Australian Mining - Oct 2018

MINING SERVICES TECHNOLOGY VOLUME 110/9 | OCTOBER 2018

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COMMENT

THE LATEST RISE OF THE MINING SERVICES MARKET BEN CREAGH

Ben.Creagh@primecreative.com.au

AUSTRALIA’S LEADING CONTRACTORS ARE GEARING UP FOR A WIDE RANGE OF OPPORTUNITIES AND LOOKING FOR WAYS TO STAND OUT IN THIS MARKETPLACE.

T

he mining services sector is a vibrant environment again as a pipeline of new opportunities emerge across the country.

Australia’s top mining exports – coal, iron ore and gold – are set up for significant development in the coming years (if they haven’t already started on this journey).

The east coast coal sector, for example, has welcomed a series of new mine owners in recent years. Many of these companies are looking for mining services partners that will guide their growth projects or the operation of new mines.

In the Pilbara, the majors have committed to multi-billion dollar growth projects that will shape the future of the region for them and require construction services from contractors.

As for gold, the number of early stage developers hoping to advance projects in Western Australia’s Goldfields or in northern Australia has also spiked.

This growth sets the stage for what is potentially a rewarding period for contractors with the mining and civil skills suited to these developments.

There are also other factors moving back in the favour of mining services companies that should bode well for their operating margins, which became so constrained during the downturn.

The market for contractors, and the skilled labour they provide, will only tighten as the industry expansion takes shape, a typical sign that their operating margins will widen at the same time.

Mining companies are also continuing to increase their exploration budgets, with some reaching record levels in areas like Western

MANAGING DIRECTOR JOHN MURPHY EDITOR BEN CREAGH Tel: (03) 9690 8766 Email: ben.creagh@primecreative.com.au JOURNALISTS EWEN HOSIE Tel: (03) 9690 8766 Email: ewen.hosie@primecreative.com.au VANESSA ZHOU Tel: (03) 9690 8766 Email: vanessa.zhou@primecreative.com.au CLIENT SUCCESS MANAGER NATASHA SHEKAR Tel: (02) 9439 7227 Email: natasha.shekar@primecreative.com.au

Australia’s Goldfields.

This demonstrates that the recent increase in exploration activity has not yet peaked and might not for some time yet.

In this issue, Australian Mining speaks to three of the country’s leading contractors, Ausdrill, NRW Holdings and BGC Contracting.

The companies have all executed moves to aid in their expansion in Australia and the international marketplace, positioning them for these opportunities.

Ausdrill’s pending takeover of Barminco gives it increased exposure to the hard rock sector, while NRW and BGC have restructured to contend for work in the coal industry.

The contractors also highlight their development from a technology perspective.

Technology has so far not been the realm of mining services companies, with the miners leading the way in this area.

This is changing, with the introduction of technologies like automation rapidly becoming a part of future operations for some.

As the mining services environment hots up, technology could well be the area that differentiates one contractor from the next.

Ben Creagh Editor

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AUSTRALIANMINING

5

OCTOBER 2018

FRONT COVER

In this edition of Australian Mining, we bring you the biggest stories from the Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum that took place from August 5– August 7 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

This includes a report on how opportunities are growing for mining contractors, a look at how the market is recovering and a feature examining the validity of the oftreported skills shortage cycle in the mining industry.

We also look at the value of Bridgestone Mining Solutions Australia’s enduring Onsite Service at mine sites, gain an insight into a few of Dyno Nobel’s technology-led blasting innovations and New Century’s restart progress at the Century zinc mine in North West Queensland.

And as usual, we review the latest mining equipment and technology in our regular products spread.

CONTENTS

MINERALS PROCESSING CSIRO IS GOING GREEN FOR GOLD A non-toxic gold solution

MAINTENANCE

14-15

38-39

FROM RETIRED TO RE-TYRED BMSA on the benefits of onsite service

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT’S FIVE-YEAR PLAN We take a closer look

INFRASTRUCTURE

16-18

40-41

A CLEAN SLATE Waste management for FIFO

MINING SERVICES FIRST-CLASS SERVICE Growth for contractors at Diggers & Dealers

SITE VISIT

20-22

42-44

A GOLDEN ROAD Australian Mining reports from Gruyere

DEVELOPMENT

SAFETY

46

A NEW CENTURY FOR ZINC New Century’s rapid restart

ESS TALKS EZI-GUARD The company has made some upgrades

24 TECHNOLOGY SIMULATION FOR THE NATION On Bestech’s best tech

EVENT

26-27

GOLD VS. BITCOIN ABC Bullion’s Jordan Eliseo talks

48 MAINTENANCE RADCOFLEX FLEXES ITS MUSCLE The uses of expansion joints

INDUSTRY COMMENT

28

49

A COMPLEX SITUATION AusIMM and UQ SMI host

DRILL AND BLAST BLAST TO THE FUTURE Dyno Nobel is leading a blasting revolution

INDUSTRY COMMENT

30

THE FUTURE OF THE PROCESS PLANT Ausenco and PETRA discuss

50 TRACKING THE TRENDS ON MINING AND MARKET RECOVERY Mining’s next phase for development

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

32-33

52

ON A CRUSADE Crusader Hose explains layflat hosing

PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

54

SCHNEIDER BRINGS IIOT TO MINING Brad Yager explains the benefits

PROK AND ROLL Prok’s latest conveyor roller

34 WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT SKILLS SHORTAGE CYCLES Is it normal for mining?

36-37

REGULARS

NEWS 8-13

PRODUCTS 56-57

AUSTRALIANMINING

6

OCTOBER 2018

EVENTS 58

NEWS

THE LATEST MINING AND SAFETY NEWS AUSTRALIAN MINING AND SAFE TO WORK PRESENT THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE BOARDROOM TO THE MINE AND EVERYWHERE BETWEEN. VISIT WWW.AUSTRALIANMINING.COM.AU AND WWW.SAFETOWORK.COM.AU TO KEEP UP TO DATE WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING. RIO TINTO LAUNCHES DIAMOND PIPE AT DIAVIK MINE

Copyright © 2018 Rio Tinto

THE DIAVIK MINE PICTURED IN WINTER.

Rio Tinto has opened a fourth diamond pipe at the Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories of Canada.

The open pit pipe, called A21, will provide a source of incremental supply for Rio Tinto over the next four years to sustain production levels at the remote mine.

Rio Tinto delivered first ore from the pipe in March. It is expected to be at full production in the fourth quarter of

2018 following a four-year construction period and a $350 million investment.

The investment was shared between Rio Tinto (60 per cent) and Dominion Diamond Corp (40 per cent).

Arnaud Soirat, Rio Tinto copper and diamonds chief executive, said the investment to sustain production levels at Diavik reflected the strong outlook the company saw for the diamond industry.

“It is a remarkable achievement to deliver this project safely and ahead of time in such a challenging environment, positioning Diavik to continue meeting the demand for its outstanding diamonds,” Soirat said.

The mine began production in 2003 and has been a underground operation since 2012. It produces predominantly gem quality diamonds that are used for high-end jewellery in the world’s major

AUSTRALIAN MINING GETS THE LATEST NEWS EVERY DAY, PROVIDING MINING PROFESSIONALS WITH UP TO THE MINUTE INFORMATION ON SAFETY, NEWS AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE AUSTRALIAN MINING AND RESOURCES INDUSTRY.

consumer markets.

Diavik Diamond Mines president Patrick Boitumelo added, “Our people can take great pride in their achievement to safely bring the A21 pipe from development to commercial production.

“This new pipe is great news for the Northwest Territories and will help to deliver economic and social benefits that will endure beyond the life of the Diavik mine.”

BHP’S OLYMPIC DAM SLOWED BY TECHNICAL CONCERN onshore shale assets in the United States, Donald Trump’s US tax reform and payouts following the Samarco dam failure in Brazil.

BHP’s profits would have been 33 per cent higher at $US8.9 billion ($12.1 billion) if these expenses were excluded from the results.

The company did enjoy $US12.5 billion of free cash flow, reflecting higher prices and volumes, with annual production records at nine operations across iron ore, coal, copper and petroleum. Its revenues were 21 per cent higher for the financial year at $US43.64 billion.

BHP chief executive officer Andrew Mackenzie said, “Our balance sheet is strong, with net debt now at the lower end of our target range, and our investment plans on track across iron ore, copper, coal and petroleum.

AUSTRALIANMINING

“Across our dramatically simplified portfolio of tier one assets, we see this year’s strong momentum carried into the medium term as our leadership, technology and culture drive further increases in productivity, value and returns.

“Our rich suite of options coupled

BHP’S OLYMPIC DAM IS UNDERGOING UPGRADES.

8

OCTOBER 2018

with our rigorous capital allocation framework will make sure we get the most out of every dollar we invest.”

BHP will pay a record final dividend of 63 US cents per share. The company secured a deal to sell its onshore petroleum assets for $US10.8 billion in July.

Copyright © 2018 BHP

BHP is reportedly working to fix a technical issue that has disrupted its processing facilities at the Olympic Dam mine in South Australia.

The concern is at the operation’s acid plant and has impacted surface production, according to an ABC report, which suggested operations might be affected for up to eight weeks.

BHP launched a $350 million project to upgrade the smelter at Olympic Dam a year ago. The maintenance and upgrade of the surface operations was the largest planned shutdown project ever undertaken at the mine.

The Olympic Dam disruption comes as BHP today released its 2018 financial year results. The company reported a 37 per cent fall in profits because of a write-down on its

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NEWS

FIFO CODE OF PRACTICE UP FOR REVIEW IN WA

TALISON LITHIUM AWARDS CONTRACT FOR GREENBUSHES EXPANSION Talison Lithium has awarded a $23.5 million contract to Kerman Contracting to construct a new bulk storage facility at Port of Bunbury in Western Australia.

The new facility will supplement Talison’s $512 million expansion of its Greenbushes lithium operation and store its spodumene concentrate prior to export.

Kerman managing director Chris Kerman said, “We are very pleased to secure this construction contract directly with Talison Lithium, and it complements our company’s strong focus on the significant expansion of the lithium industry in Western Australia.”

Kerman will construct a 50,000t bulk storage facility on top of the associated material handling circuits.

Construction works commenced recently and are estimated to reach completion in October 2019.

Talison previously awarded Kerman a contract to construct a new crushing and screening circuit for MSP Engineering at its Greenbushes expansion project. The expansion is expected to deliver an extra 520,000t per year (t/y) of lithium concentrate.

The Greenbushes concentrate plant will be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2020, with the possibility of a second plant being commissioned in 2022.

In July, Talison awarded the WestStar-owned construction company SIMPEC with a $2 million contract to design and construct water tanks for its plant processing at Greenbushes.

The Greenbushes area is around 90km south-east of the Port of Bunbury.

NEWCREST CUTS COST OF CADIA PLANT EXPANSION BY 80% Newcrest Mining is on track to expand the Cadia gold operations in New South Wales with a much lower investment than previously expected.

The miner, which has released its pre-feasibility study findings for the development, estimates the expansion would cost $598 million.

Newcrest’s growth project at Cadia would include $58 million on a processing plant and underground materials handling expansion and $540 million on development of the Macro Block PC2-3.

The pre-feasibility capital cost estimate for the plant expansion is more than 80 per cent lower than Newcrest’s previous forecast.

Newcrest managing director Sandeep Biswas said the company set out to expand the Cadia plant to 32Mtpa for an expected cost of $310 million two years ago.

However, the company’s pre-feasibility study outlined an expansion of the plant to 33Mtpa for $58 million, with the potential to grow capacity to 35Mtpa.

“The study has delivered a $252 million saving and an additional 1Mtpa of throughput capacity,” Biswas said.

“The project team have applied an ‘owner’s mindset’ in delivering an expansion plan with a low capital intensity which has the potential to deliver an impressive 21 per cent return on capital and ensures Cadia remains a tier one producer for a long time to come.”

Newcrest’s study assessed a number of expansion cases, ranging from the existing 30Mtpa base up to 40Mtpa.

The study’s mining rate profile analysis found that a long-term sustainable mining rate of 33Mtpa was achievable and that 35Mtpa was the upper limit of Cadia’s caving footprint capability until the 2027 financial year when PC1-2 production ramps up.

A reliable expansion of the processing plant to beyond 35Mtpa would require a third concentrator and an additional $440 million of capex, according to Newcrest.

The pre-feasibility study proposed the construction of a new secondary crushing circuit for the concentrator one million circuit, including a crusher with a secondary screening feed, a pebble crusher and a 1.5MW ball mill.

Newcrest plans to release its Cadia expansion feasibility study in the first half of the 2020 financial year.

AUSTRALIANMINING

The McGowan Government has released an updated draft FIFO code of practice to protect Western Australian mine workers’ mental health in the workplace.

The second draft suggests that employers need to manage workers’ exposure to psychosocial hazards despite everyone’s responsibility for their own and others’ mental health and wellbeing.

It underlines the importance of leadership support, competent supervision, effective communication and appropriate review to manage risks.

The revised FIFO code of practice aimed to more clearly communicate this message.

It also addressed the feedback and THE UPDATE WILL MORE DIRECTLY issues that were received during the ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS first round. The Department of Mines, IN THE MINING WORKPLACE. Industry Regulation and Safety said it had received 51 responses.

Bill Johnston, Mines and Petroleum and Commerce and Industrial Relations Minister, said, “While this code of practice targets FIFO workers in the resources and construction industries, its lessons can be applied across a range of sectors.”

It will give useful information to people who are working away from home, including residential and other long distance commuting arrangements such as drive-in driveout DIDO. The department is seeking Western Australians’ input on the revised draft until September 21.

“The latest round of public consultation is another opportunity to ensure your voice is heard on the critical issue of mental health in the FIFO workforce,” Johnston said.

More than 20 per cent of 1100 workers sampled in a Medical Journal of Australia survey last year displayed poor mental health rating — in contrast to 15 per cent in the general population.

Thirty per cent of those surveyed displayed high or very high levels of psychological distress.

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MINING JOB OPPORTUNITIES ON THE RISE Mining job opportunities in South Australia are trending up according to a report from research body Resources and Engineering Skills Alliance (RESA).

RESA has produced a quarterly report entitled the RESA South Australia Mining and Resources Jobs Reports Vacancy Analysis for the past five years. The latest edition has reported a 44 per cent increase in mining and resources advertisements within South Australia from July 2017 to July 2018.

July 2018 saw 255 mining jobs posted statewide compared with 177 jobs in July 2017. While the number of advertised jobs has fluctuated slightly from month to month throughout 2018, reaching a peak of 288 in May, each month from January to July 2018 has ranked consistently higher than the equivalent month in 2017.

When job growth is considered over a two-year period from July 2016 (just 85 advertised jobs) to July 2018, growth stands at 300 per cent.

According to RESA’s report, “overall growth has been consistent over the past 24 months and continues a strong recovery from the downturn and the impact of economic drivers on the resources sector in SA.” Broken down by job type, professional roles (predominantly for engineers) led the way in July at 39 per cent of jobs listed followed by trade roles such as fitters, diesel and auto electrical workers (34 per cent), operators (13 per cent) and technical roles (9 per cent). Entry-level positions made up 4 per cent, a slight increase on June figures.

10

OCTOBER 2018

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NEWS

NORTHERN STAR TO ACQUIRE POGO GOLD MINE FOR $US260M Northern Star Resources is set to acquire the 4.1 million ounce (4.1Moz) Pogo underground gold mine in Alaska in a deal worth $US260 million ($347 million).

Owned by Sumitomo Metal Mining (85 per cent) and Sumitomo Corporation (15 per cent) in a joint venture (JV) arrangement Pogo is currently the eighth largest gold mine in the United States.

Over the past 12 years, Pogo has produced 3.8Moz of gold at an average mine grade of 13.6 grams per tonne (g/t). Average production rate hovers at 300,000 ounces per year (oz/y).

Northern Star will receive the full financial benefit of Pogo from July 2018.

This will add 250,000–260,000oz of gold to Northern Star’s 2019 financial year (FY2019) production at a cost of $1175/oz.

The company has increased its FY2019 production guidance to 850,000– 900,000oz at a cost of $1050–1150/oz.

Northern Star chairman Bill Beament said, “Pogo presents Northern Star with the same opportunity we encountered at Jundee four years ago.”

The Pogo acquisition was considered an outstanding opportunity as it meets all Northern Star’s key criteria, which are to own and invest in tier one projects in tier one jurisdictions.

Alaska was rated tenth in the global Fraser index of investment attractiveness, ahead of every Australian state except Western Australia.

“Pogo is an absolutely perfect project for Northern Star to apply its highly successful recipe of investment in extensive exploration and development, which in turn drives increases in resources and reserves, mine life, production and free cashflow,” Beament said.

“We will invest in growing the resources and reserves as we have done at our tier one projects in Western Australia, with a particular focus on upgrading it to JORC-2012 status.”

Pogo has non-JORC reserves and resources of 4.1Moz at 12.2g/t, a level that has been sustained for the past 12 years despite depletion. This includes reserves of 760,000oz at 11.9g/t, the third-highest reserve grade in North America.

The acquisition is expected to close in October this year. Northern Star will fund the acquisition with $443 million cash and a $175 million placement to institutional investors.

Once completed, all Pogo employees and contractors will become Northern Star employees and contractors.

Pogo rests in the Tintina mineral belt, a 200km-wide metal province that stretches 1200km across much of Alaska through to the southeastern Yukon. Aside from hosting large gold deposits, the site also hosts copper, lead, zinc, silver and tungsten.

Other miners such as Barrick, Teck, South32 and Newmont are also extremely active in the region.

ALASKA HAS A LONG HISTORY OF GOLD MINING DATING BACK TO THE 1870S.

MINRES COMPLETES KOOLYANOBBING IRON ORE ACQUISITION IN WA

EARLY DETECTION SYSTEM CATCHES FORTESCUE CONVEYOR BELT RIP

Mineral Resources has finalised its completion of the Koolyanobbing iron ore assets in the Yilgarn region of Western Australia from former owner Cleveland-Cliffs.

The final arrangements were made with the WA State Government yesterday surrounding MinRes’s access to the Port of Esperance for shipment of up to 6.25 million tonnes of ore per year (6.25Mt/y).

Cliffs closed the Koolyanobbing mine earlier this year, threatening to put hundreds of employees out of work until MinRes decided to purchase the site in June.

While the exact value of the purchase has not been divulged by either company, Cliffs has previously said that the deal would allow its closing costs to be reduced by $US65–75 million ($88–102 million).

MinRes managing director Chris Ellison thanked Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan for the “successful completion of the transaction” and freight rail network management company Arc Infrastructure, which was also involved.

“We are extremely pleased to have resumed iron ore operations in the Yilgarn and look forward to shortly beginning to export our iron ore from Esperance and, in the process of doing so, preserving hundreds of jobs and creating economic benefits for regional Western Australia,” he said.

At the time of writing, MinRes expects to start moving iron ore to the Port of Esperance in October, with shipping from the port scheduled to start in November.

An early belt rip was identified by ‘smart data’ monitoring systems on a major Fortescue Metals Group iron ore stockyard conveyor in the Pilbara, Western Australia.

The early detection led to an automatic shutdown of the conveyor, stopping it from causing further, significant damage.

The yard belt is vital to Fortescue’s Anderson Point operation as it carries ore from the stockyards to the ships at Herb Elliot Port.

Chris Ams, conveyor superintendent of Fortescue’s Anderson Point, Port Hedland, said that this is a reward for keeping up to date with latest technology.

“Fourteen stockyard belts we operate at Anderson Point are fitted with these latest ‘smart data’ condition monitoring systems. This enables us to reduce unplanned maintenance due to belt ripping or significant belt carcass damage,” Ams said.

The belt uses Continental’s automated 24/7 monitoring, CONTI MultiProtect. It analyses the magnetic characteristics of the conveyor belt and creates an alarm when it detects cord damage, deviations in the splice and a longitudinal rip.

“All this is visible on demand by multiple users at the same time from your nominated desktop, laptop or through alerts issued to site operational systems, email or SMS,” said Edsel Lemus, manager (belt condition monitoring) at Conveyor Belt Group for Continental, ContiTech Division.

“This latest model combines the features of our traditional CONTI RipProtect and CONTI CordProtect into one multifunctional system for increased features and connectivity.”

AUSTRALIANMINING

12

OCTOBER 2018

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MINERALS PROCESSING

GOING FOR GOLD: A NON-TOXIC SOLUTION TO GOLD LEACHING RESEARCHERS AT THE COMMONWEALTH SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ORGANISATION (CSIRO) HAVE EXTRACTED AND PRODUCED GOLD USING A NON-TOXIC CHEMICAL PROCESS IN AN AUSTRALIAN FIRST. AUSTRALIAN MINING SPEAKS WITH PROJECT LEAD PAUL BREUER TO FIND OUT MORE.

PROJECT LEADER PAUL BREUER HOLDS CSIRO’S INGOT.

C

yanide has long been a component of gold extraction.

Used during gold leaching primarily for the extraction of fine gold, it is used in over 90 per cent of global gold production, but in modern times its harmful, toxic nature has seen regional bans in areas of the United States, Europe and South America.

For the past several years however, researchers at the Commonwealth

Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have been working on a potentially less harmful alternative to cyanide leaching, and they may be on the verge of a new breakthrough.

While cyanide leaching has continued as the de facto gold leaching reagent in most countries, including Australia, CSIRO’s method may finally be coming to fruition in Australia after 20 years of research and roughly $10 million of investment.

AUSTRALIANMINING

The team has recently achieved Australia’s first ingot poured and produced using a non-toxic leaching process.

An extraction method involving the use of non-toxic thiosulphate (derived from oxygen and elemental sulphur) was successfully tested in Australia recently as part of CSIRO’s environmentally conscious Going for Gold initiative, which focuses on alternative extraction reagents that “don’t cost the Earth”.

CSIRO has been running the

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OCTOBER 2018

project in partnership with small gold miner Eco Minerals Research at a demonstration plant in Menzies, Western Australia, in order to show thiosulphate as a less toxic — but no less viable — alternative not just to cyanide leaching, but mercury leaching as well.

While largely usurped by cyanide in modern mining, mercury is still occasionally used for gold leaching by small-scale or artisanal miners.

From initial design, engineering, fabrication and setup of the

MINERALS PROCESSING

facility, first pour at the project was delivered in 10 months, a feat Eco Minerals Research managing director Paul Hanna called “a fantastic achievement”.

Eco Minerals Research said the technology holds potential for use in major gold producing countries such as China, South Africa and the US, as well as the copper and silver industries too.

Fine gold (i.e. tiny fragments or molecules of gold that would be missed during gold recovery by gravity processes) can be recovered by having the thiosulphatecontaining leach solution contact the ore in large tanks or vats. The gold is then collected from the leach solution via the application of ion exchange resins. The gold is recovered from the resin and further processed to produce gold doré (an impure gold bar).

The technology is not new in the strictest sense, but has taken a long time to develop to where it is now.

The properties of thiosulphates for use in leaching were first discovered in the early 1970s and a number of patents were filed. However, the technology’s viability faced several hurdles at the time.

The CSIRO research team led by Breuer has seen commercial success with Toronto-based Barrick Gold at its Goldstrike mine in Nevada, where a specially tailored solution making use of the thiosulphate extraction has been used to maintain the mine’s gold production rates for nearly four years.

CSIRO gold processing team leader Paul Breuer says that the project posed many technical challenges for his team as well.

“The reason it’s taken so long to get to this point is the technical challenges in development of a process around the leaching of gold using thiosulphate,” he explains.

“One of the big ones was finding a method of recovering the gold thiosulphate from the solution,” he says.

“It doesn’t adsorb well onto activated carbon so we needed to find another means of recovering the gold using ion exchange resins. In 2005, CSIRO developed a process for recovering gold from the ion exchange resins that was quite efficient.

“We took that work and worked with Barrick Gold in terms of the development and demonstration of their tailored thiosulfate process and that knowledge and technology went into their process at Goldstrike.”

“Our collaboration started in about 2005 and went through a lot of research and then a demonstration plant that ran for about 16 months.

After that the plant was retrofitted to use thiosulphate.”

While retrofitting worked well for Goldstrike, it is not suitable for all mine sites, and retrofitting can be a complicated and costly process.

“Despite success at Goldstrike, their tailored leach system doesn’t work for other ores — we’ve been working away on other thiosulphate-based systems to try and get something that works more generically and is more applicable across a larger range of ores.”

In response to CSIRO’s success with the project, chief executive Larry Marshall said in a statement that the process could be a “gamechanger” for small gold producers and producers with an interest in green commodity production. But

IT DOESN’T ADSORB WELL IN ACTIVATED CARBON SO WE NEEDED TO FIND ANOTHER MEANS OF RECOVERING THE GOLD USING ION EXCHANGE. IN 2005, CSIRO DEVELOPED A PROCESS FOR RECOVERING GOLD FROM THIOSULPHATE RESINS THAT WAS QUITE EFFICIENT.”

the technology is not ready for widespread adoption yet and may take a long time to get to that stage.

Breuer stresses that despite the potential environmental upsides of using thiosulphates for gold leach extraction, it is not yet at a place where it could feasibly replace cyanide as an industry standard. Its current benefit is that it can pose as a viable alternative to cyanide in

CSIRO’S COMMEMORATIVE INGOT, MADE FROM FINE GOLD EXTRACTED USING ITS NON-TOXIC PROCESS.

AUSTRALIANMINING

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OCTOBER 2018

circumstances where cyanide leaching is ill suited to the project’s needs.

Additionally, it could be used at sites where cyanide leaching has already been banned, or may be banned at some point in the future.

“The technology is not at a point of replacing or substituting cyanide,” Breuer says. “The technology really has a market at the moment where cyanide can’t be used. AM

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT

HAIL VICTORIA: A NEW FIVE-YEAR STATE PLAN FOR MINING AUSTRALIAN MINING LOOKS OVER THE LATEST MINERAL RESOURCES STRATEGY FROM THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT, WHICH AIMS FOR A SPEND OF $220 MILLION OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.

O

n August 28 2018, the Victorian Government released its mineral resources strategy for 2018– 2023, identifying key challenges and opportunities in the state’s mining sector.

The government report, entitled State of Discovery: Mineral Resources Strategy 2018–2023, lays out five key action areas that explore different segments of Victoria’s minerals sector. The Victorian Government is aiming to spend $220 million in exploration investment by June 2023 to help meet these goals.

While not the largest Australian

mining state, Victoria is home to several large mining companies, including BHP, Newcrest and OceanaGold, with Melbourne-based firms accounting for 65 per cent of mining stock from the ASX100 in 2018 ($188 billion in all).

Meanwhile, major mines such as Fosterville (Victoria’s largest gold mine), owned by CanadianAustralian miner Kirkland Lake, has posted record results recently, with production up 21 per cent to June 2018.

In addition, mineral spend is increasing significantly in Victoria, up 79 per cent year on year (YoY) in March 2018 compared with 27 per cent nationally according to

figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The minerals industry in Victoria also employs around 121,000 people and made a total direct and indirect contribution of $13.6 billion in 2015– 16 for the state coffers (around four per cent of gross state product).

State of Discovery: Mineral Resources Strategy 2018–2023 is championing ambitious growth for Victoria’s minerals sector. Megan Davison executive director of the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), posted a warm response to the report, stating that, “Victoria is blessed with a diverse commodity base including operating gold, antimony and brown coal mines, world-class mineral sands

BHP, NEWCREST AND OCEANAGOLD ALL CALL MELBOURNE HOME.

AUSTRALIANMINING

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OCTOBER 2018

deposits and highly prospective precious and base metals provinces.”

The Victorian Government cites Victoria’s “intensively developed” landscape as a potential challenge for exploration expansion in the report, and as such has emphasised responsible minerals exploration as a key point of its strategic overview.

To advance geoscience and encourage mineral exploration and development to Victoria, the Government plans to release a Victorian resource prospectus that integrates resource and freight transport planning. It also plans to conduct competitive tenders to attract “high-performing” explorers.

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REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT

MINERAL SPEND IN VICTORIA WAS UP 79% FROM MARCH 2017–18.

five key action areas, however; key points to be addressed over the next five years.

The five action areas include (in order) Confident Communities and Responsible Explorers; Advancing Geoscience and Encouraging Mineral Exploration and Development; Victoria as a Global Mining Hub; Improve Regulatory Practice and Industry Compliance; and Deliver Modern, Fit-For-Purpose Laws.

The report’s introductory strategic overview states that “gaining and maintaining community confidence in the social, environmental, and economic performance of mineral exploration and development [is] critical for the sector” and the first of the five key action points builds on this.

Confident Communities and Responsible Explorers relates to improving community acceptance of the mineral resources industry through better understanding of the attitudes of Victoria’s community towards the sector and improved support of landholders in their negotiations with the industry.

The State Government hopes to build this trust by improving transparency and social responsibility standards for explorers, while also securing enduring benefits for host communities.

In addition, the Victorian Government hopes to provide more information to local communities about mining’s value and build a socially and environmentally responsible mining environment.

The second key action area, Advancing Geoscience and Encouraging Mineral Exploration and Development, refers primarily to the Victorian Government’s plan to create a Victorian resources prospectus to increase interest in mineral investment to Victoria.

The Victorian Government will also attempt to make use of freight transport for mineral operation expansion and support skills development for mining (and mining services) through apprenticeships and TAFE courses.

The third action area, Victoria as a Global Mining Hub, is to focus on Victoria’s expansion as a mining exports provider. It cites factors such as the continuing growth of Victoria’s mining exports as a percentage of total exports, increase in mining companies, and hosting of events such as the annual International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Melbourne as evidence of this.

The fourth and penultimate action point, Improve Regulatory Practice and Industry Compliance, will see the creation of a robust AUSTRALIANMINING

regulatory system that builds on the Victorian Government’s current Earth Resources Regulation (ERR), part of the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources.

ERR has seen backlog reductions in the last year for work plan and licence applications since the commencement of reforms last year, and the 2018-19 Victorian Budget will include $12.7 million of funding to support the implementation of further regulatory streamlining procedures, including an upgraded online system for mining applications. The overall aim of this section will be to “simplify processes, sharpen risk focus, provide clear and timely information” as well as to “improve coordination between regulators”, “build regulator capability to support industry compliance,” and “measure, evaluate and report on regulatory and industry performance”.

The final key action point is Deliver Modern, Fit-For-Purpose Laws, which will allow for increased options for “responsible and safe” mining and mineral exploration. In August, the Victorian Government introduced the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Amendment Bill 2018, which declared that a new Mine Land Rehabilitation Authority (MLRA) be implemented to succeed the current

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Latrobe Valley Mine Rehabilitation Commissioner (LRMVC).

Mines are to develop post-closure rehabilitation plans, with said plans a legal obligation of the landowner, with MLRA able to take on this role and responsibility in exchange for payment from the mine owner.

The action point states that the Victorian Government will develop on this bill by increasing transparency for investors and the community, amending the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act (MRSDA) to allow for the publication of noncommercial-in-confidence mining licences and work plans.

Information disclosure requirements will be revised, as will requirements for the timeliness of the release of mineral exploration data. Commercial-in-confidence data will be” appropriately protected where there is a genuine need for non-disclosure,” the report states.

Overall, the Victorian Government has delivered an ambitious report that suggests a confidence in mining’s returning optimism. As Davison says, “State of Discovery provides an opportunity to grow the state’s minerals industry through greater investment attractiveness, more engaged communities and modern regulatory regimes.” AM

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MINING SERVICES

BGC SECURED A MAJOR CONTRACT AT BOGGABRI LAST YEAR.

CONTRACTORS EMBARK ON A GROWTH JOURNEY A TRIO OF LEADING MINING SERVICES COMPANIES SHARED THEIR GROWTH AMBITIONS AT THE DIGGERS & DEALERS MINING FORUM THIS YEAR. BEN CREAGH EXPLORES THESE ASPIRATIONS.

T

here was something different about the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in 2018 – it featured presentations from mining services companies for the first time in its 27year history.

Western Australia-based contractors Ausdrill and NRW Holdings had the honour of representing the mining services sector for the first time.

They were also joined in the sponsor’s marquee by a noticeable number of contractors looking to take advantage of a resurgent marketplace for their services.

Privately owned BGC Contracting was again one of the contractors in the marquee, along with the likes of Macmahon Holdings, Swick Mining Services, Pybar Mining Services, Barminco and others.

Diggers & Dealers may have been two months ago, but the commentary from Ausdrill, NRW and BGC reflects the shift in focus for mining services companies.

Ausdrill, in particular, has demonstrated the ambitions of mining services companies to identify ways to expand in the improved mining environment.

Andrew Broad, Ausdrill’s chief operating officer, says the mining services company has growth in its sights and it took little time to prove this.

Ausdrill revealed a $271.5 million acquisition of underground hard rock contractor and African joint venture (JV) partner, Barminco, a week after the event.

The acquisition, which is scheduled for completion in October, will create Australia’s second largest mining services company. It combines two companies with a strong contracting presence in Australia and internationally.

Ausdrill and Barminco are JV partners of African Underground Mining Services (AUMS), a company with gold contracts in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Tanzania.

They also share history in AUSTRALIANMINING

terms of roots in the Goldfields of Western Australia.

The Barminco acquisition strengthens Ausdrill’s presence in Australia and Africa. Broad’s comments in Kalgoorlie-Boulder indicate the company will also continue to target growth in other parts of the world.

“The Americas is certainly one of the focuses,” Broad says. “South America was a happy hunting ground for us for a long period of time; we operated in Chile, Peru and Nicaragua.

“There seems to be lots of opportunities opening up for us in those regions as well at the moment.

We are even starting to see some acquisition opportunities coming out of those regions, [but at a] very early stage.”

Ausdrill has welcomed a new managing director and chief executive officer, Mark Norwell, who will play a key role in this strategy.

Norwell brings significant mining services leadership experience

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gained in several international regions, something Ausdrill plans to leverage. His experience in the Americas was particularly attractive for Ausdrill’s board.

NRW is another Tier 1 contractor that has delivered significant growth, primarily following last year’s $85 million acquisition of Golding Contractors from Champ Private Equity.

Golding, which focuses on the mining and civil sectors in Queensland and New South Wales, has been integral in pushing NRW’s order book into record territory.

The company had a $2.2 billion order book following the award of a $176 million bulk earthworks contract at BHP’s South Flank iron ore project in the Pilbara in July.

NRW has regarded the Pilbara as a key region for work during its history, but it has been on the east coast with Golding where much of the growth has been realised.

Golding’s mining division has secured $723 million of major contract

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million mining and equipment maintenance services contract win at Idemitsu Australia Resources’ Boggabri coal mine in New South Wales.

Taplin says BGC has made the structural adjustments to put resources in the right place to capitalise on the opportunities emerging in the coal sector.

The company has already tendered for a large scope of coal projects in Queensland and New South Wales.

Taplin expects to find out if BGC has been successful with these tenders in the coming months.

“We are optimistic that we will be successful with one of those coal projects that we are actively tendering for,” Taplin tells Australian Mining.

“There’s about three or four in this first wave and there’s another two that we have identified in a second wave of coal projects that are 18–24 months out.”

The three contractors plan to use technology to support their growth.

BGC has been looking at adding Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) capabilities to its operations for more than a year.

Taplin says the contractor is now set to accelerate its move in this direction over the remainder of 2018, having recruited a technology general manager for this purpose.

AUSDRILL COO ANDREW BROAD.

awards or extensions in Queensland’s coal sector since it was acquired.

Pemberton credits this as the key reason why NRW’s order book has more than tripled from its position three years ago. He says NRW previously looked at acquiring Golding before Champ bought it in 2008.

“We were outbid by Champ by a number that was several hundred million more than what we paid for it,” Pemberton says.

“We paid $85 million for it and I think at the time the business went for about $320 million.”

The company has diversified geographically in the mining, civil and urban sectors on the east coast with Golding.

NRW has potential to grow even further through M&A following the success of the Golding acquisition, according to Pemberton.

He says the company will continue to take a strategic approach with M&A as it did with the Golding move, which he describes as a “right time, right place” acquisition.

BGC’s mining division is also looking at east coast growth opportunities. The company has strengthened this focus by moving a contingent of its leading mining personnel from Western Australia to cities in the east Andrew Taplin, BGC’s chief

operating officer of mining, is an example of this transition with his move to Brisbane.

The company hopes to use this presence to repeat last year’s $700

NRW HOLDINGS MD JULES PEMBERTON.

AUSTRALIANMINING

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OCTOBER 2018

“We are a good way down the track on that journey and implementing our short-term projects,” Taplin says.

“Certainly part of the discussion around out technology are things such as AHS and automated operations and we consider we can bring that type of value to our clients.”

NRW’s technology focus is also on its machinery. Pemberton says the company is introducing technology that will provide it with more data on machinery performance, particularly on the civil side.

Ausdrill, meanwhile, has this year launched a photon technology developed by Chrysos Corp. that is proving to be a safer and faster alternative to the fire assay technique for gold analysis. It will release two more of these machines in Kalgoorlie next year.

“Fire assay has been around for many years. It does take 24–48 hours to run a process, with lots of nasty chemicals involved,” Broad says.

“To take the people element out and reduce that sample time to two minutes, we saw it as something that will have a major impact on the industry going forward.”

Ausdrill has also acquired a 19.9 per cent stake in HiSeis, a seismic hard rock exploration services provider focused on improving drilling processes with its technology. AM

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DEVELOPMENT

A NEW CENTURY DAWNS IN QUEENSLAND THE HISTORIC CENTURY ZINC MINE STILL HAS PLENTY OF LIFE LEFT IN IT UNDER ITS LATEST OWNERSHIP. AUSTRALIAN MINING EXPLAINS.

NEW CENTURY MD PATRICK WALTA.

T

he Century zinc operation in Queensland is back in production.

New Century Resources started flotation and production of zinc concentrate at the site’s processing plant in August.

The company, which is using a hydraulic mining method at the Century tailings deposit, plans to ramp up operations into one of the top 10 producing zinc mines in the world.

The road to the restart at Century has been rapid for New Century since it acquired the asset from MMG in early 2017.

It is forecast to reach an annual production rate of 264,000t of zinc and 3Moz of silver at Century by the fourth quarter of 2019, with an initial mine life of 6.3 years.

New Century’s progress even earnt it the opportunity to present at the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in Kalgoorlie-Boulder in August.

Just days from launching production at that point, New Century managing director Patrick Walta used the opportunity to tell delegates about the redevelopment.

He also explained the company’s work with mining services companies during the restart process.

New Century, initially a lean company, knew its relationships with

mining services companies would be crucial if it was to redevelop Century as quickly as possible.

“It was one of the strategies that we had,” Walta tells Australian Mining.

“How do we get it up and running quickly? We do that via leveraging contractor relationships who have systems, policies and procedures in place that we can tack on and immediately grow from.”

New Century’s key relationship has been with Sedgman, which

was awarded a five-year contract to operate and maintain Century’s Lawn Hill processing plant, concentrate pipeline and Karumba port facility in May. Sedgman has been involved with the restart from an early stage, including during the bankable feasibility study and the refurbishment and operational readiness process.

“We have been joined at the hip with them from day one,” Walta said.

“Ultimately, they are providing about two thirds of the workforce for us as well. We’re able to maintain our lean and mean ethos being a small, focused group.

“We very much provide the brains trust, [while] Sedgman provides the arms and legs that are required to get it up and running.”

The Century project had around 350 people onsite in August; a number that will fall to 195 once the operation hits its full run rate.

New Century’s partners for the restart also include National Pump & Energy (NPE) and Paragon Tailings, which have been contracted for hydraulic mining services.

The company was positive about the initial progress made by the hydraulic mining operation, saying it showed the tailings deposit is capable of ramp up to target slurry density.

In addition to the hydraulic mining operations, the restart has included upgrades to the multi-train flotation plant, 700-person camp, private airport, mining fleet, grid power connection, 304km slurry pipeline and Karumba port facility.

New Century is committed to growing the operation beyond the recent production milestones. The company has launched an expansion project, with Sedgman working alongside it again on a feasibility study.

“Sedgman is doing the processing component of that expansion study,” Walta says. “We actually have Downer completing the work on the open pit mines and we have Mining One doing the underground operations.”

The feasibility study involves new drilling targets and an induced polarisation (IP) program.

New Century is targeting expansion in several areas at Century, including the South Block and Silver King deposits. It has 9.3Mt of mineral resources at 10.8 per cent zinc and lead that is being assessed for inclusion in the operations.

The feasibility study and exploration represents potentially the next phase of growth for New Century, and it has established the business partners to join it on that journey. AM INSPECTING THE CENTURY OPERATION.

AUSTRALIANMINING

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TECHNOLOGY

SIMULATORS ARE USEFUL FOR PRE-SCREENING OF POTENTIAL MACHINE OPERATORS.

DIGITAL SIMULATORS: A PERSONAL APPROACH TO TRAINING MINING OPERATORS PERSONAL SIMULATOR TRAINING CAN SAVE MONEY IN MAINTENANCE COSTS AND EXTEND MACHINERY LIFETIME. IT IS ALSO USED AS A PRE-SCREENING TOOL IN AN APTITUDE TEST WHEN RECRUITING FOR MINING OPERATORS.

M

odern mining equipment is increasingly complex, costly and difficult to operate productively. But there are wide variations in the technical proficiency of the operators in a typical company workforce; only approximately 10 per cent of employees are high performers.

Typically, the operators with less technical proficiency are responsible for accidents and pose a serious hazard to the workplace. It also increases the odds of premature wear-and-tear in the equipment that results in a higher maintenance cost.

By increasing the operators’

working proficiency, it will directly translate to increasing mining efficiency and lower maintenance costs. In reality, not all training candidates are suitable to be trained as a heavy equipment operator. In one documented case, two-to-three (or sometimes even three-to-four) of 10 people in a training class won’t have enough aptitude to make the training as an equipment operator.

Based on side-by-side comparisons, it is reported that an average of 2542 per cent of training candidates were judged to be unsuitable for training as heavy equipment operators.

This proficiency can be assessed with a typical ‘aptitude’ testing to assess the psychomotor, sensory, AUSTRALIANMINING

perceptual and cognitive abilities of an individual.

By choosing a better training candidate, every operator trained will develop into a fully efficient worker. Industrial psychologists have developed several psychometric tests dating back to World War Two to measure these aptitudes, including pegboards and imaginary paper folding, to name just a few.

Bestech Australia is the leading sensors and instrumentation company that specializes in test and measurement applications and also supplies technical teaching equipment to universities and registered training providers. It is also the distributor of SIMLOG’s heavy equipment personal simulator

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OCTOBER 2018

in Australia and New Zealand.

Its sensor technology has been used in many industries, such as defence, manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, mining, research and development, and many more.

Bestech’s Wirhan Pratiano offers a few reasons why digital simulators can be a boon for operations.

The era of personal simulators It should be noteworthy that prescreening for operators is just part of the solution. If pre-screened operators receive inadequate training, it will certainly lead to lower productivity, high fuel costs, increased wear and tear and more frequent maintenance and repair.

Operators need to develop the

TECHNOLOGY

right habits, which are integral to achieving maximum operating proficiency.

SIMLOG’s heavy equipment simulators are available in many models across a wide range of industries, including mining, construction and forestry. Mining machinery such as drills, electric rope shovels, hydraulic excavators, mining trucks, wheel loaders, material handlers, bulldozers and backhoe loaders are available. These simulators can be used to train screened operators in developing

good habits for operating practices.

SIMLOG offers the simplest method to test operational aptitude in a simulated yet challenging work situation. It presents to the training candidates a simplified version of what the real work will be.

One of SIMLOG’s customers in Canada has reported double the training productivity over a fourweek training period thanks to simulation-based preparation.

In Brazil, a customer documented increased productivity over a training period of six weeks of real work after pre-training the operators using the personal simulator.

Without a doubt, personal simulators offer massive long-term benefits to mining companies in terms of productivity and efficiency.

Eliminating the bad habit of poor operating practices

Tyre wear is a typical concern for mining trucks as a result of poor operating practices. For example, turning the wheel while stopping, cornering too fast or driving with tyres in contact with a berm will quickly wear out the tyre. For wheel loaders, loading the truck while articulating greatly reduces productivity as the engine power

AUSTRALIANMINING

SIMLOG’S HEAVY EQUIPMENT SIMULATORS ARE AVAILABLE IN MANY MODELS ACROSS A WIDE RANGE OF INDUSTRIES, INCLUDING MINING, CONSTRUCTION AND FORESTRY. is optionally transferred to the front end.

The simulation software features a “performance indicator” module to track all of the poor operating practices cited above.

When they occur during training, the occurrences are counted and displayed at the end of practice for both the operator and the trainer to review.

Using the simulator, the trainer has better flexibility to show what to do (and what not to do), which significantly improves the quality of training programmes.

Choose what you need: Costeffectiveness vs. complexity

With so many companies out there with heavy equipment simulator products, cost is always the number one priority. Depending on the training needs, complexities and price often go hand in hand.

The most complex device

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OCTOBER 2018

may cost as much as a million dollars to purchase. These will typically feature multiple PCs, special wraparound displays, a motion platform, trainer station and hardware/software details that change with the particular make and model of the simulated equipment.

Commonly, it also comes with an ongoing annual fee, which adds more to the already expensive device.

In summary, modern personal simulators can help companies to decide whether their training candidates have enough aptitude to make the training investment worthwhile.

Once they are hired, it is also a useful learning tool to teach them the right operating procedures. The performance indicator modules offer comprehensive assessment of the operators’ quality to decide whether they are good enough to operate the real equipment. AM

MAINTENANCE

RADCOFLEX EXPANSION JOINTS FLEX TO USER NEEDS RADCOFLEX DIRECTOR MAT CARROLL TALKS AUSTRALIAN MINING THROUGH THE SUITABILITY OF EXPANSION JOINTS IN MANY MINING APPLICATIONS.

T

he management of predictive maintenance and plant downtime is fundamental to a successful mining operation.

And using expansion joints can lend aid in that area.

This is because expansion joints have specific engineered criteria that render a more predictable cycle or service life.

When cyclic processes can be accurately predicted, it gives more control to mine operators to manage and reduce maintenance costs over the life of the product.

With over 60 years of experience in the manufacture of expansion joints, Radcoflex can offer an unparalleled degree of insight into the expansion joint market.

Flexible expansion joints may come in a wide range of materials, including metal, fabric, rubber and

polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) materials. They may be hinged, gimbal, axi-line, cylindrical, square or rectangular.

Since expansion joints are an engineered made-to-order solution, the choice of which expansion joint is appropriate, largely depends on the parameters of the medium being conveyed, the movement required and the operating conditions specific to the joint.

“A key discriminator for Radcoflex is the range of products that we manufacture and can supply within the metal expansion joint domain,” says Radcoflex director Mat Carroll.

“When considered against others, the importance of expansions joints is that they are engineered to suit specific applications.”

For example, Radcoflex’s metal expansion joints are highly suited for mining applications due to their proven capacity to resist corrosion

with specific metal utilisation, highpressure resistance and fluctuation resistance.

Metal expansion joints suit applications within a broad range of temperatures, from cryogenic to extended elevated ranges, as well as varied vector movement allowance.

These specifications depend on application requirements that are defined by customers.

“They are most commonly utilised to absorb vibration, heat and movement between fixed conveyance points,” Carroll adds.

Meanwhile, fabric expansion joints can be used to absorb movements and misalignments in ductwork. They can be measured and cut, and then heatsealed and joined to form a continuous belt.

For quick installation into a piping system, rubber expansion joints will be the most helpful. This is because it incorporates a rubber bellows element,

PRODUCTION TEAM MEMBERS FROM RADCOFLEX WITH EXPANSION JOINT.

AUSTRALIANMINING

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OCTOBER 2018

fitted with either fixed or floating flanges.

Given that every expansion joint has its own advantages and disadvantages, Radcoflex is willing to take the time to ensure they work with clients to determine the specifications that are needed to match the appropriate expansion joint to the best needs of the clients.

Carroll says, “We have a dedicated customer engagement team that works with our users to provide direct engagement and management of their orders.

“Through our sales and engineering team, we can link our resident engineers and trades personnel in our branches to work through the specific project or product requirements with the users.”

The Radcoflex support team may come up with a range of recommendations suited to the mining applications. One example includes the incorporation of internal liners to protect the expansion joint when there is an enhanced likelihood of abrasion, a prevalent risk in mining applications due to the many types of media.

Metal expansion joints can be manufactured out of a range of materials, such as high nickel alloys, to meet rigorous conditions that can be experienced in mining.

The team may also offer a custom enhancement involving environmental shielding or insulation jacketing to protect against temperature fluctuation or energy losses.

Whatever the solution, clients can be sure that these complementary components are part of a holistic solution specific to their needs.

Clients can have full confidence that an experienced Australian manufacturer manages the process from initiation to completion.

“We are looking to constantly innovate and enhance our products at Radcoflex. And we can do this through direct enhancement of components in the expansion joint,” says Carroll.

“Most importantly, we relish our engagement with customers, working with them on their product needs to meet existing, new or changing application requirements.” AM

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DRILL AND BLAST

BIG BANG INNOVATION INCITEC PIVOT IS STEPPING UP ITS COMMITMENT TO TECHNOLOGY THIS YEAR WITH DEDICATED MANAGEMENT OF PRODUCT TECHNOLOGY AND A SEPARATION OF LEADERSHIP FOR SUBSIDIARIES DYNO NOBEL ASIA PACIFIC AND INCITEC PIVOT FERTILISERS. EWEN HOSIE REPORTS.

D

yno Nobel Asia Pacific is having a big year. Its Differential Energy technology, which fills blastholes with different emulsion density segments to meet the varying requirements of the ground condition, is being trialled at mine sites in Australia.

Called Delta E, the system has already succeeded in the North American market, particularly at open cut iron ore operations, and Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific looks set to replicate this in Australia.

It is a prime example of the focus Dyno Nobel and parent company Incitec Pivot have placed on practical explosives technologies.

Incitec Pivot separated the leadership of explosives arm Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific (DNAP) and agriculture-focused Incitec Pivot Fertilisers. Greg Hayne, a Dyno Nobel employee since 2000, took over as DNAP president with James Crough serving as interim president of Incitec Pivot Fertilisers.

Incitec Pivot also appointed former Dyno Nobel senior vice president of technology, Rob Rounsley, to a new combined Dyno Nobel and Incitec Pivot Fertilisers role, chief technology development officer (CTDO), to bolster its focus on technology.

“You could say my role is old but new in the sense that I have managed technology programs for at least 15 years globally for the Dyno Nobel business,” Rounsley explains.

“What’s new about it is that technology is being represented at the

DELTA E SOLUTION IS DELIVERED BY TRUCK.

executive level and its function is a lot more focused. Our chief executive officer obviously sees technology as extremely important to our future.”

While Dyno Nobel entered 2018 with a renewed tech focus, led by products such as Delta E, the company is focusing on practical innovations for today’s mining environments. This focus on pragmatism, combined with recognition of the mining industry’s safety-rooted conservatism, has led to a culture of iteration and constant improvement.

“We’ve got a really strong heritage of developments that have changed the way blasting has been done,”

says Hayne. “We’re taking all of our skills and applying them to help our customers be more efficient as the result of their blasting activities.”

Rounsley explains that Dyno Nobel’s technology program consists of five key areas: plant, process and equipment, which has a large automation focus; bulk products and water-based explosives; initiation systems, which covers products such as electronic detonators, cord and boosters; customer-facing digital product offers, such as blast modelling systems and control systems for better blasting and blast outcomes; and mining technology, which is all about

THE DELTA E METHOD MINIMISES WASTE WHEN PREPARING BLASTING OPERATIONS.

AUSTRALIANMINING

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improving efficiency.

“The change in my role was around elevating technology to the corporate executive level”, explains Rounsley.

“We have at least 300 scientists and engineers working across those five key technology platforms.

“The first three areas are already very well developed within the company and we’ve been doing quite a lot of work there, but with regards to our digital product offering and mining technology we’ve really increased our focus in these areas by establishing core programs in these fields including our new digital product centre of excellence in Salt Lake City” Rounsley and Hayne agree that mining has enjoyed renewed interest in technology, necessitated by an industry-wide need for improved efficiency in the wake of the mining boom.

“I would say having run through multiple cycles, that’s what we always see,” says Rounsley. “There’s more resistance to change when you don’t need to change in order to be successful.”

With Delta E receiving positive feedback from the Australian trial site and Dyno Nobel’s flagship DigiShot Plus electronic initiation system now rolling out into its fourth generation, the company looks well-positioned to meet the industry’s changes. AM

KNOWING TODAY WHAT TO EXPECT TOMORROW – AND BEYOND

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TRACKING THE TRENDS

THE RUSH TO REPLACE RESERVES IS ON A NEGATIVE OF ANY DOWNTURN IS THE REDUCTION IN DEVELOPMENT AND EXPLORATION IT BRINGS. AUSTRALIAN MINING EXPLAINS HOW INDUSTRY HAS RESPONDED SINCE MARKET CONDITIONS HAVE IMPROVED.

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TRACKING THE TRENDS

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ustralian mining companies have made a renewed commitment to deliver the next phase of development and projects over the past

ALL OF THE DRILLING RIGS THAT WERE IDLED JUST A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO ARE NOW ALL FULLY DEPLOYED. SO EXPLORATION ACTIVITY IS ALIVE AND WELL AND HAS BEEN FOR PROBABLY 12 MONTHS PLUS NOW.”

18 months.

The industry’s revival follows a period of reduced capital expenditure and investment in exploration, leaving it with a lower mineral reserve profile in many key commodities due to the lull in activity.

Deloitte, when it released the 2018 Tracking the Trends report late last year, identified ‘Reserve replacement woes’ as a key challenge being faced by the global mining industry.

It noted that many mining companies were on the rebound thanks to cost cutting, a focus on fundamentals, and a commitment to portfolio simplification.

However, the turnaround had not yet solved the supply constraints that were plaguing the industry at the time.

The amount of gold discovered in the 10 years to 2016, for example, had declined by 85 per cent, while reserves had fallen by 40 per cent since 2011.

Copper, silver, nickel, cobalt and zinc were other commodities that Deloitte showed were also experiencing supply challenges.

Deloitte partner, consulting David Cormack says this growth phase is typical in the boom and bust cycle of the minerals sector after capital expenditures and exploration budgets have been through a period of decline.

“The incentives to enter the industry again post-bust cycle only happens when there is recovery, then there is a delay to impact,” Cormack tells Australian Mining.

“These are long lead time exploration projects, with drilling and feasibility studies. Then what happens is that everyone comes online and you commence the cycle all over again.”

Australian companies have responded to the upswing over the past year by noticeably increasing their expenditure on projects and exploration.

In the Australian gold sector exploration budgets have returned, and in some case are hitting record territory.

Northern Star Resources, for example, has committed a company record $60 million to exploration in Western Australia’s Goldfields this financial year, primarily to convert a significant amount of its 15.9Moz resources base into reserves.

Newcrest Mining has linked up with

AUSTRALIANMINING

a number of junior miners through joint ventures to increase exploration around the Tanami region in search of another major discovery in northern Australia.

“All of the drilling rigs that were idled just a couple of years ago are now all fully deployed,” Cormack says. “So exploration activity is alive and well and has been for probably 12 months plus now.”

The gold industry has not been alone in this upward trend either; the zinc sector in Queensland has experienced a notable upswing in development and investment too.

New Century Resources has restarted the Century mine as a hydraulic mining operation focused on tailings, while Glencore has ramped up activity at its Mt Isa operations.

Cormack says companies are investing in different ways during the latest upswing, with new techniques and technologies being considered to add reserves.

“They are deploying different mining techniques to more effectively mine those deposits,” he says.

“Continuously trying to innovate and bring those techniques into feasibility studies remains a challenge.

And then how do they overcome the depth and declining grades but along with the declining grades is more complex geo metallurgy.

“So the way in which they have to get recoveries from far more complex orebodies is still something that they are experimenting with and trying to get right. That’s where things like advanced analytics and data science come into play.”

Cormack points to the growing number of collaborations between miners and METS (mining, equipment, technology and services) companies as developments that are assisting the industry’s transition in this direction.

“Out of necessity mining companies have needed to become more innovative in their fundamental thinking and approaches in their DNA or their cultures. With that we have seen increasing and highly collaborative models and ecosystems come into play,” Cormack concludes.

Deloitte’s leading strategies to replace reserves from Tracking the Trends includes:

Shorten the cycle

To reduce the risk of long-cycle megaprojects, resource companies often engage in short-cycle projects designed to rapidly generate positive

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cash flow. In addition to reducing CAPEX, these short-cycle investments help to preserve the production capacities needed to expand as demand factors shift.

Build a portfolio of early stage projects

Several mining companies have entered joint ventures with junior explorers. In these types of deals, majors typically offer to share intellectual property (IP), engineering resources, technical expertise, and exploration costs with juniors in exchange for first rights to new discoveries.

Find local capital

To avoid undue risk, blue-chip mining companies typically prefer to invest in near–mine exploration in known geologies. This focus, however, may hamper their ability to succeed in emerging nations. To overcome this hurdle, a new kind of investor may be required — one who understands the risks, regulatory environment, and cultural issues that prevail in less developed regions.

Consider more creative funding models

In a bid to become more nimble operators, companies are on the lookout for more creative funding models that may not require investors to commit large amounts of capital for long periods of time. This is spurring a rise in alternative funding approaches, such as supply chain financing, streaming arrangements, and royalty agreements.

Use analytics to optimise portfolios

One of the greatest difficulties organisations face when trying to structure optimal portfolios is making informed choices about which assets to buy or sell, and when.

To remove some of that subjectivity, leading organisations are increasingly relying on data analytics to rank and score potential investment opportunities.

Leverage new technologies

As geomatic technologies evolve, companies have begun to develop more advanced surveying capacities.

New mobile technologies now allow for portable laser scanning; drones are delivering high resolution aerial images; and satellite imagery is being used to detect new ore bodies. AM

PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONS: USING IIOT TO CREATE PROFITABLE EFFICIENCIES THE VAST POTENTIAL OF IIOT IS FINALLY GIVING INDUSTRIAL COMPANIES THE ABILITY TO CONTROL THEIR BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IN REAL TIME AND DRIVE OPERATIONAL PROFITABILITY IMPROVEMENTS – SAFELY AND SUSTAINABLY. BRAD YAGER, DIRECTOR PROCESS AUTOMATION & SOFTWARE, SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC, EXPLAINS MORE.

T

wo decades ago, determining the business impact of improved efficiency was a relatively simple task. Since the costs of energy, material, and the value of the products produced were relatively stable over long periods, determining value was as simple as determining the total quantities of each and multiplying by the fixed values of each. Improvements in efficiency essentially directly translated to improvements in operational profitability.

Over the last two decades, this has changed dramatically. Today these costs tend to change very quickly. In the wholesale energy market, each generator places daily price bids to sell power and adjusts quantities in up

to 10 price bands every five minutes.

With the deregulation of electric power grids, the pricing dynamics of the electric power industry increased to the point at which the trading price is now calculated every 30 minutes.

This is also true for other energy sources, such as natural gas, the price of which can also change every 15 minutes. The dynamics of raw material pricing has also increased over the last twenty years. For example, the price of base metals can change multiple times every minute.

Web-based outlets such as Amazon and direct business-to-business interactions are able to respond much more quickly to this changing price than the average manufacturing plant, which reviews its operations monthly.

In Australia, there is a plan to move to five-minute settlements

over the next three years. This would help reward more flexible resources (including batteries) as they respond more efficiently to the impact of sudden changes in output.

The result of this dynamic shift is that it is much more challenging to convert efficiency improvements into financial terms. Today, the operational profitability of an industrial operation is almost as dynamic as the efficiency of the processes.

Trying to manage operational profitability on a monthly basis, as many companies do, no longer works the way it had. Profitable efficiency is a real-time control problem that needs handling in a very similar manner to process control.

But in the age of connectivity and the Industrial Internet of Things

IIOT CAN BRING SEVERAL PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFITABILITY IMPROVEMENTS.

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(IIoT), business managers and plant personnel alike have never had better opportunities to measure and improve the profitability of their operations in real time. Increasing the visibility into your plant assets and process performance can increase your margins by as many as 10 points.

That equates to $1.3 million for a large plant.

Driving profitable efficiency starts with optimising the performance of each industrial asset so that it performs its prescribed work in the safest, most environmentally sustainable, reliable and efficient manner possible.

Increased connectivity, computing power and technology means it is possible to put real-time control, interoperability and communication at every level, from the simplest plant asset all the way up to the supply chain.

Gifted with more connectivity and computing power, smarter, connected products, e.g. pumps, are now able to control, monitor and secure themselves to become autonomous assets. This better, automatic realtime control can then be extended upward, all the way to the value chain asset sets.

Empowered with the ability to control every asset in real time, even intangible assets like energy, raw materials and production, companies are now able to conduct business and respond to fluctuations, especially the business functions that have been historically transactional.

Controlling operational profitability and efficiency requires interdependent control strategies.

In fact, what is required is a cascade control strategy in which profitability control is cascaded to efficiency-based process control.

The combined control strategy is referred to as profitable efficiency and is what industry requires to continually maximise both operational efficiency and operational profitability. AM

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sense? Then talk to ContiTech before you make your next conveyor decision. And ensure it will be one of the best you’ll ever make.

WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT

AVOIDING A SKILLS SHORTAGE CRISIS IS THE SKILLS SHORTAGE IN MINING REACHING A CRITICAL PERIOD OR IS IT JUST PART OF THE TYPICAL CYCLE EXPERIENCED IN THE INDUSTRY? AUSTRALIAN MINING WRITES.

D

iggers & Dealers Mining Forum chairman Nick Giorgetta believes mining’s skills shortage is just years away from being at crisis levels if more Australians aren’t attracted to the industry.

Giorgetta, in his speech to open the 2018 event in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, used the stage to dispel the myths that surround mining and highlight the positives of the industry.

He says commentary that the mining boom is over sends a “very negative message” about an industry that is actually thriving.

Giorgetta wants the industry to sell the value of mining to Australian politicians, the voters and, most importantly, the young people of the country.

“I have been involved in mining all of my working life, 47 years to be exact. Whenever I tell people that, I can see them picturing me with a

head lamp and a face full of black dust getting out of an underground safety cage every day,” Giorgetta says.

“The perception that the mining industry is unsafe, unsustainable and a dirty job still persists in many parts of the community, but we know that it is a myth.

“The reality is that the mining industry has a culture of pursuing excellence. It creates opportunities not only in the traditional professions of geology, mining engineering and metallurgy, but also in the fields of environmental science, robotics, computer modelling, general engineering and numerous other professions.”

Giorgetta says mining needs to continually have a pipeline of the “best and brightest” students entering the industry.

He views the decline in the number of enrolments in mining engineering, metallurgy, geology and surveying as the biggest problem the

industry will face in future years.

“If we don’t start succeeding in getting these people to choose a career in mining, in five years’ time we will have problems satisfying the expected skills demand our industry will require,” Giorgetta says.

“This is approaching crisis level and action needs to be taken now.

We require enrolments today, so that the skills pipeline is satisfied in the future.”

Surbiton Associates director Sandra Close also chimed in about the future of the mining industry while at the event.

Close notes the suggestions that if the mining industry improves further, there will be insufficient new graduates to fill the new positions available, severely hampering the development of new projects.

“Mining has been a cyclical industry for longer than I can remember,” says Close. “The production of new graduates is often

NICK GIORGETTA PRESENTS AT DIGGERS & DEALERS.

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completely out of phase with the demand from the mining industry but so little has been done about this.

“When the mining industry is booming, students are attracted to mining-related courses with the expectation of high salaries.

“However, when they finally graduate in the specialist courses such as mining engineering, geology or metallurgy three or four years later, the boom is over, the industry is contracting and there are few jobs available.”

EZI-ON, EZI-OFF EZI-GUARD Moving parts and pinch points pose a serious danger to people who work around machinery. While most machinery guards eliminate incidents around moving parts, it is often heavy and cumbersome enough to become a manual handling hazard.

The patented ESS EZI-GUARD system comprises of a range of versatile, easy to install brackets, lightweight panels and standard structural tubing which forms an ‘off the shelf’ system that can be adapted to almost any application.

The EZI-GUARD System has been developed to exceed the guard design requirements of AS4024.3610:2015.

Then potential students avoid the mining industry and related enrolments decline, Close explains.

With the turnaround in market conditions, Giorgetta points to several positives that have emerged in the industry, including the substantial increases in iron ore, LNG, coal and gold output.

He says production costs have also been reduced, and in some cases remarkably so.

“The price of commodities such as nickel and copper are on the increase and we should see some of those mining companies back into production,” Giorgetta says.

“New metals like lithium, graphite and cobalt, which are linked to the surging demand for batteries, are being developed with long mine lives and predicted strong profits.

“Importantly, across all sectors miners are taking advantage of their strong balance sheets to address the problem of depleted resource bases.”

Giorgetta doubts Australia has ever seen this type of reliability before, saying the mining industry is well positioned to remain the largest contributor to the country’s GDP for many years to come.

He says it is time to stop mourning the end of the mining construction boom and start celebrating industry successes.

“We all need to welcome and encourage ongoing and future developments,” Giorgetta said.

Close believes when the industry begins to recover for a few years, there are insufficient new graduates available and starting salaries increase, causing the cycle to begin all over again.

“The industry is currently improving, with lithium, cobalt and potash being this year’s hot commodities,” as well as the traditional great export earners of iron ore, coal and gold,” Close says.

“Yet once again we are hearing the same old cry from some parts of the industry that it won’t have enough locally trained graduates and will have to seek mining professionals from overseas.”

Close says that despite the cyclical nature of the mining industry, there is a lot that could be done to ameliorate this effect and it is up to the industry and the educational institutions to work together and develop means of moderating the ups and downs.

“There is a need for the industry to get smarter and be more flexible in its employment and career practices for its existing professionals,” Close says.

“There are possibilities such as multi-skilling of individuals, targeted research, enhanced training, project re-design and so on, to fit funding constraints, such that experienced people are retained and broadened or retrained in the lean years, so they are more productive in the ‘good’ years.” AM AUSTRALIANMINING

The patented ESS EZI-GUARD is; - Quick and easy to retrofit - Easy to remove for maintenance - Modular ‘off the shelf’ design - Corrosion Resistant - Strong but lightweight panels - Easily handled - Available in a variety of materials - Available in barricade form - Colored Safety Yellow or black as standard

Proudly Manufactured in Australia 37

OCTOBER 2018

MAINTENANCE

KEEPING MINE TRUCKS MOVING AUSTRALIAN MINING SPEAKS TO BRIDGESTONE MINING SOLUTIONS AUSTRALIA’S ONSITE SERVICE EXPERTS TO FIND OUT WHAT MAKES THE SERVICE SO ENDURING.

B

ridgestone Mining Solutions Australia has been providing wheel and tyre servicing to mining customers for over 30 years. It has 15 branch locations across Australia, several of which have a strong mining industry focus.

In the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales alone, the company currently undertakes several Onsite Service contracts.

These contracts also extend to the Boggabri region and several other mining areas. Dave Leadbeatter, BMSA regional executive manager – southern region, oversees the company’s onsite service activities in the Hunter Valley.

“Above anything else, safety is our

BRIDGESTONE’S ONSITE SERVICE OPERATES UNDER THE MANTRA THAT TYRES ARE NOT A COMMODITY, BUT AN ASSET, AND PRIDES ITSELF ON ITS LONG-STANDING WORK AT AUSTRALIAN MINE SITES.”

first priority” says Leadbeatter.

BMSA’s Onsite Service has brought significant gains to a major mining client’s operation at a large open cut coal mining operation in the region. Leadbeatter admits that when BMSA’s work started at the mine upon taking over from a previous provider, the client’s tyre life had not been very good.

The BMSA team endeavoured to

improve haulage cycles and tyre monitoring in order to improve the situation.

“They acknowledged that tyre life was a major issue for them — they even used to present it in their safety bulletin on a monthly basis,” explains Leadbeatter.

“Since we’ve been onsite tyre life has gone up considerably, especially on their ultra class trucks. Our

A BMSA ONSITE SERVICE SPECIALIST CHECKING TYRE PRESSURE.

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service has saved them quite a bit of money.”

BMSA checks wheels at specific intervals depending on the application and are subsequently tested (blast and NDT) to see if they require repair. If they do not require repair they are painted and returned to service thus reducing ongoing downtime for wheel failure.

Onsite service is available through contracts or occasional one-off jobs, particularly for sub-contractors of Bridgestone clients, whose performance quandaries can have a knock-on effect to the contract principal’s production.

BMSA employs professionally trained BMSA tyre repair staff that have gone through ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) certification for onsite repairs, with all servicing meeting or exceeding Australian standards.

While turnaround time is considered important, the staff is trained not to rush things, offering a pragmatic approach to wheel and tyre servicing designed to minimise downtime, provide long-term cost savings and focus on safety.

In line with this approach, service staff will sometimes install Bridgestone’s proprietary B-TAG technology, a real-time tyre pressure and monitoring system internally developed by Bridgestone that allows for real-time monitoring.

“One of the biggest problems for tyres is heat and given that such a volume of rubber is used in the tyres, B-TAG allows us to understand the temperatures that the tyres are operating at before becoming critical and before separation may occur,” explains Leadbeatter.

BMSA’s status as a tyre manufacturer allows the company to make changes to tyre construction and compounding as part of the service. Product support also extends to heat and GPS studies of equipment. When this is coupled with onsite service, there is an added value to both BMSA and customers with the constant monitoring enabling product improvements returning the customer improved tyre performance.

MAINTENANCE

ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS FOR TYRES IS HEAT AND GIVEN THAT SUCH A VOLUME OF RUBBER IS USED IN THE TYRES, B-TAG ALLOWS US TO UNDERSTAND THE TEMPERATURES THAT THE TYRES ARE OPERATING AT BEFORE BECOMING CRITICAL AND BEFORE SEPARATION MAY OCCUR.”

In line with their training, BMSA onsite service staff perform their work in a safe and efficient manner that emphasises methodology over time frames, and they are encouraged to share their expertise with the client.

“Our tyre fitters also pass on tyre awareness education to individual operators,” says Simon Galbraith, a senior specialist onsite service – south.

“When it comes to inspection of the tyres, if an operator has a question about them, our staff will actually have a discussion with the operator, giving them suitable advice about the tyre injury, including how it happens and why it is either safe to continue in operation or needs to be changed”.

Galbraith has been with Bridgestone for over 12 years, starting with the company as a tyre fitter before becoming an onsite supervisor and eventually into Service Management.

“We take an unbiased approach to our tyre management to achieve the maximum performance out of

any brand of tyre our customers use. Amongst other management tools, we focus on the preventative maintenance of tyres by having damage repaired early rather than let the damage propagate to a state that may not be repairable and shorten the tyre life.”

Galbraith explains that while imparting advice to clients regarding possible improvements to tyre life, safety is the top priority.

“Our onsite service team holds the responsibility of maintaining the customer’s compliance to their Tyre and Rim Management Plans”.

“We assist to heighten awareness of tyre safety onsite, from the Operator level to site Management” he says.

“Having a good safety system and culture helps avoid incidents, injuries and more importantly provides employees a safe place of work.

“Extension of tyre life is never done at the cost of reduced safety to the tyre fitters, customer employees or asset damage”.

Bridgestone is a registered training organisation (RTO#90415)

AUSTRALIANMINING

A TRUCK RECEIVES SERVICING FROM A BMSA FITTER.

and tyre fitters are trained to a nationally recognised standard: RII20215 Certificate II in Surface Extraction Operations – Tyre Servicing for Heavy Duty Equipment.

Both internal and external Certificate II training is provided for BMSA employees and customer maintenance personnel from one of three training facilities located in Perth, Mackay and the Hunter Valley respectively.

“Our onsite service can offer

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customers additional value across the supply chain by reducing the number of required vendors,” explains Murray Shea, BMSA senior specialist onsite service, west.

“Instead of having 10 different vendors, everything is done through Bridgestone, so there’s only one point of contact if customers have an issue.”

Bridgestone’s onsite service operates under the mantra that tyres are not a commodity, but an asset, and prides itself on its long-standing work at Australian mine sites. AM

MINING INFRASTRUCTURE

DELIVERING EFFECTIVE SEWAGE TREATMENT FOR FIFO SITES AEROFLOAT’S STAFF HAVE BEEN PROVIDING WASTEWATER TREATMENT SOLUTIONS FOR OVER FIFTY YEARS. MANAGING DIRECTOR RAY ANDERSON TALKS TO AUSTRALIAN MINING ABOUT HOW IT DELIVERS EFFECTIVE SEWAGE TREATMENT TO FIFO CAMPS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

F

ly in, fly out (FIFO) accommodation for workers at remote sites can greatly range in size. From smaller, cabin-style dongas to larger camps with facilities to rival quality hotels, FIFO accommodation shares one thing in common that is sometimes overlooked: they all need safe and efficient sewage treatment and disposal systems.

In modern FIFO setups, each unit will usually have its own toilet and shower, with communal setups reserved for kitchens and laundries.

The domestic sewage generated at FIFO camps by all staff, which can run into the thousands at the largest operations, has to be safely collected, treated and disposed of in an environmentally acceptable manner.

New South Wales-based

wastewater treatment company Aerofloat specialises in this service for FIFO camps and similar sites and has patented solutions over time that have been developed over several decades to improve the efficiency of this process.

There are several challenges to deal with when providing sewage treatment plants (STPs) to mine sites according to Ray Anderson, managing director of Aerofloat, who possesses over 50 years of experience in the wastewater treatment industry.

“One of the challenges with mine sites relates to the fact that the habits of the individuals are very similar,” he explains.

“Most people are getting up at the same time in the morning — say 5am or so for a day shift operation — so you’ll get maybe 30–40 per cent of the flow coming out in a tight period

of one hour in the morning, and a similar amount during a one-hour period in the afternoon or early evening.

“These peak flows are quite excessive and that has a significant impact on how you design these systems.

“It’s a necessity for those of us who design sewage plants to have an understanding that you can’t just go and put in a normal sewage plant designed for typical average and peak flows.”

In response to these challenges, Aerofloat has developed a system to meet the challenges of mine site sewage treatment that emphasises the screening process.

The traditional solution is to use a large hydraulic balance tank to mix and transfer sewage into a treatment plant. However, these tanks can

A CG IMAGE SHOWING AEROFLOAT’S COMPLETE HYBRID SETUP.

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be large and problematic if not carefully aerated or mixed as they can accumulate solids that can lead to problems down the line.

Aerofloat’s method implements several tanks in the process. Raw sewage is pumped to a specially designed screen fitted with a self-cleaning auger prior to a balance tank. The balance tank is intermittently aerated to keep the tank mix odour free.

After this, the screened sewage flows into another tank of Aerofloat’s design called a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR). The MBBR is aerated with multiple blowers and Aerofloat’s unique patented lance aeration system, which provides improved and optimal aeration and mixing.

From the MBBR, the semitreated sewage, in conjunction

MINING INFRASTRUCTURE

with excess biomass, flows to one or more tanks called Sequence Batch Reactors (SBRs), which again use multiple blowers and Aerofloat’s lances to provide optimal and intermittent aeration and mixing.

Periodically, biosolids are returned from the SBRs to the MBBR tank to balance the excess solids between the tanks.

After a period of time the aerators in the SBRs turn off and the microorganisms in the SBR are allowed to settle, typically for one hour. Then,the clean, treated water on the surface is decanted off the top of the tank using Aerofloat’s unique Air Locked Syphon (ALS) decanting system.

“The treated effluent leaves the SBR as clean water but it still has many microscopic organisms in there that can potentially have detrimental health effects if you don’t do something about it,” explains Anderson.

“So, what we do is treat it with chlorine by injecting it into the water as it’s flowing out during the decant time. That provides the mechanism for killing all these millions of little microorganisms that can’t be seen by the human eye.”

The treated and disinfected water is then transferred to a holding tank, to be used by the client for site irrigation and beautification.

Periodically, a waste-activated sludge pump is also used to dispose of excess biosolids from the MBBR to an adjacent tank. These biosolids are further thickened in this tank and can then be disposed of by tankers for dewatering or other purposes, such as soil conditioning.

While MBBR and SBR systems are not unique to Aerofloat, they are generally used in isolation; Aerofloat uses both as part of a hybrid technology that provides the

advantages of both in a single process.

Aerofloat’s multiple lance system is also a significant addition not just for the improved aeration and mixing it provides during effluent breakdown, but because they are easy to remove and clean compared to traditional aeration tank pipes and diffusers which are normally bolted on the floor of the tank. The consequence of this is that Aerofloat’s system is also easier to repair, leading to less downtime and improved efficiency.

“When the diffusers block or rupture on a typical tank, you’ve actually got to drain it, remove all the bio-media, get into the tank and repair it,” Anderson explains.

“We don’t have that. We can just repair it by removing the lance from outside the tank without draining it because we have a specially patented, double sealed arrangement that enables us to do that.

“We have pipework connected from the blowers to those lances but the lances are designed so you can take them out and clean them without shutting down the plant.”

This combination of factors provides additional robustness to the system so that it won’t break down even under heavy loads.

The mechanical components (blowers, pumps, electrical controls etc.) in Aerofloat’s plant are fitted into a container and tested at its factory facility in New South Wales.

One of the features of Aerofloat’s hybrid design is that all of the tanks are manufactured from standard offthe-shelf polyethylene tanks and these tanks have modifications made to them prior to sending to the FIFO site.

Since the tanks are made out of plastic and its pipes can be fitted and removed without complex tools, the complete system can be relocated in

AEROFLOAT’S MBBR TANKS ARE MADE FROM POLYETHYLENE, MAKING TRANSPORTATION EASIER.

this way with relative ease.

“It’s a relatively simple site installation requirement,” says Anderson.

“The container can be lifted and put on the back of the truck for relocation once you take the mechanical equipment off the top. So that’s another feature — the portability between different mine sites.”

The system is also compliant with Australian regulations, particularly tight rules around the removal and disposal of nitrogen and phosphorous.

Between aeration and non-aeration periods, the MBBR uses an optimised nitrification process that converts ammonia into nitrate during aerobic

W: www.braemac.com.au P: (02) 9550 6600 AUSTRALIANMINING

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conditions (i.e. conditions where dissolved oxygen is present).

The converse of this is denitrification, which is used in conditions with no dissolved oxygen (anoxic conditions) and this reduces the nitrate into nitrogen gas.

These processes reduce nitrogen into nitrogen gas to be removed.

Both of these are important to reduce overall nitrogen concentration in the sewage. Typically, this leads to nitrogen levels of less than 15mg per litre.

Aerofloat takes pride in the design of its hybrid system, particularly in its versatility, portability, simplicity of maintenance and overall. AM

SITE VISIT

CONSTRUCTION WAS MORE THAN 60% COMPLETE BY AUGUST.

A GOLDEN VENTURE AT GRUYERE AUSTRALIA’S NEXT MAJOR GOLD OPERATION IS LESS THAN A YEAR AWAY FROM REACHING PRODUCTION. BEN CREAGH FINDS OUT HOW THE DEVELOPMENT IS PROGRESSING DURING A SITE VISIT.

T

he Gruyere gold joint venture has been a relationship built on respect.

Gold Fields and Gold Road formed their partnership at the project along the Yamarna Belt in the Eastern Goldfields, Western Australia almost two years ago.

They have blended their expertise in the gold sector in the time since.

Gold Fields offers a global presence as a miner and explorer, including 17 years in Australia.

Gold Road, meanwhile, continues to pioneer the Yamarna region five years after making the Gruyere discovery with its exploration pursuits.

Together, they have progressed Gruyere to less than a year of

production, overcoming challenges and setting a long-term future for the site and region in the process.

The JV expects to start production at Gruyere by the middle of next year, with target output of between 170,000–230,000oz in 2019. Gruyere is forecast to average 270,000oz a year once a steady state of production has been achieved.

By August, 94 per cent of the project engineering works had been finalised; construction was 61 per cent complete and EPC construction 39 per cent complete. The workforce at Gruyere is expected to peak at around 600 in the current quarter.

Gold Fields executive vice president Australasia Stuart Mathews says the joint venture set up an operating procedure from the start, including a steering committee AUSTRALIANMINING

DRILL CORES FROM THE GRUYERE SITE.

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OCTOBER 2018

SITE VISIT

with representatives from both companies.

“That works very effectively. We have got a mutual respect because Gold Road have done a great job in very quick time in a new belt, a new greenstone area. They have delivered this, which is probably the biggest (gold) project in Australia at least,” Mathews says.

“Then we are charged with getting on and getting into production. We have demonstrated that we have great consistency of delivery over 17 years.”

Former Gold Road managing director and chief executive officer Ian Murray, who retired from these roles in September, has guided the relationship’s growth alongside Mathews.

He says the joint venture has not “cut corners” during development.

“We are building a quality project, for a long life mine that’s going to generate significant value for both of our shareholders,” Murray says.

The joint venture has faced its share of challenges that have modified its development plan.

Earlier this year, the partners were forced to delay their schedule for first gold from the March quarter of 2019 to the following quarter after unseasonal rainfall hit the project site.

The construction site had also received rainfall in the days before the site visit. The slippery, somewhat muddy, surface under foot provided an insight into the impact significant rainfall would have.

Gold Fields and Gold Road also raised their cost estimate for Gruyere to the upper end of a $506–$585 million forecast when they revealed the delay to first production.

The JV increased the Gruyere CAPEX again in July, this time by

around 10 per cent to $621 million.

Murray says the original estimate, based on 2016 costs, has been recalculated to factor inflation pressures that have emerged over the past two years.

“We had a relook at those numbers together with the definitive investment,” Murray says. “Steel, copper, nickel and power have all gone up at least 50 per cent in that two-year period.”

Despite a larger CAPEX, Murray says the Gruyere JV has been fortunate its cost profile has not risen further.

It benefitted, for example, from locking in contractor Downer on a five-year, $400 million mining services contract in late 2017 instead of waiting until closer to

WE HAVE GOT A MUTUAL RESPECT BECAUSE GOLD ROAD HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB IN VERY QUICK TIME IN A NEW BELT, A NEW GREENSTONE AREA. THEY HAVE DELIVERED THIS, WHICH IS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST (GOLD) PROJECT IN AUSTRALIA AT LEAST.” the commissioning of the project to make this award.

Labour is one cost that will, however, be a concern for the Gruyere JV as operations near production, with demand for mining skills intensifying across Australia.

“In the feasibility study we looked at a two-and-one roster, and then thankfully with Gold Fields we

looked at an even roster (eight and six) for the project – you need that in a hot market for labour,” Murray says.

Gold Fields and Gold Road have been aggressively campaigning to attract talent to the operation.

Mathews says the JV has been promoting employment opportunities at Gruyere in local communities, as well as in Perth and

THE GRUYERE SITE FROM THE SKY.

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OCTOBER 2018

SITE VISIT

THE TEAM IS AIMING FOR A TARGET OF UP TO 230,000 OUNCES IN 2019.

Kalgoorlie at workshops.

He says the JV has also taken a long-term view to promoting Gruyere to future workers, reflecting a mine life that currently sits at 13 years.

“If we are going to be around for the long term we have to invest right down to primary school; to plant seeds for what people are going to do and what mining can offer to people,” Mathews says. “(If we) plant the seed when they

get to high school ‘they will say hold on there is something good about technology.’”

Gold Road’s commitment to extending the operation beyond its 13-year mine life through exploration will remain strong.

The company is spending $6 million on exploration at Gruyere in 2018, with focus on identifying more high-margin reserves to boost the mine life. It is also spending $17 million at its tenements elsewhere in

the Yamarna.

Gold Road made its discovery at Gruyere during a lull in exploration in the Western Australian gold sector.

Exploration in the state has, however, now ramped up significantly. Gold Fields has been a main driver of this, having spent $40 million on exploration at its Australian operations during the first half of 2018.

Gold Road executive director,

THE ACCOMMODATION CAMP AT GRUYERE.

AUSTRALIANMINING

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exploration and growth, Justin Osborne, says the resurgence in exploration, as well as a rise in JV arrangements in the gold sector, is similar to what the industry experienced at the start of the century.

“All the majors did the same thing, that’s how they started to get back into exploration. What we might see in the next 12 to 18 months is a bit more of that in the exploration space,” Osborne says.

“We are definitely seeing an uptick in exploration, so the next wave might be the large M&A.” Mathews credits Gold Road for starting the revival in gold exploration in Western Australia with the Gruyere discovery.

“Then if you look at Gold Fields we actually ramped up (exploration), that’s when we actually said we are not spending enough,” he says.

“We were one of the very few companies to basically double our exploration spend from 2014 and I think we are going to get rewarded for that.”

With renewed commitment to exploration like this, the discovery of another Gruyere in Western Australia’s gold sector may not be far away. AM

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SAFETY

ON GUARD WITH ESS ESS HAS UPDATED ITS EZI-GUARD SAFETY SYSTEM WITH A FEW TWEAKS OVER THE PAST YEAR. AUSTRALIAN MINING TAKES A LOOK AT THE LATEST UPGRADES.

E

SS (Engineering Services and Supplies) is committed to reducing the abundance of safety risks around conveyor systems.

Conveyors have several dangerous elements, especially when unguarded, and may result in injury or even death if proper safety protocols are not followed.

ESS provides onsite training to make sure workers stay safe while working near conveyor belts at mine sites.

“A lot of things can happen with a moving conveyor,” ESS Goldfields branch manager Jeremy Andeway tells Australian Mining. “You’ve got crushing injuries and deaths — I’ve seen a lot of injuries on site.”

“For example, there are people out there that will try to get a roller to move if there’s a bit of build up by using a crowbar to clean the dirt off.

The crowbar can get caught and pull the person’s arm through or worse.”

Andeway has been working at ESS for eight years and oversees company operations in the Western Australian mining region.

He has been involved with the development of ESS’s popular safetyfocused product, EZI-GUARD, an ‘off-the-shelf’ modular guarding system that is placed around conveyors for increased protection.

EZI-GUARD’s design requires little to no welding to install, and uses standard hand tools and a drill, making assembly of the system straightforward.

Once the framework is assembled, the guard panels can be attached and detached in just a few seconds. ESS can also manufacture customised guard panels for closure around conflicting equipment or interfering structures.

“It’s very easy to install,” says Andeway. “Recently in Kalgoorlie, 55 metres of safety guarding was installed in under 24 hours.”

The EZI-GUARD system has been engineered to meet the guard design requirements of AS 4024.3610:2015 Safety of Machinery – Conveyors and ISO 14120-2015 Safety of Machinery.

It is also flexible enough to extend beyond conveyor systems and can be used for other applications such

as heavy earthmoving equipment, workshop machinery, and anywhere there is a potential to fall from heights. If restricted access is required, EZI-GUARD can cover it.

ESS continues to develop EZIGUARD into a safer system for mining users.

In February 2018, ESS worked collaboratively with a major Kalgoorlie client, and the existing EZI-GUARD system was upgraded to include a locking mechanism for the connection of mounting brackets.

The new locking mechanism, which gave EZI-GUARD a cast screw insert attached to a wire lanyard, replaced a retainer-style system.

This lanyard is used to avoid bolts from dropping and potentially getting lost, further improving efficiency and safety.

“Normally, if you’re working at heights and drop the bolt when you take it out, you could have an incident or near miss to anyone working

below,” says Andeway.

“The new system now connects bolts to the lanyard, so once you undo them, instead of falling down, they’re attached hang there. It’s a big gain for safety.”

ESS tailors the design of each EZI-GUARD system to the needs of the site in question. The patterned slot openings on the guarding panels can be customised depending on the airflow and visibility requirements, while still ensuring the hazard is guarded safely as per AS 4024.3610:2015.

EZI-GUARD’s colours can also be customised. The guards come powder coated in black or safety yellow as standard, but colours can be specified at the request of clients.

The guards are available in several materials, including aluminium, 304 stainless steel and mild steel (galvanised). Aluminium is the most popular choice of clients; being the lightest and most corrosion resistant,

ESS HAS MADE SEVERAL IMPROVEMENTS TO EZI-GUARD.

AUSTRALIANMINING

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OCTOBER 2018

it can be manoeuvred easily while still safely guarding hazardous areas.

The aluminium guards and 316 stainless steel supporting structure is particularly well suited to mine sites near hypersaline water bodies that lead to corrosion.

Some Western Australian mine sites in particular face high levels of salinity, something ESS takes into account when assessing mine sites.

“We look at the application in question, the surroundings, and the water quality,” says Andeway. “As soon as you get to a mine site you’ll know if it’s got good, clean water.

Some mines have stalactites with salt crystals, which is a typical sign of hypersaline water.”

“On one of the sites that we work on in Kalgoorlie that has hypersaline water, we decided to use 316 stainless steel mounts brackets and supports and aluminium powder coated guards due to the potential corrosion factors.” AM

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GOLD

GOLD VS BITCOIN: THE MELEE OVER YOUR MONEY ABC BULLION CHIEF ECONOMIST JORDAN ELISEO DISCUSSES THE RELATIVE BENEFITS OF GOLD AND BITCOIN.

S

tep aside Ali and Foreman, there’s a new tussle vying for the attention of the bloodthirsty investing public.

Our champ — and the former monetary system of the world — gold.

Our challenger — and the current king of cryptocurrency — Bitcoin.

Our ring official for this match is Jordan Eliseo, chief economist with ABC Bullion.

rising by approximately eight per cent per annum, and has proved to be the most effective single asset class portfolio hedge in “risk off” market environments.

“It is also beautiful. One can be a gold bear, a gold bull, or entirely apathetic about the potential price movements of the yellow metal, but make no mistake, gold is and will forever remain humanity’s enduring image of wealth, achievement and prosperity.”

What is gold’s strength as an investment currency?

“Longevity, recognition, liquidity, infinite duration and a complete lack of credit risk. There is no ‘one strength’ of gold that makes it unique per se, but anyone interested in money and in investing should want to learn about gold, given its multimillennia track record as a monetary instrument.

“Despite the fact that the developed world effectively abandoned the gold standard in 1971, gold remains an important part of central bank monetary reserves today. It has also proved to be a terrific investment over this period,

Where do you see Bitcoin heading over the next five years? How will it impact the global financial landscape?

“Our view on Bitcoin is much the same as it was about five years ago when we first started following the cryptocurrency. We think it offers fabulous speculative return potential, but it could also crash to zero, so from an investment perspective, people should only invest what they can afford to lose.

“Despite its marketing as ‘digital gold’, Bitcoin shares none of the characteristics that make gold unique.

To be clear, we are not anti-Bitcoin, but we think investors, particularly AUSTRALIANMINING

in the second half of 2017, were hoodwinked into believing they were buying into a safe haven asset, which it (for now) clearly is not.”

How can investors find a healthy balance between investing in precious metals, fiat currency, and cryptocurrencies?

“If it’s a stable store of value on a day-to-day basis, then stick with fiat currency. If it’s a secure and trusted store of value over time, then stick with gold, and if you are willing to gamble in the hope of striking it rich, then go for crypto.

“The reality is that none of these assets, or forms of money, need be an either-or equation, as it can make perfect sense to own all three.

“For me personally, while I don’t speculate in cryptocurrency markets, I can totally understand why people do, and would only caution them to invest with money they can afford to lose, much like any other form of gambling.”

Jordan Eliseo will be discussing gold vs. bitcoin during his presentation within the Current Market Trends and Commodity stream of the International Mining

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and Resources Conference (IMARC) at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre from October 29 to November 1 2018.

IMARC is Australia’s largest mining convention bringing together over 6000 decision makers from over 90 countries for four days of learning, deal-making and unparalleled networking. AM

JORDAN ELISEO, ABC BULLION CHIEF ECONOMIST.

INDUSTRY COMMENT

A TIMELY EVENT FOR A SECTOR REACHING A CROSSROAD THE AUSIMM AND SUSTAINABLE MINERALS INSTITUTE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND (UQ SMI) WILL JOINTLY HOST THE COMPLEX OREBODIES 2018 CONFERENCE IN BRISBANE NEXT MONTH.

A

ttendees at the November 19–21 event will hear from a series of industry experts on meeting the future supply through the mining of increasingly difficult deposits. The greatest challenge facing the resources sector is the projected growth in worldwide demand for raw materials and the inability of recycling to meet those needs.

Neville Plint, director of the UQ SMI and a keynote speaker at the Complex Orebodies 2018 conference, expands on why this conference is timely.

Why is the Complex Orebodies conference so timely and important for the industry?

The conference is timely because the mining industry is reaching a crossroads in which there is a realisation that we can’t continue to operate the way we have in the past.

We need to come to terms with the range of complexities facing modern mineral projects and develop tools to address the social, environmental and technical challenges that are locking up future mineral supply.

Those tools and approaches are going to be solved by multidisciplinary teams that work across the mining value chain, and this realisation is really at the heart of the Complex Orebodies Conference.

No matter what their area of specialisation, attendees at the conference will come away with a better understanding of complexity as it applies to the whole mining value chain.

How is the UQ SMI addressing the challenge of recovering raw materials from increasingly complex orebodies?

UQ SMI has identified several cross-disciplinary programs aimed at addressing key research and development needs in the mining industry, and as part of that we have received strategic funding from the University to carry out the five-year Complex Orebodies research program in collaboration with the rest of the UQ Mining sector as well as with our industry partners.

We have programs underway addressing transformative approaches and technologies in environmental, social and technical areas, and we are well on the way to developing an understanding of the range of risks and solutions applicable to many of the major commodities that are

critical to our future.

UQ has recently been ranked first place in the Shanghai rankings for Mining and Mineral Engineering, and the SMI and its UQ partners have world-class capability covering the entire mining value chain, so we are well placed to lead the world in this key area of research.

You are delivering a keynote address at the conference. What will your presentation cover?

The Complex Orebodies program came about as a result of extensive consultation and discussion with a broad range of very smart and experienced people who have come from very different experience bases and who have thought very deeply about the ways to improve the mineral industry.

I would like to give the audience some insight into some of the outcomes of that consultative process, and in so doing hopefully give them some food for thought.

As an industry, we cover a broad range of specialties, and it is

COMPLEX OREBODIES 2018 WILL FOCUS ON MINING’S TRANSFORMATION.

Who will the conference content appeal to?

The conference has a very broad appeal. Anyone who is interested in the challenges facing maintenance of future mineral supply will find something of interest there.

We have sessions looking at challenges and solutions in the social, environmental, business and technical areas, and we also have a strong set of keynote presentations from widely respected industry and academic speakers who have thought deeply about complexity in the minerals industry and innovative approaches that can take the industry to the level of performance it needs to achieve in order to ensure future mineral supply.

AUSTRALIANMINING

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BRISBANE WILL HOST THE AUSIMM EVENT.

only natural for us to develop the impression that solutions in our area are more important than others.

One thing that has become abundantly clear from the work we have done to date is that we need a very broad and multidisciplinary roadmap in order to make progress in this area, and I plan to make a strong case for this. AM

INDUSTRY COMMENT

CREATING THE PROCESS PLANT OF THE FUTURE AS DIGITISATION CONTINUES TO DISRUPT THE MINERAL PROCESSING SPACE, AUSTMINE MEMBERS AUSENCO AND PETRA DATA SCIENCE EXPLORE THE FUTURE PROCESS PLANT IN OPERATION.

IMPROVED COMMINUTION IS ONE KEY TO THE FUTURE OF PROCESSING.

T

he mining industry is moving into the next generation of its existence and both internal and external influences are causing fundamental changes in our operations.

Resources are typically decreasing in grade and are being discovered in more remote and difficult to access locations. Local communities and stakeholders have greater say and more power than ever before.

Disruptions to the sector come from unforeseen directions, such as electronics manufacturing, which is establishing methods for greater recycling of components.

These factors are putting emphasis on the mining industry to innovate and mining equipment, technology and services (METS) companies have responded with a range of unique technologies and methodologies.

This is no more apparent then in the minerals processing space, where digitisation is in full effect and advanced technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence and data analytics are being used to assist miners with de-bottlenecking, diagnosing and predicting equipment failure, and improving operations.

One of the key driving forces of innovation in the process plant comes from energy costs and water scarcity pressures.

Greg Lane, chief technical officer at Ausenco, has over 30 years’ experience in the field of engineering, design, and operation of minerals processing plants. He believes that social licence to operate and community

expectations are driving innovation in plant design and optimisation.

“Mineral processing is linked to two major forces in the current industry environment – social licence to operate and reduction of capital and operating costs,” says Lane.

“Financial considerations and community acceptance are interlinked. Plants that use water and energy more efficiently and have a smaller physical footprint (and associated lower capital cost) are likely to be more acceptable to the community.”

“The greatest water and energy consumption in the process plant is associated with the comminution and beneficiation, sometimes integrated with hydrometallurgical processes.

“As a result, process development and innovation are focussed on reducing energy consumption in comminution and water consumption in beneficiation.”

Lane pointed to a few key areas of innovation within the water and energy usage space that will be fundamental in sustainable mining operations.

These include improved mining methods that deliver a finer feed to the plant comminution circuit at lower cost; more energy efficient comminution circuits, involving either wet or dry “grinding” coarse particle beneficiation to avoid grinding the mined ore too finely; more efficient beneficiation equipment and chemistry; and more efficient water and energy recovery There is no doubt that community expectations and social licence is proving to be a strong catalyst for change in the processing space.

AUSTRALIANMINING

The other major transformational force re-shaping plant operations is digitisation, occurring through hightech businesses entering the mining industry and traditional suppliers becoming more sophisticated and smarter with their use of technology.

Penny Stewart is managing director of PETRA Data Science, an innovative small-to-medium enterprise (SME) METS company specialising in enabling resources companies to turn their data into actionable insights and operational improvements.

“Ore variability greatly affects processing plant performance, but until recently it has been very difficult to quantify variability across the whole orebody,” she says.

“Now, with machine learning, we ingest hundreds of millions of tonnes of historical data to create a digital twin of the whole operation. Using digital twin prediction and simulation we identify opportunities for improvement in scheduling, blasting, blending and process control.”

Digital twin simulation at Australian producer PanAust’s Ban Houayxai gold-silver operation has the following applications. Ban Houayxai is located in Laos and has been in continuous production since 2012.

The MAXTA model, being a digital twin of the operation, effectively provides information for risk analysis, cost improvement studies, analysis and ‘what if’ simulations for various scenarios.

Benefits of digital twin simulation include identifying areas that have possible problematic gold recovery; optimisation of drill and blast to suit certain rock types; optimisation of mill settings (power draw, motor temperature, noise levels, recirculating load, etc.) and processing optimisation (pH, cyanide levels, reagents, etc.).

A METS Ignited grant is funding integration of MAXTA into Resolution Systems’ Maxmine automated business improvement tool. They are also partnering with UQ’s Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre to extend digital twin simulation beyond the historical data using physics-based dynamic processing simulation. Upstream, we are working with 3D mine planning software companies such as Maptek to provide access to MAXTA predictions and simulations within normal work flows. As a mining engineer with a penchant for geology, I am particularly excited to see processing plant performance visualisation incorporated into mine scheduling, blasting and blending workflows.”

Austmine will continue exploration of the future process plant in upcoming webinars on September 11 and October 25 on ‘Next Generation Processing’ and ‘The Optimised Plant in Action’. This features industry speakers from Ausenco, PETRA Data Science, Rockwell Automation, Interlate and Process IQ. AM

THE MAXTA MODEL IS A DIGITAL TWIN SIMULATION. (IMAGE: PETRA DATA SCIENCE)

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OCTOBER 2018

Stronger. Faster. Smarter.

How the new Nobles is helping the Australian mining industry.

Equipment reliability and maintenance practices are the key to maximising productivity and, crucially, achieving lowest cost per tonne.

As a proven and trusted supplier to the Australian mining industry for over 100 years, Nobles understands the vast array of challenges you face operating a remote mine site. And, like any productive mine site, we also know we need to continually change and improve our own business.

So, over the past 12 months, we have made significant changes to our sales, service and warehousing & distribution operations at all our locations Australia‑wide to serve you better.

We call this the ‘new Nobles’, but for you, this means a stronger, faster and smarter lifting & rigging supply chain for your business.

Backed up by the global product strength of our principal wire rope and chain suppliers, Bridon‑Bekaert and pewag, combined with direct Asian‑sourcing, Nobles now carries an even larger range of the world’s best underground mining ropes and critical high‑performance lifting and hoisting equipment. Certified and tested in our NATA laboratories to Australian Standards, Nobles products are proven to last and perform in remote and harsh mine operating environments.

To learn more, please contact us.

www.nobles.com.au/promise | 1300 711 559

Our customer and technical service speed is now second to none, with a 70‑strong, highly trained technical services team, based at locations near many remote mining sites and a new, industry‑first Customer Promise. Plus, our online Tech Inspect system ensures your equipment is always compliant and critical documentation is rapidly at hand. Unlike similar asset management systems, Tech Inspect is updated in real‑time and is available via any mobile device 24/7.

You can also rely on our in‑house engineering expertise – unmatched in Australia with a team of 10 highly qualified and experienced specialist lifting & rigging engineers – who have solved some of the most complex and heavy lifting challenges in the Australian mining industry.

See us at IMARC 2018, stand B50.

Discuss how we can assist with high‑performance underground hoisting solutions, conveyor GTU maintenance, custom‑engineered sheaves & heavy lifting equipment, high‑strength wire rope & lifting chain assemblies, Virtual Reality crane simulator operator training & competency assessment and more.

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

THE BENEFITS OF LAYFLAT HOSES IN MINE DEWATERING CRUSADER HOSE NATIONAL SALES MANAGER DANIEL SEOW SPEAKS TO VANESSA ZHOU ABOUT A HOSE THAT GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND FOR MINE DEWATERING.

THE FLEXIBORE 250 SERIES IS DESIGNED FOR GROUND WATER PUMPING.

T

hirty-three years ago, Crusader Hose was borne of a fire hose division at fire safety company Wormald. It stood on its own feet and became the first Australian fire hose manufacturer in 1985.

As Crusader Hose grew its technical skills and competencies, the company started to develop a wider range of products that were suitable for other industrial applications.

Within five years of founding the company, the bore water pumping hose series Flexibore joined the family. It was ultimately developed with mine-dewatering applications in mind.

The making of the bore water pumping flexible riser was made possible because the company leveraged its core strengths and capacity; Crusader Hose was already equipped with the necessary weaving and extrusion machinery.

National sales manager Daniel Seow says, “Crusader Hose focused on its ability to manufacture everything that was layflat – all the fittings, the winders, the systems – that’s what we do, and we do it to the

best quality possible.”

At the time, only one overseas brand supplied layflat hoses to the Australian market, and those hoses were imported at a premium price.

“Our customers wanted to support an Australian-made product. That’s when we went about developing a hose that is made for Australian climate and conditions,” says Seow.

And so through market research and feedback, Crusader Hose introduced the Flexibore 250 series flexible riser hose.

Mindful manufacturing “I thought a hose was just a hose.

But there’s so much more to it,” says Seow, who has held prior senior management roles in the electronics industry.

The Flexibore 250 series is a highpressure hose that can go up to 250 metres underground. “If we’re going to go down 250 metres, the hose must have the tensile strength to be able to handle all that weight,” explains Seow.

“The key to the layflat hose manufacturing process is building the right jacket for the right pressure, and precision extrusion with proper AUSTRALIANMINING

quality checks.”

Fibre is spun into different gauges of polyester yarns and then into bobbins; these are weaved into different high-tensile jacket sizes to suit different kinds of applications; and thermoplastic polyurethane is extruded through the high-tenacity polyester jacket. This process produces a high tensile strength and working pressure hose.

Unlike most rigid pipes, the Flexibore 250 series is designed for high pressure bore water pumping.

Thus, the hose pulsates during pumping and prevents the build-up of iron-bacteria inside the hose.

The Flexibore 250 series hose is also capable of pumping more water out as it swells by up to 15 per cent.

Users can be assured they will get maximum pump efficiency and flow rate at all times.

However, malleability is not equal to being fragile. The Flexibore 250 series can hold the weight of the pump as well as the water travelling through its course.

Seow says, “Because of how strong it is, the use of a safety cable to secure the pump is almost negligible.”

This is how Crusader Hose truly

puts customer ease at the centre of Flexibore 250 series.

Little details such as loops are incorporated every metre through the length of its power cable strip, allowing a power cable to be easily secured onto the hose.

Every component of the Flexibore layflat hose system, including its customised stainless couplings, is also specifically developed to work with and deliver the performance of the entire Flexibore system.

And requests for specific lengths and hose types are welcome by the company. “We are able to customise our hose to user requirements, and we pride ourselves in our customer service,” says Seow.

Thanks to its layflat nature, the hose is easy to transport to mine sites. Its convenience trumps many rigid pipes that require multiple truck loads. Significant time and cost savings are produced, while ease of retrieval is ensured during maintenance.

But each hose will not leave the factory before passing a hydrostatic pressure test. This proves just how the production of the Flexibore 250 series bears down to details. AM

IN THE FIELD FLEXIBORE 250 IS ATTACHED TO THE PUMP WITH PATENTED COUPLINGS.

52

OCTOBER 2018

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

PROK LAUNCHES NEW PROKOMPOSITE ROLLER PROK IS BRINGING TO MARKET ONE OF THE MOST ADVANCED HIGH-PERFORMANCE CONVEYOR ROLLERS, THE PROKOMPOSITE ROLLER, WHICH HAS BEEN SPECIFICALLY MADE FOR IRON ORE AND OTHER HEAVY MINING APPLICATIONS.

T

he Prokomposite range, satisfies the need for a light weight, non-metallic roller, but without the compromises associated with “composite” rollers seen in the market previously.

The Prokomposite roller is designed and manufactured by Prok Conveyor Components and delivers significantly more value than competing steel rollers; from lower cost to corrosion resistance in wet and high-salt environments.

They are safer, quieter and more economical, generating 50 per cent less noise than traditional steel rollers. They are also up to

55 per cent lighter than traditional steel rollers, and cost up to 20 per cent less to own due to easier maintenance and lower energy demands.

Despite their light weight, the Prokomposite rollers deliver durability in demanding medium-toheavy duty conveying applications.

In addition, the Prokomposite features a new seal package that adds a fixed end cover for high pressure water and rock-jam protection, and greatly improved drag performance, while still featuring the lip seal and long path labyrinth from our current seal design.

Suitable for high speeds and large tonnages, the rollers are available in

152mm and 178mm diameters, with bearing sizes from 6306 up to 6310.

The advantages of the Prokomposite stem from Prok’s use of specifically designed and engineered materials, providing the strength and durability of traditional steel rollers, while still delivering the weight benefits of composite materials.

The Prokomposite project had some lofty goals – to develop a light weight, low noise, low drag roller with a structure that eliminated the risk of belt damage in the event of a bearing failure.

This was all while having a shell structure that was rigid enough to ensure bearing life was maximised,

THE LATEST PROKOMPOSITE IS SAFER, QUIETER AND MORE ECONOMICAL.

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and a shell that was a no compromise alternative to steel shells when it came to durability and service life.

Working with a leading European university in the composites field, Prok developed composite structures for the tube and end cap assembly, including the seal package.

The lead to the production of prototype material samples allowed the theoretical design work to be validated with test rig trials of shell structures, as well as traditional laboratory testing to verify strength, fatigue and stiffness performance of the materials.

With the material design completed, the PROK team then moved to develop manufacturing processes that achieve the dimensional tolerances required for conveyor rollers.

In Prok’s experience, no supplier, except for its partners, can provide the tube and end-cap materials required for a roller like the Prokomposite.

In parallel, Prok ran extensive drag and fatigue testing at its Bayswater R&D laboratory, supplemented with third-party noise and seal performance testing.

Satisfied with the quality of materials and performance of the rollers in the laboratory environment, in early 2018, the team embarked on its final step before release – the commencement of field trials on live conveyors.

To date the Prokomposite Rollers have not had a single failure in the field.

With a long history as a supplier of quality conveyor components, Prok was motivated during this program to not move to the field trials until it was completely satisfied it had a product that met primary criteria.

This included being as strong and durable as its steel rollers, while still providing the weight, noise, and belt protection features of a non-metallic roller.

Prok is a part of Nepean Conveyors, a wholly Australian owned company. AM

, D E E N U .

O T Y E R R E ER N. V E F O T N A O H IS H W D IT RC A N I E F ES TH

RELY ON AUSTRALIA’S MANUFACTURING, MINING AND INDUSTRIAL HUB 70,000 monthly users can’t be wrong. Find what you’re looking for with over 12,000 business listings and 8,000 specific product listings. Access relevant information and resources, empowering you to make a qualified purchase decision. You can always rely on your industry hub.

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PRODUCTS

ICP ELECTRONICS DAS M-2018-16 16-CHANNEL ANALOG INPUT MODULE Suitable for use in building, factory and machine automation, remote maintenance and diagnosis or testing equipment, the M-2018-16 is an analog input module that includes 16 differential analog input channels.

Voltage input ranges from ±15mV to ±2.5V, while current input ranges from +4 to +20 mA, zero to +20 mA, or ±20 mA. A wide range of thermocouples can be used for the thermocouple input and overvoltage protection of up to DC 120 V is provided.

The module also features per-channel open wire detection for the thermocouple input types, and provides 4 kV ESD protection as well as 3000 VDC intra-module isolation, even for applications that are subject to high vibration and shock.

This application can be used in building, factory and machine automation, remote maintenance and diagnosis or testing equipment.

DURAM KIMAX MASK Mining plays host to numerous possible respiratory hazards including cyanide, ammonia, chlorine, chemical fumes, gas leaks and coal dust particles. Polymeric chemicals, such as those used during the tailings process, are of particular concern in mining.

Designed to quickly afford the wearer a high degree of respiratory protection, the Kimax Escape Hood’s filtering system meets Class III PPE (personal protective equipment) requirements. The mask provides immediate respiratory protection in incidents involving high concentrations of chemical agents, allowing users to evacuate quickly and individually if required.

• safetyanddefence.com.au

• icp-australia.com.au

CRC SMARTWASHER

BST NEOUSYS NUVO 7160GC

The SmartWasher SW-22 from CRC Industries subsidiary ChemFree is designed as a combination parts and brake washer that is suitable for washing both small and larger parts.

Labelled as a bioremediating parts washing system, it is a self-cleaning system that uses microbes (trademarked as Ozzys) that break down grease, oil and other contaminants into a byproduct of carbon dioxide and water.

SmartWasher substitutes toxic solvents during washing with a solvent-free, pH neutral solution that cleans equally well to solvents and makes for an environmentally healthier work environment.

Typical parts cleaning solvents can be hazardous, particularly if used over a long period of time, leading to respiratory difficulties, irritated skin or worse.

CRC’s SmartWasher solution is designed to be safer than typical solutions, being non-flammable, non-hazardous, non-irritating, nonpolluting and non-toxic.

The SmartWasher also features a wheeled dolly for easy manoeuvring (including a footstep), an extra long hose with an angled brush.

Backplane Systems Technology are pleased to announce Neousys Technology’s New Nuvo-7160GC Rugged GPU Computing Platform Supporting Intel’s eighth-generation processors and up to a 120W NVIDIA GPU. The Nuvo-7160GC is a ruggedised GPU-aided edge-computing platform designed for modern machine learning applications such as Autonomous Driving, Facial Recognition and Machine Vision. It supports up to a 120W GPU, delivering 4~6 TFLOPS computing power for inference, as well as Intel eighth-gen Coffee Lake Core 6-core/12-thread CPU, offering up to 50 per cent CPU performance enhancement over previous generations.

Thanks to Neousys’ patented Cassette Design and ventilation mechanism, Nuvo-7160GC can effectively dissipate the heat generated by the GPU. By introducing the guided airflow from intake to exhaust with powerful fans featuring smart fan control, it allows a 120W GPU to operate at a 60 Celsius ambient temperature under 100 per cent GPU loading.

• backplane.com.au

• crcindustries.com.au

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PRODUCTS

ENERPAC CORDLESS PUMP AND SYNC GRIP PULLER COMBO

WEIR SYNERTREX

Enerpac’s pump-and-puller combination is designed for speedy removal of bearings, bushings, gears, sleeves, wheels, fly-wheels, sprockets and other shaftmounted items.

The highly portable combination incorporates new Enerpac SG hydraulic pullers in capacities up to 45 tonnes; go-anywhere XC cordless pumps offer the performance capabilities of an electric or pneumatic powered pump with the convenient portability of a hand pump.

The new Sync Grip Pullers also feature synchronised movement of their locking jaws for simultaneous engagement and optimised safety, enabling one person to do two persons’ jobs. It promotes operator safety by removing trip hazards associated with traditional powered pumps.

Synertrex is a cutting edge IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) platform from Weir Minerals that harnesses the latest digital technology to transform productivity, foresee risk and enhance performance.

Utilising cloud computing, it involves placing smart sensors on an array of Weir Minerals’ products which gather critical operating data for advanced analysis. The data is transformed into powerful insights which are relayed to the customer through a digital interface. It can identify problems before they occur, reducing downtime, and optimise equipment performance across an entire circuit.

• www.synertrex.weir

• enerpac.com

THERMOMARK PRIME THERMAL TRANSFER PRINTER

ADLINK HPERC-KBL-MC RUGGED COLDPLATE MOUNT SYSTEM

Thermomark Prime is a transportable, mobile marking centre, simplifying onsite printer operation. Equipped with a rechargeable high-power battery, the Thermomark Prime has various interfaces for connecting to other systems to make the processing of extensive printing projects convenient.

It also has an interface for transferring printing projects. An automatic material detection function checks the components used, thereby preventing printing errors. The marking software is installed directly on the printing system and is operated via touch display. This makes a connection to an external PC unnecessary.

It also means you can create labels using the Thermomark Prime in locations where a power supply is not automatically guaranteed. Its powerful battery outlasts an entire work shift and is capable of labelling up to 500 UCT cards. Using the special power supply unit, it is fully recharged in just three hours.

This extreme rugged coldplate mount system from leading edge computing company Adlink features a host of handy features and specifications, including VITA 75 Coldplate mounting, an Intel Xeon E3-1505M v6 quadcore processor, 16GB of DDR4-2400 RAM (with ECC soldered down), optional Nvidia MXM Quadro GPU with 4GB GDDR5, two removable 6GB/s MLC SSD SATA storage, and Windows 10 OS support. It is capable of operating in a wide temprature range of -40 Celsius to 75 Celsius. This increases to 85 Celsius for storage, making the HPERC-KBL-MC suitable for use in harsh conditions.

The Adlink HPERC-KBL-MC also features three display outputs, including two DVI connectors and one VGA connector for three simultaneous display outputs.

• phoenixcontact.com

• www.adlinktech.com.au

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EVENTS

CONFERENCES, SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS EVENT SUBMISSIONS CAN BE EMAILED TO EDITOR@AUSTRALIANMINING.COM.AU

PROSPECT AWARDS, SYDNEY CRICKET GROUND, SYDNEY, OCTOBER 18 Celebrating its 15th year in October, the Australian Mining Prospect Awards has firmly established itself as one of Australia’s premier mining industry events. Nominations are now open for the 2018 Awards, which celebrate the best of the industry.

Previous winners have included a large range of companies, from SMEs and start-up ventures to the industry’s biggest hitters, such as Atlas Copco, BGC Contracting and Roy Hill.

Last year also saw iron ore mogul Gina Rinehart receive the award for Contribution to Mining.

• www.prospectawards.com.au CHINA MINING CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION 2018, TIANJIN, OCTOBER 18-20 China Mining is China’s official annual congress for the mining industry. The Ministry of Land & Resources and Tianjin Municipal People’s Government have co-hosted the conference for nine years since 2009. It attracts the world’s policy makers and industryleading voice, and features around

hundreds of speakers every year. The conference is the place to hear about the latest policies, regulations and mining projects in China and the world.

China Mining consists of three parts: conferences, exhibitions and featured events.

Topics cover mining industry trends, global mineral commodity market, domestic and international investment opportunities, sustainable mining development, mining technologies and equipment.

• http://en.chinamining-expo.org EtherCAT Seminar Series 2018, AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND, OCTOBER 19-26 Industrial Ethernet and EtherCAT are hot topics in the global automation industry. Traditional fieldbus systems are showing their limitations today as new technologies areappearing that provide more performance and support for Internet protocols. Automation system users have to decide if, when and how to adopt these next generation networks.

Attendees to the seminar series will experience expert presentations from the EtherCAT Technology Group, as well

AUSTRALIANMINING

as on-site networking and discussion opportunities with the experts. The accompanying table-top exhibition provides a complete overview on benefits and challenges of EtherCAT, especially in the context of Industry 4.0 and IoT. • ethercat.org/en/events_2018.htm

companies such as Caterpillar, Scania, Thiess, Sandvik and HATCH. The IMARC 2018 will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from October 29 to November 1.

• imarcmelbourne.com/

IMARC 2018, MELBOURNE, OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 1

INTERNATIONAL MINING & MACHINERY EXHIBITION 2018, KOLKATA, OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 3

The International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) has become Australia’s largest mining conference that connects global mining leaders with technology, finance and the future. The conference is bringing together over 5000 decision makers, mining leaders, policy makers, investors, commodity buyers, technical experts, innovators and educators from over 90 countries.

The IMARC 2018 program covers all aspects of mining, from exploration to investment, production to optimisation through to new technologies.

This year’s confirmed speakers are leaders from Anglo American, Newcrest Mining, Roy Hill, Gold Fields, Oceana Gold, Evolution Mining, Centennial Coal, Newmont and Teck. The free exhibition will also feature the latest innovations from over 150 leading

Participated by major Indian and international companies, government and the media, IMME 2018 features two days of the Global Mining Summit participated by over 1000 delegates. Span over four days, the international exhibition includes over 400 exhibitors from Canada, China, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, the UK, USA and more.

The exhibition involves equipment or machinery manufacturers, importers and exporters, smelting companies investment firms, automation companies and trade commissions.

IMME 2018 will showcase the latest and diverse range of mining machinery, equipment, advanced technology solutions and services and supplies from India and overseas.

• http://www.immeindia.in/

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TICKETS NOW ON

SALE For more information, please go to

www.prospectawards.com.au Sponsors

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