, said: “We are pleased to continue our relationship with Cobham, a long-term partner of the Murrin Murrin operations. We welcome the addition of the lower carbon emission aircraft to Murrin Murrin as we continue to produce the nickel and cobalt that are critical commodities for the transition to a low-carbon economy.”

The new contract comes at a pivotal time for the industry in Western Australia as the State prepares to open its borders.

Cobham’s Business Development Director, Tim Pirga, said that Cobham was well positioned for transitioning to the next phase of living with COVID.

“We have a private terminal which allows us to offer bespoke solutions for COVID screening, health checks and passenger separation,” he said. “Minara will take advantage of our facility and of our experiences operating in other states where borders have been open for some time.”

Anax Metals brings Gekko in for process plant design at Whim Creek copper mine

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , ,

Anax Metals Limited has appointed Gekko Systems as process plant design consultant to assist with the design process of a polymetallic sulphide concentrator plant at the Whim Creek copper mine in Western Australia, Gekko says.

The concentrator plant will be designed to process approximately 320,000 t/y of pre-concentrate, with feedstock for the concentrator consisting of primary sorted ore and upgraded fines from the gravity circuit.

Anax plans to design the process plant and associated infrastructure such that it may be fabricated and assembled on skids, in a factory, prior to transportation and installation on site. This strategy delivers many significant benefits and reduces site related construction risks.

Anax’s Managing Director, Geoff Laing, said: “We are very pleased to be working with the Gekko team and look forward to delivering a cost-effective modular plant for Whim Creek. Modularisation is a key element of the ‘Anax Blueprint’ which is expected to deliver leveraged outcomes to our projects.”

NRW to leverage MaxMine tech platform at Dalgaranga gold mine

Automation, Communications in mining, IoT, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , ,

NRW Holdings’ mining division has entered into an agreement with MaxMine to install its technology across the A$300 million ($216 million) Dalgaranga gold mine contract in Western Australia.

The MaxMine platform harnesses cutting-edge hardware, digital automation, advanced artificial intelligence-based analytics and human-powered coaching to empower mine sites to increase environmental efficiency and operationally productivity, according to the company.

NRW was seeking a mining technology provider who could provide reliable data-driven, automated optimisation of its operations on site, leveraging the existing teams and fleet to further its data and broader technology leadership ambition within the mining industry.

The Dalgaranga gold mine is owned by Gascoyne Resources. NRW reach agreements with Gascoyne to keep providing services at the mine back in 2020 after the miner’s successful A$125 million recapitalisation process.

NRW has invested in building out its internal data analytics capabilities and was ready to step up its approach to partnering with service providers that supply to industrial data quality and help solve big data analytics challenges, it said.

Additionally, a tight domestic labour market has increased operator turnover at all mine sites and is an especially challenging issue for the mining contracting segment.

MaxMine’s technology automatically captures, enhances and contextualises up to 10,000 times more data at open-pit mining operations, relative to the industry standard fleet management system products, according to the company. Its data processing pipelines automatically contextualise all equipment, operator, and site data relative to each other, and dynamically to the conditions within the shift, such as weather, or other external factors.

This contextualised site data (a digital twin) is translated, in tandem with implementation coaching, to generate tangible increases in asset productivity and reliability of equipment, through three primary improvement states. These are: (1) Get in control; (2) Optimise Performance; and (3) Ramp up production rates.

These outcomes are evidenced by existing customers who experience, on average, an 11% payload increase and halve tyre costs after implementing MaxMine, the company said.

NRW Operations Manager, Adam Harper, said continuous innovation and intelligent use of data is core to NRW mining division’s future, and another way NRW is consistently adding value for its customers beyond moving tonnes.

NRW General Manager Mining Division, Tim Abrahams, added: “NRW emphasises good data as a critical enabler of our operational effectiveness and partnering with MaxMine, who are a leader in fleet operations data, allows us to continuously improve our performance for our customers.”

MaxMine Chief Executive Officer, Coert Du Plessis, said the two companies were aligned in pursuing a more sustainable and reliable mining industry.

“The benefits from this cooperation extend beyond MaxMine or NRW; the global challenge of ‘Net Zero’ by 2050 cannot be achieved without an order of magnitude change in mining efficiencies. Working with NRW is another fantastic example of great partnerships helping transform a critically important industry into a safer, more efficient and environmentally-friendly component of the world’s economy.”

The announcement of the agreement with NRW comes one month after MaxMine officially launched MaxMine Carbon, a technology offering that, the company says, will enable mining operators to reduce their carbon emissions by 5-20%, depending on their existing efficiencies, with limited or no additional capital expenditure.

South32 to leverage KCC low carbon caustic soda shipping solutions for Worsley

Base metals, Bulk handling, Mine operation news, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

KCC Chartering AS and a subsidiary of South32 Limited have signed a six-year contract of affreightment (COA) for shipments of caustic soda to South32’s Worsley Alumina refinery in Western Australia.

KCC Chartering is a subsidiary of Klaveness Combination Carriers ASA, a company the refinery has had a relationship with for more than 30 years, servicing the Worsley site with four generations of combination carriers. KCC says it is the world leader in combination carriers, owning and operating eight CABU and eight CLEANBU combination carriers for wet and dry bulk cargoes.

The COA establishes a framework for how KCC and South32 will work together to deliver further reductions in carbon emissions associated with South32’s caustic soda ocean freight to Australia.

The agreed sustainability framework includes detailed CO2 emission reporting and the establishing of trajectories for annual CO2 reductions targets, and arrangements for how to co-operate to reach the set targets, KCC said. It further includes an ambition to jointly establish a pathway towards future zero emission freight.

KCC’s CEO, Engebret Dahm, said: “This contract marks another important milestone in the longstanding relationship between South32 and KCC. In this next era of our relationship, together we will address the main challenge of our generation – climate change. We have jointly set ambitions to considerably reduce shipping carbon emissions through building on KCC’s low carbon caustic soda shipping solution, which already today provides South32 with a 30-40% lower carbon footprint than competing tanker vessels.”

South32 Chief Human Resources and Commercial Officer, Brendan Harris, said: “We are pleased to continue our relationship with KCC and our joint efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the maritime supply chain. It’s partnerships like these that contribute to the decarbonisation of our value chain and promote the responsible production of commodities needed in a low-carbon world. At South32, we are committed to achieving net zero operational carbon emissions by 2050 and have set a medium-term target to halve these emissions by 2035.”

NRW cements Karara Mining services contract

Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

NRW has followed up on a letter of intent with Karara Mining Limited for mining services works at the Karara Iron Ore mine in Western Australia, sealing a formal contract with the company.

The contract value is circa A$702 million ($502 million) over a five-year duration, with the project workforce averaging an estimated 250 personnel.

Located 200 km southeast of Geraldton in the Shire of Perenjori, Karara is the largest mining operation and the first major magnetite mine in the Mid West. It produces a premium, high-grade concentrate product for export to steelmakers.

With an expected mine life of 30-plus years, Karara’s operation includes a large open-pit mine, complex ore processing and beneficiation plant and significant infrastructure and logistics networks.

The works to be performed include load and haul, drill and blast and run of mine re-handling with the drill and blast component to be undertaken by NRW’s wholly owned subsidiary, Action Drill & Blast Pty Ltd.

In addition, the work includes train loading and rehandling of the product stockpiles together with miscellaneous dayworks at the mine site, camp and access roads.

Key mining equipment required for the project including three 600 t excavators and a fleet of 220 t trucks is being progressively mobilised to site for commissioning, with works commencing in March 2022.

NRW Chief Executive Officer, Jules Pemberton, said: “I am delighted that NRW has now been formally awarded the contract and I look forward to a long and successful partnership with Karara Mining.”

Karara Chief Executive Officer, Changjiang Zhu, said: “NRW is an established Western Australia-based mining and civil contractor with extensive open-cut mining experience gained through a number of successful mining operations in the state. Offering new prime equipment, NRW has the capability to undertake the entire Karara scope of work comprising a broad range of mining, construction and engineering services. We look forward to commencement of mining services early next year.”

Steinert mechanical ore sorter starts up at Novo’s Nullagine gold project

Comminution of minerals, Mineral exploration, Mining services, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Novo Resources Corp has advised that Phase 2 mechanical sorter trials using a Steinert KSS 100F LIXT fine mechanical sorting unit have commenced at the Nullagine gold project, in Western Australia.

Over recent weeks, the sorter infrastructure has been mobilised, constructed and commissioned adjacent to the company’s Golden Eagle processing plant at Nullagine. Fifty samples from the company’s Comet Well, Purdy’s Reward, Egina, and Talga Talga projects ranging in size from 800 kg to around 5 t have been delivered to the site for crushing and screening ahead of Phase 2 sorter test work.

The test work program in late 2021 and early 2022 is designed to achieve multiple objectives:

  • Construct and commission the sorter and associated infrastructure (Phase 1 – complete);
  • Tune the sorter to the various geological regimes and size fractions and train Novo operators in its use;
  • Process samples from multiple Novo projects around the Pilbara to field test mass pull to concentrate;
  • Establish assay protocols for sorter concentrate ‘accepts’ and waste ‘rejects’. Smaller concentrate mass will be processed by Chrysos PhotonAssay technology at Intertek’s laboratory in Perth, Western Australia. The Acacia reactor and electrowinning apparatus in the gold room at the Nullagine is being commissioned to accept larger masses of material from accepts and reject samples. This will be particularly important as the test work program moves to Phase 3 at the company’s Comet Well project in 2022 to test bulk samples (up to 20,000 t of potentially mineralised material from the Comet Well and Purdy’s Reward projects).

The sorter infrastructure, designed and constructed by OPS Screening and Crushing Equipment, is a fully modular and containerised turnkey plant deployable to any of Novo’s tenements in the future for test work and potential large bulk sampling and processing, the company said. The sorter includes feed and product transfer conveyors, allowing the sorter to produce gold-bearing concentrates in a single pass for further upgrading or downstream processing.

“This Phase 2 trial of the sorter within the Golden Eagle processing facility area is the culmination of several years of test work conducted by Novo to determine the amenability of mechanical sorting to its 13,250 sq.km of tenements across Western Australia,” the company said. “Mechanical sensor-based sorting utilises X-ray technology, 3D colour laser and metal induction to identify gold-bearing material. A high-pressure air jet ‘shoots’ these gold bearing particles into a collection system to produce a concentrate for further downstream processing.”

Next steps at the project include:

  • Phase 2 completion prior to May 2022 – complete processing and assaying of all outstanding coarse, mid and fines samples from the company’s Comet Well, Purdy’s Reward, Egina and Talga Talga projects and establish operating protocols for processing larger mass; and
  • Phase 3 commencing May 2022 (subject to approval from the Western Australian Department of Water and Environmental Regulation) – relocate the sorter and infrastructure to the Comet Well project for bulk test work.

Rob Humphryson, CEO and a Director of Novo, said: “Novo is delighted to see the sorter in operation at the Nullagine gold project. This represents the culmination of considerable planning involving a dedicated consortium of mechanical, electrical, geological and processing experts aiming to maximise the likelihood of success of an innovative application for sorting in the gold industry.

“Results from Phase 3 bulk sampling program set to commence in 2022 at the Comet Well and Purdy’s Reward projects, together with the results of the Phase 2 trials at the Nullagine gold project this year, are expected to provide sufficient geological and operating certainty to enable Novo to progress towards commercial operations at Novo’s nuggety gold deposits.”

Collar Keeper System exceeds expectations in latest Western Australia field trial

Explosives and blasting, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , ,

Aquirian Limited says its wholly owned subsidiary, TBS Mining Solutions Pty Ltd, has completed the final in-field trials of its Collar Keeper® System.

The field trials were conducted at a gold mine in the Mid-West of Western Australia, on a blasthole track rig in both wet and dry conditions. The trial included full production testing over the course of seven continuous shifts irrespective of ground conditions, it said.

Over the course of the trial, 254 production holes were drilled including 30 wet holes in difficult ground conditions where The Collar Keeper System eliminated the requirement for costly and time-consuming collar piping, according to Aquirian. In addition, the system achieved significantly reduced drilling time for the wet holes, seeing greater than 50% improvement in drill yield in these areas. Importantly, the system maintained full hole depth across all the holes removing the need for any re-drills.

“This post-drill hole quality represents a significant shift in operational benefit for the industry, removing costly rework in redrills and duplication of blasthole dipping throughout the drill and blast cycle,” the company said. “With the improvement in drill cycle times, drill yield and the elimination of re-drills experienced during the trial, it is expected the Collar Keeper System will make a notable impact on reducing CO2 intensity per drill hole produced.”

Just last month, TBS entered into a binding technology Memorandum of Understanding with MACA Mining Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of MACA Ltd, looking at collaborating on the development and commercialisation of the Collar Keeper System.

Greg Patching, Executive Director Business Development & Innovation, said: “We are again thrilled with the performance of our Collar Keeper System in a variety of typical drilling conditions. The system’s ability to improve overall drill time across the holes and, more importantly, deliver repeatable quality blastholes irrespective of conditions was fantastic.”

TBS has entered preliminary discussions with several clients for the Collar Keeper System with commercialisation to begin in the September quarter of 2022. The company is targeting implementation on 12-15 track rig units by June 2022, generating revenue of approximately A$125,000-$200,000/mth ($88,836-142,107) on an ongoing basis. The current commercialisation focus will target approximately 200 blasthole track rigs operating on mines (excluding quarries) in Western Australia alone, noting that thousands of these rigs operate on mines globally.

David Kelly, Managing Director, said: “This is a really exciting time for Aquirian as we work towards realising the commercialisation of the Collar Keeper System. It will not only make a step change impact on cost and quality for our customers, but it will also introduce a new and significant revenue stream for the company into the future.”