Tag Archives: Western Australia

Saturn Metals makes ore sorting ‘breakthrough’ at Apollo Hill gold project

Comminution of minerals, Metallurgy, Mineral exploration, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining services, Mining software, Precious metals, , , , , ,

Saturn Metals is heralding the first pass results of a laser ore sorting test at its Apollo Hill gold project, near Leonora in the Western Australia goldfields, saying there is potential for using this type of mineral processing upgrade on a future mining operation.

Testing using a STEINERT Fines KSS L machine showed mineralised quartz can be efficiently separated from non-mineralised host basalt, according to the company, with the first sorting test achieving a 1.5x upgrade to the grade of a sample, taking material from 0.78 g/t Au to 1.2 g/t Au. Alongside this was a strong gold recovery of up to 91.9% with only two ore sorting passes.

Other notable results from this test work included a 28% volume reduction, which was achieved through the effective ejecting of a significant portion of waste rock and marginal material and, importantly, only 0.55% of the gold in sample was lost to fines in preparation for ore sorting (crushing and wet screening to +10 mm ore sorting size). “This low figure is considered a positive result as loss of metal to fines can otherwise render ore sorting ineffective,” the company said.

Saturn explained: “Ore sorting, particularly with strong recovery results as seen in the test conducted at Apollo Hill, can result in a more efficient mineral processing solution being developed for mining projects, with smaller tonnages of higher-grade material being beneficiated for mineral processing. This can potentially reduce the size and cost of mineral processing circuits, or increase gold milling capacity, and, in turn, positively impact overall project economics.”

Successful ore sorting treatment of selective higher-grade material from Apollo Hill could also lead to truck and toll treatment options for the deposit, according to the company.

Following these initial results, the company is planning further test work to refine and improve the application of ore sorting technology at Apollo Hill, it said.

Saturn Managing Director, Ian Bamborough, said the results were a “very important breakthrough” for project, which currently contains an indicated and inferred mineral resource of 20.7 Mt grading 1 g/t Au for 685,000 oz of gold.

“Positive ore sorting results have the potential to deliver a step change in the feed grade of material delivered into any mineral processing circuit,” he said. “Subject to further positive results, we may have the potential to significantly improve options for the economic development of Apollo Hill.”

SRG Global wins service contract at South32’s Worsley alumina operation

Base metals, Mine operation news, Mining maintenance, Mining services, , , , , , ,

Construction, maintenance and mining service group, SRG Global says it has secured a long-term contract with South32’s Worsley Alumina subsidiary in Australia.

The ASX-listed service provider will deliver a “complete suite” of engineered access solutions for the Worsley alumina operation, including scaffold services and highly skilled rope access technicians, it said.

The contract is for an initial three-year term with extension options for a further three years, SRG said, explaining that, if Worsley Alumina exercises the extension options, the total contract duration will be six years.

Works under this contract commence in June and are expected to generate revenues of circa-A$60 million ($41 million) over the six-year term or around $32 million over the initial three-year term, according to SRG.

“The contract requires minimal capital outlay and will increase SRG Global’s workforce by circa-100 full-time positions,” SRG said.

SRG Global Managing Director, David Macgeorge, said, “The opportunity to work with a world-renowned mining company like South32 at its long-established Worsley Alumina project in South West WA is a great achievement for SRG Global. The effort our team put in during the competitive tendering process is admirable and I commend them on a fantastic result.

“This contract also represents a significant advancement in the group’s long-term strategy to deliver recurring term revenue within the asset services sector.”

As part of the Worsley Alumina operations, bauxite is mined near the town of Boddington, 130 km southeast of Perth, Western Australia. It is then transported on the largest overland conveyor belt in the southern hemisphere, for more than 50 km, to a refinery near the town of Collie, where bauxite is turned into alumina.

Beyondie SOP project advances with Ebtec, DRA, Köppern, Firm Construction contract awards

Energy minerals, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kalium Lakes has awarded the key contracts for the engineering, procurement, construction management and commissioning associated with the development of the Purification Plant facilities at its Beyondie sulphate of potash project (BSOPP) in Western Australia.

The total value across the four key contracts awarded is in excess of A$60 million ($41 million), according to Kalium Lakes, and will see Ebtec GbR, DRA Global, Maschinenfabrik Köppern GmbH & Co and Firm Construction Pty join the project team.

The Beyondie SOP project aims to commence production at 82,000 t/y of SOP in 2020, before ramping up to 164,000 t/y of SOP for domestic and international sale. An initial mine life of between 30-50 years is anticipated for a project designed to be a low cost, long life and high margin producer, it said.

The contracts allow commencement of early works with the full scope subject to a final investment decision (FID), Kalium Lakes said.

“Importantly, all the contracts awarded are within the budget outlined in the bankable feasibility study (BFS) and front-end engineering and design,” the company said, with the agreements confirming the 15-month construction schedule, post FID, followed by a commissioning and ramp-up period.

The consortium Ebtec GbR is an arrangement between K-UTEC AG Salt Technologies and Ebner GmbR to provide engineering, procurement and supervision (EPS) services for the BSOPP, Kalium Lakes said. Kalium Lakes said both parties have worked together recently to provide similar services for a SOP plant in Austria that has been successfully running for several years. Ebtec will supply the process plant and provide equipment installation supervision, followed by the commissioning of the plant.

Ebtec’s EPS contract includes performance guarantees to ensure the quality of SOP production is in line with the requirements of an offtake agreement with fertiliser producer K+S and includes liquidated damages for performance and schedule, Kalium Lakes said.

An engineering, procurement and construction management contract has been executed with DRA, with that company taking the lead on overall BSOPP development and commissioning, according to Kalium Lakes. “DRA brings significant global and Western Australia specific project development experience, combined with SOP specific knowledge and experience that was developed with the involvement of DRA, since the prefeasibility study stage of the BSOPP,” the company said, adding that DRA has developed the basis for the overall project scope, budget and schedule.

Köppern has been awarded the engineering and supply of key equipment associated with the compaction plant for the production of granular SOP, Kalium Lakes said. “Köppern brings SOP-specific compaction experience and have successfully delivered these plants for other SOP projects, including K+S.”

A construction contract with Firm Construction has also been awarded for various construction services for the BSOPP. Firm is accredited under the WHS Scheme with the Office of the Federal Safety Commissioner, a requirement of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility financing the company has agreed, Kalium Lakes said.

Kalium Lakes’ Chief Development Officer, Rudolph van Niekerk, said: “Companies with SOP-specific experience and capabilities are hard to find, especially when looking for those that have taken projects from design into execution, then on to production. After years of investigation and months of negotiation, we have compiled a contracting strategy that brings a bankable solution, as well as achieving the next significant milestone to take us into the development stage of the project.”

NRW’s new RCR Mining Technologies business captures Rio Tinto Koodaideri contract

Bulk handling, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , ,

RCR Mining Technologies has continued its strong start under the guidance of new owner NRW Holdings, winning a “significant” original equipment manufacturer (OEM) equipment package from Rio Tinto for the miner’s Koodaideri iron ore project in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

The new order is for the supply of three large apron feeders, 11 slide gates and two belt feeders, to a combined value in excess of A$18 million ($12.2 million), NRW said.

NRW signed a deal with RCR Tomlinson’s administrators, back in January, to acquire the mining and heat treatment businesses of RCR for A$10 million in cash. Back then, NRW said the purchase of the international OEM and innovative materials handling designer would allow the company to provide incremental services, in line with its strategic objectives, to several core clients common to both NRW and the RCR businesses.

Ian Gibbs, Executive General Manager of RCRMT, said: “RCRMT has a long and proud history of supplying major equipment to Rio Tinto and the WA mining industry.

“Since transitioning to NRW ownership, we have been able to secure orders for all the current major iron ore projects to retain our status as the market leader in the design and manufacture of apron and belt feeders, which is an exciting achievement against a highly regarded multinational supply market.”

NRW CEO and Managing Director, Jules Pemberton, said: “The award represents further validation of our acquisition approach to provide clients with a broader service offering. I’d also like to acknowledge Ian Gibbs and his team who have worked hard to secure this work which will further support activity at both the Bunbury and Welshpool sites.”

NRW’s businesses have already won two contracts on the Koodaideri project – one for rail formation work and another for bulk earthworks.

Aggreko’s modular li-ion battery system off to Gold Fields’ Granny Smith mine

Environmental, Mine operation news, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , ,

Aggreko is set to deploy a new mobile and modular energy storage system at Gold Fields’ Granny Smith gold mine, in Western Australia, as the temporary power, temperature control and energy services company looks to expand its 10 GW fleet of distributed energy assets.

The deployment of Y.Cube, a fully integrated, ready-to-install lithium-ion battery system built on the expertise of energy storage firm Younicos, which Aggreko acquired in 2017, is all part of Aggreko’s hybrid microgrid solution at Granny Smith, one of the world’s largest renewable energy microgrids powered by more than 20,000 solar panels and backed up by a 2 MW/1 MWh battery system.

In addition to the Granny Smith deployment, Aggreko said the Y.Cube would be used in several African mining projects.

Housed entirely within a standard 20-ft (6.1-m) container, the 1 MW units can be delivered and quickly deployed worldwide, according to Aggreko.

The system can cover a variety of applications from 1 MW up to multi-MW power output and is available in two versions: a 30-minute ‘power’ unit and a 60-minute ‘energy’ unit, the company said.

“The 20-ft container houses batteries, inverters, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), fire protection and auxiliary components. These are tested and pre-assembled by Aggreko experts and controlled by intelligent software,” Aggreko said.

It is designed for a wide ambient temperature range from -20°C to +50°C to match the often-challenging requirements of remote customer sites, the company added.

Dan Ibbetson, Managing Director, Global Products and Technology at Aggreko, said renewable energy is increasingly affordable, but not yet as universally available as it should be. At the same time, energy demand is increasing.

“Battery storage systems offer the flexibility required for safe and stable use of wind and solar power and increase the efficiency of thermal units.”

He added: “In the Y.Cube, we have successfully combined proven battery expertise from Younicos with Aggreko’s containerisation experience. The Y.Cube enables us to provide cheaper, cleaner and smarter energy wherever it’s needed for our customers.

“It is designed to fit seamlessly within the Aggreko existing fleet and can be easily combined with solar and thermal products to provide our customers with the lowest cost of energy. We are now building a fleet of Y.Cubes, which will enable us to quickly deploy on short notice.”

The Y.Cube is available for short-term needs for as little as six months or for periods of years under Aggreko’s “Energy-Storage-as-a-Service” model, the company said. It can also be bundled with Aggreko’s other hardware systems as part of the company’s “Microgrids-as-a-Service” offer.

Karim Wazni, Managing Director, Aggreko Microgrid and Storage Solutions, said: “We’re already seeing considerable interest from a range of sectors and applications.

“One of the most economically attractive propositions is to combine the Y.Cube with natural gas and solar generation in off-grid applications. This could include remote mining sites, in weak grids like islands, or, with gas generators only to provide bridging power – for example in datacentres.”

Minehaul and Fenix form trucking and logistics JV to move Iron Ridge project forward

Mineral exploration, Mineral project development, Mining project news, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , ,

Fenix Resources says it has formed a strategic alliance with trucking and logistics company, Minehaul Pty Ltd, in a move seen as a significant step towards the development of its Iron Ridge project in the Mid-West region of Western Australia.

The alliance will see Fenix and Minehaul form a new 50/50 joint venture company, to be known as Premium Minehaul Pty Ltd (PM). It is intended that PM will provide all trucking services to the Iron Ridge project.

Craig Mitchell, the founder and former owner of Mitchell Corp, a major supplier of transport and logistics services to the Western Australia mining industry, has been elected as Chairman and CEO of the newly formed JVC.

The Iron Ridge project is a greenfield development and, therefore, requires all infrastructure, equipment, power, water, communications and other services to be established, according to Fenix.

Pursuant to the JVC agreement, Fenix has provided an undertaking that it will ensure all iron ore transport it is involved with in the Mid-West region of WA (including relating to the project) will be conducted through the JVC.

The terms relating to the provision of these services are to be agreed in the coming months and are pursuant to a separate road haulage contract agreement, however Fenix expects the JVC arrangements to provide several key benefits, including:

  • Greater transparency in relation to the likely transport costs associated with the project;
  • Significant experience that Craig Mitchell brings to Fenix’s trucking operations;
  • Potential for significant cost savings relating to transport costs, and;
  • Elimination of management role duplication and the sharing of the benefits of innovation throughout the life of the project.

The Iron Ridge project is some 490 km by road from the Geraldton port and, therefore, it is expected that a significant proportion of the total operating costs associated with the project will be related to the cost of road transport and logistics, Fenix said.

Fenix’s Managing Director, Robert Brierley, said the company already had a well-developed road transport model with detailed cost estimates for the task at hand, and this model will be refined further now the JVC had been formed.

Related to this agreement, Minehaul has subscribed for A$250,000 ($173,975) of new Fenix shares as part of a larger A$1.25 million placement.

Austin Engineering robotic welder to boost efficiency, productivity and output

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

The commissioning of a custom-designed dual-arm robotic welding system at the Austin Engineering facility in Perth, Western Australia, will lift efficiency, productivity and output, the company says.

Austin said these are all benefits that “underpin the specialty customised designs the company manufactures for the mining industry worldwide”.

For more than 35 years, the company has designed and engineered unique production and maintenance equipment including dump truck bodies, excavator buckets, water tanks and tyre handlers.

“Austin-designed equipment has given their customers significantly improved productivity and increased output through designs that have enhanced the operational efficiency and availability of site production equipment,” the company said.

The new robotic welding system, along with the advantages of modern robotic welding technology, includes features to improve overall efficiency and product capabilities. A mobile gantry carrying two six-axis articulated arm robots, each interfaced with a digital pulse welding module, heads up the system. Mounted on rails, the double gantry provides 14 m of longitudinal travel and 10 m of lateral travel to service the two new side-by-side production cells. Vertical travel is 2 m.

The system includes both online and offline programming capabilities. “Whereas the previous robot could only be programmed once the component was loaded into the cell, all necessary programming can now be completed prior to the job being loaded into a production cell,” the company said.

“The online/offline programming feature, combined with the system’s laser tracking feature, increases arc time as the robot can weld without having to stop for any adjustments to the program or the job. An ‘out of position’ weld feature also maintains uninterrupted job progress.”

Geoff Collins, Operations Manager at Austin Engineering Perth, said: “When fully operational, the new system will lift efficiency, productivity and overall capability throughout the facility.”

The new robot welds marginally faster, but Collins said this is only one of the production improvements the system will deliver. He emphasised that overall improvement will be a combination of a number of productivity inputs, with the new robot able to work on all products in the Austin Engineering range (the previous robot was restricted to truck floors).

“As well, access to the latest robot welding technology and software, the two side-by-side production cells which can be loaded or unloaded without interruption to the robot’s work schedule and advance planning functionality will all add to overall productivity improvement,” Collins added.

He said the benefits to customers will come in the form of shorter lead and turnaround times. “And that should ultimately improve their operational efficiency and productivity,” Collins added.

KPS to power up Tropicana underground expansion project

Environmental, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, , , , , , ,

Power generation specialist Pacific Energy’s subsidiary, Kalgoorlie Power Systems (KPS), has secured up to a 6 MW expansion under its existing contract with AngloGold Ashanti Australia for its majority-owned Tropicana gold mine, in Western Australia.

An initial 4 MW is to be commissioned by December 2019 with a further 2 MW to be installed at AngloGold’s option, which would take the gas fuelled power station at Tropicana to 50 MW capacity.

The increased power is required for the Boston Shaker underground project at the Tropicana gold mine in Western Australia, an expansion project that will enable Tropicana gold production to be maintained at between 450,000-500,000 oz/y over the five years to and including the 2023 financial year, AngloGold and Independence Group (30% owner of the mines) said.

KPS has also recently secured an additional 2 MW in capacity expansions with other customers, Pacific Energy said.

“The above organic contract expansions, together with the previously announced 6 MW expansion currently being undertaken for St Barbara and the soon to be commissioned new 5 MW Juardi power station, will see Pacific Energy bring an additional 17 MW of new power generation capacity on line by the end of this calendar year,” Pacific Energy said.

The company’s Contract Power subsidiary, as well as KPS, are both currently in discussions with several of their customers regarding other likely contract expansions.

Pacific Energy also advises that the 52 MW gas-fuelled power station recently undertaken by Contract Power for Mineral Resources has now achieved practical completion.

SIMPEC wins more work from MSP Engineering, Iluka Resources

Energy minerals, Equipment maintenance, Industrial minerals, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining safety, Mining services, , , , , , , ,

SIMPEC says it has been awarded more than A$5 million ($3.46 million) in scope extensions to its current contracts in Western Australia.

WestStar Industrial’s engineering contractor business said the bulk of this work is either underway or will commence imminently and was built on the original awards from MSP Engineering (for the Tianqi Lithium Kwinana processing plant, pictured) and Iluka Resources (for the Cataby mineral sands project).

This news comes hot on the heels of SIMPEC announcing major contract awards, the most recent being the A$10 million win from ATCO to supply and install the electrical, communications and dry fire systems for an 800-room mine camp at Fortescue Metals Group’s Eliwana iron ore mine site in the Pilbara, Western Australia.

SIMPEC said its team has grown substantially over the past six months with nearly 150 personnel and contractors now working across all of its current contracts.

SIMPEC Managing Director, Mark Dimasi, said: “These scope extensions are a direct result of our strong performance on site. With safety at the forefront of everything we do, SIMPEC is performing very well across all projects and working very closely with our clients.”

Caterpillar, WesTrac to help automate Rio Tinto’s Koodaideri iron ore mine

Automation, Environmental, IoT, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Mining software, Steel and iron ore, Water management, , , , , , , , ,

Rio Tinto and Caterpillar have agreed to work together to create an automated mine operation at the Koodaideri iron ore project, in Western Australia, that makes best use of data analytics and integration to enhance safety, optimise production, boost mining machine use and lower costs.

The recently signed agreement will see Cat® and dealer WesTrac supply and support mining machines, automation and enterprise technology systems for the new mine. Rio, in a separate release, said this would see the supply of a fleet of 20 autonomous 793F trucks (pictured) as well as four autonomous blast drills.

Beyond the autonomous fleet, Caterpillar will also provide loaders, dozers, graders, water carts and diggers for the operation, which will be Rio Tinto’s first Pilbara mine to be primarily operated using Caterpillar machinery, Rio said. “The two companies have also agreed to study the potential for increased levels of automation of heavy mining equipment at the mine in the future.”

The partnership with Caterpillar at Koodaideri will enhance Rio Tinto’s industry-leading Mine of the Future™ programme, which connects all components of the mining value chain for the first time, as well as making increased use of automation and digitisation, according to Rio. Caterpillar’s machinery will be integrated with Rio Tinto’s Mine Automation System (MAS), which collects and enhances data created by the company’s mining operations, to improve productivity across Rio Tinto’s entire iron ore network.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive, Chris Salisbury, said: “We’re pleased to be partnering with Caterpillar and WesTrac, the regional Cat dealer, to help make Koodaideri the most technology-enabled and innovative mine in our Pilbara iron ore network.

“Technology is rapidly changing our mining operations as we harness innovation to make our operations safer, smarter and more productive. This extension of our partnership with Caterpillar and WesTrac represents an exciting step for our business.”

Denise Johnson, Group President Resource Industries, Caterpillar Inc, said: “The Caterpillar team is looking forward to working with Rio Tinto to apply our proven mining equipment and technology and to implement additional MineStar™ autonomy solutions at Koodaideri—a new mine designed to capitalise on leading-edge technology.

“We are excited to work together to advance Rio Tinto’s mine automation and digitalisation program.”

Koodaideri will deliver a new production hub for Rio Tinto’s iron ore business in the Pilbara. Construction work has commenced, and first production is expected in late 2021. Once complete, the mine will have an annual capacity of 43 Mt, underpinning production of the Pilbara Blend, Rio’s flagship iron ore product.

As mine construction advances, WesTrac will manage logistics of mining machine delivery and commissioning and play a key role in implementing technology solutions.

Jarvas Croome, WesTrac CEO, said: “WesTrac is excited to be part of the Koodaideri project and to work with Caterpillar to deliver ground-breaking equipment solutions to support Rio Tinto’s Mine of the Future vision.”

Last week, FLSmidth announced it would bring the latest smart 3D design to Koodaideri after announcing a contract win.