Tag Archives: Western Australia

OZ Minerals, Loesche team up following West Musgrave vertical roller mill test work

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OZ Minerals, following a successful prefeasibility study of vertical roller mills (VRM) at the West Musgrave project in Western Australia, has signed a “Partnering Agreement” with Loesche.

The agreement with the leading original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of VRMs will help the company as it moves to the next phase of the project, OZ Minerals said.

“By working in a collaborative, innovative and transparent way, we believe we will deliver superior outcomes for the project when compared to more traditional ways of engaging with suppliers,” OZ Minerals said.

In November 2017, OZ Minerals and Cassini, which owns 30% of West Musgrave, announced that the West Musgrave project would progress to a prefeasibility study. This prefeasibility study timeline was extended in 2019 to complete a detailed evaluation of additional value-add opportunities, the most significant of which was the use of a dry VRM to reduce power consumption.

The study, released earlier this year, showed off plans for a 26-year open-pit mine with “bottom quartile cash costs” and average production of circa-28,000 t/y of copper and circa-22,000 t/y of nickel in concentrates, OZ Minerals said.

It also included details of an “innovative mineral processing plant” that would be built on site.

The grinding circuit for West Musgrave was expected to consist of two stages of crushing followed by two parallel VRMs treating nominally 5 Mt/y each. The second stage of crushing and VRMs replaced a traditional SAG mill, ball mill and pebble crushing circuit.

OZ Minerals explained in the study: “Vertical roller mills are widely used in the grinding of cement plant feeds and products, slag, coal and other industrial minerals, with thousands currently in operation worldwide. The mill has benefits in reducing power consumption by circa-15%, no ball charge grinding media, higher flotation recovery and can be ramped up and down in response to the availability of low-cost renewable energy.”

The VRM uses compression-style comminution principles taking 75 mm rock to flotation feed size in the one machine, according to OZ, adding that the application of the VRM had reduced processing costs and provided a circa-2% improvement in nickel recovery compared with a previous scoping study.

“The technology has been peer reviewed for West Musgrave by an independent expert and has been substantially de-risked through a series of pilot tests whereby 5 t of West Musgrave ore has been tested,” the company said.

Reviewing the prefeasibility study, OZ Minerals Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Cole, said: “We have been able to achieve a further significant reduction in carbon emissions and power demand through the adoption of vertical roller mills as the grinding mill solution and a flotation flowsheet which achieves metal recovery at a much coarser grind size than was previously considered in the design.

“This lower power usage has resulted in a reduction in operating costs, while the use of dry grinding from the vertical roller mills has also resulted in an improvement in nickel recovery.”

Another innovation the company plan to use at West Musgrave include the use of hybrid renewables that could include a combination of wind and solar energy, battery back-up, and diesel or gas.

Mining at West Musgrave is modelled to be conventional drill, blast, load and haul and is assumed to be contractor operated during the first five years of operation, transitioning to owner operate in year six.

The haulage fleet will comprise up to 25 220 t haul trucks and optionality is being maintained to allow for these trucks to be fully autonomous in the future, OZ Minerals said.

Novo Resources to take Steinert ore sorter into the field

Comminution of minerals, Mineral exploration, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Precious metals, , , , , , , ,

Novo Resources says it is in advanced discussions with Steinert Australia to procure a 1 m wide KSS 100F LIXT fine mechanical sorting unit, to be deployed at its wholly-owned Purdy’s Reward and Comet Well JV gold projects, in Western Australia, during the 2020 field season.

The sorter will be manufactured by Steinert in Germany with an expected 18-week delivery time to Australia, Novo said.

Approvals are being prepared for field testing of up to 10,000 t of material from Purdy’s Reward, Comet Well, and 47K, respectively (total up to 30,000 t). Novo also plans to utilize this sorter to test field exploration samples delivered from its other projects including Egina, it said.

Field test work will be designed to better understand gold grades, the extent and location of mineralised conglomerate units, evaluate mechanical sorter gold recovery at production throughput rates and of various sorted size fractions, and provide critical input concerning operational costs, the company explained.

The company has previously carried out ore sorting test work in the lab on samples from its Reward and Comet Well JV gold projects.

Rob Humphryson, Novo’s CEO and a Director, said: “We have achieved outstanding laboratory level mechanical sorting test results utilising both Steinert and TOMRA sorters. It is now time to field test productivity and performance. This Steinert unit will be equipped with technology that is capable of testing material from all our coarse gold projects.”

Humphryson said the decision to initially deploy a Steinert unit into the field was more a reflection of “local, non-technical factors” than any distinct differentiation of capabilities between the two suppliers’ sorters.

He added: “Should field testing of mechanical sorting prove successful, it is likely that the final utilisation of this technology will involve a hybrid solution involving equipment from both suppliers. In light of this, we intend to maintain a close working relationship with both suppliers.”

Wirtgen 220 harvester up and running at Kalium Lakes’ Beyondie potash project

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Kalium Lakes has commissioned a recently delivered salt harvester from Wirtgen at its Beyondie Sulphate of potash project (BSOPP) in Western Australia.

The Wirtgen harvester was selected after extensive trials using different harvesting methods and machinery as part of Kalium Lakes’ 10 ha pilot scale ponds program, the company said.

The Wirtgen 220 can produce up to 600 t/h of harvested salts at a consistent floor height and grain size, according to Kalium Lakes.

Those salts harvested are transported to the nearby purification plant for processing into a final sulphate of potash product, the company explained. Similar Wirtgen harvesters are in use in other salt mining operations around the world.

Earlier this week, Kalium Lakes awarded the engineering procurement and construction contract for the 90,000 t/y SOP processing plant at the BSOPP to DRA Global.

The commissioning of the Wirtgen 220 also allowed the company to confirm several operational parameters including salt pavement thickness, harvesting methodology, expected grain size and the estimated timeframes to drain the evaporation pond of brine, harvest, refill with brine and recommence salt crystallisation, Kalium Lakes said.

Managing Director, Brett Hazelden, said: “As we approached the milestone of 30,000 t of SOP brine pumped into our evaporation ponds, it was a timely opportunity to commission the harvester on site and confirm the operational assumptions.

“This very impressive machine has been specifically designed to generate a certain product size to enable the downstream purification plant to operate efficiently. It is also pleasing to see our operation completing another first for the SOP sector in Australia, as we continue to develop this new industry aimed at supplying our local Australian farmers.”

GR Engineering set to revamp tailings leaching process at Silver Lake’s Deflector

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GR Engineering Services says it has received a letter of intent from a subsidiary of Silver Lake Resources for the award of upgrade works involving the flotation tailings leach process at the Deflector gold-copper operations in Western Australia.

The project is located in the southern Murchison region of Western Australia, 450 km north of Perth and 160 km east of Geraldton.

Silver Lake previously said it planned to upgrade process infrastructure at Deflector to include a carbon-in-pulp circuit to broaden available ore sources and enhance recoveries, providing potential upside to current production levels.

The contract sum is A$23 million ($16 million) and will be undertaken on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis, the company said, adding that the contract for the works will be finalised next month and GR Engineering will commence early works immediately.

Geoff Jones, GR Engineering Managing Director, said: “This letter of intent award represents GR Engineering’s first major project with Silver Lake. We are looking forward to engaging closely with the Silver Lake team to deliver safe and successful outcomes for the project.”

DOK-ING Extra Low Profile Dozer set for trial in Western Australia

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Mine Tech Australia says it has recently completed DOK-ING XLP system testing and operator awareness training in the lead up to mobilising the unit for an underground mine site trial in Western Australia.

The DOK-ING’s remote-controlled Extra Low Profile Dozer (XLPD) has been designed to perform in a wide range of applications having numerous attachments such as bucket, ejector bucket, dozer blade, brush and gripper tools.

“Independent of its size, DOK-ING mining equipment is known for its exceptional performance, excellent reliability, simple operation, operator comfort and easy serviceability,” Mine Tech Australia said.

DOK-ING has built up this reputation from many deployments in South Africa. This year, electric DOK-ING Narrow Reef Equipment is expected to be phased in at the Anglo American Platinum-owned Tumela underground mine in Limpopo province.

The DOKING mining product line includes two different platform models, powered by diesel engines or electric motors, with five different tool attachments. The use of the equipment is geared towards creating safe mining conditions, with the platform being utilised for the safe cleaning of production panels – pushing the ore into the advance strike gulley where the ore is collected and transported to the conveyor system – and sweeping and vamping activities resulting in manual stope-cleaning labour being largely eliminated, according to Mine Tech Australia.

The XLP platform is controlled by a single operator using a simple handheld radio remote control unit, the company added.

“The XLP platform design can withstand the most severe underground working conditions,” Mine Tech Australia said. “It has the ability to work in high temperatures and conforms to the required safety systems to protect the operator and personnel in the vicinity of the operation.

“The XLP platform has the ability to work in gradients of up to 30° and at mine heights from 1.2-1.6 m, which makes it suitable for mining a large proportion of reef types in various mining industries (platinum, gold, diamonds, etc.). Miners work far below the earth’s surface and have little time and less space to deal with unscheduled breakdowns.”

BHP readying rollout of autonomous trucks at Eastern Ridge

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BHP is looking to start the roll out of autonomous trucks at its Eastern Ridge mine site in the Pilbara of Western Australia in the next month, with the fleet of 20 Cat 793 haul trucks set to be fully converted to autonomous mode by the end of the year.

The company announced earlier this year that Eastern Ridge (also referred to as Newman East) would be the next mine to benefit from autonomous haulage. This came after a previous automation announcement related to the jointly-owned Goonyella Riverside mine, in Queensland. BHP has also agreed to acquire 41 new model Komatsu 930E-5, which are autonomous ready, for its in-development South Flank iron ore mine, but the company has not yet confirmed if it will use the autonomous capability at the site.

A BHP spokesperson confirmed the existing fleet of Cat 793s were set for automation retrofits, explaining that the roll out would occur from the end of June/early July.

Despite the restrictions in place to curb the spread of COVID-19, the spokesperson said the company was on track for full roll out completion by the end of year, as planned.

In the announcement back in February, BHP said the automation project at Eastern Ridge, which the company is currently using as its proving ground for innovation, was down to the significant safety benefits offered by the technology and its ability to complement the mine’s design, culture and existing infrastructure.

“Newman East is home to our innovation centre, so we’re already using technology there that helps us to be safer and more efficient,” Newman Operations General Manager, Marie Bourgoin, said. “Autonomous trucks were the next logical step.”

This shift will create more than 30 new permanent jobs at Newman East to run and maintain the trucks, according to Bourgoin, with the new roles tied to planning the truck routes and operating the autonomous systems from a control centre, which will initially be located at the mine.

It will also generate more than A$33 million ($23 million) in contracts for Western Australia businesses, with the work required to transition Newman to autonomous haulage including autonomous conversion kits, trailers, training content development and engineering and construction packages.

Newman East is one half of BHP’s Newman operations, which also includes Newman West, locally known as Mt Whaleback. No decision has been made to introduce autonomous trucks at Newman West, the company confirmed.

Aboriginal-owned firm strengthens Fortescue ties with Eliwana contract

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Mallard Deemey Pty Ltd, a 100% Aboriginal-owned business, is to construct and install a laboratory, storage, and administrative facilities at the Eliwana asset in Western Australia following a contract award from project owner Fortescue Metals Group.

The award continues to build on Fortescue’s commitment to Aboriginal procurement with its Billion Opportunities program. Since inception in 2011, this program has awarded contracts and sub-contracts worth over A$2.5 billion ($1.7 billion) to more than 120 Aboriginal businesses and joint venture partners, the iron ore miner said.

Eliwana is due to include a 30 Mt/y dry ore processing facility and infrastructure. Production is expected to commence at the end of 2020 with a life of mine strip ratio of 1.1.

The contract for Mallard Deemey, jointly owned and operated by Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura member Donna Meyer and Yamatji member Robby Mallard, is valued at over A$11 million. It will lead to the creation of over 100 jobs, with a significant number of employees expected to come from the Pilbara and Carnarvon as well as Perth, Fortescue said.

Fortescue Chief Executive Officer, Elizabeth Gaines, said: “Supporting and investing in sustainable Aboriginal businesses is at the heart of our approach to ensuring Aboriginal communities benefit from the growth and development of our business.

“Our Billion Opportunities Aboriginal procurement program has provided a platform to demonstrate the skills and capability of Aboriginal businesses and the chance for Aboriginal people to build a future for their communities through economic opportunity.”

Mallard Deemey Director, Donna Meyer, said the contracts clearly showed the capability of Aboriginal businesses, challenging assumptions they could only work on projects of this size as subcontractors and where time schedules were less stringent.

“These contracts are a demonstration of Mallard Deemey’s strong capabilities and will also enable us to commit to our continued training and employment of local Aboriginal people, positioning our business very well for the future,” she said.

With Fortescue’s support, Mallard Deemey was previously engaged as a subcontractor for the deconstruction of the Wheatstone camp in Onslow, ahead of its relocation to Eliwana. Over 40% of the workforce who worked on the Onslow project were Aboriginal employees.

PROK conveyor pulleys to feature at Fortescue’s Iron Bridge magnetite project

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Global conveyor components manufacturer PROK has been awarded a major contract for the design, manufacture and supply of conveyor pulleys at the Iron Bridge Magnetite project, a joint venture between Fortescue Metals Group subsidiary FMG Iron Bridge and Formosa Steel IB Pty. Ltd, near Port Hedland in Western Australia.

PROK will produce around 170 complete pulleys from its Bayswater production facility in Perth, Western Australia. The pulleys will be installed across 25 new conveyors at the Iron Bridge site.

PROK says it is an expert in conveyor equipment and specialises in solutions that help mining companies across the globe keep their conveyor systems running efficiently and safely.

PROK General Manager, Wade Guelfi, said the Iron Bridge contract award highlighted PROK’s high level of technical capability and manufacturing experience.

“As a recognised leader in large engineered pulleys, we were a perfect fit for this type of project,” he said. “Our advanced in-house engineering team worked closely with the client to design a pulley solution that meets all project requirements.”

The pulleys range in sizes from 500-1,200 mm diameter and will be delivered in six stages starting in January 2021, the company said.

The contract forms part of Stage 2 of the Iron Bridge project, which involves construction of a large-scale process plant and port infrastructure to support 22 Mt/y (wet) of magnetite production. Stage 1 (pictured), completed successfully, was achieved by building and operating a full-scale pilot plant at the North Star mine site. This pilot project included the use of a dry crushing and grinding circuit, which FMG plans to leverage in stage two.

In FMG’s March quarter results, released late last month, the company said the $2.6 billion project was progressing on schedule and budget, with first concentrate production planned in the first half of calendar year 2022.

“We are excited to be part of this project and proud to be supporting Fortescue with heavy-duty engineered pulleys manufactured right here in Western Australia,” Guelfi added. “We look forward to working closely with FMG as the project progresses.”

RCT goes to new heights for Western Australia underground mining clients

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Autonomous solutions specialist RCT says it has fulfilled requests from mining clients and devised a unique warning system designed to prevent oversized equipment from getting stuck inside underground mining portals.

Staff from RCT’s branch in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, were separately approached by two major mining clients in the Goldfields region and asked to devise a solution to prevent portal blockages, which can severely disrupt regular mining operations.

Branch technicians subsequently produced the Over Height Portal Warning System, which consists of a laser mounted at a particular height connected to a unit placed at the portal entrance.

The unit, designed and built in RCT’s workshop in Kalgoorlie, will produce an audible alarm and flash the word ‘STOP’ to alert machine operators and nearby site personnel there is a potential over-height hazard.

Site personnel are able to determine the system’s field of view and isolate areas such as a corner or pole so that the system will only activate when it senses new objects, according to the company.

RCT Kalgoorlie Branch Manager, Rick Radcliffe, said: “Occasionally underground haul trucks try to re-enter the portal with their trays accidentally in a raised position and this causes the trucks to get wedged in the portal.

“The time needed to dislodge the haul truck from the portal is very costly to the mining operation. Therefore, the Over Height Portal Warning System is a cost effective and easy solution that will help keep mining operations running smoothly.”

Since its development, the Over Height Portal Warning System has been sold to 10 mine sites throughout the Goldfields region, RCT says.

Pit N Portal to help revive Mincor’s Kambalda nickel operation

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Mincor Resources has awarded underground mining services and equipment hire group Pit N Portal with the underground mining contract for its 100%-owned Kambalda nickel operations in Western Australia.

The contract encompasses a five-year pact for the new Cassini nickel mine, where early surface works were recently completed, and a three-year contract (plus one two-year option) at the Northern Operations (the brownfields Durkin North and Long nickel mines – both of which are on care and maintenance having previously operated). These two assets (Cassini and Northern Operations) make up the planned nickel operation.

Pit N Portal was awarded the contract following the completion of a competitive tender process and a due diligence process led by Mincor’s Chief Operating Officer, Dean Will, examining safety, Kambalda underground experience and performance, capabilities, equipment availability and cost, the company said.

All key components of the contract are in line with the parameters set out in the Nickel Restart Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) completed in March 2020. This was based on an initial five-year operation from two production centres with all ore processed at BHP Nickel West’s Kambalda nickel concentrator and the resulting nickel concentrate sold to BHP. The DFS envisaged 63,000 t of recovered nickel-in-concentrate output for an estimated pre-production capital expenditure of A$68 million ($41 million at the time).

Mincor has executed a binding contract with Pit N Portal subject to a Notice to Proceed being issued by Mincor before March 31, 2021.

The development company says it is targeting the commencement of mining operations at Kambalda in the second half of 2020, subject to board approval and a final investment decision on its Nickel restart plan. It said previously first nickel-in-concentrate production could be achieved in the second half of 2021, subject to COVID-19-related restrictions.

Established in Kalgoorlie in 2002, Pit N Portal has expanded its capacity and capability to encompass total, whole-of-mine solutions across Australia, and has significant underground mining contracts in Western Australia and Queensland. It was acquired by Emeco Holdings earlier this year.

Mincor’s Managing Director, David Southam, said the award of the contract to a Kalgoorlie-based business was consistent with the company’s commitment to maximise local content, to support local businesses and communities, and to create opportunities for a residential workforce wherever possible.

“We selected Pit N Portal based on a wide range of criteria including safety, performance, contract cost, experience and capability, ability to meet our mobilisation timelines and the size and quality of their contract fleet.

“Their equipment fleet suits our proposed style of mining and, as one of Australia’s largest hard-rock underground mining equipment solutions providers, we will have access to a large range of equipment options and high-class maintenance and rebuild capacity – giving us significant operational and strategic flexibility, which is important when operating a number of underground mines.

“This includes having access to the Emeco operating system, which could add significant value to future operations, as well as having a contracting partner that is willing to embrace the very latest in mining technology and data management and usage, including the proposed use of underground electric vehicles, which we have already trialled.”

Mincor has also completed – on time and budget – all works associated with the Early Works Contract at Cassini project. This work, carried out by Hampton Mining and Civil Services, included clearing of the Cassini site area, excavation of the box-cut (pictured), construction of the site office pad, magazine and waste areas and construction of the surface settling dams and haul road.