MOLYCOP: AUTOMATION BUILDS A BETTER WORKING ENVIRONMENT MOLYCOP'S 100-YEAR HISTORY HAS BEEN BUILT ON PROVIDING THE MOST INNOVATIVE, HIGHEST QUALITY PRODUCTS AND DELIVERING OUTSTANDING SUPPLY ASSURANCE. THEIR EXPERIENCED AND HIGHLY TRAINED TECHNICIANS ARE CONTINUALLY DEVELOPING SUPERIOR TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS AND PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF MINING CONSUMABLE PRODUCTS, TO MAKE CERTAIN NO MINE EVER STOPS OVER MOLYCOP. MOLYCOP EMBARKED ON ITS AUTOMATION JOURNEY IN 2011 IN A BID TO IMPROVE SAFETY AND BUILD A BETTER WORKING ENVIRONMENT.
Towards the end of World War I, Australia found it impossible to obtain supplies of railway wheels, axles and other steel products previously imported from England who, due to the war, were no longer in a position to export steel products. Consequently, Molycop's Australian operations began with the formation of Commonwealth Steel Company (Comsteel), and the establishment of its steelmaking operation at Waratah in Newcastle in 1918. During the 1930s, Comsteel diversified into grinding media to support Australia’s burgeoning hard rock mining industry. Molycop’s product lines include grinding media, fasteners and the Comsteel range of forged railway wheels and axles. The main markets for grinding media are copper and gold mines in the Australasian region. In terms of rail products, Molycop caters for passenger
and general freight, and their premium range of wheels is used in heavy haul in the Pilbara for iron ore - carrying the highest axle loads in the world. The Comsteel range of products includes continuously cast anode pins for Australian and New Zealand aluminium smelters. Comsteel also supplies a range of ingots, from 1 tonne to 37 tonnes, for Australian forging operations. These forgings are used in applications like wind generation, heavy shafts and gears, and defence applications. In addition, Molycop Engineered designs and manufactures a range of SAG and ball mill liner bolts for the mineral processing industry, Twistlock pins, and specialty fasteners. THE AUTOMATION JOURNEY Molycop embarked on its automation journey back in 2011, with the installation
of a dual robot system for forging. This was quickly followed with the installation of a grinding robot in 2012. In 2017, both systems underwent capability improvements, before the installation of a second forging robot in 2018. THE BENEFITS As Samuel Regan (Business Improvement Leader, Molycop) explained, Molycop's decision to invest in automation was driven very much by the idea of creating a better working environment for their team. "At the heart of it, most automation is about reducing risk to operators. The business case for automation was built around the safety aspects. We were focused on removing people from risk, improving safety, and building a better working environment," said Regan. The grinding wheel in particular presents
Molycop's SAG robot.
