Australian Mining July 2015

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MINERALS WEEK IN FOCUS WOMEN IN INDUSTRY WINNERS VOLUME 107/6 | JULY 2015

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COMMENT

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL IN SPITE OF THE GLOOM AFFECTING THE INDUSTRY, THERE ARE SOME BRIGHT SPOTS

COLE LATIMER

ozmining@cirrusmedia.com.au

W

e always try to focus on the positive aspects of the mining industry here, but sometimes it’s harder than usual when the negative out-

weighs the good.

That is definitely the case now, after the FIFO inquiry and the falls in coal and iron ore.

But ever the optimists, we are trying to see the positives, at least in terms of the inquiry because even we can’t spin gold out of the sow’s ear that are the weak commodity prices.

In terms of the inquiry there were a few major takeaways, the key being that there is a higher than average incidence of mental illness, and in turn suicide, amongst FIFO workers.

This is a huge statement, considering how many groups have actively said that while FIFO is difficult work, the rate of suicide in the sector compared to the

general public was negligible.

We also saw an extremely mixed response online, with our readers stating FIFO suicide was essentially a modern phenomenon and that it was never seen ‘back in the day’.

But is this a healthy attitude, and was this really the case, or was the issue simply ignored back then?

And can you even compare these acts within a very small sector against the general public?

It’s like comparing apples and oranges, sure, they’re both fruits, but that’s really as far as the similarities go.

“If you start comparing to community, we already know it’s too high in the community anyway, more people die from suicide than road accidents, and we make a very big campaign about that,” the inquiry committee chairman, and Liberal party member, Dr. Graham Jacobs, said.

“We believe there’s a significant potential to underreport, and I think it is dan-

gerous to go ‘Ah well, it’s no worse than anywhere else’.”

Unfortunately the importance of the inquiry was highlighted by the sad fact that a FIFO worker from Roy Hill took their own life only days before the release of the inquiry.

In what may be one of the most positive outcomes from the inquiry, Jacobs called for the establishment of a code of practice for FIFO work arrangements; significantly, these new codes include guidelines on how to deal with cases of mental illness or suicide.

Out of the tragedy there does seem to be some bright spots, at least for the industry in the future.

But at the end of the day, the best thing the industry can do is encourage workers to talk, and get rid of the stigma attached to mental illness.

FRONT COVER For this edition we’ve highlighted the technological innovations that are helping miners to achieve zero fume blasts in spite of poor and wet soil conditions. We’ve also examined the recent Minerals Week event in Canberra, and what this gathering of industry means for the sector, and the changes that it may create.

The winners of this year’s Women In Industry awards are also showcased, featuring the ladies who are making a major difference to Australia’s industrial landscape.

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER MARTIN SINCLAIR Email: martin.sinclair@cirrusmedia.com.au EDITOR COLE LATIMER Tel: (02) 8484 0652 Email: ozmining@cirrusmedia.com.au JOURNALISTS VICKY VALIDAKIS Tel: (02) 8484 0964 Email: vicky.validakis@cirrusmedia.com.au BRENT BALINSKI Tel: (02) 8484 0680 Email: brent.balinski@cirrusmedia.com.au BEN HAGEMANN Tel: (02) 8484 0884 Email: ben.hagemann@cirrusmedia.com.au

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CONTENTS

WOMEN IN INDUSTRY

QUEENSLAND SPOTLIGHT A ROCKY ROAD FOR CARMICHAEL Does this mega-mine still have a future?

12

28-34

A WHO’S WHO OF INDUSTRY The winners of the 2nd Women in Industry awards

DRILL, BLAST & GEOMECHANICS

14-16

BREATHING EASY IN BLASTING Approaching zero fume blasting AUTOMATION-READY DRILLS Bulk mining drills

MINESITE VEHICLES

36-38

IRON ORE

MINERALS WEEK IN FOCUS CHALLENGING THE ACTIVISTS’ AGENDA What gripped this year’s Minerals Week

ROLLING RESISTANCE IN HAUL TRUCKS Tyres and mine site productivity

18-21

40-41

STABILITY IS AHEAD FOR IRON ORE Despite recent volatility, the future looks stable for iron ore

FINANCE

42-44

PRODUCTIVITY

AUSTRALIA’S EXPORT EARNINGS TAKE A TUMBLE An overview of how our exports are performing

AIMEX PREVIEW

REVERSING PRODUCTIVITY DOLDRUMS IN MINING Can mining make a recovery?

22-24

46-50

AIMEX 2015 What’s on show at the show

REGULARS

INDUSTRIAL COMMENT

6

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

54

8

PROSPECT AWARDS

52

56

EVENTS

58

NEWS JOBS

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INDUSTRIAL COMMENT

WHY EMPLOYERS NEED TO SPEAK OUT ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH IN THE WAKE OF THE MENTAL HEALTH ENQUIRY, SODEXO AUSTRALIA CEO JOHNPAUL DIMECH DISCUSSES FIFO HEALTH.

D

espite recent media attention focusing on the unique challenges associated with a FIFO lifestyle, mental health issues and their impact are similar across most Australian communities.

According to beyondblue CEO Georgie Harman, more than one quarter of Australian workers experience stress or anxiety as a result of their working arrangements, making the workplace an important place to tackle depression and anxiety.

In any one year, three million Australians will experience depression or anxiety, and nearly half of all Australians will experience a mental health issue in their lifetime.

In Western Australia, about 80 per cent of the workforce is employed on a FIFO roster. This reflects the unique nature of the resource industry, where activities take place offshore and where mines and accommodation villages can be hundreds of kilometres away from the nearest town. FIFO has been the backbone of the industry for decades, and without it, the resource industry

would not have the people to operate.

Similarly, many employees choose the FIFO lifestyle for the work/life balance and other benefits it allows. For a parent, this could mean extended periods at home, doing school drop offs and helping their children with homework.

Many others use their rostered time off to go on overseas holidays or dedicate time to a special interest at home.

However there are challenges that face some FIFO employees such as remote and challenging working conditions, lengthy periods away from family and friends, and re-entry into a family routine that has adapted to their absence.

While it is important to acknowledge that depression, anxiety and substance abuse issues can be amplified by the FIFO lifestyle, these are issues we see in all segments of society and that is why Sodexo has initiated our mental health and wellbeing program across our entire business.

We welcome the recent inquiry into the mental health of Australian FIFO workers and recognise it helps expand the discussion on the important issue. We now need a united government, industry and community response.

A CONVERSATION IS NEEDED AMONGST WORKERS

As a provider in Quality of Life services, we are working to ensure there is increased understanding of mental health issues within our workplace and a supportive environment where people can seek help.

The good news is that like Sodexo, other companies, particularly those of national resource industry employer group AMMA, have launched their own mental health awareness campaigns which we believe is an important element of the long-term, successful future of Australia’s mining and energy industries.

Sodexo has been working on an integrated approach to tackle mental health issues by working with expert organisations in the mental health space, including Lifeline, beyondblue and our Employee Assistance Program provider.

On World Suicide Prevention Day, in September last year, we launched our I Hear You initiative, to bring mental health to front of mind within our organisation. The tagline for this initiative is: ‘Know you can be heard. Believe you will be listened to.’The campaign is aimed at ensuring meaningful and immediate support is available to our employees, their friends and families across Australia.

The idea for I Hear You came from one of our site managers in Queensland who has been personally impacted by suicide and highlighted to us the importance of implementing an overarching mental health strategy.

The national campaign rollout has included team meetings at office and site level, team building events and the distribution of resources to raise awareness and highlight support services available to our employees.

We are currently conducting the I Hear You survey across the business, where

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employees can share their views and areas of importance in a confidential and anonymous manner.

In addition, we are educating our employees to be aware of changes in behaviour that might indicate a problem, to know how to have a conversation and where to direct their workmates, family and friends for support. We are also encouraging people to seek help for mental health issues, just as they would if they sustained a physical injury.

We are providing further training for selected employees to develop skills and empower them to help their colleagues who may be experiencing mental health challenges. Mental illness often goes undetected and we want to ensure that people are not left to suffer in silence.

In May, our organisation joined with companies such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto to support beyondblue’s national roadshow to the Pilbara, which engaged with workers in remote communities to learn ways of decreasing the risks of developing and reducing the impact of mental health conditions.

The 23 day journey saw beyondblue meet with people at 52 events across remote sites, including several at villages run by Sodexo, as well as at schools and activities within the communities.

We know that it will take a considered and committed approach to embed this initiative and start to dispel stigmas around mental health. We’re excited by the traction that we’ve gained from I Hear You so far and are looking forward to working with other companies and industry bodies in the future to promote a healthier and more engaged workforce and to improve the Quality of Life of employees, our customers and the communities in which we operate.

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NEWS

THE LATEST MINING NEWS AND SAFETY AUSTRALIAN MINING PRESENTS THE LATEST NEWS AND SAFETY AFFECTING YOU FROM THE BOARDROOM TO THE MINE AND EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN. VISIT WWW.MININGAUSTRALIA.COM.AU TO KEEP UP TO DATE WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING. TRADITIONAL OWNERS BITTER ABOUT FAILED NT MINES Roper River traditional landowners have expressed a ‘once bitten, twice shy’ philosophy about future mining developments in the Top End after the collapse of two iron ore juniors.

A full council meeting of the Northern Land Council (NLC) saw anger expressed over the broken promise of mining jobs, and lingering questions about environmental rehabilitation.

Sherwin Iron and Western Desert Resources folded last year after low iron ore prices made projects unsustainable.

NLC member Grace Daniels was wary of promises of economic development in the Northern Territory.

“If they come A M0 7 1 and 5 _talk 0 0to0us _ about S S AanothB er mine, we’ll say no because we know

what had happened now,” she said.

NLC chief executive Joe Morrison said the suppressed commodity prices meant it was unlikely the mines would be taken over by other operators.

of government-owned business.

He said an early test for the government’s approach would be its reaction to a commercial arrangement with private sector interests to help facilitate development of multi-user Galilee Basin rail infrastructure.

“If the answer is yes, then perhaps the new Queensland Government will be prepared to break free from the straightjacket stifling government’s role in economic infrastructure over the past seven or eight years,” Roche said.

CAT PARTNERS WITH MODUSTRI

Caterpillar has entered into a strategic alliance with Modustri to develop better machine wear measurement.

“We’re always looking for ways to step up our game,” Doug Hoerr, vice president of the Reman, Components and Work Tools Division of Caterpillar, said.

The Queensland Resources Council “Our relationship with Modustri will alhas called on the state government low us to take advantage of emerging to send a clear signal to potential technology that gives our customers investors and customers regarding more information on parts and compoinfrastructure investment. Speaking in nents to maximise uptime. The days of Perth, Queensland Resources Council being reactive are over.”

Chief Executive Michael Roche said The two will focus on innovations based future public assets needed to stem on web-based and mobile platforms from “visionary” government investto deliver real time machine wear data ment. Roche said the Palaszczuk Government’s 1 2 0 1plan 5 - to 0 reduce 7 - 0 1government T 1 1 : 1 7 : while 2 6 +the 1 equipment 0 : 0 0 is still in the field.

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SECURITY

CYBER HYGIENE, SECURITY, AND PEACE OF MIND CYBER SECURITY NEEDS TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY. AND, AS MATT McDONALD WRITES, IT IS NOT JUST THE HIGH PROFILE TARGETED ATTACKS THAT INDUSTRY NEEDS TO WATCH OUT FOR.

B

ack in 2010 ‘somebody’ carried out a cyber-attack on Iran’s nuclear program.

They did so with Stuxnet, a drone-like computer virus that was more sophisticated than anything that had come before it. And they successfully destroyed one fifth of the nation’s nuclear centrifuges.

The attack attracted plenty of attention and raised plenty of legitimate fears about the future of warfare and the possibility of cyber terrorist attacks.

This cyber-attack led to concerns about not just the security of nuclear installations but also of other large industrial plants in the mining, energy, and oil and gas sectors.

Should those sectors be preparing themselves for another Stuxnet?

“That was a targeted attack,” Chee Ban Ngai, who leads Honeywell’s Industrial Cyber Security business in the Asia-Pacific, told Australian Mining.

While these are obviously a

concern, he said, non-targeted cyber threats are also a major problem.

“What we are very worried about are cyber threat intrusions that [arise] from the use of poor practices from the engineers and operators in plants,” he said.

“We are talking about contaminated USBs or ensuring the hygiene of a laptop that a vendor brings into a plant.”

HIGH STAKES

Ngai pointed out that the stakes are high in the mining, oil and gas, and energy sectors.

“We’re talking about chemical reactions. We’re talking about the environmental impact. We’re talking about the risk to human safety.” And on top of this, he said, these industries are crucial to the nation’s economic wellbeing.

Ngai explained that, in terms of cyber security, these industries all face the same types of threats. There is nothing unique to any of them.

“The common denominator that they face is that they are quickly migrating out from the

proprietary process control systems,” he said.

“Most of them are in the midst of introducing open system architecture. Many of them are upgrading windows servers and windows operating systems as part of the platform to manage the control environment.”

And the moment they decided to make those changes they opened themselves up to increased cyber risks.

RISK MANAGER

To deal with this increased risk, in recent years Honeywell Process Solutions has invested heavily

PROACTIVE APPROACHES TO PLC SYSTEM SECURITY ARE CRUCIAL IN MINING

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in cyber security. For example, the company recently launched the Honeywell Industrial Cyber Security Risk Manager, a digital dashboard designed to proactively monitor, measure and manage cyber security risk for control systems for refineries, power plants and other automated production sites.

Ngai explained that the approach the company uses is to first provide customers a cyber-security assessment in order to uncover any threat they are facing. If found, these are reported to management and remediation is provided.

“Risk Manager comes in very nicely after that because what we can see then is that the plant… will have achieved a baseline security level, sort of like a clean slate…when the risk manager moves in and starts monitoring the system,” he said.

Risk Manager uses advanced technologies that translate complex cyber security indicators into clear measurements and key performance indicators, and provides essential information through an easy-to-use interface.

The intuitive workflow allows users to create customised risk notification alerts and perform detailed threat and vulnerability analysis so they can focus on managing risks that are most important for reliable plant operations.

“It empowers customers. It allows them to have a more participative role instead of relying on security experts to watch over them,” Ngai said.

With Risk Manager, he added, they can watch over themselves “and of course escalate for higher support if they find something which is beyond their means to address.”

CYBER SECURITY LAB

In an effort to advance its development and testing of new cyber security technologies the company also recently opened the Honeywell Industrial Cyber Security Lab in the US city of Duluth.

The lab includes a model of a complete process control network that Honeywell cyber security experts will leverage for proprietary research, hands-on training, and to develop, and test industrial cyber security solutions. This lab will help accelerate development time of new cyber protection technologies and speed availability to customers.

“Most importantly, the lab will allow us to certify our methods, our solutions, our approach, such that we can quickly roll them out to customers when we carry out the cyber security investment,” said Ngai.

Concluding, he explained that no nation is immune to cyber security threats. AM

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QUEENSLAND SPOTLIGHT

A ROCKY ROAD FOR CARMICHAEL ADANI’S STALLING OF ENGINEERING WORK ON THE CARMICHAEL PROJECT RAISES DOUBTS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST COAL VENTURE.

S

cepticism about the Carmichael project has been building in light of recent reports that the Australian arm of Indian owner Adani Resources has ordered four different engineering firms to halt work.

The engineering firms WorleyParsons, Aecon, Aurecon and SMEC were conducting preparatory work for the mine, as well as at the project’s rail line and the Abbott Point coal terminal.

The Guardian reported that a team of 40 engineers were sacked from the WorleyParsons’ Brisbane office as a result of the stoppage, and a “source close to the matter” said the move could spell the end of the project.

He said the work stoppage “makes no sense” and could signal Adani was “beginning to run up the white flag” on the Carmichael project.

The Carmichael mine has faced extensive criticism since its inception, with environmentalists and indigenous landholders taking Adani to court over the project.

In early June, the indigenous traditional owners of central Queensland’s Galilee Basin, the Wangan and Jagalingou Family Council, launched a Federal Court

Challenge against the mine.

The W&J have rejected a Land Use Agreement with Adani and vowed to stop the mine because it threatened to permanently destroy their traditional lands and waters, and their ancestral connection to country.

Meanwhile the Mackay Conservation Group (MCG) has submitted a fresh court challenge to the Federal Court in Sydney that federal environment minister Greg Hunt failed to take into account conservation advice for two vulnerable species: The ornamental snake and the yakka skink.

That case borrows from a precedent set by the Shree Minerals case in 2013, when it was found the environment minister of the day, Tony Burke, had failed to consider official conservation advice about Tasmanian devils in the Tarkine forests.

That legal challenge will be heard on August 10 and 11 this year.

However, the latest twist in the tale of the Carmichael coal mine throws the viability of the project even further into doubt, with revelations that Queensland treasury officials in the Newman government regarded the Carmichael coal project as “unbankable” due to Adani’s high debt and complex corpo-

rate structure utilising offshore subsidiaries.

Documents procured under Freedom of Information laws showed senior treasury officials doubted Adani’s ability to complete the project, and warned the then-Liberal government, which went ahead with moves to guarantee public funding to assist with development of the mine and infrastructure.

Correspondence from senior figures including former under treasurer Mark Gray and principal commercial analyst Jason Wishart expressed their fears about Adani’s high debt levels, and even identified the Indian mining giant as a “risk” because of the high levels of debt required to finance the mine, as well as Adani’s unclear corporate structure involving the use of offshore entities.

An email dated November last year, only days before the announcement that the Newman Government would provide funding assistance for Adani’s rail corridor, Projects Queensland principal commercial analyst Jason Wishart told Projects Queensland executive director David Quinn that “it is unlikely to stack up on a conventional project finance assessment.”

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ury as officials tried to conduct financial assessments of Adani, against the public backdrop of proposals to assist Adani from the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning led by deputy premier Jeff Seeney.

At the time parent company Adani Enterprises had total assets of $21.5 billion which was “heavily geared” with liabilities of $16.4 billion, of which Wishart said “continued expansion to meet power and mine ambitions will place this financial position under increased strain”.

Wishart told under-treasurer Mark Gray that it was “fair to say that there is not a lot of market support for investing in Galilee thermal coal projects at present”.

The documents also reveal that Quinn and Gray has raised questions about an “exit strategy” for the state, and tried to determine what security was available to the government on loans to Adani.

Wishart also raised the issue that publically available information about Adani was “not particularly transparent”, and that there was nothing “substantive on Adani’s financial capacity or credit worthiness at this stage”.

However, ABC reported that officials from treasury and the Department of Premier and

Cabinet were uninvited from meetings between Government and Adani, with agreements signed in November 2014 with the Department of State Development worth $455 million worth of taxpayers money.

Critics argued there was no guarantee the company would pay back funding.

The North Queensland Conservation Council spokesman Jeremy Tager called on the Palaszczuk government to conduct a full due diligence analysis and release the findings publicly.

“These secret documents make clear that Treasury has serious concerns about Adani’s financial ability to actually build these projects and that its demands for proper due diligence have continued to be ignored,” Tager said.

Adani has been understandably tight-lipped about these developments, and state that they were not party to the discussions in questions, but did reiterate claims the project will generate “around 10,000 jobs and $22 billion in royalties and taxes”.

“Adani was not and is not involved in internal discussions between DSDIP and Queensland Treasury officials and isn’t in a position to comment on these exchanges,” a spokeswoman told Australian Mining. AM

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DRILL, BLAST & GEOMECHANICS

BREATHING EASY IN BLASTING NEW EXPLOSIVES TECHNOLOGY IS CREATING ZERO FUME BLASTING.

D

espite the evolution of detonation and blasting, explosives still face a universal problem – fumes.

While most projects use standard ammonium nitrate fuel oil explosive mixes as they are cost effective and relatively easy to store, they do present issues.

In certain mining environments soil conditions and damper ground lead to a greater risk of harmful fumes developing during blasting, in particular nitrogen dioxide or NOx. This gas, often created during shot firing, can turn into nitric acid in a person’s lungs once inhaled.

Earlier this year Peabody’s Wambo coal mine faced court over an alleged botched blast that saw “a cloud of odorous fumes associated with the blast emitted from Wambo’s premises, impacting on nearby residents in Jerry’s Plains,” according to the EPA. The company was previously convicted, fined $13,000 and ordered to pay costs of $24,000 by Singleton Local Court in relation to a blast incident that result-

ed in offensive odour impacting nearby residents in July 2012.

Last year BHP also came under investigation for a massive orange blast plume that spread several kilometres from the site, after the blast material was left to ‘sleep’ in the ground longer than the recommended period.

While steps are taken to avoid post blast fume events, the formation of this potentially deadly gas is always a possibility.

Explosives manufacturer Dyno Nobel has been working towards developing a solution to this safety and environmental issue.

Working with an unnamed miner in the New South Wales coal fields, the company has created a new reduced energy, bulk emulsion explosive that it is designed to assist with post blast fume management, the TITAN 9000xero.

“Miners facing post-blast fume problems now have a product that has been successful in reducing post blast NOx,” the company stated.

The technology was developed in-house by Dyno Nobel’s R&D team, focusing on creating

blasting operations that rate a zero on the Fume Rating Scale.

Tested as part of the Hunter Valley coal miner’s fume reduction program, thirteen blasts of TITAN 9000xero were carried out in high risk fume areas.

“All thirteen of these blasts recorded a zero rating,” Chris Melmeth, Dyno Nobel’s area operations manager, stated.

During the trial the Environmental Protection Agency was able to see the transformation in an area of known high fume risk where prior blasts rated three to four on the NOx rating scale; the consistent rating of zero resulted from the client changing their bulk emulsion explosives from the ANFO mix to TITAN 9000xero matrix blend, Dyno Nobel said.

“All observers of the blast were extremely happy and satisfied with the results of the product,” Melmeth said.

According to Dyno Nobel it is specifically designed for use in ground conditions that may be soft, wet, or damp.

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tions is critical,” Dyno Nobel said.

“This is why the product can be delivered into dewatered blast holes, via augur, or pumped into the bottom of wet blast holes.”

Melmeth added: “TITAN 9000xero is a fume reducing, water resistant, flexible solution, solving many of the challenges that mines may be facing.” AM

MINERS STRIVE TO HAVE ZERO FUME BLASTS

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australian owned

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DRILL, BLAST & GEOMECHANICS

AUTOMATIONREADY DRILLS NEW, SAFER BULK MINING DRILLS ARE SET TO HIT THE SITE.

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andvik has launched a new “automation-ready” bulk mining drill rig suitable for both rotary and downthe-hole (DTH) applications, incorporating features to increase reliability, ease of maintenance, and safety.

The new Sandvik DR461i is a diesel powered, self-propelled, crawler-mounted blasthole drill designed to withstand harsh mining conditions, and builds off the preceding DR460 drill rig.

According to Scott Wright, business line manager for surface drills and exploration, in developing the new rig, Sand-

vik has incorporated customer feedback into its research and development program for the DR461i, with the aim of developing the safest, most durable and reliable drill rig available.

Wright said safety has been a top priority in the rig’s design, with the DR461i including a number of significant safety enhancements.

These include autonomous pipe handling, above-the-deck bit change, additional walkways, hand railings, and safety interlocks.

“In addition, the drill has been designed to fully comply with the various safety standards around the world, including Australia’s

own Mining Design Guidelines (MDG) for mobile and transportable equipment in mines, Earth Moving Equipment Safety Roundtable (EMESRT) Design Philosophies and CE conformity marking,” Wright said.

These safety advances include a hydraulic main access stairway that was developed as a safer alternative to vertical hanging steps for accessing the rig.

This stairway enables the operator or maintenance personnel to bring tools up onto the drill with a reduced risk of falling.

It is designed to be self-levelling depending on the topography of the ground around the drill, and is height-adjustable

depending on the length of the rig’s jack extensions.

Additional features of the DR461i drill include an ergonomically-designed cab and better interface systems The drill has a completely new cab designed to ensure maximum comfort and ease of operation for the operator, including an “all in the seat” drilling and tramming control system. It includes air conditioning, sound insulation to 80 dBA or less and a separate canopy element, which sits above the actual roof with a four-inch air gap between them.

This air gap means the actual cab roof will heat up less, helping

the cabin maintain more comfortable operating temperatures.

The operator friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) System digitally displays key operating parameters of the DR461i while operating and tramming. Running off the drill’s CanBus system, it acts like an electronic depth counter and drill monitoring system in one; sensors monitor data from different parts of the machine such as the motor, compressor, rotary head and tracks.

This data is presented via an interactive touch screen that the operator can easily scroll through in order to keep track of drill operating conditions. AM

Remote rock breaking ABB is working with a Swedish mine to implement a remote control rock breaking system that combines increased safety and productivity with the Internet of Everything.

According to ABB the rock breaking project includes two ABB remote control stations with remote control desks as well as process and safety controllers, which have been integrated into the mine along with a real time video system into ABB’s 800xA automation platform installed on the site.

ABB also developed a 3D simulator, to aid in training, and to verify the rock breaker’s remote control system.

“The 800xA will integrate rock breakers and their hydraulics within Boliden’s Garpenberg mine’s unified

system of mill drives, hoists, ventilation, and crushing equipment, co-ordinating what had been fragmented sub-operations into seamless tasks,” ABB stated.

“All fixed equipment can now be controlled from the same control system, ensuring safety and boosting efficiency.

“With the remote control rock breakers, Boliden crews can continue rock breaking a kilometre or more below ground without pausing for shift changes or waiting until blasting has been completed, meaning they can significantly boost productivity while simultaneously reducing the potential for accidents.”

The system includes AC800 high integrity process and safety controllers, four ABB rock breaker remote control

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units, remote control desks, and a range of safety equipment such as gates, light curtains, warning lights, and emergency stops.

Patrik Westerlund, ABB’s product manager for underground mine automation, added: “ABB’s remote control technology will make the operation of the rock breakers underground safer and more efficient by enabling operation in a remote station above the ground during blasting and shift changes.”

“The modularised design will also allow Boliden to add more rock breakers as the mine expands by simply adding another ABB remote control station to the network.”

The project is slated to begin in the second half of this year.

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MINERALS WEEK

CHALLENGING THE ACTIVISTS’ AGENDA FRESH FROM MINERALS WEEK, BEN HAGEMANN LOOKS AT THE CONVERSATION AROUND ANTI-MINING ACTIVISM.

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t’s become very clear that something has to be done.

Anti-mining protesters have developed an unprecedented level of sophistication in their approach to environmental activism.

When Jonathon Moylan succeeded in publishing a spurious ANZ press release to the ASX, causing Whitehaven Coal shares to drop in value by $314 million, the industry knew that activism had entered a new age, one in which economic influence would become the aim of the anti-mining game.

Although the traditional methods with protesters chaining themselves to trees and machinery will always be in vogue – with badges of honour to be won and treasured in the memories of those who were there on the ground – we are now seeing new social waves of protest in the form of the fossil-fuel divestment movement.

In the words of a Fossil Free QUT member: “The primary goal of fossil fuel divestment is the stigmatisation of those

shares and companies, which has indirect economic consequences. The divestment movement also seeks to erode the fossil fuel industry’s social licence to operate.”

Many scoff at the efforts of the Green movement to persuade investors to steer clear of coal and oil, claiming they’d be happy to snap up those shares once divested, however in May the world watched as Norway announced it would drop coal from its $900 billion Sovereign Wealth Fund, which comprises an impressive holding of one per cent of the world’s stocks and bonds issues.

When ANU chose to divest from seven Australian companies it claimed were poor corporate citizens, one of the ousted companies Sandfire Resources took the ESG investment consultant CAER to court for a formal retraction.

Although Sandfire succeeded in winning the case, it showed how seriously the company regarded the negative impact this divestment could have had on

the public perception of their business.

The Minerals Week conference, hosted by the Minerals Council of Australia in Canberra early last month, looked at the issue of environmental activism in certain sectors of mining and asked the question of whether the mining industry was effectively addressing the issue, and how it could tackle the problem in the future.

Whitehaven Coal CEO Paul Flynn knows better than most the power of the modern activist, having faced extensive traditional protesting at Maules Creek, as well as the Moylan Hoax.

Flynn discourages miners from engaging too strenuously with activists, to resist becoming drawn into illogical arguments that can simply degenerate into a shouting match.

“You’ve got to choose your battles to be sure that you’re more effective, not just getting lost in the noise,” he said.

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adopted positions against mining based on a moral absolutism, rather than any kind of scientific or environmental evidence.

“We can’t be captive to people who are just philosophically opposed to what we do,” he said.

“We know the manifest benefit of what it is that we do… we do need to make our case and state it more firmly than we have in the past.”

According to research conducted by JWS Research, managing director John Scales was able to reveal to MCA members that approximately 10 per cent of a given Australian population is philosophically opposed to fossil fuels or mining, with ideological opposition rather than evidence based reason influencing their viewpoint.

Equally, around 10 per cent of people are staunchly supportive of mining in the same fashion, with a crystallised defensive position that they cannot be swayed from to consider the possibility of green alternatives that can complement the mining industry.

However, Scales suggests that it is with the middle 80 per cent with which miners need to concern themselves: the swinging voters.

These are the people who may or may not think of themselves as anti-mining, people who are capable of seeing the benefits of iron ore, and coal, and copper and precious metals (among many other mined commodities) to our technologically based society.

Green groups are known to have very effective advertising campaigns, which play on the emotions of the public to win sympathy for the environment over the concerns of mining.

In turn, mining i needs to think in terms of a ‘velvet hammer’ in order to win the hearts and minds of a generation who so easily forget where their mobiles and computers come from.

It’s what Nynggablack MD, and former fitter, and turner Warren Mundine describes as the ‘Soft War’:“The real issue is about how you engage, using the right language.”

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MINERALS WEEK

“I don’t understand how people can be anti-mining, there’s not one thing in this room that wasn’t created by mining…but these are people that have been brought up working in factories, driving trucks, even they are anti-mining and anti-energy: they’re into climate change.

“You may think that is illogical, and it is illogical, but they’re only getting one message from one side.”

Mundine suggested it is the responsibility of the mining industry to challenge the falsehoods presented by anti-mining idealogues, but in keeping with Flynn’s advice to avoid the potential shouting match, he says it’s important to connect with the public on a more human level.

“It’s not about a massive campaign and embattlement and getting out there and getting political, this is about a soft campaign, this is about talking to people, talking about what energy and mining industries do for my life,” he said.

“We have a stake in the future: we’re not evil people, the mining and energy people do good things.

“That’s the sort of message we need to be talking to people about and trying to get across, that we’re not some kind of evil empire that’s out there to destroy the globe and send us to hell, we’re actually doing these things because we want to do good.”

Toro Energy’s MD Vanessa Guthrie agreed with Mundine on the human interest approach, but took the notion a step fur-

ther with the claim that scientific reasoning was not the way to win hearts and minds of the general public.

“Fighting with fact and science doesn’t cut it,” she said.

“Claims can be made about our industries that are not fact based, they are unfounded, which we cannot fight.”

Guthrie argued that we need to fight “with the heart, because people connect to the heart”.

“While moral absolutism is what the ideologues will fight with, connecting to people’s hearts and feelings and their own sense of control [is needed] as opposed to fighting with fact and science.”

The managing director of one of Australia’s most promising future uranium miners is no stranger to the trials of activism, with experiences from more than 30 years of opposition to her industry to draw upon, compared to the relatively new widespread resistance to coal and CSG. Guthrie’s understanding of activism is much more personal than most mining executives can say for themselves, which she candidly admits to when speaking on the subject.

With anecdotes about members of her own family buying into the anti-mining agenda, Guthrie can attest to having her work cut out for her before she even leaves the house.

Not only that, but Guthrie admitted she was an environmental activist during the late 80s as a student at university, a position which gave her “an af-

finity for how those people feel”.

Now leading one of Australia’s more prominent junior miners, Guthrie speaks from the experience of an environmental activist, now serving as an activist for the mining industry.

Her views convey a sentiment of working for the good of the whole industry, not just for her own company, not even just for the good of her own commodity sector, but for the betterment of the ‘soft war’ that must engage the modern miner if she is to succeed in winning the hearts of the public to the mining cause.

“We need to fight with the heart,” Guthrie said.

“If we passionately believe in the numbers, the economic value we bring to the world, in terms of the resources we deliver that enable people to lift themselves out of poverty, then we should fight it with our hearts.

“A good example of that in the nuclear sector is the shift of the activism around climate change, and I think it is a little like the elephant in the room that we struggle to connect to, and that is as part of the climate change agenda we are seeing activists move towards nuclear as part of the solution.

“That’s fabulous for the uranium and nuclear sectors in Australia, but I also think it’s incumbent on the uranium industry in Australia to say it is also fabulous for the coal sector.

“We are not in competition.

Our job is to support each other, and to provide the energy that the world needs in the best way we can with Australian resources.”

CO-OPERATION IN THE FACE OF COMPETITION: A POTENTIAL SOLUTION (COMMENTARY)

MUNDINE SAID A ‘SOFT WAR’ APPROACH IS NEEDED

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Guthrie raises a very interesting point here, one which points to a community of co-operation within the industry being essential to moving forward against the incoming tide of anti-mining activism.

But is it the case that the mining industry needs to think about the problem in terms of “working against” activism?

STUNTS – LIKE BATGIRL – HAVE BECOME EMBLEMATIC OF ACTIVISTS APPROACH TO MINING

Perhaps there is a more openminded, softer approach that can lead miners and others affected by activism to a new paradigm, one which opens up new ways to resist the anti-mining movement, not through opposition, but by turning around the arguments and countering them, putting them in check, so to speak?

The Minerals Council of Australia has for some time been extremely supportive of moves to research and invest in Carbon Capture and Storage technologies that will enable the coal mining industry to continue one day with carbon neutral ability.

But what about other technologies that have previously been regarded as a threat to the business of mining?

Many miners are opposed to renewable energy in exactly the same way that environmentalists are opposed to mining.

There are a top 10 per cent of pro-miners who are equally driven by ideological reasoning rather than science.

But even among those who accept climate change, there are many who say that renewable energy simply is not feasible.

It’s not feasible? How can one simply say it is not feasible? The Continued page 20

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MINERALS WEEK

From page 19 processing of gold tailings was unfeasible for a very long time, but they were not put back into the ground: they were stockpiled for a time when processing would become feasible.

Even now we’re beginning to see the start of a further development again in which e-waste can be ‘urban mined’, crushed and processed for precious metals (a single tonne of mobile phones contains somewhere in the order of 300g of gold), when ten years ago it was considered totally unprofitable to start such an undertaking.

It’s the same that happened with the social integration of the automobile. The road on which the car overtook the horse was rocky to begin with, and faced a great deal of opposition from lobby groups that refused to accept the notion that this technology could actually replace their known methods of horse-powered agriculture and transport. The very marketing of the power of the car had to be measured and reported in terms of how many horses it could match.

There are some interesting new proposals for technologies that are naturally quite threatening to the mining industry.

Of course renewables appear in direct competition with the coal industry; they represent a force that could one day end the mining of thermal coal for energy, however unlikely this might seem.

Even if renewables could end

the need for coal-fired power, surely nothing could ever replace the need for metallurgical coal, right?

There is something in the pipeline for which the CSIRO is currently seeking funding to continue research into larger scale production.

There are new types of biochar-coke which can be used for steelmaking, and although the notion that it could ever produce the volumes required to become a viable substitute for coke, it is very real.

Biochar is simply vegetable

matter than has been turned into charcoal by artificial means.

But rather than waiting millions of years for a forest to turn into coal, researchers are working on a method to turn biomass into biochar-coke in a very short process.

Is this a threat to the coal industry?

You may not think so, but many thought the car would never replace the horse. Perhaps this is one way for coal miners to hedge their bets on the future for a comparatively small investment, with some

GUTHRIE: ADMITTED SHE ONCE CHAINED HERSELF TO A TREE TO PROTEST MINING

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very positive PR side effects.

Getting back to the words of Vanessa Guthrie, “We are not in competition. Our job is to support each other, and to provide the energy that the world needs in the best way we can with Australian resources.”

The question coal miners need to ask is this: Am I in the business of coal, or am I in the business of energy?

For those simply in the business of coal, it could be a tough road ahead in terms of winning the hearts and minds of the general public in support of your business.

There is no question that the way miners deal with the activist public must be just as innovative, if not more so than those who masterminded the Moylan hoax, than the ideas of those driving the divestment movement.

Guthrie is right in her suggestion that the way to get to the bottom of this is to act from the heart.

Mundine also suggests that the ‘soft war’ can be won by showing people the good that mining does to ensure that people have warm homes and hot meals every day, but the traditional PR battle has not won any new ground, rather it incites further cynicism based on the funding sources for such campaigns.

Rather than fight head to

WHITEHAVEN HAS SEEN HEAVIER PROTESTING THAN MOST

head, in the attempt to beat the arguments of activists, mining companies need to find another way past the defences of the anti-mining focussed general public.

Remember, this is not so much about winning over the hardcore 10 per cent of anti-mining protesters, rather those ordinary people who hear the messages of anti-mining, and agree in spirit, but continue their lives in full enjoyment of the benefits of mining.

In terms of the divestment movement, key goals for persuasion lie with the mum-anddad investors whose decisions en masse can affect the bottom line of a company.

Universities have already shown they can be reliant on false information when making decisions about how to manage their investment portfolios, so it’s important to ensure ESG consultants are fully aware of the kinds of activities carried out by miners, especially in their own investment activity.

Not only that, but we are also now seeing a trend in oil producers looking to move towards gas power and renewable energy sources.

In Saudi Arabia there is an

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MINERALS WEEK

increased focus on renewable technology, and the ways that such diversification can keep the oil producers in a position of power in the global energy market.

In May the Saudi oil minister told a conference in Paris: “In Saudi Arabia, we recognise that eventually, one of these days, we are not going to use fossil fuels…I don’t know when, in 2040, 2050 or thereafter”.

These words should be shocking to traditional coal producers, and although many are sceptical about the G7-announced year 2100 target for eliminating fossil fuel powered energy production, companies need to look that far into the future if companies could counter the rea- divestment, but it also positions soning of divestment proponents the company to take advantage of they expect to succeed then.

Maybe most coal companies by engaging in support of the any future market shifts caused really are just in the game of get- very projects they say require by disruptive technology.

Mining is a long term busiting coal out of the ground, but more investment.

For example, to a supporter ness, and if companies can open in the case of a company like Rio Tinto, there’s little reason of divestment it’s easy to see their scope to include new deto prevent diverse investments. that they would like to see in- velopments for future capitaliIt may well be a case of ‘diver- vestment in metallurgical coal sation, so much the better.

By investing in alternative ensify or die’ for traditional ener- shifted to research and develergy technologies that may fall gy producers, but there’s a more opment of Biochar.

If a coal mining company were under the purview of convenimmediate benefit to portfolio to diversify their portfolio to in- tional businesses, technologies diversification.

In terms of soft strategy for clude coal replacement technol- that might even be considered a points not does countering A M 0 7 divestment 1 6 _ 0 0 0recom_ S C H ogies, 1 only 2 0 1 5 - that 0 6 strip - 1 6 Tthreat 1 3 from : 3 0traditional : 3 4 + 1 0 : of 0 0 mendations, it would seem that away the moral justification for view, then it is impossible to di-

FLYNN SAID MINING NEEDS A STRONGER VOICE IN THE FACE OF ACTIVISM

vest from that company without divesting from their operations relating to alternative energy.

This is an example of the kind of thinking that will be required to win the battle for the support of the 80 per cent “swinging” mining supporters.

It is not good enough to simply tell them the ways that mining helps their lives: What is

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required is a holistic view of energy production, and a preparedness to bring those projects supported by the divestment movements into the fossil fuel miner’s fold, with a view to enhancing those technologies for the benefit of the industry and their own business, rather than to scotch the whole thing to protect traditional concerns.

If the protestors are getting more creative every day, so too must the miners find innovative solutions to ensure their investors stay on board, solutions which will show the general public that indeed such companies are concerned with improving on existing technologies, and developing new ones.

In an industry where efficiency and innovation are catch-cries for successful business, why can’t we bring those philosophies to the “soft campaign” against activism?

With some lateral thinking miners can certainly win the hearts and minds of the public and outflank the activists, to show up those who continue to insist on their ideological opposition to industries which ensure the continuing success of the modern technological lifestyles we all want to enjoy. AM

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PRODUCTIVITY

REVERSING PRODUCTIVITY DOLDRUMS IN THE MINING INDUSTRY A NEW MCKINSEY REPORT HAS OUTLINED MINING’S FALL, BUT ALSO HOW IT CAN RECOVER. VICKY VALIDAKIS WRITES.

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ccording to new research, mining operations around the world are 28 per cent less productive today than they were ten years ago.

The results come from new data collected by McKinsey’s MineLens Productivity Index (MPI).

The MPI shows the decline in mining productivity is occurring across different commodities and is seen in most mining companies and geographies.

McKinsey said the decline is not surprising considering that the industry has just come out of a demand super cycle which saw the production of certain commodities rise by 50 per cent over the past decade.

Higher prices and increased productivity meant miners’ lost sight of productivity goals, McKinsey said. This means that as the demand boom ramped up, cost increases related to increased production were not kept in check.

However the industry’s circumstances have now changed, with demand slowing, and commodity prices falling with it.

“There is intense interest across the industry in reversing the excesses of the 2000s,” McKinsey explained.

“Miners are seeking to cut costs incurred to produce mining output, or to increase output at no additional cost – in other words, to raise productivity. CEOs

have been acknowledging to investors that poor productivity performance must be addressed. Meantime, governments in big mining countries are also trying to understand the productivity challenge, with publicly funded research institutions studying the issue closely.”

McKinsey said a crucial way in which to fix productivity challenges is to be able to measure performance.

“Industry managers have focused on labor productivity, typically measured in terms of the final product output – not the total material moved – per person employed,” the report said.

“The shortcoming of this measure is that it fails to take into account how output might be affected by geological conditions such as declining ore quality, and by investment in equipment or spending on consumables such as tyres or explosives. As a result, the labour metric doesn’t offer guidance on a mine’s total productivity performance.”

Adding to the problem is that overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is most commonly measured from dispatch data about equipment operating time and delays.

While this provides valuable insights about the availability, utilisation, and tempo performance of equipment, McKinsey said it only zeroes in on parts of the operation such as shovels and processAUSTRALIANMINING

ing plants rather than the whole site itself.

McKinsey said its MPI metric focuses on capital, labor, and nonlabor operating expenditure, deliberately excluding ore grade from the calculation.

The three elements are then linked with a measure of physical mine output, which is not affected by changes in the ore grade and stripping ratio.

According to McKisney, what the data shows is that the mining industry has paid a high price in terms of lower productivity for volume gains during the demand boom.

Over the past decade, mining productivity as measured by MPI has declined 3.5 per cent per year.

It said copper, iron ore, coal, and platinum group metals all suffered from this pronounced productivity decline.

“This decline stands after adjusting for external factors such as deteriorating ore grades and mine cost inflation, including escalations in the prices of mine inputs such as fuel and explosives,” the report said.

“It is important to note that the productivity decline would be even more pronounced if no adjustment had been made for ore-grade deterioration.”

However McKinsey said there are some encouraging signs that the sector is trying to buck the trend, with companies already working to rein in capital

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expenditure and add value to their existing assets.

But the report suggests that the focus should now turn to three important areas which address the root cause of productivity decline:

EMBED EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OPERATING SYSTEMS AT MINES

McKinsey said this step will create greater transparency, while freeing up people and resources to prioritise productivity and operational excellence, and support effective performance management.

“This approach will help resolve an important challenge that the industry has struggled with: making productivity performance (and its measurement) a priority,” McKinsey said.

“There has typically been a focus on improving one or two of the variables, such as reducing cost, lowering capital intensity, or increasing throughput. But a holistic focus on the drivers of productivity that is shared at multiple levels is rare in mining organisations.”

PRIORITISE OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE AND CAPABILITIES DEVELOPMENT

McKinsey said operational excellence requires a continuous focus on improveContinued page 24

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It also said companies must reduce variability, and improve the productivity of assets through advanced reliability and maintenance approaches, together with increased flexibility about changing conditions.

“Many mining companies struggle with capabilities constraints and need to address them: building up the capabilities of individuals and of the organisation is a necessity for companies to be able to deliver on all the levers involved in productivity improvement,” it said.

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ogies instead of sticking with tried and tested processes.

“For example, the potential to implement advanced dispatching processes in underground mining operations is clear, but it has still not been adopted at scale,” McKinsey said.

“With a few notable exceptions, it’s also unclear who is mandated to drive innovation in many mining companies. And, in many cases, new capital projects are executed without integrating new technologies into the mine design.”

It is recommended that miners use advanced analytics to harness the potential of the vast amounts of data generated in typical modern mining operations in order to boost productivity-improvement initiatives.

“To make this happen will require a broadening of the expectations of what operations leaders are responsible for, and tighter integration.” AM

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How mining equipment manufacturers can ach Mining equipment manufacturers who successfully leverage Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) will be in prime position to reap the opportunities presented by the current transition in the Australian mining industry.

to work work togethe togeth to challenge. challenge.

The collab WITH Australia entering the tail end of the mining boom, the needs of Australian miners have shifted away from construction towards efficient productivity -- a fact confirmed by multiple industry research bodies.

BIS Shrapnel’s Mining in Australia 2014 to 2029 report, for example, projected a 40 percent collapse in mining investment over the next four years, as the mining industry faces pressures from falling ore prices, lower grades, weaker growth in export demand and high costs.

At the same time, however, the researchers claim “mining production is forecast to surge by one third over the same period, driving a corresponding increase in mining operations activities, maintenance and exports.”

This shift towards production is a view shared by Deloitte Access Economics in its quarterly Business Outlook, which described a “baton change” from the construction phase of the mining boom to a production and export phase.

Despite this newfound focus on production, the mining industry still has a long way to go in terms of actual productivity.

In August 2014, PriceWaterhouseCoopers released its Mining for efficiency report which found “mining equipment in Australia runs at lower annual outputs than most of its global peers”. In fact, open cut equipment productivity has actually declined globally by 20 percent over the past seven years.

Even worse, the report found that, driven by the volume maximisation strategies during the boom years, some equipment manufacturers have failed deliver on proportional improvements in productivity and efficiency, despite introducing new, larger models of machinery.

While the situation is dire for the mining industry, the PWC report found that there was great potential for improvement, as any efficiency boost, even to a limited number of sites or equipment, will quickly add up to real changes in the bottom line.

This need for performance optimisation is a golden opportunity for equipment manufacturers. With productivity and

PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT

cost reductions in mind, miners want equipment that is more productive, efficient and flexible, while boasting nearperfect reliability.

The successful manufacturers will be the ones who can supply the improvements that mine operators crave, and do so quickly.

In this market, there can be no trade-off between quality and lead times. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions will help manufacturers deliver on this.

The complexity challenge for manufacturers Mining equipment today are complex

conglomerates of interconnected mechanical, electrical and software systems. But the complexities are not limited to the nature of the machinery itself.

With increased focus on efficiency, total cost of ownership and uptime, the design of mining equipment must take into account not just functionality and features, but also reliability, easy commissioning and maintenance.

Equipment must comply with local regulations surrounding emissions, driver fatigue, and noise reduction. Individual mine-sites might also have specific

requirements that that need need to to be be met. met. This This requirements means global, global, regional regional and and local local design, design, means engineering and and manufacturing manufacturing teams teams engineering need to to be be able able to to work work on on the the same same need requirements, models models and and manufacturing manufacturing requirements, process plans, plans, while while having having the the flexibility flexibility process to meet meet local local requirements. requirements. to Then there there is is the the product product development development Then process itself, itself, from from ideation ideation to to design design process and manufacture manufacture and and through through to to service service and and disposal. disposal. And And for for manufacturers manufacturers and with design design and and development development teams teams and and with manufacturing facilities facilities distributed distributed across across manufacturing the globe, globe, getting getting everyone everyone and and all all the the the parts of of the the product product development development process process parts

PLM software software PLM these complexi complexi these force to to ensure ensure force extended produ prod extended At its its heart, heart At and centralising centralisin and connects the the en en connects and manufactu manufactu and together teams, teams together process data. data. B B process people access access tt people need, when when the the need, more collabora collabora more to the the product product to process. process.

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AM0715_027 27 2015-07-10T11:04:01+10:00 A M 0 5 1 5 _ 0 2 7 -- 2 7 2 0 1 5 - 0 4 - 2 8 T1 6 : 2 6 : 0 7 + 1 0 : 0 0

can achieve both quality and speed with PLM

be in try.

to work work together together coherently coherently can can be be aa real real to challenge. challenge.

The collaborative solution PLM software software promises promises to to help help untangle untangle PLM these complexities, complexities, by by acting acting as as aa unifying unifying these force to to ensure ensure consistency consistency throughout throughout the the force extended product product development development process. process. extended At its its heart, heart, PLM PLM is is aa way way of of managing managing At and centralising centralising information. information. It It spans spans and and and connects the the entire entire design, design, engineering engineering connects and manufacturing manufacturing cycle, cycle, helping helping pull pull and together teams, teams, resources resources and and product product and and together process data. data. By By giving giving the the appropriate appropriate process people access access to to the the information information that that they they people need, when when they they need need it, it, PLM PLM enables enables aa need, more collaborative collaborative and and smarter smarter approach approach more to the the product product design design and and development development to process. process.

Leveraging the the unifying unifying influence influence of of Leveraging PLM enables enables companies companies to to more more closely closely PLM integrate software software design design with with mechanical mechanical integrate and electrical electrical design design and and engineering, engineering, and and and fosters seamless seamless collaboration collaboration amongst amongst fosters team members, members, even even across across multiple multiple team disciplines, time time zones zones and and geographic geographic disciplines, regions. This This effectively effectively pushes pushes the the regions. manufacturing process process planning planning forward, forward, manufacturing so itit happens happens concurrently concurrently with with the the design design so and engineering engineering stages. stages. and By considering considering manufacturability manufacturability By and commissioning commissioning issues issues during during earlier earlier and stages of of product product development, development, equipment equipment stages makers can can cost-effectively cost-effectively deliver deliver high high makers quality, high high performing performing solutions solutions to to quality, mining customers. customers. mining Furthermore, by by capturing capturing and and Furthermore, allowing the the re-use re-use of of hard-earned hard-earned allowing institutional knowledge, knowledge, best best practices practices and and institutional

configuration, PLM builds continuous improvement into the product lifecycle, effectively reducing the amount of reworking required.

Speeding up time-to-market Of course, PLM enhances the actual design and development process, by optimising iterative system design and verification. To reduce development time, PLM software systems offers the possibility of early concept and mechatronic validation and detailed modelling in the early design stages, cutting down the number of physical prototypes needed.

Advanced systems like Siemens PLM Software provide a unified platform to manage and model machine and computer numerical control (CNC) controls concurrently across design, engineering, and manufacturing. This allows for an “Advanced Machine Engineering” approach, where the entire machine – every part, control, operation as well as all associated software and the machine commissioning process – is simulated even before physical prototypes are built.

Engineers can virtually design, engineer and commission machines, test their response to a variety of operational conditions, and evaluate the performance of varying designs, giving them a headstart in optimising the performance of equipment, QC and even managing commissioning-stage risks.

With this holistic approach, manufacturers utilising PLM can be assured that their equipment will be

The production phase of the mining boom offers plenty for manufacturers.

met. This This met. ocal design, cal design, ing teams ng teams he same same he anufacturing anufacturing he flexibility flexibility he

t development development to design o design to service service hh to acturers acturers teams and and tt teams ibuted across across ibuted nd all all the the nd ment process process ment

In five five years, years, the the real real value value of of mining mining production production should should rise rise by by 33 33 per per cent. cent.

In

produced as designed, and manufactured in the most optimal way possible.

The transition of the mining industry towards production is a unique opportunity for equipment manufacturers.

But to successfully compete in the marketplace, they need to ensure a robust and effective product development and manufacturing lifecycle which will deliver on the quality and features required by mines, while reducing lead times and improving ROI. With PLM, manufacturers can deliver on all of these, and more. By

fostering collaboration and helping manage the product development process, PLM eliminates unnecessary rework, improves speed to market, and allows manufacturers to cut their costs while improving their flexibility and offerings.

[Rajiv Ghatikar is Vice President and General Manager, ASEAN/Australasia, Siemens PLM Software] Siemens PLM Software 1800 709 230 www.plm.automation.siemens.com

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WOMEN IN INDUSTRY WINNERS

THE WOMEN IN INDUSTRY AWARDS WINNERS AUSTRALIAN MINING REVEALS THE WINNERS FROM THE SECOND WOMEN IN INDUSTRY AWARDS.

T

Highlighting the way in which compahe winners of the 2015 Women in Industry Awards were nies are more eager than ever to celebrate revealed last month at a spe- their female talent, both nominations and attendees at the awards dinner were cial dinner in Sydney.

More than 200 people gath- double that of last year.

Cirrus Media Industrials editor, Cole ered in Sydney for the event, where ladies from the mining, manufac- Latimer, said the awards program was turing, and engineering sectors were re- important in recognising the contribuwarded and recognised for their career tions being made to the changing face of industry. achievements.

“Though female participation has risIn its second year, the Women in Industry Awards aim to recognise women en across all industrial sectors in Austrawho are leading change in their chosen lia, companies are still focusing on more field and breaking down barriers in what innovative attraction and retention stracan often be male-dominated industries. tegies to foster this growing talent and A total of nine awards were up for support young women working in the grabs, and each celebrated the achieve- sector,” he said.

“Women already working in the secments of individuals and companies who are committed to raising the profile of tor make up a big part of these support programs. women.

“They are paving the way for others From space engineering experts, to invaluable mentors, and women in charge and achieving great success, and we think of multi-billion dollar mines, the awards this needs to be recognised in its own night singled out women who have created right.”

Australian Mining would like to coninnovations, driven productivity, spearheaded A M 0change, 7 1 5 and _ 0 provided 0 0 _ P social A C and 1 gratulate 2 0 1 the 5 - winners 0 6 - 2of5the T 12015 1 : Wom3 9 : 0 8 + 1 0 : 0 0 economic benefits through their fields. en in Industry Awards. AM

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WOMEN IN INDUSTRY WINNERS

BDM OF THE YEAR Nicolette Hinson – General Manager Business Development and Strategy, Elgas Nicolette Hinson took out this year’s BDM of the Year award for making a significant contribution to growing Elgas’ business since she became General Manager for Business Development and Strategy in 2011.

Hinson is the key driver of business development and is responsible for identifying and developing new business opportunities for commercialisation. Hinson has consistently achieved growth in new focus areas through her excellent technical ability, solid commercial understanding, and leadership.

Under Hinson’s leadership, Elgas has significantly grown its liquefied natural gas (LNG) stationary energy business with revenues increasing some 2500 per cent since 2011. Hinson drove the signing of two major customers and expanded the sales personnel team to grow the LNG business in Queensland and New South Wales. She has worked across both Elgas and BOC to support the development of the customer offerings for this new market and played a vital role in preparing market-based information that supported the investment of BOC’s new LNG production facility in Queensland.

Hinson also developed an initiative to generate new business for Stargas, an Elgas brand that offers compressed industrial and

hospitality gases and LPG to small and medium sized businesses. This included the development of a business case for the implementation of a new Stargas operation site in Brisbane to strengthen Stargas’ position and capability in the region.

This recommendation was approved by the business with the new site opened in 2013. It has helped Elgas win new industrial and LPG accounts in the SME Business area.

The judges commented that Hinson had demonstrated a strength in leadership during a turbulent time as Elgas merged Kleenheat into their operations.

She ensured sales continued to grow, which is often difficult during a merger/acquisition. Her customer service focus was also clearly evident.

“In a large corporation, Hinson demonstrated an entrepreneurial flair that clearly contributes to the growth of the business,” one judge said.

“Nicolette’s influence has grown as she has excelled in her career.”

EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR Cablex Cablex won the 2015 Employer of the Year award for implementing a number of initiatives which aim to increase female participation at the company.

At Cablex currently over 60 per cent of all staff members are female, well above the Australian engineering/equipment manufacturing average of 22 per cent. Women are also very well represented at management level and above, with 50 per cent being female.

Cablex’s COO and part owner Heidi Krebs is also a female. This high representation of females through all levels of the organisation has meant that women continue to be trained, challenged, and mentored within the organisation and therefore given equal opportunities for progression within the company.

Cablex has developed many formal workplace initiatives which women find favourable in the work place including job redesign, flexible working options for those with family responsibilities, upskilling, and the appointment of talented women into non-traditional roles.

The company also provides many social opportunities for the team which enable strong bonds and a high level of trust to be formed between all employees. Many of the factory level employees are from a variety of cultural backgrounds with English being their second language.

AUSTRALIANMINING

The culture and set up of the factory space encourages them to feel part of a team and less isolated. They are continually provided with ongoing training and access to a variety of projects.

Cablex has developed a culture and working environment which encourages team work, community, precision, dexterity, and quality.

Unlike many other tradition manufacturing environments Cablex provides ongoing challenges to its staff, and is a family friendly and collaborative workplace.

The judges said Cablex should be commended for its efforts to attract and retain female employees.

“Under Heidi Krebs’ leadership, Cablex has developed many favourable work initiatives, encouraging significant female participation within the business. This is evidenced by the high percentage of long-term female employees across the Cablex organisation,” one judge commented.

“A good effort and it is good to see companies operating in this way and with women in senior leadership roles,” another judge said.

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WOMEN IN INDUSTRY WINNERS

EXCELLENCE IN ENGINEERING Christine Charles – Head of Space Plasma, Power and Propulsion Division, The Australian National University Professor Christine Charles has won this year’s Excellence in Engineering award for the extraordinary contribution she has made in her field.

Prof. Charles is a highly respected member of the Australian and international space industry. She is known for her technical excellence, her ability to translate research into innovative solutions for industry, and her dedication to mentoring students, in particular young women.

Prof. Charles is the Head of the Space Plasma, Power and Propulsion (SP3) Laboratory at the Australian National University. For the past twenty years, she has been working on experimental expanding plasmas (hot ionized gases) and their applications to electric propulsion, microelectronics and optoelectronics, astrophysical plasmas, and more.

Astrium, now part of Airbus Defence and Space, started its collaboration with Prof. Charles’ team back in 2006 following her successful early tests of the Helicon Double Layer Thruster (HDLT).

Such collaboration eventually culminated in the successful Australian Research Space Program project that resulted in the setup of the Wombat XL Space Simulation facility in the performance qualification test of the HDLT in its Gen III version. Across the years the HDLT

proved to the in many aspects a source of inspiration for the whole international electric propulsion community, e.g. it introduced the novel concept of operating with different propellants. To put this into perspective for the non-specialist reader, this concept is now part of the technology road maps of most advanced spacefaring countries of our planet.

In a glowing review, one of the judges said Prof. Charles should be voted the next Australian of the Year.

“What can you say that has not been demonstrated over and again by Charles. A gob-smackingly extraordinary woman achieving extraordinary things with potential global (and beyond) impact. A brilliant entry from a truly outstanding role model. My vote for the next Australian of the Year.”

Another judge commented that Prof. Charles is an outstanding nominee.

“She is clearly well respected as an expert in her field nationally and internationally, and through her leadership is inspiring and actively mentoring the next generation of young engineers and scientists.”

EXCELLENCE IN MINING Maria Joyce – General Manager, MEC Mining Maria Joyce has won this year’s Excellence in Mining award for being a well-respected leader within the sector.

Just over 12 months ago Joyce took on the challenge of the General Managers role for MEC Mining.

Through this position she is responsible for the leadership, mentoring and technical output of all of the Australian based consultants both in the office and on site (35 permanent staff and additional subcontractors).

Joyce champions the culture within MEC Mining and this is something that she holds close to her heart. Her team is like a tight knit family; they support each other through the good and bad times, collaborate, and treat one another with the respect and integrity each individual deserves.

The second major focus in her role that sets her apart from others in the industry is her strength in maintaining quality client relationships.

From pit engineers working in the Bowen Basin all the way through to company CEOs across the world, Joyce has an exceptional ability to continuously keep the lines of communication open with clients AUSTRALIANMINING

and ensure that her team delivers trusted expertise and proven outcomes on each and every project.

Finally, Joyce’s wealth of technical and operational knowledge and expertise in mining engineering are what elevate her above other individuals in the sector.

Joyce won the BMA Business Excellence and Innovation Award for her “Dragline Wait on Dozer Project”, which led to significant increases to dragline operating efficiencies. She is highly regarded as a leader in her field.

Joyce has also become widely recognised as an industry expert in XPAC and XACT. The judges said that Joyce was a deserving winner who has “taken risks in her own career, backed herself to succeed and become an outstanding and well respected leader in her own right”.

“Joyce demonstrated an outstanding mix of technical expertise, commercial tenacity and willingness to develop the next generation of leaders,” one judge said.

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WOMEN IN INDUSTRY WINNERS

EXCELLENCE IN MANUFACTURING Colly Galbiati – Managing Director, Soma Organics Colly Galbiati won this year’s Excellence in Manufacturing award for a business she started in her kitchen in 2012.

In November 2012, Soma Organics started in the kitchen of her home where she begun hand making the (future) award-winning Soma Bite range. Due to a large increase of demand, Soma Organics outsourced their successful home kitchen business into a certified organic food manufacturer specialising in snack bars in just over nine months.

Since then, Galbiati has developed three health snack bar ranges for the Soma Organics brand – the award-winning Soma Bite range, Your Soma Bars – protein bar; and the latest project Eco Bars - a raw energy snack made from cricket flour.

During this time, Galbiati has met with national and international buyers, the largest being Woolworths Ltd. where the award-winning Soma Bite range has now been stocked for 18 months, in what started in 100 stores, and is now over 400 stores nationally.

In 2013, Galbiati secured a deal with international tea company, Your Tea International Group, to create and co-brand a range of organic protein snack bars Your Soma Bar which is sold exclusively on the Your Tea website which has a popular reach of over 500,000 users.

Galbiati developed and designed the snack bar range from bar to branding. With the first bar already on the market, the following two

bars are under development.

Galbiati has negotiated deals to export the Soma Bite range into the UAE, Dubai and Hong Kong where the product is currently available. She is also in discussions with Japan, New Zealand, Chinese, and USA distributors.

During the growth, she restructured the business from “sole-trader” to a company and raised capital from investors. She strategised to bring key investors on board with skills such as finance, accounting and food technology so that they have a vested interest in growing Soma Organics into the biggest and most-trustworthy food brand in Australia.

The judges said Galbiati demonstrates all the essential skills for success in business including enthusiastic entrepreneurialism, passion for her area, initiative and resilience.

“This is made all the more impressive in that she is not an industry native,” one judge said.

“She has recognised and built on her own strengths, but also engaged the help of other experts, and has built a truly personal connection with both staff and clients.”

MARKETING/COMMUNICATIONS Rosalinda Willcox – Marketing Communications Specialist, BOC Limited Rosalinda Willcox won this year’s Marketing/Communications award for implementing a progressive marketing strategy at BOC. Since joining BOC more than fifteen years ago, Willcox has consistently implemented effective marketing communication strategies to help grow BOC’s business. She has worked in Marketing Communications across almost every business unit at BOC during her tenure.

The knowledge that she has gathered from working across different business divisions at BOC has meant that she is a regular “go-to person” for staff members who have a query related to marketing communications within BOC or a product in general.

Although she has been at BOC for fifteen years, Willcox continues to deliver better marketing results, always ensuring that her next campaign is more successful than the last.

Willcox is passionate about increasing awareness of the engineering and gas industry to women. She combined both her passion and marketing strategy nous when she identified that competitors were not targeting women in the industry. She suggested to AUSTRALIANMINING

upper management that case studies be developed to demonstrate that the welding profession is an exciting career path that women should consider. This was well received and as a result she was commissioned to produce videos showcasing these women.

Willcox devised a social media strategy for these videos to ensure they were widely viewed. They were shared by staff members, customers across a variety of social media platforms and now even feature in BOC publications - this all due to her vision.

The judges said they were particularly impressed with Willcox’s use of social media as marketing tool.

“Rosalinda demonstrates a progressive marketing mindset. She has had the courage to engage social media in a conservative market, which she has ensured has had uptake and gained traction and has had impressive results.”

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WOMEN IN INDUSTRY WINNERS

INDUSTRY ADVOCACY Suzanne Daubney – Managing Director, Bannister Downs Dairy Suzanne Daubney has won this year’s Industry Advocacy award for her work to make a difference in the dairy industry.

Daubney married into a proudly traditional dairy farming family spanning four generations.

Confronted with deregulation in 2000, Daubney decided to show the local industry what was possible.

“We were young, enthusiastic and ready for the challenge,” she said.

When dairy farmer numbers fell from 550 to 200, the Daubney family decided the future had to lie in producing and promoting a premium, high quality product, and thereby decided to follow the path of vertically integrating their farming business.

This was the ‘seed’ for Bannister Downs Dairy (BDD), which now supplies over 500 customers state wide.

Daubney’s bold vision to be the Global Leaders in Ethical Dairy defines her from others in the immediate dairy industry and in the broader agriculture and food industries.

Her preparedness to embrace new technology (cutting edge fully recycled packaging, robotics, new animal production systems), innovation, sustainable farming practices, ethical animal production systems and progressive business models, with a strong conviction to ethical behaviour distinguishes her from many of her peers.

At a time when many in agriculture were bemoaning the dominance of supermarket chains and the impact on farm prices, Daubney decided to seize the opportunity presented by supermarkets.

Realising that competing with established processors on the basis of price was a recipe for disaster; she investigated alternative packaging and supply chain options which would allow BDD to capture key market niches based on product quality and presentation.

Such has been the success of this approach that BDD is now emerging as a significant buyer of milk from other farmers in the region with a wellestablished brand. Planned significant expansions of the processing and farming operations bear testimony to the success of this innovative approach to the supply chain.

Daubney’s approach and willingness to ‘share the journey’ with others is another trait which separates her out from others in the sector. The successes, the ‘lessons learned’, the attributes of her business, ethical production systems, regional development aspirations and ‘sense of community’ have been shared on many platforms and within numerous forums, locally, interstate, and internationally.

Some of these include, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences National Regional Outlook Conference in 2012, Australian Dairy Conference in 2013, the Regional REIWA Conference in Bunbury 2014, and the Western Australian Ag Consultants Conference in 2014.

MENTOR OF THE YEAR Christine Cotton – Regional General Manager, Tyco Fire & Security Christine Cotton is strong advocate for the development of Tyco’s people, regardless of gender, and this won her the 2015 Mentor of the Year Award.

Cotton’s passion lies with ensuring the company’s female talent not only receive career development opportunities but also in assisting them balance the many demands of life in general.

Cotton has been instrumental in the establishment and ongoing development of Tyco’s Pacific Women’s Growth Network ensuring the program remains at the forefront of Tyco’s daily activities. As a part of Cotton’s Women’s Growth Network initiative, she led the formation of what has now become known as the “bubble assignment” – an opportunity for a high potential female to step out of their normal role for a period of time (up to 90 days) and work on a dedicated project outside of their normal sphere of influence.

This concept is spreading across Tyco globally and is something the company is planning to expand on to provide more safe-haven AUSTRALIANMINING

development opportunities. In both her roles as the Regional General Manager WA and as the Pacific lead for the Women’s Growth Network, Cotton has played a pivotal role in the formation of Tyco’s mentoring program.

This program is open to both male and female staff alike and aims to partner mentees with senior members of staff from other areas of the organisation to provide a confidential forum for mentees to further explore their careers, and to seek advice on work assignments or issues.

The judges said that Cotton should be commended for establishing programs to foster women within a large organisation.

“Good to see this work in Tyco and a very strong focus on mentoring women in this business and industry,” one judge said.

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WOMEN IN INDUSTRY WINNERS

RISING STAR Kate Francis – Civil Engineer, Hyder Consulting Kate Francis won this year’s Rising Star award for the way in which she has contributed to her employer in her short career.

Francis is a Civil Engineer who graduated with First Class Honours from the Queensland University of Technology in 2012.

She has a double major in Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering.

Francis is passionate about addressing the shortage of women in non-traditional careers such as engineering. She is involved in two Women in Engineering groups that both aim to attract, support and celebrate female engineers.

Francis has also attended various high school presentations promoting careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

Since graduating, Francis has been employed at Hyder Consulting and has worked in both the Urban Development and Transport teams. She has experience in all facets of civil design, contract administration, preparation of cost estimates and independent verification. Francis also has experience in business development through the pursuits of major projects, bidding/tendering and legal training.

As Francis’ career progresses, her responsibilities have increased and she has acted as the lead civil engineer and project leader on several developments.

She is experienced in managing resources and time to deliver quality results to clients.

Some of Francis’ career achievements to date include: • Project managing the Civil Works and Development Application Process for an Inner-City High-rise development. This included significant stakeholder engagement with all other consultants, contractors, architects and government agencies.

• Managing the civil design and construction phase for a Brisbane subdivision • Writing a winning tender for the QLD Transport team to provide engineering services to a regional council.

The judges said that Francis had shown great initiative within her career, and is contributing greatly to Hyder Consulting.

SOCIAL LEADER Samantha Kerr – SCADA, COMMS & Protection Implementation Engineer, Energex Samantha Kerr has taken out this year’s Social Leader award for her work in facilitating a program that aims to keep women involved in the engineering sector.

Kerr is a leading female engineer who has provided significant positive social benefit through her creation of the “Save Our Sanity” (SOS) interactive sessions in Queensland through Women In Engineering Qld (WIEQ), a special interest group of Engineers Australia.

The SOS program aims to retain women in engineering through fostering positive support networks and providing continuing professional development. The SOS program recently won a High Commendation Award for Most Encouraging Student or Not for Profit Group in Gender Diversity through Engineers Australia in November 2014.

The SOS program is for engineers on parental leave, working parttime, out of the workforce or on a sabbatical. Children, toddlers and babies are welcome and attend the SOS sessions.

Kerr developed each session to have guest speakers and/or AUSTRALIANMINING

workshop facilitators. The focus of these sessions includes a forum for modes of working; professional networking; leadership; professional development; and engineering professional development.

Past guest speakers have included: CEO of Energex, Terry Effeney, an advocate for flexibility and diversity within the workplace; Leeanne Bond, current board member and Professional Engineer of the Year 2007; and Tiffany Wann, founder and facilitator of Outstanding Women Leaders.

For the 2014 program, Samantha secured 10 impressive guest speakers including Sydney journalist, Kate Mills, from ProfessionalMums.net online.

The judges said they were impressed with the way Kerr made the SOS sessions inclusive and educational for participants.

“Kerr has demonstrated a very valuable commitment to the engineering community,” one judge commented.

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MINESITE VEHICLES

ROLLING RESISTANCE IN HAUL TRUCK OPERATIONS A NEW PAPER FROM CRC MINING HIGHLIGHTS THE EFFECTS OF ROLLING RESISTANCE AND ITS AFFECTS ON HAUL TRUCK PRODUCTIVITY*.

R

olling resistance is an important factor in the productivity, cycle times, fuel consumption, maintenance and safety of haul truck operations in surface mines.

Responsible for energy losses in materials hauling, an understanding of rolling resistance is desirable so that it can be better managed to improve mining operations. Rolling resistance is defined as a measure of the force required to overcome the retarding effect between the tyres and road and is commonly represented by a rolling resistance coefficient, which can be determined by dividing the rolling resistance by the normal force applied to a truck tyre.

Study in the area of rolling resistance has potential implications in the area of tyre management in surface mining.

Tyres remain a large cost in the operation of haul trucks, and are affected by rolling resistance in a number of ways.

The build-up of heat in truck tyres is a leading cause of tyre

degradation and is influenced by the rolling resistance experienced by the tyre.

This accrual of heat can potentially lead to tyre failure, a costly and potentially dangerous event.

Rolling resistance is influenced by a number of parameters, all of which can be placed into one of four groups of road, tyre, system and weather. Each of the parameters is also categorised as a Design (D), Construction (C), Operational (O) or Maintenance (M) parameter.

This paper presents the results of research on parameters affecting rolling resistance. The most influential parameters have been determined and their relationships with rolling resistance have been studied.

This research has been conducted by a group of researchers at the University of Queensland and was supported by CRCMining in Australia.

An online survey was conducted to determine the most influential parameters on rolling resistance, based on the knowledge and experience of a num-

ber of professionals within the mining and haul road industries.

Fifty industry personnel were contacted with a 68 per cent response rate; of the personnel surveyed, 10 per cent worked in the area of haul road planning, 30 per cent in maintenance, 40 per cent in design and 20 per cent in operations.

This survey allowed participants to estimate the influence of parameters identified as affecting rolling resistance.

A score was assigned to each parameter between 0 and 100 representing the influence of a particular parameter on rolling resistance, where 0 is not influential and 100 is highly influential.

The results of the survey show that tyre diameter has the lowest influence on rolling resistance, with a result of 40 per cent.

Defects, tyre condition, tyre temperature, driver behaviour and ambient temperature were all given rankings of approximately 50 per cent.

Maintenance, tyre pressure and truck speed were all identified as having the greatest influence on rolling resistance, with scores between 80 and 90 per cent.

TYRES ARE OFTEN A NEGLECTED, BUT COSTLY, ITEM ON MANY SITES

AUSTRALIANMINING

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The remaining parameters all scored between 50 and 70 per cent.

1. Road maintenance refers to the processes undertaken on mine haul roads, to repair defects and other road surface issues. It also refers to processes undertaken to reduce the probability of these defects occurring and increase the general quality of the road surface. The maintenance interval is determined by a number of factors including the mine plan, financial requirements and constraints, personnel availability and the quality/condition of a haul road. For this research, a dataset was obtained for several ramp and bench roads located in a single area of an open surface mine site, using a haul truck to test and obtain data.

The data makes use of the maintenance interval or period, which refers to the amount of time between instances of road maintenance work, measured in days. A larger period of time between maintenance instances results in increased rolling resistance.

2. Tyre pressure is a tyre op-

THE LEVELS OF ROLLING RESISTANCE ARE HIGHER FOR OTR OPERATIONS

erational property, identified as being highly influential on rolling resistance. The tyre pressure is easily modified on a mine site and adjusted relatively easy. It should be noted that tyre pressure is not constant during truck operation, and is in fact affected by the temperature of the tyre. This temperature changes during normal truck operation and so affects the tyre pressure during material hauling. In this research all necessary data was obtained from a completed study on tyre pressure in France. The measurement conditions were in accordance with the ISO 8767 standards, which require a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, tyre loading of 80 per cent of the tyres maximum capacity and a speed of 80km/h. the results show that increasing tyre pressure effects in a decreased rolling resistance coefficient . This Continued page 38

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MINESITE VEHICLES

From page 36 corresponds to a decrease in the rolling resistance at higher tyre pressures.

3. Truck speed falls under a system operational property and refers to the speed at which the haul truck is travelling over the road surface. Truck speed is influenced by a number of different factors including the payload, road conditions, tyre condition, driver behaviour and the grade of the haul road. The results were obtained for approximately 100 haul truck tyres, tested in the Technical University of Gdansk’s drum facility. They were obtained for two differing drum surfaces, representative of smooth and rough road surfaces. The tyres tested consisted of a number of different brands and geometrical dimensions.

The final results show that increasing truck speed results in ering the efficiency with which an increased rolling resistance haul trucks operate on open surcoefficient. The relationship face mines.

Rolling resistance can be conwas found to be the same for both rough and smooth road trolled on mine sites, especially when efforts are focused on surfaces.

The relationships A M 0survey 7 1 5and _ 0 0 0 _ K O M the- most 1 influential 2 0 1 5 parameters.

- 0 7 - 0 1 It is recommended that haul discussed are useful when consid-

road maintenance intervals be

BY IDENTIFYING THE MAJOR optimised in accordance with CONTRIBUTOR TO ROLLING cost considerations to reduce RESISTANCE PRODUCTIVITY rolling resistance.

CAN BE INCREASED In relation to tyre pressure, it is clear that higher pressures rein :lower resistance.

Tsult 1 0 5 4 rolling : 4 0 + 1 0 : 0 0 ed that tyre pressures be mainIt is therefore recommend- tained in accordance with the

AUSTRALIANMINING

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manufacturer’s recommendations.

Lastly, increasing truck speed is linked to higher rolling resistance, and so lower truck speeds are desirable when only rolling resistance is considered. However, a number of other factors must be considered when choosing a suitable truck speed including safety requirements, cycle times and productivity requirements.

All of these alterations will reduce rolling resistance, and be useful when considering further hauling operations and their efficiency.

In addition to potential improvements in rolling resistance, this study aimed to identify opportunities to improve haul truck fuel efficiency.

Rolling resistance is a major contributor to energy loss in hauling operations and is affected by numerous parameters.

By identifying which of these parameters are the most influential on rolling resistance, the mining industry can focus its efforts on a smaller area of fuel efficiency improvements. AM * This paper was authored by L. Adair, A. Soofastaei, S.M. Aminossadati, M.S. Kizil and P. Knights.

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AM0710_040

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IRON ORE

IRON ORE ROAD REMAINS ROUGH, BUT STABILITY IS AHEAD THE DAYS OF IRON ORE HIGHS ARE LONG GONE, BUT SO MAY BE THE METAL’S DOWNWARD SPIRAL. CAP1

I A BOOST IN EXPORTS WILL HURT FUTURE PRICES

AUSTRALIANMINING

ron ore has reached its trough and will continue its current growth pattern, but slowing demand out of China means it will not reach its earlier highs, the head of China’s iron and steel institute said.

Speaking last month at the Stockbrokers Association of Australia Conference, China Metallurgical Industry Planning & Research Institute’s president Xinchuang Li highlighted the current stressed steel manufacturing sector in China, and explained that this internal competition combined with inefficiencies in the sector is having flow-on effects into Australia’s mining landscape.

He also forecast the likely plateau for the iron ore price in the coming years.

The economic slowdown in the country “is the new normal,” Li stated, and this will affect Australian iron ore miners as the nation shifts from its heavy industrial phase into a more services focused era.

“China is moving from its rapid growth

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development phase into a new phase,” he said.

Li gave a breakdown of the market, citing a number of major issues, predominately low production and consumption fluctuations; low profitability combined with a high level of market competition in steel production; and increased downwards pressures relating to both financial and environmental concerns.

He predicted a consistent fall in Chinese steel consumption, from a country that currently accounts for 60 per cent of global consumption, dropping to 689 million tonnes in 2020, 650 million tonnes in 2025, and 610 million tonnes in 2030, at odds with Rio Tinto’s predictions for consumption rates.

Li did give one positive forecast on the current market situation, stating that the April price low of US$45 per tonne is likely to be the bottom of the slide, and iron ore has already begun its stabilisation process.

“We’re likely to see a price of between

AM0710_041

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IRON ORE

US$55 to US$65 per tonne as an average for the next two years,” he said.

At the time of publication the price saw a consistent rally to reach just over US$55 per tonne.

Part of the ongoing stability has been pegged to dents being made in the oversupply of iron ore at Chinese steel mills, and what Li believes will soon be a huge consolidation of the Chinese steel manufacturing sector.

“There are too many [steel companies]; there are currently about 600 now, so we need to encourage consolidation [to between 200 to 300] to improve performance.”

He stated this will increase efficiencies as China moves on from its peak recorded steel consumption and output levels.

However not all analysts are as bullish on iron ore and Chinese steel as Li. Citi says the rally in iron ore prices has peaked and forecast sub $US40 prices of the second half of 2015.

Ratings agency Fitch also cuts its iron ore price predictions to $US50 per tonne.

Even the Federal Government is bearish, forecasting an iron ore price of $US48 a tonne for 2015-16.

Westpac’s chief economist says the price of iron ore won’t see a recovery until at least 2016.

Westpac economist Justin Smirk said with demand out of China unclear, and high volumes of iron ore being exported to the country, price volatility would continue.

The country recently downgraded its annual growth forecast to 7 per cent and flagged it will be producing 256 million less tonnes of steel by 2030.

“The demand pulse is not as strong as it was and we’ve got a strong supply pulse, so we are in a readjustment point right here,” Smirk said.

Despite this slowdown in the market, Australia is still slated to play a major part in the nation’s iron ore imports, in spite of growing tonnages from Brazil and Africa.

“Australia accounts for 58.8 per cent of iron ore imported from overseas,” Li said, “with more than 87 per cent of all iron ore imported”.

This is due to the current high costs, with Li pegging a typical cost per tonne price of between US$60 to $100 for Chinese iron ore mines.

China has also looked to support its embattled iron ore industry through a series of tax cuts that reduced tax rates in some instances from 80 per cent down to 40 per cent.

According to Ernst & Young the country has reduced its tax levels by 40 per cent “to support the domestic industry against cheap and high quality imports”.

New data from Goldman Sachs stated that Chinese output fell 20 per cent to 311 million tonnes in 2014, and forecast it to continue this downwards trajectory to 271 million tonnes in 2015, and move south again next year.

E&Y data points to around three quarters of Chinese iron ore miners currently running on negative margins at existing price levels.

The tax, implemented two months ago, equates to only about US$1 per tonne for local operators.

However, Li rejected the notion this was a protectionist move by the country.

“We have had very high taxes in China, particularly those imposed at the local levels, so this reduction is making the existing taxes more reasonable,” he told Australian Mining.

DESPITE A LOWER PRICE MINERS CONTINUE TO INCREASE PRODUCTION

JUNIORS ARE BEING EDGED OUT OF THE MARKET

AUSTRALIANMINING

“It improves their situation and ensures survival, but it still leaves them in a tough position,” Li said.

This view was supported by Paul Gait, an analyst at Bernstein in London.

“For the majority of private mines it is simply not enough to make much of a difference,” Gait told Bloomberg.

For Australian operators, Li believes that the current turmoil affecting the market is likely to resolve itself soon, with many junior and second tier players expected to drop off the market as the price stabilises and the smaller higher cost operations are no longer viable.

However these second tier miners can survive, but in the longer term they will need to have more than just a customer, they will also need a partner, Li explained.

He also tied this into the current market rumours on Chinese approaches to Fortescue.

“With the low iron ore price FMG is in difficult straits financially, so as most of its market is in China it makes long term sense to partner with a Chinese company to increase capacity and help fight high costs.” AM

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FINANCE

AUSTRALIA’S EXPORT EARNINGS IN DECLINE AS RESOURCES TAKE A TUMBLE, AUSTRALIA’S OWN GDP IS TAKING A HIT.

A

new report released by the Department of Industry and Science shows Australia’s resources and energy commodity export earnings are estimated to have declined by 11 per cent in 201415 to $174 billion.

A decline in iron ore and metallurgical coal export earnings, which are estimated to have fallen by 27 per cent and 7 per cent respectively in 2014-15, were key drivers of the decline.

According to the Department’s chief economist, Mark Cully, Australia’s domestic production of key commodities is continuing to expand in this environment of lower prices.

“The widespread fall in commodity prices through 2014 and early 2015 have led producers to shift focus from production expansion to managing costs and productivity,” Cully said.

“As a result exploration expenditure, employment and cap-

ital spending are all down in Australia.”

IRON ORE

The report blamed the falling iron ore price on higher iron ore production in Australia and Brazil, coupled with falling Chinese steel production.

The Department said the average iron ore price for the first four months of 2015 averaged US$57.80 per tonne.

With China’s steel production is forecast to contract in 2015 and 2016 as the seaborne supply of iron ore increases, the iron ore price is expected to keep falling in 2015 to average $US54 per tonne, and even further in 2016 to average $US52 per tonne.

Putting more pressure on the iron ore price is the increase in the global trade of the commodity.

Global trade in iron ore is forecast to increase by one per cent in 2015 (year-on-year) to 1.37 billion tonnes.

In 2016 world trade in iron ore is forecast to increase by 3.6

per cent to 1.4 billion tonnes as Australia and Brazil increase supply by 10 and 6 per cent, respectively.

The report says while this rise is expected to displace some of China’s higher cost domestic production, the price required to stimulate such a supply shift are “clearly lower than the prevailing spot price.”

It also forecast that other high cost iron ore exporters would go under as they could not withstand a period of strong price competition.

In 2015 Australia’s exports of iron ore are forecast to grow by four per cent to 748 million tonnes.

In 2016 Australia’s exports of iron ore are forecast to grow by 10 per cent to 824 million tonnes as production at Roy Hill ramps up and the major Pilbara miners increase output.

In 2014-15 Australia’s iron ore exports are estimated to have fallen by 27 per cent to $54.3 billion as a result of lower pricAUSTRALIANMINING

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es more than offsetting the increased volume.

Export values are forecast to fall by a further 3.9 per cent in 2015-16, to $52.2 billion weighed down by a further drop in the price of iron ore.

COKING COAL

According to the report, the falling price of metallurgical coal reflects surplus supply, lower demand, and lower production.

Spot prices for low volatility hard coking coal FOB Australia declined from around $US110 a tonne in early January to a low of $US82 in mid-May. Spot prices averaged around $US95 a tonne in the first six months of 2015, around 18 per cent lower than in 2014.

Australian benchmark contract prices for high-quality metallurgical coal delivered in the June quarter 2015 settled at $US109.50 a tonne, down from $US117 a tonne in the March quarter. Contract prices are expected to remain weak over the remainder of

2015 owing to continued surplus supply and weak steel prices.

While several companies have announced plans to close capacity and reduce output, both in Australia and North America, the market is forecast to remain oversupplied until demand growth recovers.

In 2016, high quality hard coking coal contract prices are forecast to average $US103 a tonne.

Australia’s production of metallurgical coal is estimated to have increased by 4.3 per cent to 188 million tonnes in 2014-15.

THERMAL COAL

The report states the thermal coal market continues to be “plagued” by oversupply.

Thermal coal prices continued on a downward trajectory in the first half of 2015 in response to surplus supply and lower import demand from China.

Newcastle free on board prices began 2015 at around $US62 a Continued page 44

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FINANCE

From page 42 tonne and declined progressively to around $US54 a tonne in midApril. Prices have since recovered to around $US60 a tonne.

While some companies have announced their intention to cut production, there has not been enough reduction in capacity to reduce supply overhang, meaning spot prices are expected to remain under pressure over the remainder of 2015 and into 2016.

Australia’s exports of thermal coal increased by 3.2 per cent to 201 million tonnes in 201415. Despite higher volumes, the value of these exports declined by an estimated 7 per cent to $15.6 billion because of lower prices.

In 2015-16, Australia’s thermal coal exports are forecast to increase by 0.4 per cent to 202 million tonnes. Earnings from thermal coal exports are forecast to decline by 6 per cent to $14.6 billion.

GOLD

In 2015 the average gold price is forecast to decrease 4.8 per cent compared to 2014 to $US1205 an ounce.

In 2016 the average gold price is forecast to decrease a further 1.1 per cent to $US1193 an ounce based on the expectation that the US Federal Reserve starts raising interest rates.

World gold mine production is forecast to increase 1.0 per cent to 3147 tonnes in 2015, relative to 2014.

In 2016 world gold production is forecast to increase to 3158 tonnes. Growth in mine production is forecast to slow to 0.3 per cent from 2015 to 2016.

Australia’s gold production in 2014-15 is estimated to have declined 0.9 per cent relative to 2013-14 to 272 tonnes.

The report said production remained steady with moves to reduce costs and a more favourable exchange rate supporting industry profits against a backdrop of lower gold prices.

Gold production in 2015-16 is forecast to remain relatively flat compared to 2014-15, increasing a moderate 1.5 per cent to 276 tonnes. The forecast increase reflects new projects such as Doray Minerals Deflector mine, and Black Oak Minerals’ Marda mine, expected to come online towards the end of 2015-16 as well as the redevelopment of Metal X’s Cen-

tral Murchison mine, expected to come online in the first half of 2015-16.

Gold export values are estimated to be $14 billion in 2014-15, 7 per cent higher than 2013-14, supported by higher volumes and a higher Australian dollar gold price. Refined gold export volumes in 2015-16 are forecast to increase 2 per cent relative to 2014-15 to 289 tonnes.

Gold export values are forecast to increase 4.8 per cent to $14.6 billion in 2015-16 relative to 2014-15 due to increased volumes and an expected lower exchange rate for the Australian dollar.

ALUMINIUM

According to the report, a supply glut and spare production capacity has worked to keep aluminium prices low in 2015.

The LME aluminium spot price averaged $US1800 a tonne in the March quarter 2015, down 9 per cent from the previous quarter. The aluminium price has since shown substantial volatility in the June quarter, trading between $US1661 and US$1919. For the full year 2015, prices are forecast to average $US1819 a tonne, 2.5 per cent lower than 2014.

Despite the surplus, more al-

uminium smelters are expected to come online in 2015 and cause the prevailing market imbalance to continue.

The report states that world aluminium production is forecast to increase 4.8 per cent in 2015 to 52.3 million tonnes.

In 2016 world aluminium production is forecast to increase 4.3 per cent to 54.5 million tonnes.

Australia’s production of aluminium in 2014-15 is estimated to be 1.6 million tonnes, 8 per cent lower than 2013-14, due to the closure of Alcoa’s Point Henry smelter in August 2014.

In 2014-15 aluminium exports are estimated to be 1.4 million tonnes, 12 per cent lower than 2013-14, resulting from lower domestic production. Export values are estimated to be $3.6 billion, 4.4 per cent higher than the previous year.

Aluminium exports are forecast to remain at around 1.4 million tonnes in 2015-16 but with export values decreasing 6 per cent to $3.4 billion due to lower aluminium prices.

COPPER

A market surplus and growing stocks is expected to see the average LME copper price decline 14 per cent in 2015 to $US5905 per tonne.

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Copper prices are forecast to decline a further 1.2 percent in 2016 and to average US$5831 a tonne, the report stated.

Australia’s copper mine production is estimated to have decreased 2.0 per cent to 969 000 tonnes in 2014-15, compared to 2013-14. The decrease in production is mainly due to a production disruption at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam. Australia’s total copper metal content exports in 2014-15 are estimated to remain similar to the previous year at 1 million tonnes. Export values are estimated to increase 0.7 per cent to $8.8 billion.

In 2015-16 copper exports are forecast to increase 8 per cent to 1.1 million tonnes (metal content). Increased domestic production will support higher export volumes, and export values are forecast to increase 8 per cent to $9.4 billion reflecting a forecast higher Australian dollar price in 2016.

NICKEL

Against market expectations, nickel prices have fallen in 2015, the report said.

The average LME nickel price decreased 9 per cent in the March quarter 2015, relative to the previous quarter, to $US14 338.

COAL’S FALL HAS TAKEN THE WIND OUT OF AUSTRALIA’S EARNINGS

For the full year 2015 the LME spot price is forecast to average $US13 667 a tonne, down 19 per cent from 2014, as high stocks and lower consumption growth weigh on prices.

Prices are forecast to increase 4.3 per cent in 2016 to average US$14 250 supported by falling stocks.

In 2014-15 Australia’s mined nickel production is estimated to have decreased 7 per cent (yearon-year) to 242 000 tonnes, following production curtailments at several mine sites and the suspension of operations at the Perseverance mine.

Australia’s exports of nickel in 2014-15 are estimated to have increased by 5 per cent to 253 000 tonnes and earnings to have increased by 14 per cent to $3.8 billion.

In 2015-16 Australia’s exports are forecast to increase by 4.3 per cent to 264 000 tonnes in line with an increase in production.

Earnings from nickel exports are forecast to increase by 2.1 per cent to $3.8 billion following an increase in production and prices. AM

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AIMEX PREVIEW

SPECIALIST BEARINGS

Cooper Split Bearings and Kaydon Bearings will offer a wide range of specialist bearings at AIMEX 2015 in Sydney, Australia, Sept. 1-4 (Stand 2405).

These SKF Group companies, both global leaders, work together in Australia to offer a broader range of bearing solutions for mining applications. They have a combined 180 years of experience in speciality bearing design and production.

Kaydon Mining Excavator Slewing Ring Bearings, all U.S.-manufactured, offer users the highest quality at significant savings vs. the major OEMs. Cooper 01E & 02E Enhanced Bearings have a greater load capacity than any split-to-the-shaft bearings of similar size, with up to 135% longer life. They are ideally suited for harsh conditions.

Cooper Double-Row Taper (DRT) Bearings are the first of their kind. They are designed for highthrust applications, such as ventilation fans and blowers and marine prop shafts.

Kaydon slewing ring bearings are widely used on hydraulic shovels, excavators and other mining equipment. The range includes 4-point contact ball, 8-point contact ball, cross-roller, and 3-row roller designs. These come in diameters from 50.8mm to 8m and can be ordered with no gearing, internal gearing or external gearing.

• Cooper Bearings Group – Australia Stuart Goates sgoates@kaydon.com www.kaydonbearings.com

ABRASIVE BLAST CLEANING & SHOT PEENING

Heavy duty blast cleaning will be on show at ABSS’s stand during the 2015 AIMEX show in September.

At a time when manufacturing in Australia is at its toughest, ABSS continues to strengthen their position in the Australian and New Zealand market, locally Designing, Engineering and Manufacturing Abrasive Blast Cleaning and Shot Peening solutions. ABSS’s Australian made product range includes abrasive blast rooms, blast pots and cabinets, turbine blast machines and abrasive recovery systems.

A strong focus on research and development coupled with raw material purchasing strategies allows ABSS to maintain the high level of quality while keeping prices in check and through its well-established Global Partner Network sources high-class equipment to complement their range.

“What makes us stand out from our competitor’s is our ability to design, engineer and build an Abrasive Blasting or Shot Peening solution specific to the customers’ needs. We use the latest 3D modelling and employ the most experienced engineering staff with decades of Abrasive Blasting knowledge. The best part though is seeing our products roll out of our factory door with the Australian Made decal on it,” Jon Sweet, ABSS Business Development Manager, explained.

Attendees will be able to see ABSS’s products firsthand at AIMEX 2015.

• ABSS www.abss.net.au

VEHICLE SIMULATORS

Hitachi will showcasing its rigid dump truck simulator on its stand at this year’s AIMEX. The truck simulator will be just one of the features on the stand, which is focusing on Hitachi’s integrated solutions it and its partners offer.

“We’re excited to be heading back to AIMEX this year to talk with visitors about our business.

The simulator will be set up to replicate an RDT plus trailer configuration to give visitors a realistic experience of driving a EH5000AC-3 rigid dump truck.

“We’re looking forward to talking with visitors at AIMEX about how this whole package fits together to deliver the best productivity at the lowest cost,” Hitachi’s Eric Green said.

“It’s vital for mine operators to choose equipment partners who can help them boost productivity, manage costs and run their operations in the most cost effective, streamlined ways possible, [such as] through our Mine Performance Analytics, we use comprehensive data to optimise and sustain productivity across mine sites.”

In April this year, Hitachi became the exclusive distributor of Wenco International Mining Systems throughout Oceania.

“We’re very excited about this partnership, which brings together the products and services of Hitachi Construction Machinery with Wenco’s expertise in production optimisation, asset health, safety and systems connectivity for mining operations,” Green said.

“This combination delivers a genuinely scalable fleet management model for any size or type of mine and quarry,” he said.

• Hitachi www.hitachi.com AUSTRALIANMINING

TYRE VALVE SYSTEMS

Brisbane-based distributor and importer, Estry Trading Company, will showcase a range of OTR mining tyre valves and gauges at this year’s AIMEX. Estry Trading Company has the complete range of Haltec tyre valves and tyre-related accessories suitable for a number of vehicles, including off-highway vehicles, mining, construction and forestry equipment, heavy duty trucks, light trucks, buses, tractors and passenger vehicles.

The tyre industry is constantly changing performance and design requirements, and Haltec has remained ahead of the game with the most advanced technology for the past four decades.

Estry Trading Company has a comprehensive warehouse from where it supplies the mining industry, resellers and its distribution network throughout Australia, Asia and the South Pacific.

The company offers fast and efficient delivery service, and can produce custom-length flexible tyre valves and flexible extensions to meet specific standards.

Estry’s range of products includes HALTEC tyre valves and accessories; large bore valves to mega bore valve systems; digital and dial gauges; service gauges; tread depth gauges; automatic tyre inflations systems; Elrcik tyre branders; O-rings and L-rings; hydraulic bead-breaking tools and equipment; hydraulic jacks and pumps; and RIMSEAL tyre additives.

• Estry Trading Company www.haltec.com.au

AIR CONDITIONING

Australia’s largest air conditioning manufacturer, ActronAir, will be showcasing its ventilation and HVAC machines at this year’s AIMEX. ActronAir is Australia’s largest locally owned air conditioning manufacturer, with offices and dealers providing national coverage. With over 30 years of experience in designing and building products to suit Australia’s unique climate.

ActronAir are proud of our long association with the mining industry, and will have information about a number of their products on their stand, including PMD, which was originally developed to a meet a Woodside brief.

The PMD product range has mining in its DNA. Because it was designed specifically for use in mining environments, the PMD guarantees continuous operation at 52°C while delivering great flexibility courtesy of such features as multiple air handings and a random start timer. It is also an energy efficient unit due to its digital compressor and EC Evaporator Fan motor.

Actron’s Tri-Capacity will also be on show. Its Hercules range, which is the most advanced range of variable capacity, reverse cycle packaged units ever engineered in Australia, will be a focus.

• ActronAir Chris Costin ccostin@actronair.com.au www.actronair.com.au

CABLING AND ROPE

Cortland, the leading provider of high performance rope and assemblies, cables and umbilicals, is to exhibit at Asia-Pacific’s international mining exhibition (AIMEX) 2015, held at the Sydney Showground, Sydney Australia, from 1-4 September 2015.

Cortland products made from its flagship Plasma 12 strand HMPE rope offer a range of time saving and safety benefits to its users.

Plasma can be used for lifting, towing and most types of rigging as a replacement for steel wire rope.

Cost savings can be substantial and come from decreased rigging time due to the fibre rope’s lightweight properties, which can lead to reduced personnel participation.

Safety is enhanced through ease of handling and snag points when compared to wire rope alternatives.

This isn’t Cortland’s first venture into the Australian market, as Chris Battel, Cortland’s APAC Commercial Manager commented.

“Cortland (formerly known in the market as Jeyco) has been servicing the oil and gas and mining industries in Australia and the wider region since 1992. Delegates at this year’s event will be able to speak to Cortland’s experts about its range of synthetic fibre ropes and broad range of applications.

“For us, the mining industry represents an important market we’ve had close contact with for many years. We’ll be showcasing our product range to operators involved in large plant and machine operation, maintenance and mine efficiencies.

And, as an international company the importance of having exposure to consumers on a global scale is more than important, it is essential. Cortland has been benefitting the oil and gas industry globally through our expertise.

“With the same leading solutions, we also intend to have a continuing positive impact on the world’s mining industry through offering safer and economical alternatives to traditional steel componentry.”

• Cortland www.hydratight.com

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The game has changed Now it’s all about lowering extraction and production costs. And that’s exactly what we want to do for your operation. Our MiApp tablet technology gives you instant, accurate, real time data across all your production functions quicker, easier and cheaper than what you’re using now. The sooner you get in touch the sooner you’ll start saving.

W: www.Miplan.Solutions E: Enquiries@miplan.solutions M: +61 0400 654 024

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AIMEX PREVIEW

CONVEYOR SOLUTIONS

Flexco plans to display their comprehensive range of conveyor solutions including belt cleaners, ploughs, conveyor rollers, impact beds, transfer chutes, mechanical belt fasteners, pulley lagging and safety tools installed on a brand new life-size conveyor at this year’s AIMEX. “AIMEX is the biggest show on our calendar and a great place to publically launch new products and show our conveyor solutions to a domestic and international audience,” Mark Colbourn, National Sales and Marketing Manager said.

Launching in 2015, is the new H-Type Service Advantage Cartridge Primary Cleaner. The H-Type Primary Cleaner has been a market favourite in Australia for over 20 years. The Service Advantage Cartridge System already features on three popular secondary cleaners in the Flexco range.

“By combining the reliable and popular H-Type with the tried and tested cartridge system, Flexco can now offer a complete easy-removal cartridge system for both the primary and secondary positions on the conveyor,” Mark Colbourn said.

Flexco is a global company headquartered in the USA, with subsidiary locations in Australia, Chile, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, and the United Kingdom and a distribution network in more than 100 countries around the world.

• Flexco Jessica Berger 02 8818 2000 jberger@flexco.com www.flexco.com

EARTHMOVER WHEELS

At AIMEX this year, Rimex will showcase their proven Tyre Pressure Monitoring System, Heavy Duty underground wheels, which feature fast change capabilities and their rim recertification program.

Additionally, Rimex will be conducting demonstrations on Magnetic Particle Inspections (MPI).

Rimex plan to utilise AIMEX to grow their customer base and generate new business leads, as they believe it is the best way to present their products to the greatest number of prospective customers in a single location.

In Australia, Rimex has branches in Mackay, Mount Isa (QLD), Muswellbrook (NSW), Perth and Newman (WA).

• Rimex Wheel John Masters 07 4952 5585 john.masters@rimex.com www.rimex.com

ON-SITE MACHINERY & PORTABLE MAINTENANCE

Field Machine Tools (FMT) will highlight its specialist on-site machining equipment and portable maintenance machines at AIMEX 2015.

According to the company its services are designed to provide engineering solutions for field applications that minimise downtime.

The company’s scope of operation is to provide one of the most complete product lines available to OEM equipment manufacturers, maintenance providers, field service companies, power stations, petro chemical plants, as well as related industries.

It stocks a comprehensive range of pipe cutting and bevelling machines, portable lathes, portable milling machines, flange facers, bore welding and line boring machines.

FMT also has a comprehensive range of boiler and condenser tubing equipment for rental and sale. This equipment is suitable for a large range of applications, materials and specifications.

• Field Machine Tools 07 3889 7622 www.winema.com.au

MINING CONSTRUCTION

Interclamp will showcase its extensive range of tube clamping products at AIMEX 2015.

The company a global brand of versatile high quality galvanised handrail fittings with many uses in the mining industry.

Designed for easy, simple and fast erection of handrailing and guard-railing with the minimum of tools, Interclamp is a cost effective, efficient system.

This is particularly noticeable when compared with traditional methods of construction such as welding or ball standards, where specialist tools, extensive training and time-consuming pre-fabrication are frequently required.

Furthermore, the Interclamp system removes the need for “hot-work” in safety-critical environments.

Interclamp fittings feature a secondary coating over the hot-dipped galvanising to enhance corrosion protection and to extend product life.

Interclamps have been successfully subjected to stringent vibration endurance tests by an accredited independent test laboratory, to demonstrate their ability to cope with the harsh conditions often present in the mining sector.

The core range has also been Type Approved by TÜV Rheinland, the leading worldwide test house.

• Interclamp www.interclamp.com

SPECIALIST EQUIPMENT FINANCE

DUMP TRUCK BODIES

Duratray will be at AIMEX to highlights its dump truck body manufacturing capabilities.

Duratray is an engineering and manufacturing company servicing the mining sector or 14 years, supplying heavy haulage dump bodies and other equipment to mines and quarries around the world.

Clients such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Barrick Gold, Newmont Gold, Anglo American, Glencore and many other clients are a demonstrative of the company’s contribution to the mining industry.

More than 1,000 dump bodies have been fabricated and are currently operating in open-pit mines spread worldwide, transporting all sorts of minerals. Clients prefer Duratray due to the unique product customised to each mine requirements.

The principal product-line offered is the unique Suspended Dump Body (SDB), commonly known as “tray”, which is used to carry loose material extracted from surface mines and fitted onto dump trucks.

The original and patented design of the SDB consists of a suspended rubber floor opposed to conventional steel floor dump bodies.

This concept has enabled Duratray to become a global supplier for those mines that are looking for technological and innovative improvements in their hauling practices and operations.

The SDB is the only one of a kind on the market due to its truly unique design and specific benefits.

Over the last twelve months has opened new markets in Zambia, Panama, Russia and Kyrgyzstan as as well as increased sales to existing markets in New Caledonia, Canada and South Africa.

• Duratray Magda Prada 03 8761 2800 magda.prada@duratray.com www.duratray.com AUSTRALIANMINING

Finlease will be highlighting its ability to provide finance solutions for the mining and mining services industries.

Established in 1989, Finlease offers a viable alternative to your bank, with their brokers experienced in equipment finance and long term relationships their core business.

Benefits of engaging with Finlease include expertise in equipment finance; offices Australiawide; how pre-approved funding limits can be arranged; property and cash flow funding; whether complete debt restructuring is available; all whilst providing a fresh alternative compared to the ‘Commercial’ Banks. As an exhibitor and supporter of AIMEX, alongside their knowledge of the mining & engineering industry, Finlease have the experience and expertise to achieve the best outcome on attendees behalf.

• Finlease Australia 07 3324 2655 www.finlease.com.au

CABLE CONNECTORS & GLANDS

CMP Products will showcase its industrial and hazardous area cable gland, cable cleats and conduit accessory design and manufacture on its stand at AIMEX. Designed and tested to the Australian and international Standards IEC 62444, BS 6121, AS/ NZS 60079, CMP’s products are suited to explosive atmospheres including the critical cable retention and pull test conditions that are commonly demanded within the industry.

A strong and dedicated Research & Development Department ensures CMP Products is able keep up with the latest industry standards and develop new products, which improve reliability and technical integrity, whilst also saving time on installation.

CMP’s RapidEx Fast Curing Liquid Pour Barried Gland exemplifies this by simplifying the termination process and making the installation by the technician more seamless, with the liquid resin automatically filling the spaces around the conductors to create the perfect seal. This also creates significant time efficiency on-site by reducing cable preparation and curing time.

• CMP www.cmp-products.com

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AIMEX PREVIEW

MINING LAMPS

Ledom Australia will launch their new LEDOM-Eps brand of miner cap lamps at AIMEX. The company is highlighting these new lamps as part of their new joint venture with Win3 (China) and Lucet Chile.

Ledom-EPS cap lamps offer high quality and reliable units, from a cap lamp to TAG integration cap lamps, which has also allowed these solutions to bed adopted by underground communications companies around the world, who have significantly benefited from these cap lamps.

For the past 10 years, Ledom has been selling their cap lamps to the most reputable mining companies and mine-sites under other brands, with Ledom and Win3 previously operating as an OEM. However, since early 2014 both companies decided to bring the products together under one global brand – LEDOM-EPS. This business is headed up by three women located in China, Chile and Australia.

All Ledom’s cap lamps are intrinsically safe, in accordance with Ledom Australia’s belief that price should not compromise quality, whilst still providing the industry with a high quality product at an attractive price.

At AIMEX, LEDOM will also be exhibiting their innovative “slogging-hammer” tool, a new product made to facilitate single operation and fast turnaround for applications across the construction, farming, oil, petroleum, and power generation industries.

• LEDOM www.ledom.com.au

MINING TYRES

The Kal Tire Mining Tire Group will showcase its mining tyre service, supply and safety needs at this year’s AIMEX in September.

Having an international reach with one set of safety standards and operating processes across all mine sites, Kal Tire gives mining customers peace-of-mind when it comes to one of the top three expenses of a mine’s operating budget; its tyres. For over 40 years, Kal Tire has been operating in a vast array of conditions and climates and are able to confidently match a mine operations needs to the right tyre and services.

“We have chosen to be present at AIMEX in order to communicate with Australian customers who are hoping to achieve on-site service, tyre management, tyre repairs, rim re-certification, volumetric scanning and tyre pressure management systems,” Alex Vitale, Kal Tire VP International Sales & Marketing, said.

“AIMEX gives Kal Tire the opportunity to grow our presence in Australia and reach a wider audience. Gaining access to international buyers allows Kal Tire the opportunity to grow our global business and work with the same customer on several continents”.

• Kal Tire Tracy Cobb-Reeves +1 250 541-3707 Tracy_Cobb-Reeves@Kaltire.com www.kaltiremining.com

BULK MATERIAL HANDLING

Skala, a specialist supplier of equipment and servicing for bulk material handling and vibratory process equipment, will be at AIMEX in September.

Skala provides sales, parts, support, installation and commissioning services to mining, power stations, ports, recycling, chemical and industrial manufacturing industries. With their key competency residing in their ability to offer innovative, efficient and value solutions, which enhance bulk material handling processes.

Skala not only represents the products of their manufacturers buts works with their customers from project inception, to ensure the appropriate solutions are defined and tailored to their specific applications of the client.

As a result, Skala’s customers are supported from initial procurement through to installation, commissioning and in-service maintenance.

Skala prides itself upon providing industry with the most effective and advanced equipment available in today’s market, with key brands such as General Kinematics Vibratory Equipment, Masaba Customised Conveyors and Matec Filtration Systems.

Key products from these ranges include high capacity screens, feeders, telescopic conveyors, grinding mills and filtration solutions.

At AIMEX 2015, attendees can meet with representatives from their manufacturers and find out about the latest innovations they can offer for your mining operations or projects. Additionally, visitors can learn how two-mass vibratory systems can enhance the reliability of your process through Skala’s interactive model, on their stand.

• Skala Australasia www.skala.com.au AUSTRALIANMINING

THERMAL & ACOUSTIC INSULATION SOLUTIONS

Pyrotek will be showcasing a range of acoustic and thermal solutions at Asia Pacific’s International Mining Exhibition, Sydney Showground, Olympic Park, from the 1-4 September 2015.

Manufacturing insulation products suited to thermal and acoustic applications, Pyrotek’s products include removable and fixed covers for heat retention, sound attenuation and protection of personnel.

Additionally, Pyrotek also specialise in custom ‘one off’ items and their friendly staff offer customers a complete design to installation service, when requested.

• Pyrotek Noise Control Danielle Moore 02 9631 1333 damoo@pyrotek-inc.com www.pyrotek-inc.com

INDUSTRIAL CLEANERS & DEGREASERS

Simple Green will showcase their range of safer cleaners and degreasers at this year’s AIMEX. Today’s mining industry faces many tough challenges, but none as important as cost savings, improved worker safety and lessened environmental impact.

As technology and science have advanced, so have the options regarding cleaning and degreasing chemicals used in the work place. All over the world, in industrial manufacturing and MRO repair facilities, in oil and gas extraction and refining, in transportation, in aviation and maritime, and especially in the mining industry, the demand is for safer, effective and economical cleaning and degreasing products.

Starting with its first sale in 1976, Simple Green has replaced toxic, flammable and corrosive cleaners and degreasers in industrial facilities around the world for 40 years, reducing worker exposure to harmful materials.

Crystal Simple Green is non-corrosive, non-abrasive, non-flammable, readily biodegradable, septic safe and rinses residue-free.

Designed to suppress the volatiles of petroleum by-products being cleaned, it does not pose a fire hazard or add to the vapour load in underground and sensitive mining areas.

• Simple Green www.simplegreenaustralia.com

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

NHP will be focusing on its electrical engineering support and service ability at AIMEX. In today’s environment, the mining industry is constantly facing new and more complex challenges including the reduction of unplanned shutdowns, improved asset management, energy efficiency, reliability, productivity and quality.

NHP understand these challenges and look to provide a complete range of products and services that incorporate the world’s best products, customised into mining specific value solutions for your applications.

With over 40 years of service and experience, NHP are proud providers of heavy duty solutions for the Australian mining industry. NHP’s expert knowledge and product portfolio utilises leading technology to enable integrated process and plant control whilst delivering cost savings through increased productivity and enhanced safety.

Through working with customers to understand their business requirements NHP’s technically focused team is able to provide solutions aimed at increasing productivity, lowering costs, increasing up time, minimising down time and developing predictive maintenance programs to maximise investment.

• NHP Electrical Engineering Products Nicky Hamilton www.nhp.com.au

SCORPION CABLE HANDLER FOR LONGWALL MINING

This year at Aimex ACT will be showcasing its latest product the Miner Scorpion Cable Handler designed specifically for drill rig applications.

A product designed following a customer’s request to address the high number of damaged hoses on the drill rig application.

Its benefits include reduced maintenance time, which in turn impacts production positively.

The Scorpion Cable Handle, will also be showcased along with the well-known ACT Flight Bar also known as the Cradle Bar. • Advanced Chain Technologies Lucy Dockwray 02 9531 6188 admin@actaustralia.com www.actaustralia.com

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Visit us on Stand 1311 1-4 September

Gearmotors \ Heavy Industrial Solutions \ Electronics \ Decentralised Systems \ Services

1 High running and maintenance costs from existing inefficient gear unit.

2 Conceptual model of a modern gear unit overlayed against the ageing drive unit. The output shaft dimensions and location are matched to suit.

3 Mounting dimensions, shaft size and location of the new gearmotor coupled with a manufactured drive base are matched to suit the ageing drive unit.

Ageing drive assembly replacement made easy!

SEW-EURODRIVE can tailor an engineered solution to replace ageing drive assemblies across many industries. For the approximate cost of servicing obsolete, unreliable and inefficient gearboxes, SEW can engineer a drop-in replacement package. Utilising a vast assortment of modern proprietary gearing and motor technology increases reliability, efficiency and serviceability, contributing to a significant reduction to the Total Cost of Ownership. Our team of experienced engineers can design a modern drive package, which enforces critical measurements and includes additional options. Personal consultation supported by conceptual and engineering drawings are used to guarantee our solution will meet your technical requirements. Drop-in packages are engineered and assembled in Australia utilising our vast assortment of stocked parts. To find out more about SEW’s drop-in replacement solution contact a qualified engineer closest to you on 1300 739 287.

www.sew-eurodrive.com.au 1300 SEW AUS (1300 739 287) to be directed to your nearest office Melbourne (Head Office) I Sydney I Brisbane I Townsville I Perth I Adelaide

sew am 7.15 fap drop in replace AIMEX.indd 1

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PROSPECT AWARDS

THE 12TH AUSTRALIAN MINING PROSPECT AWARDS FOR MORE THAN A DECADE AUSTRALIAN MINING HAS BEEN RECOGNISING AND REWARDING EXCELLENCE IN THE MINING INDUSTRY.

A

ustralian Mining has recognised and rewarded excellence in the mining industry for more than ten years, and we’ll continue to do so through the 2015 Prospect Awards.

The awards will highlight all aspects of the mineral resources industry: From new technology, the closer focus on productivity, the workers at the front lines, through to those doing the all-important work of innovating and inspiring new ide-

as for the future, the Prospect Awards focuses on the good work done in our mining industry on a daily basis.

The Prospect Awards incorporates a gala evening when the industry can stop, and reflect on the positive impact being made, not only on production, but on Australia as a whole.

The 2014 Prospect Awards saw good attendance despite a year of plummeting prices, with Peabody taking out the Mine of the Year award for their Millennium Coal Mine, and the Tropicana Gold Mine winning

the hard rock mine category for being ahead of schedule on a joint venture that will see all-in costs of around $600 per ounce.

In the field of innovation we saw a number of excellent entries, including the EnviroLAV underground toilet, which only needs emptying every 18 months thanks to its biotech solution for breaking down waste.

However, this year we’ve decided that there has been so much innovation across a broad range of fields that we will introduce new categories which will enable a better level of com-

part of it is due to the people that support our winners, the people who know their colleague, their company has achieved greatness, and deserves the attention of the entire industry.

This is not the time to wait for someone else to put their hand up, so if you do know of someone who ought to be recognised and rewarded, get online and get a hold of one of the Prospect Awards nomination forms, and make sure your nomination is in with a chance to be among the elite names of Australian Mining. AM

INNOVATION WAS RECOGNISED ON THE NIGHT

WINNERS CELEBRATED TAKING HOME THE AWARDS

AUSTRALIANMINING

petition and recognition for the creativity and hard-work needed to make meaningful changes in this industry.

That is not to say that we don’t expect to see forms of innovation come through in every category, giving the organisations and individuals that make our industry great the opportunity to shine through the crowd and have their undivided moment of recognition.

The key to the success of the Prospect Awards lies not only with the spirit of innovation within the award winners, but a large

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

WIRELESS TOOL CHARGER

HAS A 7 METRE SPRAYING HEIGHT

CONCRETE SPRAYER Normet has released its new concrete sprayer, the Spraymec 5070 VC. According to the company the machine has been designed with Tier 4 Final (Stage IV) engine for cleaner operation.

The Spraymec 5070 VC is designed for medium capacity spraying works and it can be seen as a “little brother” of Spraymec 8100 VC as it uses the same high performance carrier but comes with somewhat lower capacity spraying features as the “big brother”, Normet said.

New features include the new spraying boom SB307 providing reach in tunnel profiles up to seven metres, with a maximum virtual spraying reach of eight metres and a horizontal reach of 16 metres.

The boom is equipped with

self-lubricating slide pieces and roller to minimise wear and tear, while all the boom movements are pressure compensated and have proportional functions allowing operator to create smooth and homogeneous tunnel lining structure.

The sprayer uses a low pulsation concrete spraying pump (the NSP30) with a theoretical concrete output 28 cubic metres per hour and FAD 10 m3/min/7bar screw-type compressor for medium capacity spraying works.

Normet’s nozzleman’s interface is available for the Spraymec 5070 as standard, with the potential for remote control operation.

Highly accurate accelerator dosing system either with mono-type screw pump or optional low-pulsation Normet LPP-D peristaltic pump is synchronised automatically with concrete output.

HANGUP CLEARANCE ROBOTS The first hangup assessment and clearing robot has been installed in a Chilean copper mine.

Penguin Automated System’s unit, which is operating at Codelco’s Andina mine, was built to service the growing number of block caving operations, in an effort to increase safety and clear blockages on site without exposing operators to unnecessary risk.

“Of the estimated 200,000 drawbells in the world’s block caving operations, up to 10 per cent of them are blocked at any one time,” Penguin CEO Greg Baiden explained, highlighting the need for a robotic system for the procedure.

The Unit features an arm that reaches 4.6 metres horizontally and ten metres vertically through the throat of a drawbell.

At the end of the arm are 3D cameras, an infrared lighting system, drill, and shot loader.

It scans the inside of the drawbell, creating a

Norsmart control system can log all spraying process and carrier data such as concrete and accelerator volume, dosing percentage, pumping speed, change of process parameters, engine and compressor hours, hydraulic oil system pressure and temperatures.

The NorSmart system also provides full fault diagnostics.

The recorded data can be delivered to supervisory checks via USB drive or machine data can be sent out to an external server via WLAN and GPRS. The available engine options for the Spraymec are Tier 3 (Deutz) and Tier 4 Final (Cummins).

The Tier 4 Final technology utilises SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) and DEF/Ad-Blue (Diesel Exhaust Fuel) urea technology for exhaust after treatment.

• Normet www.normet.com

virtual map of the hangup by collecting point cloud data in real time, using optical receivers.

“Typically, optical signals have to be pointto-point and aimed right on line, which would have been a problem, but we developed a way to collect the optical information in a 70-m hemisphere all around the receiver,” Baiden said.

It then allows an operator to remotely control the machine to position the arm, drill a hole, and then load the charge to remove the blockage.

The unit was also designed to overcome the issues of operating in limited or compact spaces by allowing the arm to extend fully horizontally, and then vertically.

The vertical arm is supported by a stinger that extends to the ground.

Penguin’s unit is fully electric and operates without emissions, making it safer for underground use.

• Penguin Automated Systems www.penguinasi.com AUSTRALIANMINING

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Bosch Blue has released the world’s first wireless cordless tool charger.

The Power Ready Wireless Charging Technology, launched this month, is developed for tradies on site, and allows operators to work continuously with one battery. The technology is based upon the concept of ‘induction charging’.

When the charging station is plugged into a worksite and a compatible wireless battery is placed on it, the charger detects the presence of the battery in under a second and starts emitting a magnetic field.

The alternating magnetic field penetrates the battery’s internal copper coil inducing voltage and charging current into the cells until they are full.

Safety has also been a focus, with each charger featuring

CHARGES TO 80% IN HALF AN HOUR

Foreign Object detection (FOD), an aspect that detects when any conductive foreign objects are on the charging pad.

• Bosch Blue www.bosch-pt.com.au

ULTRA BRIGHT LED LIGHTS Chicago Pneumatic has released a new range of LED light towers designed to combine ultra-bright lighting with energy-efficient performance.

The new light tower is suited for applications requiring temporary lighting, and is recommended for use on construction and road work sites.

The latest innovation from the international construction equipment manufacturer Chicago Pneumatic, the CPLB 6 is a new ultra-bright LED light tower featuring four 350 W LEDs to provide lighting efficacy of up to 200 lux. Using LEDs instead of conventional halide lights, the CPLB 6 is not only 20% brighter than most standard light towers but also reduces energy use by more than 70%. Key features and benefits of the new CPLB 6 LED light towers include LED luminaires with special optics providing ultra-bright light equivalent to the lighting efficacy of four standard 1,000 W halide lights; hydraulic mast height of 8m capable of projecting 50 lux over 35m away; improved output maximising runtimes, worktimes, site visi-

CAN PROJECT 80 LUX OVER 35M AWAY

bility and safety; compact fuel engine using three times less fuel than other light towers, reducing both fuel consumption and emissions by over 70%.

• Chicago Pneumatic 1800 278 665 www.cp.com

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

CAN WORK IN LOW SEAM ENVIRONMENTS

CONTINUOUS MINERS Sandvik has released a new continuous miner for mid-size room and pillar applications, the MC350.

The machine has already fieldtested in South Africa, and according to Bruno Reumueller, Sandvik’s product line manager for underground coal and minerals “thanks to a higher weight class, shear-up capability and loading and conveying

modules, our continuous miner can improve productivity by 10 to 20 per cent compared to other continuous miners its range”.

“In addition, [it has] extended operating time between overhauls and a cost per tonne that is equal or better than other continuous miners.”

The machine is semi-automated and has a higher weight class, and offers a higher cutting rate and quicker loading time. It has rugged structural components and a robust

gearbox. It can also be fitted with a proximity detection system to improve safety. It is 10.88 meters in length and 1.03 metres tall. It weighs in at 60 tonnes and comes with 648 kW of power, has a cutter motor power of 300kW, a loading capcity of 10 to 30 tonnes per minute, the company said.

The MC350 has a max cutting height of 3100 mm, and minimum height of 1500 mm.

• Sandvik www.sandvik.com

Bonfiglioli Transmission has combined its HD helical or bevel helical drives with its proven Trasmital planetary gear box to present an ideal solution for apron feeders.

Bonfiglioli apron feeder drives provide high torque in a compact, efficient design with various mounting options.

Bonfiglioli’s apron feeder drive

solution delivers optimum performance with a high torque ratio of up to 1000:1 as well as a good thermal rating. The Trasmital planetary gear box has a very high torque rating and compact design.

According to Kris Jaryn, Business Development Manager, Bonfiglioli, the power of such combinations was further extended recently with two new gear unit sizes that increased the torque capacity of the range up to an

NEW BLASTING RECORDS Dyno Nobel has reportedly set a new world record for through seam blasting.

In late April the company carried out a through seam blast at a central Queensland open cut coal mine using 4788 Digishot plus detonators, making it “the largest through seam blast ever recorded to date using electronic detonators,” Dyno Nobel said.

Through seam blasting is used to increase productivity by making it possible to blast through multiple coal seams in a single blast event.

The blast was designed and engineered with the mine’s drill and blast team, and Dyno Nobel, and was loaded over a sixteen day period across 1729 blast holes on four terraces.

Importantly there were no reported misfires.

• Dyno Nobel www.dynonobel.com

CUTS THE NEED TO HAMMER IN RETAINING WEDGES

PROVIDES HIGH TORQUE IN A COMPACT PACKAGE

APRON FEEDER DRIVES

4788 DETONATORS WERE SET OFF WITH ELECTRONIC INITIATORS

impressive 1,100,000 Nm. The input stage box not only reduces the input speed to the planetary head (which operates best with lower input speeds) but it can also be fitted with a shaft cooling fan to increase the allowable installed power. The drives can either have a hollow output shaft with a shrink disc, or a solid output shaft with a rigid coupling.

• Bonfiglioli www.bonfiglioli.com.au AUSTRALIANMINING

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JULY 2015

CONE CRUSHERS Terex Minerals Processing has released a new cone crusher, the TC1150.

One feature is a newly designed upper frame, which accommodates a range of concave liners, and has an upgraded locking ring design that eliminates the need to hammer in concave retaining wedges.The TC1150 also has increased stroke clearance allowing for larger maximum

CSS and tramp clearance Its mantle nuts now have a smaller head nut, resulting in less restrictive feed opening inclusion of burning/torch ring.

The machine has a gross weight of 14 tonnes, with a nominal cone head diameter of 1150 millimetres. It has a maximum feed size of medium course 190 millimetres and extra course 220 millimetres, with a 65 millimetre standard long throw at 225kW. • Terex Minerals Processing www.terex.com

AM0710_056

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mining jobs

updated daily To see the latest jobs visit www.miningaustralia.com.au

Franna OperAtoR/ Yardsman Perth TECSIDE Personnel is a

• Be living with in 100km radius of Brisbane airport

Our Client is a leading mining

Reference Number: 100850a

Dump Truck Operators with solid

DAS and police clearance.

contractor seeking experienced

Contact Details: Dan Dobe,

coal mining experience. You will

Reference Number:

Underground Operators for posi-

Chandler Macleod –

need to make yourself available

752J201435040

tions at their remote mine site

07 3003 7705

for a start early December

Workpac

in the Kimberley. They currently

with this role going through to

www.workpac.com

have vacancies for Underground

the beginning of March, with a

Nipper/Jumbo Offsider on a 2:2 FIFO roster from Perth or

CHPP Operator/ Maintainer (Mechanical)

possibility of extension.

To be successful in these roles

You will need to supply current:

Darwin. The duties will involve

• Coal board medical (must be

operating a Sandvik Toro Truck,

with in the first 24 months)

Integrated Toll Carrier, IT Loader

Chandler Macleod are currently

as a Dump Truck Operator

you will have the following: • 2 years + experience working

Mobile Plant Operator – RD 797 CAT

national supplier of Recruitment

• An up to date resume

and carrying out Service Crew

seeking Four experienced CHPP

within a production coal

Regional QLD

Services to the Oil & Gas,

• Standard 11

works. Applicants will need to be

Operators/Mechanical Maintain-

mining environment – CAT 793

Mackay & Coalfields

Industrial, Engineering and

• Passport or Birth certificate

able to demonstrate and prove

ers for an immediate start. You

(minimum)

their previous underground

will be working for one of the

Construction sectors. We have

and drivers licence

• Current BMA or Standard 11

MULTI-SKILLED OPERATORS • F IFO exit Brisbane • 7 on 7 off

been established for over 10

• 2 x referees

expereince, as well as their com-

biggest mining companies in

Statement of Attainment

years.

If you feel you possess the

mitment and leadership towards

Australia and it’s a mine site

• Current Coal Board Medical

TECSIDE Blue is seeking the

required attributes, and

health and safety on site.

that is well sort after plus the

(essential it is dated within

WorkPac currently have a

services of a Franna Operator/

you have a strong focus on

Applicants with the following

opportunity to work on a 7/7

the last 2 years)

number of opportunities for

Yardsman for an ongoing

safety then please apply

qualifications will be very highly

day shift roster.

contract with a global Subsea

below

regarded – Working at Heights,

Skills required:

company working at their new

Reference Number:

Integrated Toll Carrier, IT Loader

• F ixed plant fitter qualification

large workshop.

100833a

and Underground Dump Truck

• F ixed plant processing

TO BE CONSIDERED YOU WILL

Contact Details: Dan Dobe,

Recognition of Prior Learning.

REQUIRE:

Chandler Macleod –

These are approximately 6

• Franna Crane License

07 3003 7705

month positions. Must be

• RIIs/competencies to support

• November/December start

experienced Multi-Skilled

your experience on dump

Operators with solid coal mining

trucks, dozers and graders

experience. You will need to

• Current drivers licence

make yourself available for

Reference Number:

a start on the 26th / 27th

• F ixed plant maintenance

7226J20147922

November or the 3rd December.

• Minerals processing

Don’t delay your applica-

These roles are ongoing for 6

tion as these roles will

months at this stage, with a

experience

operations experience

• A minimum of 1 year experi-

available to start ASAP. Subject

ence in a similar position

to full pre employment medical.

• CHPP Operations experience

be filled very quickly. For

possibility of extension.

Reference Number:

• Relevant processing RII

further information please

To be successful in these roles

contact:

you will have the following:

Nicole Gray

• 2 years + experience working

• Excellent organisation skills • Ability to work with different

Dragline Operator

trades • E xcellent communication skills

752J201435038

• Maintenance management

Workpac Chandler Macleod are looking for

www.workpac.com

tor for an immediate start. This

YOU WILL BE REWARDED WITH:

is a FIFO role out of Brisbane

• E xcellent hourly rate with

working a 7/7 D/N roster,

systems experience • Hydraulic system mainte-

an experienced Dragline Opera-

• EWP (Preferred)

qualifications

Shotfirers

nance • Current coal board medical

Our Client is looking for a shot

(must be with in the first 24

• Weekly pay with Tecside

provided. You will help provide

firer for an immediate start

months)

• Ongoing contract

leave coverage for the production

working on a 7/7 roster FIFO

• Standard 11

If you have the relevant

mining team with in the dragline,

out of Brisbane. You will be

• Passport or (Birth certificate

qualifications and experi-

drill and blast area.

responsible for delivering, load-

ence as mentioned above;

To be considered for this role you

ing and firing of bulk explosives

please call Ryan Corp on

must have:

6436 2909 or email your

• Be residing with in 100km

resume to ryancorp@ tecsideblue.com.au Reference Number: 3049RC1

radius of the Brisbane airport • Previous experience on Marion Draglines 8050 and D11 Dozer You will need to supply: • Current Coal board medical

Drill Operator (Coal Mining)

(must be within the first 24 months) • Standard 11 • Passport or (Birth certificate

Global mining company are

and drivers licence)

within a production coal

E: nicole.gray@workpac.

mining environment as a

com

Multi-Skilled Operator - CAT 793 (minimum), D10 and D11

You will need to supply current:

flights and accommodation is

penalties rates

P: 53901322

UNDERGROUND – Agi Driver

dozer as well as series 16 or 24 grader •R eside within 100 klms of the Brisbane Airport - this

Regional WA

needs to be your permanent

Broome & Kimberley

place of residence. Applicants

• 2 x contactable referees

Our Client is a leading

outside of 100klms will not be

in an open cut coal mine.

• Licences and qualifications

mining contractor seeking

To be considered for this role

• Residence with in 100km

experienced Underground Agi

radius of Brisbane airport

Truck Operators for a position

you must have:

and drivers licence)

considered •C urrent BMA or Standard 11 Statement of Attainment

• Min three years Shot Firing

If you feel you possess the

at their remote mine site in

experience in a coal mine

required attributes, and you

the Kimberley. The duties will

environment

have a strong focus on safety

involve operating an Hitachi

then please apply below now.

AH300 truck that has been

Please support your application

converted to an Agi truck for

with a Cover Letter and only

Underground concreting works.

short listed candidates will be

Applicants must have proven

• A focus on safety

contacted at this stage.

Underground experience and

PLEASE NOTE: These roles

• Be living with in 100km radius

Reference Number:

experience operating Agi trucks

are FIFO only and will only be

• Hold a current Qld Shot Firers Licence • Good knowledge of the explosives industry

•C urrent Coal Board Medical (essential it is dated within the last 2 years) •R IIs/competencies to support your experience on dump trucks, dozers and graders Current drivers licence

currently seeking experienced

• 2 x contactable referees

of the Brisbane airport

102041d

for underground or surface.

offered to experienced MS

Drilling operators for their

If you feel you hold the

You must be able to supply:

Contact Details: Dan Dobe –

Suitable applicants must be

Operators with proven coal

drill and blast department.

required attributes, and

• Coal board medical (must be

07 3003 7705

able to present copies of tickets

mining experience who reside

This is a great opportunity to

you have a strong focus on

and underground RPL’s on appli-

within 100 klms of the Brisbane

work with an industry leader

safety then please apply

• Current S11

cation. Successful candidates

Airport. There are no entry level

at an established mine and

below.

• Passport or driver licence and

be able to demonstrate their

roles available.

these positions are ongoing at

Reference Number: 100820a

commitment and leadership

Reference Number:

present.

Contact Details: Dan Dobe,

• 2 x contactable referees

towards health and safety on

7226J20147923

To be considered for this role

Chandler Macleod –

If you feel you possess

site as this is paramount in the

Don’t delay your applica-

you must have:

07 3003 7705

the required attributes,

Regional QLD

Underground environment. This

tion as these roles will

and you have a strong

Mackay & Coalfields

position is FIFO from Perth on

be filled very quickly. For

desire to be a part of a

DUMP TRUCK OPERATORS

a 2:2 roster, working 12 hour

further information please

company that wants you to

• CAT 793 operators

day and night shifts. These

contact:

succeed, supply you with a

• 6 on 6 off

are approximately 2 month

Nicole Gray

competitive remuneration

• December to March

positions working through till

P: 53901322

on a potential ongoing

• Moranbah area

the end of December. Must be

E: nicole.gray@workpac.

Regional WA

contract with an immediate

WorkPac currently has a number

available to start ASAP. Subject

com

Broome & Kimberley

start please apply now!

of opportunities for experienced

to full pre employment medical,

• Skilled in operating Atlas Copco Pit Viper is preferred • Prepared to work a 7/7 D/N roster • Dozer skill will be advanta-

Underground – Nipper/Jumbo Offsider

geous but not essential • L arge diameter drill ticket and experience

with in the first 24 months)

birth certificate

AustralianMining

Mobile Plant Operator – Level 3

56

JULY 2015

AM0715_000_LAS

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1

2015-06-25T10:37:52+10:00

Three times longer life, 7.5% total drilling cost saving and increased penetration rates were the key findings from this recent independent DTH hammer trial.

Our new DTH hammers lasted three times longer than the four industry standards at this trial.

We pitted our new LaserBond DTH hammers against four

That’s over three times longer life under these aggressive

well known market leading brands at a hard rock mine site

conditions. Xtega’s own report said there was an

in southern Australia.The trial was set up, run and organised

“irrefutable decrease in the rate of abrasive wear which

by independent mining consultants Xtega – not us – with

gives the LaserBond hammer increased life”. Additional

four Atlas Copco D65 rigs. The rigs were running identical

benefits are improved mechanical availability, increased

settings and working on adjacent holes under identical

efficiency, higher impact and penetration rates, better site

conditions, literally within metres of each other. Crews were

and operator safety and less downtime for changeouts.

rotated to experience and report on the characteristics

Don’t take our word for it. Get the report summary and

and performance of the hammers in the trial. In this mine

White Paper and investigate the benefits for yourself.

site’s very aggressive ground conditions the LaserBond

Our game-changing LaserBond® DTH Hammers have the

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power to change the economics of your drilling operation.

hammers drilled an average of only 3,514m before failure.

Find out more at www.laserbond.com.au/hammertrial

Just pick up the phone or email us now to arrange your own risk free trial.

LaserBond Limited | www.laserbond.com.au Sydney | Adelaide | Freecall 1 300 527 372 International +612 4631 4500 | Fax +612 4631 4555 Email info@laserbond.com.au

PRODUCTIVITY INNOVATION CONSERVATION Quality 9001, Environment 14001, Health & Safety 4801 14568 A4+

AM0715_058

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2015-07-09T12:59:37+10:00

EVENTS

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

IRON ORE 2015 13-15 JULY PERTH, WA Iron Ore 2015 will be held in Perth in July 2015 and is the latest in a well-established and very successful international conference series featuring recent developments in the genesis, geology, exploration, mining and processing of iron ores, including new projects under development.

As on previous occasions, the conference is being jointly organised by The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and CSIRO. The theme of the conference is Optimising Performance as new projects and expansions bed down after a major A M period 0 7 1 of5 growth _ 0 0and 0 _ iron ore market conditions

become more volatile and challenging. · Terrapin Belinda Martin 03 9658 6215 bmartin@ausimm.com.au www.ironore2015.

AIMEX 1-4 SEPTEMBER SYDNEY SHOWGROUND, NSW

innovative technology trail, which focuses on differeing equipment and technology and the latest developments there within.

The last AIMEX drew more than 12,000 visitors across the event, who checked out the wares and services of around 650 suppliers to the industry. · REEDMININGEVENTS Warren Queenan 02 9422 2563 warren.queenan@ reedexhibitions.com.au www.aimex.com.au/en

COO LEADERS RESOURCES SUMMIT 2015 14-15 OCTOBER HOTEL MERCURE, PERTH, WA

ary keynote presentations, round-table sessions, interactive workshops, panel discussions and think tank sessions delivered by your most esteemed peers and thought leaders within the resources community.

Over the two day event, suppliers will also have the opportunity to meet and interact with these operational leaders through a series of pre-scheduled one on one meetings, which will take place in an intimate environment for a focussed discussion about the new drivers shaping the industry. · Media Corp International 02 8188 8500 www.cio-leaders.com

The Asia-Pacific’s International Mining ExhibiINTERNATIONAL tion (AIMEX) is the largest MINING AND single mining exhibition in The COO Leaders RESOURCES Australia.

Resources Summit is CONFERENCE Running over four days Australia’s only tailored (IMARC) 2015 the event brings together event held specifically for 9-13 NOVEMBER a range of exhibitors to operational leaders to MELBOURNE showcase their latest gather and interact as one CONVENTION technology, equipment, over a range of important CENTRE, and services into a single issues facing the industry.

MELBOURNE, VIC forum.

The current challenges show- also1features and GThe RA 2 0 1 5 - 0 7 opportunities - 0 2 T 1 0will : be 2 5 : 2 IMARC 2 + 1 is0Australia’s : 0 0 only conferences, talks, and an highlighted through visiontruly international mining

Introducing the new XM700!

event. Uniting the entire mining industry, IMARC is where mining leaders, policy makers, financiers, technical experts, innovators and educators are brought together under one roof.

IMARC has the continued support of Australia’s three leading industry associations, the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), Austmine and Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA).

The longstanding, Mines and Money Australia, the junior mining investment conference, will take place within the IMARC program.

Meet 2500+ Australian and international mining experts, CEOs, government representatives and other industry leaders from over 35 countries ready to discuss.

Support of the Victorian Government, as well as involvement from all of Australia’s states and territories.

The event features the Involvement of Australia’s three leading industry as-

sociations, the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), Austmine and Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA).

Network with key decision makers and influencers through a range of structured events from round tables, one on ones and social hubs. · IMARC www.imarcmelbourne.com

QUEENSLAND GAS CONFERENCE 24-25 NOVEMBER BRISBANE CONVENTION CENTRE, QLD The Queensland Gas Conference and Exhibition (QGCE) is a conference and exhibition dedicated to the latest developments and issues surrounding CSG and LNG in Queensland. · REEDMININGEVENTS Warren Queenan 02 9422 2563 warren.queenan@ reedexhibitions.com.au www.queenslandgasconference.com.au

Portable marking solution.

- Portable and compact engraving machine - Built-in control unit

Full mobility Deep marking Easy programming

- Touch screen is used for easy programming

Better traceability!

- After surface treatment (painting, galvanising, grinding, sanding) to obtain readable marking is ideal

Excellent results at your fingertips!

Scan here for more details

XM700 – The new generation of portable and independent marking solutions.

It has a large marking area and designed for use in difficult to access places.

To find out more information about the XM700, contact us at sales@gravotech.com.au.

gravograph.com.au | 02 9684 2000 SYDNEY • MELBOURNE • BRISBANE • ADELAIDE • PERTH GRAV013_MM_HPC.indd 1

AUSTRALIANMINING

58

JULY 2015

1/07/2015 12:16 pm

Siemens AG. All other logos, trademarks or service marks used herein are the property of their respective owners.

© 2014 Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. All rights reserved. Siemens and the Siemens logo are registered trademarks of

MA0515_000_SIE

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1

2015-04-23T11:55:12+10:00

Find out more about our Collaborative Manufacturing solutions for Heavy Equipment.

Attend our on-demand webinar at https://www.plm. automation.siemens.com/ en_us/campaigns/single_ topic.cfm?Component= 222626&Component Template=186312

Make a breakthrough in machinery engineering.

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Answers for industry.

UNM13793_AusMiningS.pdf

Page

1

1/12/2011,

2:10

PM

If what you do depends on Lime, talk to us.

Mining operations depend on Lime. Which is why industry leaders get their Lime from Sibelco. Whether it’s Quicklime, Hydrated Lime or one of many other limestone products you may require, you’re getting quality, premium Lime. Choose Limil from one of the seven Sibelco plants around Australia and you can look forward to 135 years of Lime manufacturing expertise, the security of long-term supplies and a level of quality and consistency that our ISO9001:2008 Quality Program delivers.

To find out more about Limil, Sibelco and our industry-leading products, visit www.sibelco.com.au

UNM13793