World Mining Magazine

Magazine

caterpillar more than the iron Caterpillar offers more equipment for mining than any other manufacturer, but when you choose Caterpillar you get more than the iron. Knowledge and expertise, technologies, end-to-end services, financing, all come together to create a unique mix of solutions to meet site-specific needs.

Issue 20 2017

World Mining

the editor

More than one way to . . . please a shareholder

Editor

The

M

ining companies have had a tough few years but signs are that business prospects are improving and investment is returning. The opening of a new mine is a rare event these days, so the official opening of Rio Tinto’s Silvergrass iron ore mine in Western Australia at the end of August is a significant event. Construction activities are on course at Northern Vertex Mining’s 100% owned Moss Mine project in Arizona, which is scheduled for production in Q4 2017 as the next new gold mine in the United States.

In the simplest terms, companies exist to reward their shareholders and attract new ones to invest in them. They all have strategies to achieve this, but what fascinates me about the mining industry is that the strategies adopted to fulfil these goals can be so varied. Goldcorp concentrates on a single precious metal in the limited geography of the Americas, while Newmont mines gold in Africa and Australia, too. Rio Tinto, BHP, Glencore and others, prefer a diverse asset portfolio with operations all over the world. Some companies prefer to share risks, which is why we see a growing number of joint ventures in tough times.

Strategies change with circumstances, of course, so it’s encouraging to see companies becoming more ambitious.

Goldcorp was focused in 2016 on decentralization and

Martin Ashcroft

restructuring, but announced in January of this year its new 20/20/20 five year strategy, aimed at delivering a 20% increase in production, a 20% increase in gold reserves and a 20% decrease in all-in sustaining costs.

Unlike some national economies, for whom austerity seems to have become a way of life, miners battened down the hatches for a year or so to ride out the storm and are now emerging with growth strategies to reward their patient investors. The trend to dispose of non-core assets and mothball marginal ones is turning into an eagerness to exploit new opportunities.

As well as the Pilbara in Western Australia, Rio Tinto is expanding in Queensland, too, with its Amrun project, a US$2.6 billion investment to build a mine and port to expand production from one of the world’s premier bauxite deposits.

Rio is also expanding its Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, by taking it underground.

Rio Tinto’s chief executive J-S Jacques described his approach to delivering superior value for shareholders as being about a long-term strategy built on world-class assets; maximising cash through a ‘value-over-volume’ approach; developing a highperformance culture and allocating capital with discipline.

You can read about all of these strategies and more, in this issue of World Mining.

World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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Contents Cover story caterpillar: more than the iron Page 24 Page: 3 • The Editor: More than one way to . . .

please a shareholder 7 • Alliance Magnesium, 140 days of production • GoldMining acquires properties in Canada 9 • Richmont Mines sold to separate buyers 11 • Iconic Cat dozer turns forty 13 • Tronox completes sale of Alkali Chemicals

• Zonte starts drilling in Yukon 15 • Twiflex provides new brakes for hoists in Zambian copper mine • Valmont to sell consumables business 17 • Next US gold mine nearing production

19 • Russian longwall mine sets world coal production record

• Northern Shield’s Huckleberry drilling 21 • Amarc to purchase PINE porphyry copper- gold property 22 • Automation: The positive future for mining 24 • Caterpillar: More than the iron 48 • AKG: Cool customers 52 • Rio Tinto: Value over volume 68 • Bullseye Distributors: Mining meal solutions

delivered at Oyu Tolgoi

World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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ADVERTISERS

2 Resemin Asia 8 Altra Industrial Motion 10 THEJO / Phoenix Conveyor Belt Systems 12 Canary Systems 14 GEA 16 Polar Mobility Research 18 MOS Mobile Screener 20 Industrial Vacuum Systems (IVAC) 28 Seeing Machines 29 Shaw Development 30 K-Line Industries 32 Elphinstone 34 NAMMCO 39 Tenaris 40 Volvo Construction Equipment 44 Teran Industries Ltd 51 AKG 56 Royston Lead 57 Komatsu 58 Smith Power Products 64 TowHaul

65 GIW Minerals 74 Blue Rock One 84 Grupo Gracida 86 Dräger 99/101 Quantum Filtration Medium Pty 109 Apex Heavy Duty 110 PW Mining 116 Axis House 120 Derrick 126 Cementation 136 WeatherSolve Structures 144 PMP: Prairie Machine & Parts 152 Scania Mining 158 Dok-Ing 159 REMA TIP TOP 160 Martin Engineering 163 CAT Financial 183 Rammer: Sandvik Mining and Construction 191 BAT Construction Ltd 194 Puritech 201 ABB 202 United Mining Rentals 204 Rockwell Automation

contents 74 • Blue Rock One: Business resilience 80 • Goldcorp: Twenty, twenty, twenty 90 • Gracida Group: Striking water!

94 • BHP: Investing in a new future 102 • Newmont Mining: Creating value 112 • Axis House: From lab to plant 118 • Glencore: The best commodities 138 • PMP: Prairie Machine & Parts

Renewable Transport is here 146 • Damstra Technologies: Aussie workforce management system set to go worldwide

150 • Scania Mining:

Making mines smart and lean 154 • Vale: Transforming the world 164 • REMA TIP TOP: The future of mining is now 168 • Fluidmesh Networks: Wireless communication for mining automation 170 • Anglo American: Refining assets 178 • Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology: The right breaker boom for every job 184 • De Beers: In pursuit of brilliance

goldcorp: twenty, twenty, twenty Page 80

192 • AxleWEIGHr: Weighs truck at the job site

World Mining Magazine Contact Information, Advertising Rates & Information News & Features Editor: Martin Ashcroft martin@ogsmag.com Editor Vanessa Ward editor@ogsmag.com Sales sales@ogsmag.com General email contact info@ogsmag.com Design and Artwork Steve Lazarus artwork@ogsmag.com Managing Director Simon Ward

Advertising Rates

Double Page £6000.00 Full Page £4895.00 Half Page £2450.00 Quarter Page £1450.00 Full Page (inside cover) £6000.00 Lead Article + Front Cover £19,995.00 All advertisement rates include design free of charge.

The magazine is printed in A4 format on 250gsm gloss laminated cover and 170gsm matt internal pages. The magazine is both a printed hard copy magazine and distributed electronically.

Currently our global readership is approximately 93,000.

World Mining Magazine 2017 World Mining Magazine is published

by Worldwide Business Media Limited, London, EC1V 2NX United Kingdom.

Registered No. 6809417 England/ Wales.

VAT No. 972 7492 76. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or any part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

Liability: while every care has been taken in the preperation of this magazine, the publishers cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information herein, or any consequence arising from it. All paper used in this production comes from well managed sources.

Worldwide Business Media Limited, London. EC1V 2NX United Kingdom. www.ogsmag.com Tel: +44(0)203 5751249

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Have a news story or press release you would like to be considered for publication in the next Word Mining Magazine?

Please contact Martin Ashcroft at martin@ogsmag.com

www.ogsmag.com

World

news

Alliance Magnesium completes 140 days of production “AMI has developed an innovative technology and process that gives it a cleaner and less expensive approach”

A

lliance Magnesium Inc (AMI) has reached the important milestone of 140 days of magnesium pilot production from its demonstration plant in Danville, Quebec. The company said in a statement that this magnesium production represents the highest in quality standards, which are aligned with market requirements.

“This is an important step for our company,” said Dr. Joël Fournier, Chief

Executive Officer of AMI. “It provides the first solid foundation for leveraging the full potential of AMI’s technology and the ambitious development of our business model.” AMI is in technical and financial preparation for its commercial production phase, which will require an investment of over C$100 million.

Alliance Magnesium is a privatelyowned Canadian company engaged in the production of magnesium metal and other valuable minerals from serpentine.

AMI has developed an innovative technology and process that gives it a cleaner and less expensive approach than those currently used worldwide by magnesium producers. The new AMI process is an alternative to the thermal process, which is a major source of CO2 emissions. AMI has developed a threestage development program that will lead to an annual production of 50,000 tons in 2020 and the creation of more than 350 jobs.

GoldMining acquires properties in Canada’s Northwest Territories GoldMining has acquired a 100% interest in Tyhee’s Yellowknife Gold Project and nearby Big Sky Property covering approximately 35 km of the Yellowknife Greenstone Belt in the Northwest Territories, Canada.

The YGP has been the focus of substantial drilling, underground development and historic gold production.

Big Sky represents an earlier stage exploration property package located south of the YGP and only 17 km north of the city of Yellowknife.

Amir Adnani, Chairman of GoldMining, commented: “We are very pleased to have acquired a gold property package of this scale and calibre with low holding costs in Northern Canada, which has witnessed a surge in gold exploration, development and production activity in recent years, led by the likes of Agnico Eagle, TMAC

Resources and Goldcorp. Agnico Eagle alone has recently announced plans to invest more than $1.2 billion in Northern Canada over the next three years.”

Garnet Dawson, CEO of GoldMining, commented: “Yellowknife Gold Project covers over 30 km of the Yellowknife Greenstone Belt, which is believed to have historically produced over 15 million ounces of gold from the Con, Giant and Discovery mines. The Discovery Mine, located on the YGP land package, operated from 1950 to 1969 and is reported to have historically produced 1 million ounces of gold with an average grade of 28g/t gold. An independent updated resource estimate for the YGP has been commissioned and the company is currently reviewing the extensive geological database to evaluate follow-up exploration targets.”

World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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news

Richmont Mines sold to separate buyers

C

anadian gold miner Richmont Mines has closed the sale of its assets in Quebec to Monarques Gold Corporation, while the remainder of the business is being acquired by Alamos Gold.

Under the terms of the agreement with Alamos, Richmont shares will be exchanged on the basis of 1.385 Alamos common shares for each Richmont common share. Upon completion

reflects our core strategy of creating long term value through operating high quality assets,” said John McCluskey, President and CEO of Alamos. “The Island Gold Mine is a high quality asset in every respect. We see excellent potential for reserve and production growth from one of the highest grade, lowest cost gold mines in Canada.

With this production base, growth, and balance sheet strength, Alamos will

leases and mining concessions in Quebec, including the Beaufor mine, the Chimo, Monique and Wasamac properties and all the issued and outstanding shares of Usine Camflo Inc, as well as all mills, buildings, structures, equipment, inventory and property.

The transaction positions Monarques to become a gold producer.

“We are very pleased to announce this transaction with Monarques as

“The acquisition of Richmont adds the Island Gold Mine in Ontario to the Alamos portfolio, strengthening its position as a leading intermediate gold producer” of the transaction, existing Alamos and Richmont shareholders will own approximately 77% and 23% of the pro forma company, respectively.

The acquisition adds Richmont’s Island Gold Mine in Ontario to the Alamos portfolio, strengthening its position as a leading intermediate gold producer.

The combined entity is expected to have diversified gold production of over 500,000 ounces in 2017.

“Our combination with Richmont

be the leading intermediate producer and presents a compelling revaluation opportunity for both Alamos and Richmont shareholders.”

The agreement has been approved unanimously by the boards of Alamos and Richmont, whose shareholders will meet independently in November to vote on the transaction.

The ‘Quebec assets’ acquired by Monarques Gold comprise all of Richmont’s mineral claims, mining

it provides our Beaufor and Camflo teams with the optimal outcome,” said Renaud Adams, President and CEO. “These assets will form an integral part of a Quebec-based company that is dedicated to maintaining ongoing operations and unlocking their longerterm potential. We would like to thank our team for their dedicated efforts over the past number of years and we wish them all the best and we look forward to sharing in their future successes.”

World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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01.12.16 16:44

news

Iconic Cat dozer turns forty F

orty years ago this September, ten pilot models of the world’s largest, most powerful dozer rolled off Caterpillar production lines, destined to leave a lasting legacy on the industry. The Cat® D10 dozer’s radically different design, high weight and horsepower, and resilient undercarriage answered the growing calls from large mining and big heavy construction operations for a more powerful dozer.

“We bucked conventional wisdom with the D10 and tinkered with a centerpiece that was a part of the Caterpillar product line since the company was formed in 1925,” says George Alexander, a retired Caterpillar engineer who served on the D10 research team and one of four individuals named on the patent for Caterpillar’s elevated sprocket design.

The result of the team’s out-of-the-box

its productivity limits, and the mining industry led the charge for a dozer with more and more horsepower. Contractors working in predominantly hard rock

applications also demanded a design that improved track longevity and durability.

“The D9 dozer was the best track-type tractor of the day,” adds Alexander. “It worked great for dirt operations, but interstate and heavy rock applications were hard on the solid bottom tracks

The pilot D10 dozers built in 1977 were immediately embraced by Caterpillar customers. Their ripping and pushing capabilities made a significant impact on the mining industry, as studies showed the cost/yard to move material using the D10 was comparable to that of larger draglines. The resilient undercarriage with elevated sprocket conformed to the ground better than solid tracks, helping to improve machine pushing power and undercarriage life and enhancing operator comfort.

The dozer’s modular concept helped to increase machine transportability, as removable components facilitated machine moves from location to location. Its modular design also substantially advanced assembly and service task efficiency. The transmission and bevel gear removal and installation times on the D10 compared to that of

“The original big and bad Cat D10 legacy lives on today with thousands of Caterpillar elevated sprocket dozers operating around the world” thinking was a machine with no rival for weight, power or productivity. Offering 50 per cent higher productivity than Caterpillar’s largest dozer of that era, the D9 dozer, the D10 weighed over 190,000 lb (86,180 kg) and measured 15 ft (4,6 m) tall, 12 ft (3,7 m) wide and slightly more than 31 ft (9,4) long. Power was supplied by the 700 hp (522 kW) D348, V12 diesel engine.

Radically different A changing industry in the late 1960s and early 1970s stretched the D9 to

that were a part of all dozer designs of that era.”

To address the market’s needs, Caterpillar tapped a team of Research and Engineering personnel to develop a new, more powerful dozer, the D10. “The development and product introduction involved every discipline of the company. It was highly successful because of the total team effort. The challenge of beating the competition in our core product was a tremendous incentive,” recalls Ron Krolak, tracktype tractor chief engineer, retired.

the D9H dropped to 6 hours from 30 hours, while service time on the final drive plummeted to 9 hours from 45 hours, lowering long-term operating costs.

The original big and bad Cat D10 legacy lives on today with thousands of Caterpillar elevated sprocket dozers operating around the world. The elevated sprocket track concept has been expanded to today’s Cat D6N and D6T medium dozers and the D8T, D9T and D11T large dozer models as well as the current D10T2 model.

World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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news

Tronox completes sale of Alkali Chemicals business

Longwall mining at Green River, Wyoming

T

ronox has completed the previously announced sale of its Alkali Chemicals business to Genesis Energy, a diversified midstream energy master limited partnership headquartered in Houston, Texas, for approximately $1.3 billion. The majority of the proceeds from the sale of the alkali business will be

used to fund the Cristal Tio2 acquisition.

Alkali Chemicals is the

facilities located in Green River, Wyoming. Alkali’s products are used in glass

“Alkali Chemicals is the world’s largest producer of natural soda ash” world’s largest producer of natural soda ash with its mining and processing

manufacturing, detergents, baked goods, animal nutrition supplements,

pharmaceuticals, and other essential products.

“We were pleased to have received significant interest in our Alkali business from multiple potential buyers,” said Peter Johnston, chief executive officer of Tronox. “Genesis’ proposal was the most compelling for its overall value, with its combination of price, favourable contract terms, speed to closing, committed financing, and expected ease of regulatory approvals.

These considerations, in aggregate, provided the highest level of certainty to Tronox.

“The sale of Alkali Chemicals is an important step in positioning Tronox as the global leader in the titanium dioxide (TiO2) industry,” he continued. ”The proceeds will be used to fund the majority portion of the cash consideration for the acquisition of the TiO2 assets of Cristal, which is expected to close by the first quarter of 2018.”

Zonte starts drilling at McConnells Jest Project, Yukon Zonte Metals has commenced drilling at the McConnells Jest Project in the Yukon Territory. A total of about 1500 metres will be core drilled with the first several holes targeting the Hill Zone. This will be followed by drill testing the Two Four Zone.

The McConnell’s Jest project is located in the Yukon Territory about 65 km northeast of the town of Mayo. The project comprises 172 contiguous quartz claims covering approximately 3,371 hectares and is accessible by a helicopter, trails and a road on the eastern edge of the property.

The project is located within the Tintina Gold Belt which stretches across Alaska and the Yukon and is host to a significant number of large deposits including Donlin Creek (32 Moz Au), Dublin Gulch (6.3 Moz) and Fort Knox (4.7 Moz) with the latter two classified as intrusion related gold deposits.

McConnell’s Jest is adjacent and east of the Dublin Gulch Project of Victoria Gold, where the Eagle Deposit is being developed into a mine. The deposit has a reserve of 2.66 Moz of Au and forecast to produce 200,000 ounces of gold per year for 10 years.

World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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Drying, cooling & calcining GEA offers a complete range of proven industrial drying and thermal processing systems for the Mining and Minerals Industries.

Working with GEA means having a solid partnership every step of the way, from process testing and design throughout project execution to the start-up and operation of your plant. Whether you wish to produce a powder, granulate, or an agglomerated product we have the expertise, technology, and equipment to match your needs . Our portfolio also includes the technology in front of or downstream the drying process. With thousands of references worldwide, we maintain our leading position by focusing on product quality, system reliability, energy savings and emission control.

news

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Twiflex provides new brakes for hoists in Zambian copper mine

wiflex, part of Altra Industrial Motion, a global supplier of power transmission components, provided parking brakes for use on mine hoists at the Nkana site of Mopani Copper Mines in Zambia.

Nkana is one of the largest copper and cobalt mines in Africa, with four underground mines, as well as an open pit.

Leading mine hoist manufacturer FLSmidth worked with Twiflex and its South African distribution partner, Tritec Sintered Products, on the installation.

Twiflex brakes are used for parking and holding each time the mine winders stop. In exceptional conditions (ie power failure), the brakes can be used to bring the load to rest while maintaining a maximum deceleration of 2.3 m/s2.

To meet the hoist’s high rubbing speeds and provide greater thermal capacity, Twiflex engineers designed the VMS3-VR, a new large pad version of its popular VMS3-SPS spring-applied, hydraulically-released brake, which is widely used on mine hoists around the world. Thermal capacity is a measure of the ability of the brake pad to absorb and dissipate heat.

“Twiflex brakes are used for parking and holding each time the mine winders stop”

To assist with maintenance, Twiflex brakes incorporate a monitoring system to signal brake pad wear and loss of braking force. The VMS3VR brakes also include Twiflex’s unique ‘parked off ’ feature, meaning they can be adjusted under hydraulic pressure so that when pressure is removed there is no stored energy.

Twiflex has an in-house testing capability, comprising a climatic chamber which can simulate temperatures between -75 to +180 °C, as well as a fatigue room for brake cycling and an inertia test rig for dynamic stops.

“All Twiflex modular brakes are subject to a cycling test and pressure test before leaving the factory,” explains Steve Powell, product manager for Twiflex.

“For mine hoists, all critical brake components undergo non-destructive testing. The main limitation for brake manufacturers is the friction material which needs to be carefully selected for the operating cycle.”

Twiflex Limited, with headquarters in Twickenham, England, specialises in the design, manufacture and supply of advanced braking technology for industrial applications.

Valmont announces sale of mining consumables business Valmont Industries has agreed to sell its Australian mining consumables business to Moly-Cop, a portfolio company of American Industrial Partners, a private equity firm headquartered in the United States.

This business, known as Donhad Pty Ltd, was acquired as part of Valmont’s acquisition of Delta plc in May 2010 and is reported as part of the company’s Energy and Mining segment, generating $83.1 million in revenues in 2016.

With three manufacturing operations in Perth, Newcastle and Townsville, Donhad manufactures forged steel grinding media, engineering forgings and a range of

specialised fasteners for use in the mining and mineral processing industry.

Moly-Cop is a global manufacturer of grinding media used primarily by global copper, gold, and iron ore producers to break down ore in the primary phase of mineral concentration.

The closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to be completed by the end of 2017, the timing being dependent upon Australian regulatory approvals. No further transaction details were disclosed.

World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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Do you require intrinsically safe or NON Electric Air Conditioning?

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news

C

Next US gold mine nearing production in Arizona

onstruction activities are on course at Northern Vertex Mining’s 100% owned Moss Mine gold/silver project near Bullhead City, Arizona, which is scheduled for production in Q4 2017.

“Activities on site at the Moss Mine continue to accelerate with the daily arrival and assembly of equipment,” said Kenneth Berry, President and CEO. “Our partnerships with Greenstone Resources, Sprott Lending and CAT Financial have enabled our team to execute its development plan to become the next producing gold mine in Arizona.”

The decommissioning of the pilot plant, which successfully produced 4,000 oz of gold, 20,000 oz of silver and established recoveries of 82%, is now complete. Crews have removed the two ponds, equipment, liners and 125,000 tons of neutralized heap material. The entire pilot plant area has been regraded in preparation for production.

Crushing plant has been delivered from Goodfellow’s fabrication plants in Boulder City, Nevada, Eugene, Oregon, and Yankton, South Dakota, and all the primary, secondary and tertiary crusher units are now on site. Mechanical assembly of the crushing plant has been awarded to GBI and this work began in

un-patented lands. This scenario would include an expansion of the mine facilities onto BLM lands and would therefore require the submission and

“Activities on site at the Moss Mine continue to accelerate with the daily arrival and assembly of equipment” earnest in September. GBI has already completed the primary crusher skid package and set the jaw crusher.

Mine life optimization

The company is preparing a preliminary economic assessment of the technical and economic viability of extending the Moss mine life to include resources that can only be accessed from the adjacent

approval of a Mine Plan of Operations.

The key metrics for the mine life extension would remain the same as outlined in the company’s feasibility technical report filed on SEDAR; namely open pit mining, crushing, heap leaching and metals recovery in a Merrill Crowe plant. Work on the Mine Plan of Operations has not yet commenced.

Work continues on the permitting processes for the powerline to replace the on-site diesel generators, and for the permit for re-construction of the Moss Mine access road as part of the Moss Mine optimization project.

Westland Resources Inc. has completed all the field mapping work required for compilation of the biological report and the cultural inventory report, which will be supplemental to the permit applications. The permit applications enjoy broad public support as these projects will reduce diesel emissions and improve safety for the company’s personnel, contractors, suppliers and the general public.

To the best of management’s knowledge, Northern Vertex is the next publicly traded company to initiate gold and silver production scheduled for Q4, 2017, in the USA. World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

17

With a MOS H3 series working in-pit, the customer will not need to install and operate other equipment at the feeding hopper installation.

Rock breaker booms, rollers screener and rock crusher are no longer necessary.

For existing conventional feeding hopper: The installed rock breaker boom, roller screen and rock crusher can be switched off. The dumper material is sent directly from the apron feeder to the installed vibrating screen. All the OPEX expenses for these machines (electrical energy, operators, maintenance and so on) will be economized. Since the oversized waste material is already removed in-pit, the OPEX for waste disposal system will be cut. Moreover the feeding hopper will produce less noise and less vibrations, extending its operating life.

For installation of a new feeding hopper: with the MOS H3 series working in-pit, the related CAPEX expenses will be optimized and significantly reduced. Rock breaker booms, rollers screen and rock crusher are no longer necessary.

Also the reduction of the waste size material results in less disposal equipment.

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news

Russian longwall mine sets world coal production record

T

he Russian Yalevskogo mine operated by the Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK) recently surpassed the world record for monthly coal production from a single longwall system. Formerly known as Kotinskaya, the mine produced 1,567,000 metric tonnes of raw coal in July 2017.

Last year SUEK ordered Cat longwall equipment for a face extension from 300

to 410 meters. The extended longwall started operating in April 2017, and it quickly established new production

national safety laws. In 2016 Yalevskogo mine produced more than 4.5 million tonnes of steam coal, and

“Three different types of Cat roof supports were integrated into the system” records in the 3.8-meterthick seam—without any lost time injuries on the face and with full compliance to

production is expected to increase significantly this year.

SUEK combined Cat roof

supports from other longwall faces to extend the face the additional 110 meters. Three different types of Cat roof supports were integrated into the system.

To match the face conveyor to the different roof support types, Caterpillar manufactured custom clevis mountings (connection between AFC pan and roof support base) to ensure that all face roof supports have the same tip-to-face distance of less than 412 mm, according to Russian regulations. The tip-toface distance is critical to maximize roof integrity and limit dilution.

The longwall is fully automated with Cat face automation including Cat programmable mining controls and condition monitoring software, facilitating full automation, monitoring and remote diagnostics for all face equipment. All information can be transferred to the surface in real time to support optimizing longwall performance.

Northern Shield completes drilling at Huckleberry Northern Shield Resources has completed its 2017 drilling program at the company’s Huckleberry property.

Nine holes totaling 3,201 metres were drilled, including one hole abandoned for technical reasons.

Some core samples are already in process at the analytical lab and the remainder are in transit. Results and further details will be provided upon receipt and analysis of the assays.

The drill-hole locations were selected to test the lateral and down-dip extent,

as well as the nature of the Lower Olivine Websterite unit which is the principal host for the mineralization. Other drillholes targeted surface mineralization in the Eastern Zone along with strong electromagnetic (EM) conductors.

Northern Shield Resources Inc is a Canadian-based company focused on exploring for platinum group element and nickel-copper-PGE deposits.

Huckleberry is being explored as a large-scale magmatic copper target with associated nickel and PGE. World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

19

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Amarc to purchase PINE porphyry copper-gold property A marc Resources has signed option agreements to purchase 100% of the 323 square km PINE mineral property in British Columbia, Canada, from Gold Fields Toodoggone Exploration Corporation (GFTEC) and Cascadero Copper Corporation.

The PINE property is located 294 km north of Mackenzie, BC, adjacent to the south of Amarc’s JOY property and adjacent to the north of AuRico Metal’s Kemess District developments in the Toodoggone, a region considered to have high potential for the discovery of important scale, porphyry coppergold deposits. Combining the JOY and PINE mineral claims along with recently staked adjoining claims creates a consolidated, 464 km2 mineral property.

The prolific Kemess District includes the Kemess South Mine where Northgate Minerals produced 3 million ounces of gold and 784 million pounds of copper over a 12-year period to 2010 and where the current owner, AuRico

significant targets.

Amarc is advancing its 100% owned IKE, DUKE and JOY porphyry copper deposit districts, located in southern, central and northern BC, respectively,

“Amarc considers its JOY and PINE properties to be very underexplored and to potentially be the northern extension of the Kemess copper-gold district” Metals, recently secured a BC EA Certificate for its Kemess Underground Project.

Amarc considers its JOY and PINE properties to be very underexplored and to potentially be the northern extension of the Kemess copper-gold district.

Highly favourable geology, combined with extensive surface sampling by past operators indicates a number of

each with proximity to industrial infrastructure, power, rail and highways.

These projects represent significant potential for the discovery of multiple and important-scale, porphyry coppergold and copper-molybdenum deposits.

Over the last three years, Amarc has made a significant new porphyry copper-molybdenum-silver discovery, completing over 12,000 metres of

drilling in 21 wide-spaced core holes in the IKE deposit that indicate the potential for extensive resource volumes which remain open to expansion in all directions.

The DUKE deposit is located 80 km northeast of Smithers, BC and 30 km north of former mines (Bell and Granisle) operated by Noranda Mines.

The DUKE Project area is accessible by logging road from Smithers or Fort St. James. Plans are to drill the DUKE deposit target in fall 2017.

Amarc’s JOY property is located 310 km north of Mackenzie, BC, and 25 km north of AuRico’s Kemess South Mine. Amarc considers the deposit targets located on the JOY property are considered by to be a northern extension to the prolific Kemess porphyry copper-gold district. It has partnered with Hudbay to fund the advancement of the JOY Project and, as operator, has mobilized crews to the site for the 2017 drilling season.

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AUTOMATION THE POSITIVE FUTURE FOR MINING The mining industry should not see automation as simply a way to reduce headcount, says Clive Gray, General Manager of Australian Diversified Engineering (ADE), but rather as an opportunity to improve safety and productivity and reduce environmental impact.

A

utomation is the latest trend in mining, with the ‘cruise control’ setting for many processes now increasingly becoming popular. Many experts say automation is here to stay but as technology continues to evolve, what does this change actually mean to the future of Australian mining?

As an engineering company whose core business is around innovating new, time saving and indeed often automated devices for the resources industry, we have seen a definite increase in demand as more companies are seeing the benefits that come from automated equipment on site. Companies are trialling driverless trains, robotic drilling, amongst many other automated solutions with a view to increasing safety and of course ultimately reducing costs.

The use of robotic devices and remotecontrolled equipment continues to provide safer and more efficient ways of operating, but a less discussed and also very important advantage is that it can also often be the more environmentally

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friendly option. The correct implementation of these automation technologies has the potential to create a productive and effective environment for the mining industry as a whole.

It is reasonable that some in the industry are concerned about the impact of automation on future job prospects in what has long been considered a booming industry. However, it is possible for automation to be applied to select processes to add value to the work being achieved whilst still using our skilled workers to ensure these technologies are being implemented correctly and safely. Like many others in the industry, we are using these technologies alongside manned equipment and vehicles to enhance human work, as opposed to replacing it.

At ADE, we take pride in our employees and believe that the integration of these automation systems will boost the workplace, with devices, autonomous vehicles and drone operations likely to help increase human productivity by 15

to 20 per cent. We expect to see overall productivity leap as we implement these operations over the course of the next few years.

Naturally, the growth of automation will change the mining industry’s employment landscape but this change does still require a strong human backing to be effective. It’s definitely not a matter of suddenly replacing thousands of workers with robots overnight. I expect these changes will be introduced over a long period of time in quite an organic way, as opposed to seeing major job cuts. I don’t believe total and complete automation is the way of the future but as autonomous mining grows, there will be a need for people to upskill to maintain this integration. Just as the introduction of spreadsheets didn’t destroy accounting jobs, automation certainly won’t destroy mining jobs, it will simply change them.

Although we will see some roles being replaced with automation technologies, we will also see the expansion of new

automation tech related departments within the mining industry, which is exciting.

At ADE, we now use a Spray Zone automation technology as a part of our spray suite that allows us to geo-fence a mine’s network of haul roads with various water application rate zones.

What this technology does is extend the safety of our employees by removing the hazard to water truck operators introduced by incorrectly selecting water application rates. The information needed to operate the Spray Zone is gathered from haul road material audits, where we use friction mapping to determine appropriate water application rates. The use of this particular automation component does currently

elements require careful consideration, and may cost more money than originally anticipated in the short term.

When first introduced to the industry, experts established human safety was one of the key advantages for automation devices. Mining can inflict a substantial cost on the business and workforce when it comes to workplace health and safety. Over the years the industry has implemented a series of lengthy procedures and processes to eliminate or decrease employee hazards.

In recent years, the introduction of automated collision detection devices was successful in both underground and in surface mining operations. The device has the ability to sense or predict

benefits our employees on-site, automation caters to the entire globe with its environmentally friendly advantages. Much to my dismay, the mining industry is commonly known for its harmful impact on the environment, including its contribution to water contamination and air pollution. At ADE, our products are developed with environmental considerations top of mind, and automated devices will be a step in the right direction when it comes to eco-friendly care. Specifically, the use of automation has the potential to reduce energy and gas emissions, limit waste products, use fewer consumables during production and finally, substitute technologies to devise new and

“Like many others in the industry, we are using automation technologies alongside manned equipment and vehicles to enhance human work, as opposed to replacing it” require manpower. A person is needed to manage the haul road material audits and update the water application rate’s geo-fence as the mine’s network of haul roads changes. However, as mines embrace the use of driver-less mobile equipment our Spray Zone is set for the transition.

As with the employment landscape, budget cuts and cost reductions will not happen overnight either. It takes time, effort and dedication to introduce a new industry procedure, particularly one that is coming out of its infancy. The introduction of automation requires new equipment, an alteration of employee procedures and regulations, training and induction, and removal of old machinery for a start. All of these

Founded in Brisbane 28 years ago, Australian Diversified Engineering (ADE) was originally established as a provider of ‘concept to reality’ custom engineering services. Over the past two decades, ADE has expanded to build a remarkable catalogue of solutions for mobile equipment.

This diverse range of products has required ADE to undertake a large amount of research and development

potential collisions or dangers, and also aims to protect personnel from moving equipment, which is a great step forward in ensuring safety for all employees.

The success of this device is an example of how automated technologies can positively impact the industry, particularly when it comes to workplace safety. We are seeing more and more industry leaders leveraging this to protect their employees. What’s great to see is that this technology can allow operations to work under environments that are more hostile and assist in up-keeping lengthier operations, by reducing unnecessary interactions from staff.

While a safer work environment

improved mining operations.

Moving forward, some of our engineers will shortly begin training in IFM automation technologies. This will ensure ADE is consistently at the forefront of industry developments and providing solutions to challenges commonly faced by the mining and construction industries. Having pioneered the development of the next generation water truck control system we will be looking to continue gradually embracing automation technologies to create a safer and more efficient mining environment. We will also continue to grow our line of innovative products to ensure mining and construction companies can operate safely and efficiently.

about ade

Clive Gray

activity, ensuring that they maintained a high level of creativity and innovation, which in turn has become their trademark.

Managed by Clive Gray and Danny Irvine, ADE has grown into into a leading, sustainable and innovative, design, manufacturing and distribution company for the mining and construction industries.

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CATERPILLAR MORE THAN THE IRON

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Caterpillar offers more equipment for mining than any other manufacturer, but when you choose Caterpillar you get more than the iron. Knowledge and expertise, technologies, end-to-end services, financing, all come together to create a unique mix of solutions to meet site-specific needs. And then there’s the unparalleled support of the Cat dealer after your machine has gone to work.

T

he best brands have a universal quality, yet they also make a personal, emotional connection. People the world over recognise Coca-Cola and Pepsi, although if blindfolded, most could probably not say which was which.

Ask them their preference, however, and they’ll tell you at once.

Everyone knows Caterpillar, too.

Its world renowned mining and construction equipment has been around for nearly 100 years. Tough, reliable, rugged, state-of-the-art, are words that immediately spring to my mind. But why? I’ve never driven

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a dozer or a dump truck, let alone operated a piece of underground machinery, yet I perceive them to be such. How do they do that?

Caterpillar Tractor Company was created in 1925 by a merger of The Holt Manufacturing Company and CL Best Tractor. Caterpillar Inc is now the world’s largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, with financial products to suite its customers’ needs. The Cat® brand itself was not registered for another 25 years, but it has since become the cornerstone of the Caterpillar brand portfolio.

“Cat® is literally everywhere. Licensed Cat brand products are sold in 150 countries and it’s said that over 50 million Cat items are purchased globally every year”

caterpillar more than the iron Cat® is literally everywhere. You see the logo on clothing, shoes and items of personal adornment, not to mention phones, watches and toys. Licensed Cat brand products are sold in 150 countries and it’s said that over 50 million Cat items are purchased globally every year.

Cat products can be purchased online from branded websites or in over 100 dedicated Cat brand stores as well as 100,000 other retail outlets.

The Caterpillar brand of mining equipment is geared towards total cost of ownership or the promise of ‘total life cycle value’. Cat products are designed to be reliable, durable, and of superior quality, allowing for multiple rebuilds, ease of serviceability, reparability and outstanding support, provided almost exclusively by Cat dealers – a network crucial to the brand’s sustainability.

Brand awareness is a big business, but no brand would last long if the product failed to live up to its reputation. Many elements must combine to strengthen the success of a brand, not least of which are the parts that come together to assemble a piece of machinery.

Suppliers

In common with many manufacturers, Caterpillar has increasingly contracted its component production to third parties. This has many advantages, including the encouragement of competition, which drives up quality and drives down prices. It also adds layers of risk, however, from supplier financial viability and business continuity to misuse of intellectual property and any number of practical

difficulties which could cause business disruption, such as the ability to increase or decrease production levels in line with demand, maintain quality control and on-time delivery.

Caterpillar believes that to remain world class, its suppliers must in turn be world class, so the company takes a great interest in promoting continuous improvement in its supply base. Caterpillar actively encourages a partnership relationship with its key strategic suppliers, recognising their progress with an award under its Supplier Quality Excellence Program (SQEP). The scheme is designed to reward quality and delivery performance in particular, examining manufacturing processes, training plans, customer service and risk management among other things.

Certification is valid for a year and the facility is assessed again for recertification the following year.

The awards recognise continuous improvement with a four tier grading system, which progresses from bronze to silver, to gold and then platinum. AKG, a leading supplier of high-performance cooling systems and heat exchangers, is a great example of SQEP at work.

AKG has a dozen plants around the world, seven of which supply products to Caterpillar. So far this year, five of them have been awarded honours in the SQEP program. The French and Chinese plants took their first step on the ladder with bronze awards this year, while the US plant in Mitchell, South Dakota won a gold as its first award.

The Indian plant stepped up to platinum after last year’s gold award, and AKG’s Latvian plant achieved a platinum level award after three consecutive golds.

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“Our relationship with an OEM is just as important as the product,” says Adam Jury, AKG’s Global Key Account Manager for Caterpillar, based in Mebane, North Carolina. “We have strong competitors, so you have to differentiate yourself in every way possible.” Supplier awards amount to prestigious recognition, he says, “but it’s not about achieving SQEP once, it’s about maintaining that consistency over time. With the awards we have won this year we have demonstrated the consistency that Caterpillar is looking for.”

A ‘partnership relationship’ for AKG means “getting involved in projects at a very early stage and planning them together,” says Dr Armin Martin, Group Vice President, Sales and Engineering. “We work together in the research and development phase, sometimes years in advance of product introduction.” The cooling manufacturer is one of the first suppliers chosen after the engine is selected, he explains. “When you design a new machine, the first thing you do is choose an engine. The next

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“Caterpillar actively encourages a partnership relationship with its key strategic suppliers, recognising their progress with an award under its Supplier Quality Excellence Program (SQEP)”

thing is to choose a cooler for that engine and then the rest of it follows.”

It makes sense all round for critical components to be treated this way.

Another key supplier, ABB, has a similar experience. The ABB facility in Sorocaba, Brazil, manufactures a range of circuit breakers used by Caterpillar to produce power generators.

The Brazilian factory won its first gold award this year, joining four others around the world with SQEP certification, those being ABB facilities in the United States (platinum), Switzerland (gold), England (silver) and China (bronze).

“Such approval enhances the partnership, bringing the relationship to a strategic level with great significance for new business development,” says Paolo Pescali, regional manager for Electrification Products division, South America.

“ABB’s knowledge of the high standards required by Caterpillar around the world helps it to differentiate from competitors when bidding for business.”

Surface mining equipment

Customers are at the heart of the Cat brand, and to make sure the customer gets the right machine for the job, Caterpillar offers the widest choice in the industry. When it comes to surface mining equipment, the Caterpillar range includes everything you can think of, from dozers, drills and draglines to trucks, shovels, loaders and a host of support equipment.

Innovative, productive and efficient, Caterpillar equipment helps its customers achieve best-in-class performance, too.

For drilling, Caterpillar rotary drills and track drills, together with its advanced drilling tools and Halco high-performance hammers and drill bits, ensure there’s a Cat drill to meet every need – there are six rotary drills in the range, from the MD6240 with its basic bit load of up to 24,000 kg, to the MD6750 with bit load capacity up to 75,000 kg (up to 165,346 lb), and five track drill models.

caterpillar more than the iron

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caterpillar more than the iron

From removing overburden to loading haul trucks, Caterpillar hydraulic shovels and excavators are proven across various mining applications.

Design upgrades have reduced swing times and improved energy-efficient motion, while a sturdy undercarriage and high-level diagnostic systems reduce downtime. Caterpillar offers the widest payload range in the industry, including smaller hydraulic excavators often used in support applications.

AC-drive electric rope shovels are a productive and efficient alternative for removing large amounts of overburden and ore. Numerous technological upgrades in the form of both software and machine parts make Cat rope shovels more efficient by increasing swing and lowering speeds. Draglines are the largest and most powerful machines in the mining industry, providing the fastest and most environmentally friendly means

of overburden removal. With more than 45 sets of specifications across a range of sizes, Caterpillar’s application engineers can set up customers with the machine that meets their exact needs.

Wheel loaders are essential tools for earthmoving on any mine site. Cat wheel loaders offer a variety of buckets and features allowing extensive customization to meet site-specific needs. These machines offer efficient production in the toughest conditions, with five models ranging from the 988H with a rated payload of 11.4 tonnes up to the 994H which can lift up to 35 tonnes.

The 994H, the largest of the Cat wheel loader line, features four loader linkage configurations and a range of buckets to tailor the machine to the job. While optimally matched to Cat 785, 789 and 793 mining trucks, the 994H has the design flexibility, capacity and durability to deliver reliable, low-cost

production in any operation. Lift configurations for the 994H include standard, high lift, extended high lift and super high lift, providing dump clearances at maximum lift that range from 19.2 feet to 23.3 feet.

Cat mining trucks are the workhorses of the world’s mine sites, with a range that offers customers the ability to choose the size and type to match their operation. Moving high volumes of material at the lowest possible cost is the goal of every surface mining operation. The selection of a truck fleet is a significant investment that requires careful consideration, so Caterpillar offers a wide range of mechanical drive mining trucks that deliver what mining customers demand: physical availability, optimized payload, fuel efficiency, operator comfort, enhanced serviceability and best-in-class performance. Caterpillar also makes four models of AC electric drive trucks.

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caterpillar more than the iron Cat off-highway and articulated trucks are built for tough mining, quarry and earthmoving applications.

These flexible machines can be tailored to meet a wide variety of support functions in the mining industry. They help customers feed their production plants, manage overburden and haul dirt quickly, safely and efficiently.

Articulated trucks, designed for rough terrain, include a unique Ejector model that allows for quick and clean dumping on the go.

The most important machines on a mine site, however, may not always be the ones loading and hauling ore.

Support equipment has a significant impact on mine-site productivity by making it possible for production machines to work quickly and efficiently. When haul roads are kept in top condition, trucks run faster, cycle times improve and more ore is produced. Good road conditions also reduce truck maintenance, lower fuel costs and reduce tire damage. Support equipment like wheel dozers, motor graders and track-type tractors are therefore key enablers to lowering cost per ton and improving profitability.

Track-type tractors are some of the most versatile machines in mining —

moving material to build, maintain and reclaim mine sites. These universal machines work in dozens of different applications, climates and environments, and can be customized with tools like rippers, rakes, coal blades and reclamation blades to meet site specific requirements.

Wheel dozers combine the production capability of a tracktype tractor with the all-terrain maneuverability and versatility of a wheel loader. Motor graders help create and maintain constant grade and proper drainage on haul roads, having a direct influence on mine-site productivity and costs by enabling trucks to run faster and operate more safely.

Going underground

As miners go deeper underground they need safe, reliable equipment designed to handle demanding conditions. The Cat product line includes drills, loaders and trucks for hard rock applications, customized systems for longwall mining and precision-engineered products for room and pillar operations.

No two mines are the same, especially when it comes to underground

operations. Every mine’s individual conditions are unique, so Caterpillar does not offer one-size-fits-all solutions. Its underground systems are designed specifically, whether for hard rock or longwall operations, and individual products can be customised to fit a particular mine.

At the MINExpo event in 2016 Caterpillar reinforced its commitment to underground mining with new products like the R1700K LHD, the AD22 truck, the new Cat® Rock Straight System, and a high torque drive system for longwall.

The new Cat R1700K underground loader features multiple engine configurations, a new ergonomic operator cabin and greater payload to help miners drive down costs and boost productivity. With a compact profile, efficient power train and rugged construction the new R1700K delivers a payload of 15 tonnes (16.5 tons), 20 per cent more than the previous model and supporting efficient three-pass loading of the 45-tonne-capacity (50-ton-capacity) Cat AD45B Underground Truck. After rigorous field testing is completed this year, the R1700K will be commercially launched in 2018.

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caterpillar “Cat mining trucks are the workhorses of the world’s mine sites, with a range that offers customers the ability to choose the size and type to match their operation”

more than the iron

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“The Rock Straight System is the first commercial continuous mining and hauling system for underground hard rock applications, and it is now commercially available after extensive field testing”

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Also at MINExpo 2016, Caterpillar announced a new, smaller, underground truck to its hard rock mining product line. The new 22.0-tonne-payload AD22 articulated dump truck is the smallest in the Cat product line, but it is designed to deliver the productive performance and durability of its proven, larger counterparts.

The AD22 makes best use of proven Cat components, such as the C11 ACERT diesel engine and it shares major components with a number of Cat machines to help ensure good parts availability and reduce inventory costs.

The wide body design makes loading faster and easier.

Multiple dump body sizes are available to optimize the truck for all mining applications suited to this size class.

The Cat® Rock Straight System is a fully mechanized longwall system designed for continuous mining of flat and tabular deposits and reefs of hard rock minerals.

The system combines the use of a hard rock shearer that uses Cat Activated Undercutting Technology, which is specifically designed for the extraction of bedded hard rock deposits. A low-profile hard rock chain conveyor and hard rock hydraulic roof supports complete the system, which delivers simultaneous cutting, loading and hauling—controlled by the proven Cat longwall automation system.

The Rock Straight System is the first commercial continuous mining and hauling system for underground hard rock applications, and it is now commercially available after extensive field testing. The efficient mining system is designed to replace conventional drill-and-blast operations in low heights, ranging from 1.3 to 2.0 meters (4.2 to 6.6 ft) and in bedded deposits such as some types of platinum, copper and gold deposits.

Global footprint

Caterpillar's global reach and presence is unmatched in the industry, serving customers in more than 180 countries with more than 300 products. More than half of the company’s sales are outside the United States, and it operates more than 500 locations worldwide if you count manufacturing, marketing, logistics, service, R&D and related facilities.

Cat products may be manufactured around the world, but they are all assembled in Caterpillar owned facilities, following the same stringent Cat Production System at every location to ensure consistent quality.

Caterpillar established its first major facility outside the United States more than 60 years ago in the UK. Today, the company employs more than 10,000 people there in 20 major facilities. The UK is one of the largest bases for Caterpillar outside the US, and its UK businesses export a significant portion of their manufactured products to a wide variety of customers and markets.

The company soon opened facilities in a number of other countries in the EAME region such as Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Russia, Poland, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. The EAME Region is an important manufacturing base and the largest Caterpillar distribution division outside of the United States with approximately 25,000 employees, of whom most are in the European Union within 36 manufacturing locations.

Caterpillar's presence in the Asia Pacific region includes Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Southeast Asia. Nearly 20 per cent of Caterpillar's employees and nearly 30 per cent of its global dealers are located in the Asia Pacific area.

Caterpillar manufactures medium wheel loaders for the North American market in Aurora, Illinois, but also produces them in Japan, Brazil, India and China. Large wheel loaders are manufactured exclusively in the United States on three separate assembly lines in Aurora, Illinois. Caterpillar has four major plants in the Peoria area: the Mapleton Foundry, where diesel engine blocks and other large parts are cast; the East Peoria factory, which has assembled Caterpillar tractors for over 70 years; the Mossville engine plant, built after World War II; and the Morton parts facility.

Major facilities in Europe include Grenoble and Echirolles in France, where track type tractors, track type loaders, wheeled excavators and undercarriage components are made.

A facility in Hungary handles fabrications and buckets, and in the UK, mini excavators are made in Leicester, articulated dump trucks at Peterlee and Perkins engines in Peterborough.

Cat underground products are made in four key locations: Luenen, Germany; Zhengzhou and Langfang, China, and Rayong, Thailand. Caterpillar has made significant investments in its manufacturing footprint in Thailand in recent years. The Underground Mining Facility started production in October 2012, while Caterpillar’s Rayong Tractor Facility started production in May 2013, mainly for export to global customers.

Roof supports for underground coal mining are designed by an experienced team in Germany, from where the castings are also sourced. The roof supports are subsequently built and assembled by a skilled team in Zhengzhou, China. As weld quality is critical on roof supports, to ensure consistent high quality the leadership team in Zhengzhou created a welding school within the facility.

caterpillar more than the iron

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Automation

There’s more to Caterpillar equipment than size and strength, however. It’s also getting smarter.

Automation is changing the way mines and quarries operate, and Caterpillar now offers equipment from fully autonomous haulage systems to remote control dozers to automation technologies that can be retrofitted to competitors’ machines.

Miners are keen to adopt automation. Taking operators out of hazardous areas reduces the risk of accidents, which is not only important for the people who might otherwise have been hurt – it

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reduces downtime, too. Mine sites that put autonomous technologies to work have experienced a number of valuable benefits, including increased productivity, higher equipment utilization and less machine damage.

Caterpillar is developing autonomous mining truck technology for an expanded range of models, including other brands. At a Cat® MineStar™ Command for hauling demonstration earlier this year at the company’s facility in Arizona, Caterpillar announced a project to adapt hardware and software for retrofitting the Komatsu 930E mining truck with Cat autonomous

technology. This interoperability initiative is driven by mining companies’ goal of reducing mining costs using their existing fleets.

Cat MineStar System is a comprehensive suite of mining technology products, consisting of a number of configurable capability sets for both surface and underground mines that allow customers to scale the system to their needs. The system helps manage everything from material tracking to sophisticated real-time fleet management, machine health systems, autonomous equipment systems and more.

caterpillar more than the iron

“Cat MineStar System helps manage everything from material tracking to sophisticated realtime fleet management, machine health systems, autonomous equipment systems and more”

World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

43

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The names and logos Caterpillar速, Komatsu速, John Deere速, Volvo速 or any other original equipment manufacturers are registered trademarks of the respective original eq

FOR THE RIGHT JOB AT THE RIGHT PRICE

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Dia. Of Tool (mm)

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quipment manufacturers. All descriptions, numbers and symbols are used for reference purposes only. Teran Industries, Inc. is not affiliated with the brand mentioned above.

On surface mine sites, autonomous trucks help make cycle times more consistent while ensuring that equipment operates within prescribed parameters. Underground, operators based in remotely-located control stations load and dump material under tele-remote control. Then, their load-haul-dump machines steer autonomously during hauling, preventing accidental contact with mine walls. In some cases, sidewall collisions that would normally result in machine damage have been reduced to zero. Productivity is also improved through improved equipment utilization, uninterrupted by shift changes or, in underground operations, the need to evacuate areas for ventilation after blasting.

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Three coal mines running complete Cat Longwall Automation systems in Australia have improved their coal output by 90% without compromising safety or availability. One mine has set a production record by producing 330,000 tonnes (363,762 short tons) in a single week. The benefits go beyond increased production – improved safety, increased machine availability and increased component wear life are also possible with a complete longwall system.

For customers who continue to use human beings to operate machinery from the cab, advancements are continually being made to improve safety. One recent development is the Cat Driver Safety System (DSS), a non-intrusive, in-cab fatigue

detection technology that instantly alerts operators the moment fatigue or distraction is identified.

Fatigue detection technology works by monitoring eye-closure duration and head pose. If the DSS detects a fatigue or distraction event, the operator is immediately alerted through configurable in-vehicle seat vibration and / or audio alarm. The fatigue or distraction event is sent to a 24-hour monitoring centre to classify and confirm the event, where it is analysed by Caterpillar experts who can provide suggestions to improve operational efficiency.

Cat Smartband wearable technology is also available to enable workers to monitor sleep and fatigue levels themselves. The technology monitors

caterpillar more than the iron

“The global Cat dealer network is quite unparalleled, delivering expert service, integrated solutions, aftersales support, fast and efficient parts fulfillment, world-class remanufacturing capabilities and more”

the worker’s sleep and wake periods and converts the data into an effectiveness score – viewable by the employee at any time with the push of a button. If a score is approaching 70% – the employee is considered to be fatigue impaired. Caterpillar Safety Services can help mine managers integrate this technology and will guide them in leveraging the data to build a robust fatigue management system.

A Fatigue Risk Assessment (FRA) was carried out at the Aurora, North Carolina, mine of Potash Corp to understand the feasibility of implementing the DSS to reduce operator fatigue and distraction and to increase the safety of the haul truck drivers. Potash Corp has since

implemented a full installation of the Driver Safety System.

Services

As well as being the world’s leading manufacturer of equipment for the mining industry, Caterpillar is also the leading provider of a number of support products, services, knowledge and solutions that make it definitive one-stop shop for miners. Its service portfolio includes financing, innovative trade arrangements, and rental and used products to help customers get the equipment they need. It also provides generator sets to help customers power their operations, rail products and services to transport materials around the world, and a line of on-highway and bare chassis trucks

that can be customized to meet specific support needs.

And then there’s the dealer network, one of the biggest differentiators for the brand. If the Cat product line is unmatched in the industry, when it comes to service and support, the global Cat dealer network is quite unparalleled, too, delivering expert service, integrated solutions, after-sales support, fast and efficient parts fulfillment, world-class remanufacturing capabilities and more. One of the strengths of the Caterpillar brand, they say, is that they are as committed to the truck you bought yesterday as the one you’ll buy tomorrow. That’s why customers return to Caterpillar in such numbers. * * * World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

47

AKG COOL CUSTOMERS AKG is a leading supplier of highperformance coolers and heat exchangers across a multitude of applications, including mining equipment and machinery, in which capacity five of its global plants have earned awards from Caterpillar’s supplier quality excellence program (SQEP) so far this year.

F

ounded in Germany in 1919, AKG now operates twelve manufacturing facilities around the world. The company has an international reputation for custom quality heat exchangers, and its products serve the construction, forestry, agriculture, on-highway, compressor, material handling, industrial, off-highway, and

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mining markets, including major manufacturers of mining equipment such as Hitachi, Komatsu – and, of course, Caterpillar, with whom it has had a close relationship for 35 years.

Seven of AKG’s global plants supply products to Caterpillar, and so far this year, five of them have been awarded honours in CAT’s supplier quality excellence program (SQEP). AKG’s Latvian plant has been awarded platinum level, the highest honour available, after achieving gold for the previous three consecutive years.

The Indian plant was promoted to platinum after last year’s gold award, and the US plant in Mitchell, South Dakota won gold as its first award. AKG’s plant in China won a bronze, and just at the time of writing it was announced that its facility in France had also been recognised with a bronze award.

“Our relationship with an OEM is just as important as the product,” says Adam Jury, AKG’s Global Key Account Manager for

“It’s not about achieving SQEP once, it’s about maintaining that consistency over time” Caterpillar, based in Mebane, North Carolina.

“We have strong competitors who make good products, so you have to differentiate yourself in every way possible.” Supplier awards amount to prestigious recognition, he says, “but it’s not about achieving SQEP once, it’s about maintaining that consistency over time. With the awards we have won this year we have demonstrated the consistency that Caterpillar is looking for.”

Companies often refer to a ‘partnership relationship’ with their customers, but what does this mean in practice? “For us, it means getting involved in projects at a very early stage and planning them together,” says Dr Armin Martin, Group Vice President, Sales and Engineering. “We work together in the research and development phase, sometimes years in advance of product introduction.”

The cooling manufacturer is one of the

first suppliers chosen after the engine is selected, he explains. “When you design a new machine, the first thing you do is choose an engine. The next thing is to choose a cooler for that engine and then the rest of it follows.”

The coolers are always individual to the engine, he explains, so if there are two different engine versions for the same dump truck, there would have to be two RFQs (requests for quotation), because every engine functions differently. As the design of the machine evolves, therefore, it’s important for the cooler supplier to follow every stage of development.

“When they add components to the machine, the performance of the engine changes and the requirements of the coolers change,” explains Martin. “It can take up to seven or eight iterations before the machine is fully developed, so we keep talking with them over the development of every project.”

The AKG plant in Latvia is the first to achieve Caterpillar’s platinum award.

It began to do business with CAT in 2012 and earned its first gold award after two years, going platinum this year after three successive golds. What does that say about the company? “It says we have very high quality, and a delivery performance not far short of 100 per cent,” says Gerhard Ritzmann, plant manager and managing director since the factory opened in 2005.

“This is what the customer wants.”

AKG Latvia supplies 30 or 40 different coolers to Caterpillar, including oil coolers, radiators, charger coolers and fuel coolers. Orders vary widely, week by week, depending on the machines that Caterpillar itself has taken orders

AKG Cool customers

for. “With this kind of complexity, quality and delivery performance are paramount,” says Ritzmann. ”You need to develop a production system that can follow the demands of the customer.”

Such a system is often known as lean manufacturing, a way of working based on the legendary Toyota Production System, which AKG has adopted. Make to order is a fundamental element of lean manufacturing, as is continuous improvement. To be considered truly ‘lean’, a manufacturing facility must have this embedded in its culture. “You don’t have to look for big improvements,” says Ritzmann.

“You must find thousands of small improvements.”

One aspect of the Japanese inspired system that is not easily learned in Western culture is ‘jidoka’, the principle that work should stop immediately a problem becomes evident. In the traditional Western factory, stopping the line used to be almost a hanging offence, but in the enlightenment of the Toyota Production System it’s seen quite differently, as it allows an aberrant process to be corrected before any defective products are made. “To develop this culture is difficult because people are not designed for stopping,” says Ritzmann. “People are designed

for working around an abnormal situation. We start teaching jidoka when we first hire people, so it’s part of their induction into the company. That way people learn that it’s OK to stop when something is wrong. They get into trouble if they don’t stop!” Even if someone stops the line mistakenly, this is not a hanging offence either, as it identifies a training need, which leads to another small improvement.

AKG’s facilities are all equipped to

“You need to develop a production system that can follow the demands of the customer” a high standard, so the quality of the product can be guaranteed around the world. In practice, however, as Caterpillar manufactures different machinery in different places, AKG’s plants tend to specialize accordingly, but they have to be ready to adapt when the need arises. “Our two US plants supply up to a dozen Caterpillar sites in the US,” says Adam Jury, “but they are relocating production of one of their machines to Indonesia. What makes us a good fit with Caterpillar is that we have a global manufacturing footprint that matches that of CAT’s.

We have very consistent technology,

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“Our new modular cooling system uses a special kind of air cooling fins, with a very high performance with low cooling air pressure drop.

That allows us to slow down the fan speed to reduce the engine’s fuel consumption”

tooling and quality levels across all of our plants, so we can easily transfer products from one location to another without significant investments.”

Caterpillar’s European footprint is different from the US, Jury explains.

The Dortmund plant in Germany is CAT’s global base for mining shovels, whereas in the US they build mining trucks and large dozers.

No matter how good you are, nothing stays the same for long, however, especially with a system in which continuous improvement is a fundamental philosophy. “We have recently been working on our new modular cooling system (MCS),” says Hans Palm, AKG’s New Product Introduction Director, based in Germany. Coolers in AKG’s existing range are all single units, but the company has patented a cost effective method of plugging together individual modules that adds great flexibility and versatility.

“How we put the cooler together is completely new in the market,” explains Palm. “There are other modular systems, but we have a special plug and seal connection which is a new development. We can use this connection for oil coolers, charger coolers and for radiators. The connectors are made of different materials according to their application and the modules are put together in a different way for each piece of mining equipment.”

A great advantage here is that the configuration of the individual modules can be adjusted to make them adaptable to different ambient conditions. So if an OEM sells a piece of equipment for use in the Pilbara

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region of Western Australia, it might need its cooling system configured a little differently from the same machine sold in Northern Canada.

“We can accommodate different ambient temperatures and dusty environments,” explains Palm. “We can fit them to meet any specific ambient conditions. But the cooler fits into the same envelope so they don’t need to redesign their surrounding structures for different conditions. We just rearrange them and plug them together in a different way.”

New product development also has to keep pace with ever tighter emissions standards and other regulations, and these are just some of the drivers behind continuous product improvement.

“Our new modular cooling system uses a special kind of air cooling fins, with a very high performance with low cooling air pressure drop,” explains Palm. “That allows us to slow down the fan speed to reduce the engine’s fuel consumption. We have also developed anti-clogging fins. That means that we have less fouling in our cooling systems, so the cooling performance is always near 100 per cent. And you don’t have to clean it so often. And the weight of our coolers is usually also lower than other systems.”

AKG is currently working on a major

technological investment programme, as Dr Armin Martin explains. “We have a network of engineering offices all over the world that are interconnected. We have international teams working on particular projects because a requirement of a major customer is often for the same machine to be produced in different locations. It should be exactly to the same spec and the same quality. So we have global key account teams that cover all the locations from where a customer requires our products. We have seven global key account teams, of which Adam’s Caterpillar team is one.” This team communicates with the customer’s engineering department and all the AKG facilities where the cooler has to be produced, in order to develop a common design that can be produced in the different AKG factories.

“We have a research and tech centre here in Germany,” Martin continues, “and we are currently investing a couple of million dollars into a centre in America. Some of our research and development activities are also now in

Asia because some of the big mining firms, like Komatsu and Hitachi, do their research in Asia, and they want us to be close. We have an engineering office in Japan, so we can talk in Japanese to their engineers.”

As it approaches its centenary, AKG’s growth has been entirely organic, and the North American market currently represents a little over a third of its global business. “Our plan is to grow our Asian market to a third, so we have a third in North America, a third in Europe and a third in Asia,” concludes Dr Martin. “We hope to achieve that by 2025. * * *

Cooling Experts Around the Globe

COOLING SYSTEMS

for heavy duty applications

For those who can’t miss a beat …Easy handling …Easy exchange …Compact bar & plate coolers …Reduced variety of parts Durability is Everything LEARN MORE AT: www.AKG-GROUP.com

  World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

52

RIO TINTO VALUE OVER VOLUME

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At a time when the mining industry’s costs are rising and productivity is struggling, shareholder returns require strategic investment and an element of discipline. Rio Tinto has outperformed its peers with its world-class assets and has some quality growth projects in the pipeline.

C

apital investment in mining infrastructure has been somewhat stagnant of late, with new mines as rare as hen’s teeth. Much more common has been the disposal of non-core assets and the mothballing of marginal ones.

There were reasons to be cheerful, therefore, when Rio Tinto officially opened its Silvergrass iron ore mine in Western Australia at the end of August. The US$338 million project is the 16th mine in Rio Tinto’s world-class iron ore operations in the Pilbara region and will produce

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low-phosphorous ore crucial to maintaining its premium Pilbara Blend product.

“Silvergrass is a great example of our value-over-volume approach in action, as the mine will deliver the high-quality, low-cost ore used to maintain the world-class premium Pilbara Blend product our customers love so much,” said Rio Tinto chief executive J-S Jacques. “Silvergrass is a further demonstration of our longstanding commitment to the Pilbara region in Western Australia where we’ve invested more than US$20

billion over the past decade.”

The brownfields expansion project will lower mine operating costs as a result of the construction of a ninekilometre conveyor system to replace traditional road haulage routes linking Silvergrass to the existing processing plant at Nammuldi.

More than 500 jobs, as well as opportunities for indigenous contracting, were created during the construction of the mine. Contracts worth more than $180 million were awarded during the construction phase, including contracts to Western Australian company Decmil and Perth headquartered company RCR Resources.

In May this year Rio Tinto approved an investment of $30.9 million to complete the project feasibility study on its Koodaideri iron ore deposit

rio tinto value over volume

“Silvergrass is a great example of our valueover-volume approach in action, as the mine will deliver the high-quality, low-cost ore used to maintain the world-class premium Pilbara Blend product our customers love so much”

in the Pilbara, which could be its next major mining development in Western Australia. “The Koodaideri development will require an expected 1600 construction jobs and a further 600 operational staff if approved,” said Rio Tinto Iron Ore chief executive Chris Salisbury. “We remain firmly focused on our value over volume strategy and maximising returns through enhanced productivity. We are examining the Koodaideri project as an option to help us maintain our low cost competitive position and assist in maintaining the Pilbara Blend product quality.”

The feasibility study will focus on obtaining necessary consent and permits, increasing the company’s understanding of the orebody and technical elements, and providing the data necessary to validate the project.

Pre-feasibility study information for the project was released in an investor seminar in November 2016, which included a 40Mtpa capacity dry crushing and screening plant, non-process infrastructure, product stockyards, rail loop and load-out and a 170 kilometre rail link to the main line. It suggested a capital requirement of approximately US$2.2 billion, with potential for construction to commence in 2019. The final decision on the progression of the Koodaideri iron ore development will follow the completion of the feasibility study and subsequent review by the Rio Tinto

investment committee and board.

Aluminium

Also in Australia, Rio Tinto is expanding in Queensland, too, continuing its 50 year history of operations in Cape York with a US$2.6 billion investment to build a mine and port to expand production from one of the world’s premier bauxite deposits.

Rio Tinto (originally as Comalco) has mined and shipped bauxite from Weipa on the Western Cape York Peninsula in Queensland since 1963, but the original reserves are gradually being depleted and with continued demand for bauxite, the business has identified significant reserves south of the Embley River.

The Weipa operations consist of two continuous mining operations at East Weipa and Andoom, two beneficiation plants, 19 kilometres of railway to transport mined bauxite to the port area, two stockpiles and two ship loaders. Rio Tinto also owns and operates two diesel engine power stations, which supply the mine, Weipa town and the neighbouring community of Napranum.

A key milestone for the future of the Weipa operations was reached with the Rio Tinto Board approving funding for the Amrun project in late 2015.

The project includes the construction of a range of infrastructure including a processing plant and port near Boyd Bay, a dam, tailings storage facility, roads and a ferry terminal on the Hey River to transport workers from Weipa to the mine.

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rio tinto value over volume

Construction on the project is well under way with first shipment planned for the first half of 2019.

In June this year Rio awarded an A$100 million contract to Aggreko Australia Pacific to build and operate a new 20MW power station at the Amrun bauxite project. A team of more than 20 Aggreko employees including engineers, project managers and technicians will come together to deliver the installation by December 2017 with go-live set for April 2018.

Once operational, Amrun will replace production from Rio Tinto’s existing East Weipa mine and increase annual bauxite exports. Planned initial output is 22.8 million tonnes per year with a range of options for future expansions up to 50 million tonnes per year.

Rio Tinto’s existing bauxite operations have hardly been slacking of late, however, with record bauxite ore production of 12.9 million metric tons in the second quarter of 2017.

The record output was a 7 per cent increase year-on-year, and a 14 per cent increase quarter-on-quarter. Total production for the first half of 2017 was 24.2 million metric tons, a four-

per cent increase year-on-year.

Rio Tinto attributes the record production total to corresponding record production at its Gove and Weipa operations, with Gove besting Q2 2016 production by 27 per cent and Weipa producing four per cent more bauxite year-on-year.

Debottlenecking at Gove and recovery from severe weather at Weipa are credited with buoying production in the quarter and half year.

“A key milestone for the future of the Weipa operations was reached with the Rio Tinto Board approving funding for the Amrun project in late 2015”

While some product is shipped to international customers, the majority of Weipa bauxite is supplied to the Queensland Alumina Limited and Rio Tinto Aluminium Yarwun refineries, both located near Gladstone on the central Queensland coast.

These refineries produce alumina as feedstock for Australian aluminium smelting operations and for sale on the international market.

The Gove Operation is located on the Gove Peninsula in North East Arnhem land in the Northern Territory. It is situated on extensive deposits of high grade bauxite, a burnished red ore with high aluminium oxide content.

Bauxite mining began there in 1970 to supply the export market.

Diamonds

While we’re in Australia, it’s worth mentioning that Rio Tinto owns and operates the Argyle diamond mine in the remote East Kimberley region of Western Australia. It is one of the world's largest suppliers of diamonds and the world's largest supplier of natural coloured diamonds, including World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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the highly coveted rare pink diamonds.

The Argyle diamond deposit, located in the AK1 pipe, was mined using conventional alluvial and open pit mining from 1983 to 2013. Over this period more than 800 million carats of diamonds were mined. In 2013 a new era of underground mining of the AK1 pit took over to access the pipe at further depth.

Block cave mining techniques – where the ore body is undercut, allowing it to break up and ‘cave’ under its own weight – are now being employed to extend the life of the Argyle mine until at least 2020. The block cave is expected to generate on average 20 million carats per year.

The Argyle underground mine is a challenge both in size and complexity.

There are around 40 kilometres of tunnels. The main thoroughfares in the underground network are four tunnels – two to carry vehicles, one for ventilation and one for moving ore. There are two large underground crushers and conveyor belts transport the ore from deep in the mine to the surface.

When Argyle was first established, it became apparent that purposedesigned processing machinery would be needed to recover and sort the high volume of characteristically small stones produced by the mine.

This included the development of sophisticated X-ray sorting technology to assist in the efficient identification and collection of the small diamonds.

Today, the Argyle processing plant is one of the most efficient in the world.

It is capable of processing up to 11 million tonnes of ore per annum operating 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.

Argyle produces diamonds in a range of colours, including white, champagne and pink gems. The majority of Argyle’s diamonds are sold as “rough” or uncut diamonds.

These are sorted and prepared for international sale by Rio Tinto’s sales and marketing team in Antwerp, Belgium. The majority of customers are Indian based companies and the Indian cutting industry has been an important platform for developing the market for the small, coloured diamonds that characterize the Argyle production.

Rio Tinto also owns a 60 per cent interest in, and operates, the Diavik

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Diamond Mine in Canada's remote Northwest Territories, 220km south of the Arctic Circle. The design, construction and operation of the Diavik mine is an epic saga of success on a grand scale in the most forbidding of places. Diavik commenced production in 2003 and has an annual production of some 6-7 million carats of predominantly large, white gem-quality diamonds. It is expected to continue to produce high quality gems to 2023 and potentially beyond.

Rio Tinto now has a new joint venture partner in the Diavik mine, as Dominion Diamonds recently sold

its 40 per cent share to Washington Companies.

Also in Canada, Rio Tinto has become involved in a joint venture with Shore Gold, which acquired from Newmont Canada in June, all of Newmont's participating interest in the Fort à la Corne joint venture, resulting in Shore owning 100% of the Star-Orion South Diamond Project.

Shore concurrently entered into an option to joint venture with Rio Tinto Exploration Canada, granting RTEC an option to earn up to a 60% interest in the project on the terms and conditions contained in the option agreement.

rio tinto value over volume

Copper

Although Rio Tinto lists many of its assets in Australia and Canada, its copper interests are focused elsewhere, particularly in Mongolia. One of the most exciting developments in copper and gold mining for several decades, Oyu Tolgoi contains reserves and resources that make it one of the world’s largest known copper and gold deposits. The project is expected to be a significant contributor to Mongolia’s economic development.

Situated in the southern Gobi desert of Mongolia, approximately 550 kilometres south of the capital Ulaanbaatar, and 80 kilometres north of the Mongolia-China border, Oyu Tolgoi is jointly owned by the Government of Mongolia (34 per cent) and Turquoise Hill Resources (66 per cent, of which Rio Tinto owns 51 per cent). Since 2010, Rio Tinto has also been the manager of the Oyu Tolgoi project.

After decades of exploration and drilling, the first major discoveries at Oyu Tolgoi were made in 2001, leading to several years of further exploration which revealed the impressive scale of the deposit. While exploration continues, even with the reserves currently identified, Oyu

Tolgoi is expected to operate for over 50 years. Some $6.4 billion has been invested to develop the open-pit mine, concentrator and associated infrastructure at Oyu Tolgoi, with an additional $500 million of capital costs for initial development of the underground mine.

To this point, all of Oyu Tolgoi’s concentrate has been produced using ore mined from the surface using open pit mining. However, the majority of the value of Oyu Tolgoi, up to 80 per

cent, lies deep underground. In May 2015, Oyu Tolgoi’s shareholders, Rio Tinto, Turquoise Hill Resources and the Government of Mongolia, agreed upon a plan to progress the next stage of underground development, using block-caving mining techniques to extract the ore and transport it to the surface to the concentrator.

Block-caving, while technically challenging, is one of the safest and most cost-effective methods of mining ore from deep below the ground.

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rio tinto value over volume

Fourteen kilometres of lateral tunnels have already been constructed at Oyu Tolgoi, and over time, up to 200 kilometres of tunnels, at depths of up to 1,300 metres, will be built to allow safe mining of the deepest parts of Oyu Tolgoi’s ore body.

In the United States, Rio Tinto Kennecott is a fully integrated mining operation located just outside Salt Lake City, Utah. Kennecott is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto. For more than 110 years, Kennecott has been mining and processing minerals from the rich orebody of the Bingham Canyon Mine. In 1989, Rio Tinto acquired the Bingham Canyon Mine and other facilities in the Salt Lake Valley. Kennecott produces copper, molybdenum, gold, silver and sulphuric acid to be shipped around the world.

In Arizona, the Resolution Copper Project is a proposed world-class copper mine that is said to have the potential to supply 25 per cent of the current US annual demand for copper for 40 years. Resolution Copper is located near the town of Superior, 65 miles east of Phoenix, Arizona, in an

area known as the ‘Copper Triangle’ with abundant historic mining activity.

Some of the region’s mines have now closed, as their orebodies had become uneconomic, but the Resolution Copper project offers an opportunity to reinvigorate the area’s economy with an industry the state and its people know well.

Resolution Copper Mining (RCM) is a limited liability company owned 55 per cent by Resolution Copper Company, a Rio Tinto PLC subsidiary, and 45 per cent by BHP Copper, a BHP-Billiton PLC subsidiary.

In late 2014 the Resolution Project passed an important milestone when legislation was passed that provides

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for an exchange of land between the company and the US Government.

The Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act provides for 2,400 acres of federally-owned land above the copper deposit to be exchanged for 5,300 acres of highquality conservation and recreational land owned by Resolution Copper.

By allowing the company access to this land near the deposit, Resolution Copper will be able to fully understand the deposit, and how to safely develop it.

The exchange will be completed when a final environmental impact statement (EIS) is issued under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The EIS will outline mitigation plans to protect land, cultural sites, and air and water quality on property included on both sides of the exchange. Once the final EIS is released, Resolution Copper’s property will become public land, and will be managed by the Government.

In South America, Rio Tinto has a 30 per cent interest in Escondida, in Chile, which is managed by BHP Billiton, giving it regular input on strategic and policy matters. The Minera Escondida copper mine in Chile’s Atacama Desert is the world’s largest copper-producing mine. In

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“Earlier this year Rio Tinto applied for exploration permits in Chile’s northern region of Arica, as the company searches globally for new deposits worthy of being developed into mines”

2012 it accounted for five per cent of global copper production and around 15 per cent of Chilean copper production. Escondida produces copper concentrate, through a flotation process of sulphide ore, and copper cathodes, using a leaching process of oxide and sulphide ore.

Earlier this year Rio Tinto applied for exploration permits in Chile’s northern region of Arica, as the company searches globally for new deposits worthy of being developed into mines. The company wants to start drilling in an area at an altitude of 2,100 metres, about 58km from Arica city, close to the border with Peru and Bolivia, according to the local Spanish language newspaper El Mercurio.

The so-called Palmani project aims to discover and characterize the mining potential of the area, which could eventually be developed into a mine, according to information provided by the country’s Environmental Assessment Service (SEA).

Rio Tinto also has an interest in Grasberg, in the province of Papua in Indonesia, one of the world’s largest copper and gold mines in terms of ore reserves and production. Until recently it was owned and operated by Freeport Indonesia (PTFI), a subsidiary of USbased Freeport-McMoRan Copper &

rio tinto value over volume Gold Inc. Rio Tinto has a joint venture for a 40 per cent share of production above specific levels until 2021, and 40 per cent of all production after 2021.

The Indonesian government has taken a tough line on foreign owned mining assets, however, resulting in Freeport reducing its stake in the company to 49 per cent, with the government now owning the majority 51 per cent share. There is as yet no indication as to whether this will affect Rio Tinto’s interests.

Lithium

The lightest metal on Earth, lithium is in great demand as it is used in a vast array of products, most notably batteries for hybrid and electric cars. Rio Tinto Borates' Jadar project in Serbia is a significant, world-class lithium-borate resource.

Rio Tinto discovered Jadar in 2004.

It is a unique deposit near the town of Loznica, in Western Serbia, some 160 kilometres from its capital Belgrade.

The deposit contains Jadarite, a new mineral unique to Serbia, which has not been found anywhere else in the world.

Jadar has been ranked as one of the largest lithium deposits in the world. If developed, it is said to have the potential to supply more than 10% of global demand for lithium.

Borates are essential building blocks for heat resistant glass, fibreglass, ceramics, fertilisers, detergents, wood preservatives and many other household and commercial products. They are used in insulation that makes buildings energyefficient, and to produce TV, computer and smartphone screens.

Rio Tinto has recently elevated Jadar to become its most likely growth project, revealing that if it gets approvals and the economics support it, it will start construction in 2020 and reach first production in 2023. The company has so far spent around US$90 million on Jadar.

In July this year Rio Tinto signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Serbia relating to the implementation of the Jadar Project. The MOU will enable the formation of joint working groups between the government and the company to progress the Jadar Project through the study and permitting phases. Under current plans, Jadar will be an underground mine, with the

opportunity for future expansion if demand warrants it.

“Jadar has been ranked as one of the largest lithium deposits in the world. If developed, it is said to have the potential to supply more than 10% of global demand for lithium”

At the 2017 Global Metals & Mining Conference in Barcelona in May, Rio Tinto’s chief executive J-S Jacques described his approach to delivering superior value for shareholders as being about a long-term strategy built on world-class assets; maximising cash through a value-over-volume approach; developing a highperformance culture across the Group and allocating capital with discipline.

“We have world-class assets and the best balance sheet in the industry,” he concluded. “This creates a strong platform for the future.“ * * *

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bullseye distributors ltd MINING MEAL SOLUTIONS DELIVERED AT OYU TOLGOI Of all the logistical tasks in managing a modern mining operation, getting a constant supply of quality nutritious food to fuel the appetites of thousands of miners isn’t the first problem which normally springs to mind. But no mining company should ever underestimate the importance in morale and performance of getting good food - on time, day after day - to those who do one of the toughest jobs on the planet.

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MINING MEAL SOLUTIONS DELIVERED AT OYU TOLGOI

aced with the fact that meal delivery to mining teams was at best a low-tech part of an otherwise meticulously planned high-tech operation, one British company saw an opportunity to put the experience it gained in the UK social care sector to the test by offering mining operations the chance to switch to a simple but highly effective meal delivery system.

And now the system has been proven across the globe at giant operations such as Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia and Ambatovy in Madagascar.

Bullseye Distributors works closely alongside mining management and their contracted catering operations to provide tailored meal delivery solutions based on its sustainable sealed tray system. It not only gives protection and sealed-in nutrition for meals delivered to remote operations but it also reduces food wastage and eradicates spillage along the way. But the company goes further by including kitchen team training on how to get the best out of their system as well as advising and implementing every part of the process - and even resolving packaging and food waste issues in some of the most ecologically sensitive areas of the world.

Ambatovy

“Regular, nutritious food delivery is essential. We believe our system will significantly contribute to the mine’s efficiency and productivity”

At its first mining site operation, Bullseye’s close working relationships resulted in a revolution in food quality and service on the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar at the Ambatovy mining project. It came about because the operation demanded that there was minimal down time around the lunch break, which meant that pack meals were essential.

However, the workforce was very dissatisfied with the existing system. In addition, those behind Ambatovy were committed to contributing to sustainable development in Madagascar – a unique eco system - far into the future and long after they have left. This commitment dovetailed perfectly with Bullseye’s philosophy even down to the smallest detail in adopting ecofriendly meal trays for the 1,700 workers there who need a healthy, nutritional meal three times a day. And now the same proven approach has taken off at the Oyu Tolgoi mine in the remote Gobi Desert in Mongolia.

Bullseye meal trays are made from eco-friendly paper pulp and the separate compartments are sealed with film lids by purpose-designed Bullseye machines. This means that food such as a typical three course lunch of meat with rice, vegetables and salad and dessert or fruit can be delivered to even the remotest parts of the mine without affecting quality and presentation.

Before these new trays were introduced it was not possible to include sauces or juices with the meals as these would run into other foods in transit. Now the meals, which are freshly made and packed under clinical conditions in a central kitchen, can be sealed, stacked and shipped to workers without the problems of the past and with the big advantage of reducing the need to transport workers to central feeding points. The system also brings flexibility of scaling up food delivery at times of workforce expansion or during the construction of new facilities at the mine.

Bullseye has even designed and produced tailored, thermallyinsulated, delivery bags to transport each consignment directly from the kitchen and helped design the labelling and tracking system necessary to ensure prompt personalised food delivery World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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even to the remotest parts of the mine. And at the end of the process, the used paper pulp trays and food residues can be collected and separated afterwards for recycling or beneficial recovery.

As Peter Prior of Bullseye, which developed the packed meal system for social care meal deliveries, explains: “When we were first approached to resolve a meal delivery problem in the mining sector, we identified a number of issues preventing not just a sustainable meal delivery but also affecting the quality of food and presentation. The old-fashioned polystyrene food boxes they were using not only meant meals got cold quickly but were also difficult to transport and food quickly became messy and mixed together, losing its appeal. The polystyrene was also not environmentally friendly and so contributed to waste disposal problems. Throughout the day, miners work hard and deserve good food and our system allows this. At Oyu Tolgoi by 2021, around 6,000 workers will extract nearly half a million tonnes of copper and 425,000 ounces of gold every year. For them, regular, nutritious food delivery is essential. We believe our system will significantly contribute to the mine’s efficiency and productivity.”

The Bullseye trays also allow the full range of cooking and storage options as they can be frozen to minus 40°C and heated to 205°C in conventional or microwave ovens. But the new thinking in food packaging and delivery also brought other advantages. It allowed the site catering team the freedom to reconsider the possibilities of new ingredients and sauces. On this basis, they were able to create a new range of menus with greater choice and appeal.

Since he launched his range of food trays and associated

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bullseye distributors ltd MINING MEAL SOLUTIONS DELIVERED AT OYU TOLGOI equipment in the UK in 2009, Peter Prior has captured markets in sectors ranging from care homes and meals-on-wheels to prison cells and the production sites of environmentally conscious ready-meal makers. But the global reach of his simple web site is what led to the enquiry for a solution in Madagascar and, more recently the Bullseye reputation spread to Oyu Tolgoi.

Now the interest goes even further as Bullseye took the big step to exhibit at MINExpo 2016 in Las Vegas Nevada, USA. As Peter says, “The interest in what we offer was phenomenal with many saying that food delivery is an area that is one of their biggest headaches. Because mining in remote and highly sensitive areas attracts attention in the media and elsewhere, being at MINExpo convinced us that even the giant corporate operations have to pay attention to the finest detail in every aspect of the impact they make. Now it is clear from our discussions that they are seeking the greenest route to feeding their employees and helping improve food quality into the bargain. Just as importantly, by using our eco tray system, we can help ensure there is no residual food and packaging waste problem left behind as a nasty taste in years to come.”

Bullseye can be contacted on + 44 1525 863911 or in the UK on 0800 011 2311. The email address is info@ bullseyedistributors.co.uk and the web site is www.bullseyedistributors.co.uk

“Even the giant corporate operations have to pay attention to the finest detail in every aspect of the impact they make”

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blue rock one As you probably understand all too well, today’s business environment is characterized by rapid, unpredictable change. Some changes bring opportunities for your business, while others bring challenges and sometimes even threats.

In the United States alone, a disaster occurred every 3.5 days on average in 2016. But no matter what, your business has to be responsive and resilient, seamlessly taking advantage of opportunities while mitigating risks.

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ASSIGNING VALUE

According to a global insurer, there is an 80% chance that a business will experience a disaster in its lifetime. Research found that of those businesses that were impacted, 43% closed following the disaster and never reopened; An additional 29% of businesses would close permanently within 2 years.

Of those who didn’t close, many saw long-term consequences such as a drop in stock prices, damaged reputations, and a loss in production. Preparing for and mitigating the effects of a coming disaster is the purpose of business resilience. We must protect our greatest asset, our people, and the industry that our livelihoods and communities depend on. Preparedness and resilience efforts have proven to return the

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investment made by organizations by as much as 208 times. Your teams want to confidently deliver outstanding response and recovery efforts - they need leadership, good training, and simple systems to achieve this. A company like Blue Rock can give you that return on your investment.

HERE TO THERE

Blue Rock, an international consulting firm based in Colorado, USA, has been collaborating with both large and small mining operations in business resilience for over a decade. They provide expertise in all aspects of disaster planning and management.

“Hope is not an action plan” according to Ken Rost, Principal of Blue Rock One. He adds “Business resilience is a collaborative effort to join our people,

plans, and preparedness activities together to effectively rebound from events that may or may not be under our control.” Today, getting to a place of preparedness is a time and resource intensive effort.

The challenge of becoming a resilient organization requires measured preparedness activities that build the framework for managing a disaster. You must develop plans that allow you to stay on course to achieve your goals and objectives. Continuity is the knowledge, skills, and preparation that allows you to recover quickly. So, how do we measure the resilience of an organization that may not have experienced a large-scale disaster? Standards, policies, legislation, practice, and smaller scale responses can give us a hint. Try to think of some of the standards this way: You use a map

blue rock one to get from “here” to “there”, but do you know where “here” is? Assessments by companies such as Blue Rock are an ideal way of finding this location.

Armed with this information, getting to “there” is the collaboration between Blue Rock and the mine, choosing a path to resiliency.

43

The percent of businesses closed following a disaster

THE PATH LESS TRAVELLED: THE RESILIENCE BRIDGE

Quite often the term business resilience is used interchangeably with emergency response. As a low-frequency, highrisk activity in many organizations, this requires explicit skills and training.

There is no doubt emergency response is a critical component of any business resilience plan. Think of business resilience as a bridge, with emergency response representing only a section of the bridge. While other sections are just as important, all are needed to navigate safely from one side to the other.

Preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery create our sound bridge structure; The Resilience Bridge. Failing to build or maintain all sections of this bridge, plunges us into what lies below: Injury, fatality, environmental disasters, reduced production, reputational damage, and even complete closure.

Businesses that fail to prepare for disasters are many times more likely to go out of business. As a responder during Hurricane Katrina, Ken Rost witnessed firsthand that most businesses

who failed to prepare, never recovered.

SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE

There are many challenges to business resilience. Resources, budgets, and time all present seemingly insurmountable hurdles to business resilience activities.

So, let’s ask another question, does your organization have insurance? Your answer is probably yes but, is this a resource that can be implemented to prevent injury, save lives, and get back to production in an effective manner?

Consider disaster and emergency response planning, training, and exercises as crisis insurance.

If I asked you to think about the word ‘risk’, you would probably think of a chart depicting consequences and likelihood but, what would you think if asked about the word ‘resilience’?

The answer is often met with another question. “Isn’t Business Resilience just good risk management?” And; “aren’t we already doing this?” Business Resilience planning gives organizations a better framework for qualifying risks and being better prepared for disasters that can bring a whole organization to its knees. We heard Blue Rock Principal, Ken Rost say earlier “Hope is not an action plan”; whereas an objective based strategy or course of action, is a plan.

Now, being resilient does not mean a business will not experience difficulty or distress, but it does mean you’ll be better prepared for it and recover quicker.

“Blue Rock are trusted partners and excellent teachers in my business, they are committed to their clients and are dedicated to expanding the application of the life-saving and property conserving skills which excellent Business Resiliency and Emergency Response Teams provide” – Mining Operations Manager World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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29

The percent of businesses that will close permanently within 2 years following a disaster.

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blue rock one

DISASTER EXERCISES

One low-cost, low-risk way of building a better business resilience plan is through disaster exercises. Those who have experienced these know they play a vital role in preparedness by enabling stakeholders to test and validate plans and capabilities, and identify areas for improvement. A well-designed exercise provides a low-risk environment to test capabilities, familiarize personnel with roles and responsibilities, and foster meaningful communication across an organization. Blue Rock furthers this mission by ensuring their mission reflects that of their clients. Goals and objectives are centered on the risks that mining clients face and the stakeholders they serve.

During emergencies, you will respond how you are trained. To effectively serve those who aid their facilities during a crisis, Blue Rock conducts exercises in the most realistic and relevant way possible. As experienced professional responders, team members at Blue Rock can ensure goals and objectives are in line with risk and capabilities.

Your facility, your risks, your plans, your capabilities. This can never be forgotten in exercise design, evaluation, and planning.

BLUE ROCK ONE

The Blue Rock Team is comprised of experienced and trusted experts in their respective fields including business resilience, emergency and disaster management, safety, emergency response training, and continuity. All aspects of the Resilience Bridge can be built through partnerships with Blue Rock. Assessments, critical incident planning, emergency response plan development and implementation, disaster management plans and exercises, individual and team training, technical and professional emergency response skills and strategies, are just some of the many collaborations.

Contact us at:

815 South Perry Street #110 Castle Rock, Colorado 80104 Phone: 720-389-9410 Email: info@bluerockone.com www.bluerockone.com

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TWENTY TWENTY TWENTY

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In January this year Goldcorp unveiled an ambitious five year growth program to drive increased net asset value per share. The target is to increase production, increase gold reserves and decrease costs by twenty per cent – each.

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Goldcorp is a leading gold producer focused on responsible mining practices with safe, low-cost production throughout the Americas. In 2016 the company focused on decentralization and restructuring to drive accountability down to the mine site. This included strengthening the management team, upgrading the quality of the portfolio and committing over $1 billion in new growth projects.

These changes resulted in an ambitious 20/20/20 five year growth strategy, announced in January 2017, which aims to deliver a 20% increase in production, a 20% increase in gold reserves and a 20% decrease in all-in sustaining costs. It has been a busy year, therefore, for Goldcorp’s development projects and established mines alike.

I

n Canada, Goldcorp has four producing mines (three in Ontario and one in Quebec) and three development projects. The Porcupine operation is in Timmins, Ontario, one of the world's great gold producing camps. The Red Lake Mine, one of the world’s largest gold mines, is located in another prolific gold district, approximately 150 miles northwest of Dryden, Ontario. Musselwhite mine is a fly-in/fly-out operation in northwestern Ontario, 300 miles north of Thunder Bay, while Éléonore is a

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major new mine in an exciting goldproducing district in the James Bay region of Québec.

The Borden project near Chapleau in Ontario is approximately 100 miles west of Goldcorp's Porcupine mine.

The project has the potential to further enhance the long-term economics of Porcupine, as ore from Borden will be transported to Porcupine’s low-cost mill complex, to simplify permitting for Borden and at the same time reduce the site’s footprint.

Goldcorp is developing Borden

to become Canada’s first all-electric underground gold mine, resulting in an improved health and safety performance and reducing its environmental impact. Goldcorp is teaming up with Sandvik Mining and MacLean Engineering to provide battery-powered underground vehicles for almost all the requirements at the site. Its new mining technology will range from battery-operated drilling and blasting equipment to electric bolters, personnel carriers and ultimately a 40 metric tonne battery

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powered haul truck.

At Borden, construction of surface infrastructure to support the development of the exploration ramp is now complete. The current infrastructure will be able to support the mine once production begins.

Ramp development has reached 300 meters and is on schedule. The bulk sample is expected to commence in October 2018. Bulk sample extraction and critical mine production development will be conducted concurrently. The mine is expected to begin commercial production in the second half of 2019.

At Redlake, the High Grade Zone (HGZ) has been the backbone of the operation, with an average grade of more than two ounces of gold per tonne. Despite its location in one of the world’s most prolific gold districts, however, the HGZ is expected to be depleted by 2020, but there are two key growth projects, Cochenour and HG Young that are advancing through the company's investment framework and have the potential to provide new sources of ore over the long-term.

The focus at Red Lake is on asset optimization and cost reduction efforts. Continued transition to mechanized mining, bulk mining and

material movement automation is expected to result in lower grades and lower mining costs. Rationalization of the infrastructure is also underway to reduce costs. Exploration will continue to focus on the high-grade HG Young and Cochenour deposits.

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At Musselwhite, the materials handling project is half way to completion and advancing as planned. The $90 million investment involves the construction of an underground winze and associated infrastructure. This will significantly reduce high-cost uphill truck haulage between the winze and underground crushers, leading to improved energy efficiency, reduced ventilation requirements, enhanced production schedule and the potential to extend mine life. The project is

a threefold increase in ore storage capacity at different locations, providing operational flexibility while delivering continuous product to the mill. The project remains on schedule and completion is expected in the first quarter of 2019. Éléonore, Goldcorp’s most recent mine, achieved its first gold production on 1 October 2014 and declared commercial production with effect from 1 April 2015. The focus now is on increasing underground mining

rates, mill throughput and improved dilution through adjustment of stope design. The production ramp-up to full capacity is expected to continue into 2018. A life of mine study is underway to determine the sustainable mining rate from the Roberto deposit. In the fourth quarter of 2016 the production shaft was commissioned and is expected to drive efficiencies and reduce operating costs. The mine is expected to make a significant contribution for many years to come.

“At Musselwhite, hoisting, crushing, rock breaking and chutes have the ability to operate from multiple locations including underground, surface and long distance tele-operation from Thunder Bay” expected to increase production by 20 per cent while reducing operating costs by approximately 10 per cent.

During the third quarter of 2017, the materials handling project achieved a key milestone transitioning from lateral development to the construction and build phase. All equipment has been engineered with full automation capabilities.

Hoisting, crushing, rock breaking and chutes have the ability to operate from multiple locations including underground, surface and long distance tele-operation from Thunder Bay. The current schedule will allow for increased efficiency, reduced ramp traffic and balanced power consumption, complemented by World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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Your safety, our solutions – perfectly linked together.

For generations, miners have relied on Dräger and our quality products. We remain committed to supplying innovative and integrative safety concepts to improve mine safety.

Passion and Know-How perfectly linked together. www.draeger.com/mining

“In Mexico, Goldcorp’s 100 per cent owned Peñasquito mine is the country’s largest gold producer, consisting of two open pits - Peñasco and Chile Colorado containing gold, silver, lead and zinc”

The Coffee project is located in west-central Yukon, in the remote northwest of Canada, approximately 80 miles south of Dawson City. The property can currently be accessed only by air or the Yukon River, but once on site, a 15 mile all-season road connects the Coffee barge landing site, airstrip, camp and gold deposits.

Coffee is a high-grade, open pit, heap leach mining project in a top tier mining jurisdiction. Goldcorp acquired the project in July 2016, and has since accelerated and expanded the scope of exploration. Goldcorp acquired the project not only for the high-grade Coffee gold deposit itself, but also to participate in the development of the growing mineral wealth within the highly prospective Tintina Gold Province which is endowed with approximately 150 million ounces of gold across Yukon and Alaska.

Activities are currently focused on review and optimization of the Kaminak feasibility study, planning for upgrades to site infrastructure, consultations with First Nations and initial studies to support the permitting processes.

Government support for increased investment in the Yukon mineral industry is evidenced by the recent joint announcement from Yukon Territory and Canadian Federal Governments of a C$360 million program for the Yukon Resource Gateway Project which will help upgrade over 400 miles of road

infrastructure to access mineral-rich areas of the Yukon, including the Dawson Range where the Coffee Project is located.

Goldcorp has expanded the 2017 exploration budget to approximately C$20m through a recently implemented acceleration plan to capitalize on the success of the drilling programs so far this season, and to provide adequate resourcing to the Coffee exploration team to achieve Goldcorp's long-term objective to develop a camp that could produce 400,000 to 500,000 ounces of gold per annum.

Mexico In Mexico, Goldcorp’s 100 per cent owned Peñasquito mine is the country’s largest gold producer, consisting of two open pits - Peñasco and Chile Colorado - containing gold, silver, lead and zinc.

The focus at Peñasquito is on optimization to drive consistent results. Over the next three years, mining activities in the pit are expected to be focused on lower grade ore in the upper parts of the Peñasco pit while stripping is emphasized to ensure an economically optimal pit shell design to maximize the net asset value of the operation.

By 2019, Peñasquito is expected to increase metal production over prior years on a gold equivalent basis due to higher amounts of by-products mined in the Chile Colorado pit.

In 2020-2021, Peñasquito’s gold

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production is expected to benefit from an improvement in mined grades as it recommences mining higher grades at the bottom of the Peñasco pit. The Pyrite Leach Project at Peñasquito was approved by the board on 27 July 2016 and is being advanced towards first gold in the first quarter of 2019.

The project is expected to increase overall gold and silver recovery by treating the zinc tailings before discharge to the tailings storage facility. PLP is expected to recover approximately 40% of the gold and 48% of the silver currently reporting to the tailings. PLP is expected to add annual incremental production of approximately 100,000 – 140,000 gold ounces and approximately 4.0 – 6.0 million silver ounces for the life of the mine.

In addition, Goldcorp expects to complete the prefeasibility study on Eco-Tails by the first quarter of 2018.

The Eco-Tails project has the potential to save in excess of 125 million m3 of water and reduce sustaining capital requirements of the tailings storage facility during the life of the mine, representing estimated savings of $10 to $15 million annually. The financial benefits of this project are not only significant for Peñasquito but as the technology is developed further, consideration of its application to other large projects, such as the Cerro Casale/Caspiche Joint Venture, could lead to major financial, social and environmental benefits.

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Chile

On 24 November 2015, Goldcorp and Teck Resources Limited announced the completion of their agreement to combine their respective El Morro and Relincho projects into a 50/50 joint venture with the interim name of Project Corridor. In June 2016, the project was officially renamed as NuevaUnión. A prefeasibility study is being finalized on NuevaUnión which is expected to be completed early in the first quarter of 2018.

Considerable progress has been made to combine the Relincho and El Morro projects and consolidate infrastructure, which is expected to result in a more robust combined project with a reduced environmental footprint, substantially reduced capital expenditures and an optimized plan including innovative technologies

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such as an autonomous mining fleet, low energy consumption process plant design, and hybrid conveyance system.

While the prefeasibility study remains to be finalized, the many trade-off studies completed as part of the process have resulted in incorporating several value enhancing opportunities, increasing confidence in the overall business case.

In June this year Goldcorp agreed with Barrick Gold to merge their interests in the Maricunga Gold Belt in the Atacama Region of northern Chile, through a 50/50 joint venture.

The arrangement involved a number of elements, including the acquisition by Goldcorp of Kinross Gold Corporation's 25% interest in Cerro Casale and 100% interest in the Quebrada Seca exploration project. Goldcorp also acquired Exeter

Resource Corporation to take over its 100%-owned Caspiche project, approximately 10 kilometers to the north of Cerro Casale. Caspiche was then also entered into the joint venture.

"The Caspiche project is located in the heart of Chile's northern mining district," said David Garofalo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Goldcorp. "With the acquisition of Caspiche and 50% of Cerro Casale, we envisage the two deposits being jointly advanced with Barrick, similar to our existing arrangement with Teck Resources at NuevaUnión. This joint venture structure with Barrick has the potential to allow us to consolidate infrastructure to reduce costs, reduce the environmental footprint and provide increased returns compared to two standalone projects. With our

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combined technical and financial strength, we see significant potential to increase net asset value per share and deliver value for all partners and stakeholders."

The lessons learned as part of the prefeasibility study at NuevaUnión will be beneficial as the joint venture advances through the prefeasibility stage.

Argentina

“Cerro Negro delivered $50 million in annual sustainable cost savings in 2016 through its optimization work and is expected to add another $25 million in 2017”

One of Goldcorp’s newest mines, Cerro Negro is a high-grade gold mine in the Santa Cruz province of Argentina with several vein structures, including Mariana Central, Mariana Norte, San Marcos and Eureka. First gold was poured on 25 July 2014 with commercial production achieved on 1 January 2015.

The Cerro Negro complex has been steadily increasing production from the Eureka and Marianas Central mines to achieve a throughput rate of 3,000 tonnes per day. Production is expected to increase to nameplate capacity of 4,000 tonnes per day when the Marianas Norte and Emelia mines are brought on line.

The pre-feasibility study on the optimal mine design, development execution plan and production schedule has been completed. The plan has development at Mariana Norte continuing to ramp up through 2017, with first ore production expected in 2018. Development of the Emilia vein is expected to begin in the second half of 2017 and is expected to replace

production from Eureka in 2019. The production ramp-up to 4,000 tonnes per day is expected to be achieved during the second half of 2018.

Cerro Negro delivered $50 million in annual sustainable cost savings in 2016 through its optimization work and is expected to add another $25 million in 2017.

Accelerated development of an additional mining front is being contemplated that would allow Cerro Negro to potentially increase plant throughput by 10% to 20% beyond nameplate capacity of 4,000 tonnes per day. The Cerro Negro processing plant was designed for future expansion at a relatively low cost due to preconstructed infrastructure, including foundations for additional leaching tanks, that could accommodate higher throughput at low incremental capital investment.

An expansion concept study is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.

"The significant progress we have made on our development and exploration projects has given us increased confidence in our 20/20/20 objectives and identified new opportunities for outperformance at Cerro Negro, Peñasquito and Coffee," said Garofalo. "We are also pleased with the substantial progress of our longer-term projects Century, NuevaUnión and Cerro Casale/ Caspiche that are poised to provide meaningful long-term gold production and value growth."

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Gracida Group striking water!

Not a phrase mining companies like to hear. Striking gold is what they count on. In the case of Peñasquito Goldcorp Mine in Mexico, in mid-March of 2017, they did both.

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oldcorp were excited with the discovery of new seam in 2016, with a very high concentration of gold. The problem, however, was that it was found at an elevation much lower than what was currently being mined, and as such they knew they were going to encounter significant water issues. These issues provided both a cost implication as well as a logistical one in securing the collection and removal of the water, but considering the price of gold it was too rich to ignore.

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That’s when they called Gracida Group, (www.gracida.net) based out of Guadalajara, Mexico. Gracida was asked to do a complete feasibility study and provide a cost effective solution required to access the seam. Eduardo Juarez, Sales Executive, and Bud Nichols, Operating Partner of Gracida, responded to the request and visited the mine site to gather accurate information and to assess the overall challenge.

The real problem was that the desired level of the pit was elevation 1485 and the discharge point was 2000 elevation, making it a total of 515 meters in static elevation that needed to be overcome. In normal mining conditions this may not be a difficult application, but in this situation it was determined that steel piping would not be the mine’s best choice due to the route and conditions in which the pipe would need to be installed over very rugged terrain.

The pumps also needed to be portable and capable of being moved away from the blasting zones, and then reinstalled as needed in an efficient and safe manner. Neither electric

gracida group striking water

submersibles, nor vertical turbines, would fit these demands.

Multiple HDPE lines would be the pipes of choice for quick and safe installation in the mine’s rough and variable conditions, however, as HDPE has limited PSI ratings, it was necessary to set up a series of pumping systems to keep the PSI produced by the pump below the maximum working pressure of the HDPE pipe.

The proposal was to install pumping stations at approximately 128 meters of static discharge head each. Each pumping station would have a holding pond capable of storing up to 90,000 liters. At a desired rate of 50 lps this would give each pumping location 30 minutes of storage as needed to keep the pumping systems in operation.

It was determined the best pumps for the application would be the GPUMP Model G-V-64C-D-XH, automatic priming, driven by a 300HP diesel engine, produced by ESG Power Equipment Corp, a sister company of Gracida based in the US. Each pump has a shut off head rating of 219 meters

and a maximum flow rate of 90 lps. The duty point on this application for each pump required 50 lps @ 135 meters, including the loss in the pipe system.

Gracida was awarded the project and delivered the first pumps within 7 days from receipt of the order. Gracida was contracted to install, test and operate the system 24/7 as well as undertake extensive safety training required by the mine, all while the pumps were en route to Peñasquito. Over the following month, Gracida installed two additional pumping stations for a total of three systems each having 4 pumps and producing a combined flow rate of 150 lps at a total of 515 meters.

The solution to the problem was a complex one, but Peñasquito are delighted with Gracida’s expertise and professionalism, that even with the demanding environment they have been able to continually access the seam and keep up with the Gold production schedule.

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BHP

INVESTING IN A NEW FUTURE Having spun out most of its former Billiton assets into a new entity, South32, BHP Billiton, now rebranded as BHP, is still among the world’s top producers of major commodities, including iron ore, metallurgical coal and copper, with substantial interests in oil, gas and energy coal.

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BHP

a world leader in the diversified resources industry, follows a strategy to own and operate large, long-life, lowcost, expandable, upstream assets diversified by commodity, geography and market. The strategy has been in place for over a decade and has enabled BHP to deliver superior margins throughout economic and commodity cycles.

A diversified, low cost, tier one asset base enhances the resilience of BHP’s cash flow by reducing its exposure to any one commodity or currency and provides for more predictable and robust financial performance. It also allows the company to invest in and grow its business throughout economic cycles.

As a large, global organisation BHP has the capacity to help grow local businesses and foster the long-term development of suppliers in its host communities. A primary example of this can be found in Chile, where BHP is successfully building new relationships with local suppliers through a program that seeks to create lasting business and technological capabilities and increase suppliers’ economic value. Specifically, the program engages local suppliers to develop innovative solutions to manage at least one aspect of mining identified as critical by BHP operations – such as water, energy, human capital, maintenance, air quality, acid mist control or leaching.

Effectively managing each of these areas is essential to tackling operational challenges.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS Escondida In Chile, BHP operates the Escondida mine, a leading producer of copper.

Located in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, Escondida is a copper porphyry deposit that also produces gold and silver. Its two open-cut pits currently feed two concentrator plants which use grinding and flotation technologies to produce copper concentrate, as well as two leaching operations (oxide and sulphide). BHP is currently completing three major expansion projects at Escondida, despite some operational setbacks. The projects are set to deliver increased production to an extra 150,000 tonnes of annual copper production for a development spend of just under US$200 million.

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bhp investing in a new future

Spence Growth Option (SGO) BHP recently announced capital expenditure approval of US$2.46 billion for the Spence Growth Option (SGO) at the Spence open-cut copper mine in northern Chile, which will extend the mine life by more than 50 years. BHP Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie said the SGO project supports BHP’s strategy to deliver near-term, valuable copper production.

In the first 10 years of operation, incremental production from SGO will be approximately 185 ktpa of payable copper in concentrate and 4 ktpa of payable molybdenum, with first production expected in the 2021 financial year. The current copper cathode stream will continue until the 2025 financial year. The project will convert 1.3 Bt of measured and indicated mineral resources to hypogene sulphide ore reserves.

SGO was rigorously evaluated using BHP’s capital allocation framework and, at mid-case consensus prices, has an expected internal rate of return of 16 per cent and an expected payback period of 4.5 years from first production.

“Execution of the Spence Growth Option will create long-term value for shareholders in one of our preferred commodities,” said Mackenzie. “The project significantly extends the life

of our Spence operation and unlocks the potential of the large, quality resource. SGO has been extensively studied and we have made significant improvements to project cost and design so that it is able to compete in our portfolio of attractive development options.”

“In September, BHP celebrated two significant milestones at Olympic Dam with first ore from the high-grade underground expansion into the Southern Mining Area (SMA) and the first copper cathode produced from its heap leach research and development trials” Olympic Dam Olympic Dam has one of the world’s largest ore bodies. Located 560 kilometres north of Adelaide,

Australia, it is one of the world’s largest deposits of copper, gold and uranium and also has a significant deposit of silver. Olympic Dam operates a fully integrated processing facility from ore to metal.

In September, BHP celebrated two significant milestones at Olympic Dam with first ore from the highgrade underground expansion into the Southern Mining Area (SMA) and the first copper cathode produced from its heap leach research and development trials.

Olympic Dam Asset President Jacqui McGill said BHP is taking steps towards unlocking the potential of one of the world’s largest orebodies.

“The move into the SMA forms the foundation of Olympic Dam’s long-term expansion plans, and successful tests of the heap leach copper extraction technology have the potential to support an increase in production to over 450,000 tonnes of copper a year,” she said. A series of larger scale experiments and testing on the heap leach process are being undertaken over the next three years.

Ms McGill said today’s milestones came on the back of BHP’s recent media announcement to invest approximately A$600 million this financial year, to support underground development and upgrade surface processing facilities for long-term growth.

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Nickel West BHP has given the Kalgoorlie region a boost by revealing that its Nickel West unit is restarting development work at its 2012 Venus nickel discovery.

The decision means BHP will push ahead with access drives from the nearby Perseverance underground mine to Venus with its near 200,000 tonnes of nickel. Nickel West is a fully integrated mine-to-market nickel business. All nickel operations (mines, concentrators, a smelter and refinery) are located in Western Australia.

BHP is one of the world's largest nickel miners, the fifth largest refined nickel producer and a global supplier of nickel to the stainless steel industry.

Austenitic stainless steel, or nickelcontaining stainless steel, promotes a more stable and ductile structure that contributes to corrosion resistance.

OTHER OPERATIONS Pampa Norte Pampa Norte consists of two wholly owned operations in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile: Compañía Minera Cerro Colorado Limitada and

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Minera Spence S.A. Both sites produce high quality cathodes by processing copper oxides and sulphides through leaching, solvent extraction, and electrowinning.

Antamina

“BHP’s coal business produces thermal coal primarily for use in the electric power generation industry and high quality hard coking coal for use in the international and domestic steel industry”

BHP owns 33.75 per cent of Antamina, a large, low-cost copper and zinc mine in north central Peru. Antamina byproducts include molybdenum and lead/bismuth concentrate and small amounts of silver.

Western Australia Iron Ore A jewel in BHP’s crown, Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) is an integrated system of four processing hubs and five mines, connected by more than 1,000 kilometres of rail infrastructure and two separate port facilities in the Pilbara region of northern Western Australia. At each mining hub – Newman, Yandi, Mining Area C and Jimblebar – ore from mines is crushed, beneficiated where necessary, and blended to create high-grade hematite lump and fines products.

bhp investing in a new future

BHP is one of the world’s leading iron ore producers, selling lump and fine product from Australia. In pursuing ongoing growth plans, BHP Iron Ore is committed to working with its local communities to support sustainable development in the region and ensure their needs are incorporated into the company’s expansion plans.

Queensland Coal BHP’s coal business produces thermal coal primarily for use in the electric power generation industry and high quality hard coking coal for use in the international and domestic steel industry. With operations strategically located in areas with seaborne access, the business delivers logistical advantages to its customers. BHP has access to dedicated deep-water ports

allowing the use of large capacity vessels to further build on regional logistic advantages.

Queensland Coal comprises the 50/50 BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) and BHP Mitsui Coal (BMC) assets in the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland, Australia. BMA is Australia’s largest coal producer and supplier of seaborne metallurgical coal.

BMA operates seven Bowen Basin mines (Goonyella Riverside, Broadmeadow, Daunia, Peak Downs, Saraji, Blackwater and Caval Ridge) and owns and operates the Hay Point Coal Terminal near Mackay.

BMC owns and operates two opencut metallurgical coal mines in the Bowen Basin – South Walker Creek Mine and Poitrel Mine. BMC is majority-owned by BHP, with twenty percent held by Mitsui and Co.

EXCLUSIVE INFUSION TECHNOLOGY THE MOST ADVANCED CATALYTIC WATER FILTRATION MEDIA FOR REMOVING IRON AND MANGANESE

DMI-65 is the lowest cost method of removing Iron (Fe) & Manganese (Mg) from a water supply. No Chemical Regeneration is required. Certified to NSF/ANSI61 for drinking water applications.

Iron and manganese removal plays an important role in the management of Fortescue Metal Group’s Cloudbreak Mine site. DMI-65, used for treating ground water elevated levels of iron and manganese to meet Australia Drinking Water Standards.

“This product has consistently proved to effective & efficient and can recommend DMI-65 for the purpose of removing manganese & iron from a contaminated water source.”

Mark Botica - Water Services Supervisor - FMG Quantum Filtration Medium Pty Ltd www.dmi65.com james@dmi65.com / +61 1300 303 281 World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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New South Wales Energy Coal New South Wales Energy Coal consists of the Mt Arthur Coal open-cut energy coal mine in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Australia. The site produces coal for domestic and international customers in the energy sector.

In addition to its Australian operations, there are thermal coal operations located in South Africa, the United States and South America.

Cerrejón BHP has a one-third interest in Cerrejón, which owns, operates and markets one of the world’s largest open-cut export energy coal mines, located in the La Guajira province of Colombia. Cerrejón also owns and operates integrated rail and port facilities, through which the majority of production is exported to customers in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. BHP’s Coal business has delivered over US$3 billion of productivity gains since 2012 and is targeting another US$600 million by the end of the 2017 financial year.

With long life reserves, a strong portfolio of undeveloped resources and key infrastructure, the coal business has the flexibility to continually expand BHP’s production capacity in line with customer needs.

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bhp investing in a new future Jansen Potash Project

Samarco BHP and Vale each has a 50 per cent shareholding in Samarco Mineracao SA, which operates the Samarco iron ore operation in Brazil.

Samarco comprises a mine and three concentrators located in the state of Minas Gerais, and four pellet plants and a port located in Anchieta in the state of Espirito Santo. Three 400-kilometre pipelines connect the mine site to the pelletising facilities. As a result of the tragic dam failure at Samarco in November 2015, operations at Samarco are currently suspended.

“With long life reserves, a strong portfolio of undeveloped resources and key infrastructure, BHP’s coal business has the flexibility to continually expand its production capacity in line with customer needs”

BHP’s potash activities are aimed at potash project development. Its interest in potash is via development projects largely within the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and BHP has exploration rights to over 14,500 square kilometres of highly prospective ground in the Saskatchewan potash basin. The Jansen Project, located 140 kilometres east of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is its most advanced project and is in feasibility study stage. *

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Today, an unrivalled portfolio of high quality growth opportunities will ensure BHP continues to meet the changing needs of its customers and the resources demand of emerging economies at every stage of their growth. The diversification of the BHP portfolio continues to be its defining attribute.

EXCLUSIVE INFUSION TECHNOLOGY THE MOST ADVANCED CATALYTIC WATER FILTRATION MEDIA FOR REMOVING IRON AND MANGANESE

At the Ulan Coal Mine, NSW., Osmoflo are now using the water filtration media technology known as DMI-65, a catalytic filter media that is designed to remove high concentrations of manganese from the feedwater supply when operated in the presence of chlorine. Experience to date has found that DMI-65 is the best available catalytic material for removing high concentrations of manganese and iron to pre-treat and protect UF and RO technology.

A reverse osmosis (RO) plant and Ultra-Filtration (UF) pre-treatment system provided by Osmoflo currently treats water from East Pit, which is a large capacity surface dam. This enables the water to be recycled back into the ecosystem along with on-site irrigation.

Quantum Filtration Medium Pty Ltd www.dmi65.com james@dmi65.com / +61 1300 303 281 World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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newmont mining creating value Newmont has grown steadily by acquisition and diversification, often through joint ventures with other well-established companies. Today, Newmont’s portfolio includes significant operations in North America, South America, Australia and Africa, with a robust exploration and project pipeline to add to its global presence.

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ounded in 1916 and publicly traded since 1925, Newmont has approximately 30,000 employees and contractors, with the majority working at managed operations in the United States, Australia, Ghana, Peru and Suriname. Newmont is an industry leader in value creation and the only gold producer listed in the S&P 500 index. Its purpose – to create value and improve lives through sustainable and responsible mining – is guided by five core values: safety, integrity, sustainability, inclusion and responsibility.

OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW

Newmont’s 100 per cent owned operating assets include the Boddington and Tanami mines in Australia; Ahafo and Akyem operations in Ghana; and in

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the United States, the Cripple Creek & Victor (CC&V) mine in Colorado and four operating complexes (Carlin, Long Canyon, Phoenix and Twin Creeks) in Nevada. Operations where Newmont owns 50 per cent or more and/or is the manager or operator include KCGM in Australia (50 per cent); Yanacocha in Peru (51.35 per cent); and Merian in Suriname (75 per cent). Newmont’s optimized project pipeline consists of promising growth opportunities in each of its four operating regions.

Africa

Newmont’s presence in Ghana includes the Ahafo mine in the Brong-Ahafo region and the Akyem operation in the Eastern region near New Abirem.

Newmont began working in Ghana with the acquisition of Normandy Mining in

2002. Production commenced in 2006 at its Ahafo mine and in 2013 at its Akyem mine.

Australia

Newmont also began operating in Australia in 2002 with the acquisition of Normandy Mining. Its presence in the region comprises three operations in Australia – Boddington, Tanami and Kalgoorlie. Currently, Newmont is progressing expansion of its Tanami mine in the Northern Territory of Australia.

North America

Newmont’s North American operations are in Nevada and Colorado. It owns or controls approximately 2.6 million acres in Nevada and 41,000 acres in Colorado. Of these totals, about 125,000

newmont mining creating value acres of private and public land in Nevada and 6,000 acres in Colorado are reserved for mining use. Portions of that acreage have already been reclaimed, are undergoing reclamation or remain undisturbed. Newmont’s North America operations account for around 40 per cent of the company’s worldwide gold production.

South America

Newmont’s South American operations are centred in the Yanacocha mining complex in Peru. Options to extend mine life at Yanacocha include promising sulphide and oxide deposits.

In Suriname, Newmont has begun construction of the Merian mine to increase profitable gold production and establish a foothold in a prospective new mining district.

OPERATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS Ahafo

“Earlier this year Newmont announced plans to extend profitable production at its Ahafo operations by building a new underground mine and expanding plant capacity by more than 50 per cent”

Earlier this year Newmont announced plans to extend profitable production at its Ahafo operations by building a new underground mine and expanding plant capacity by more than 50 per cent. The Subika Underground mine is expected to produce 1.8 million ounces of gold over an 11-year mine life, and features ore grades of 4.7 grams per tonne. The mill expansion is expected to improve margins and support profitable production at Ahafo through at least 2029.

“We are building on strong performance and solid infrastructure by investing in the next generation of profitable production at Ahafo,” said Gary Goldberg, President and Chief Executive Officer. “The Subika Underground mine will also create a platform to support even longer-term growth. Recent exploration results demonstrate considerable upside within the Subika deposit and adjacent Apensu Deeps deposit.”

Buriticá

In May, Newmont announced an agreement to invest approximately US$109 million for 19.9 per cent ownership of Continental Gold Inc, supporting near-term development of

the high grade Buriticá gold project in Colombia. The investment also covers three other exploration assets in this prospective gold district.

The Buriticá deposit consists of two major vein systems that remain open along strike and at depth. Continental has declared proven and probable reserves of 3.7 million ounces of gold, averaging more than eight grams per tonne. Construction of the underground mine and process plant is to begin in the second half of 2017 with commercial production targeted for early 2020.

“We’re investing in a world class asset and exploration prospects, in alignment with our goal to create long-term value for shareholders,” said Goldberg.

“We’re impressed with the quality of the deposit, the calibre of the management team, the community’s support for the project and the prospects for future growth. Our team is looking forward to joining forces with Continental to make the most of these opportunities.”

Newmont has agreed to purchase 37.38 million common shares of Continental in a non-brokered private placement at a price of C$4.00 per share. Terms of the investment agreement include Newmont’s right to participate in future equity issuance to maintain its ownership stake; the two companies establishing joint technical and sustainability committees and a strategic exploration alliance; and Newmont holding a seat on Continental’s board of directors.

Long Canyon

Late in 2016 Newmont reached commercial production at Long Canyon, a high grade oxide mine in an emerging gold district located less than 100 miles from its existing Nevada operations.

The company declared commercial production based on sustaining plant availability of more than 85 per cent, and achieving a minimum of 70 per cent of modelled leach recovery. The project was completed two months ahead of schedule for an investment of just under $225 million, which is about $50 million below budget.

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newmont mining creating value

“Late in 2016 Newmont reached commercial production at Long Canyon, a high grade oxide mine in an emerging gold district located less than 100 miles from its existing Nevada operations”

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between $400 and $500 per ounce, and all-in sustaining cost of between $500 and $600 per ounce. The project was optimized by taking a phased development approach, relying on refurbished instead of new equipment, and building a leach facility rather than a mill. At current gold prices, the project is expected to generate a 26 per cent rate of return with a payback period of just under four years.

The operation includes a surface mine and heap leach pad which currently holds one million tons of ore at an average estimated grade of 1.13 grams of gold per ton. The project was funded through free cash flow and available cash balances, and leverages Newmont’s existing infrastructure, expertise and strong stakeholder relationships in Nevada.

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newmont mining creating value

Merian

“Construction of Merian commenced in August 2014, and commercial production was achieved on 1 October 2016, on schedule and US$150 million under budget”

In another operational development Newmont inaugurated the open-pit Merian gold mine in Suriname, which is expected to give a boost to the small, economically struggling South American country. The mine has gold reserves of about 5.1 million ounces and its annual production is expected to average between 400,000 and 500,000 ounces during the first five full years of operation. Suriname’s state-owned oil company, Staatsolie, has a 25 per cent stake in the mine.

Construction of Merian commenced in August 2014, and commercial production was achieved on 1 October 2016, on schedule and US$150 million under budget. “Never before did our country have the courage to participate as an equal partner in such a mining

venture,” President Bouterse told hundreds of guests and mine employees at the opening ceremony.

“This significant investment of a multinational of a magnitude and capacity like Newmont, proves that our small economy is able in bearing huge foreign direct investments which are indispensable to meet with the challenges and requirements of our economy in these days.”

Prospects

In 2017 Newmont joined the race to develop a new mine in the Canadian Yukon territory, home to the Yukon gold rush where thousands staked their fortunes back in the late 1800s. The Denver-based company recently signed an agreement with Yukon-focused explorer Goldstrike Resources, to World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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Working in partnership with international mining companies, PW Mining is a major contractor in the development of Africa’s Goldfields.

We have completed mining projects in Ghana for AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Wexford Goldfields, Satellite Goldfields and Resolute. Our civil engineering division works successfully for Newmont in Ghana. Other contracts have been undertaken in Burkina Faso, Mali, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. Our expertise is geared to support large and small operations in the remotest and most testing conditions.

Contact: Tony O’Neill PW Mining International Ltd., 10 Abidjan Avenue, East Legon, Accra, Ghana.

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Tel: +233 302 518112 - 6 Fax: +233 302 518117 Email: pwg@pwmil.com

newmont mining creating value

develop its flagship Plateau property.

With the US$39.5-million earn-in agreement, Newmont joins rivals Agnico-Eagle which last December bought a stake in thousands of mining claims in the White Gold district, and Goldcorp, which purchased Kaminak Gold and its Coffee project last May for $520 million, in their pursuit of prospective Yukon gold properties.

Under terms of the agreement, Newmont can earn up to an 80% share in the Plateau property – described as a “newly discovered gold system consisting of more than 2,000 claims covering 350 square kilometres,” through up to $39.5 million in exploration spending, including a feasibility study by 2027. It expects to boost its exploration expenditure on advanced projects by 22% by the close of 2017, with about two-thirds going to fund more brownfields and greenfields exploration.

“The Plateau agreement strengthens our long-term growth pipeline and leverages our world class exploration capabilities,” said Goldberg. “We’ve added more than 125 million ounces of gold reserves by the drill bit over the last 16 years and about three-quarters of our reserves are located in North America and Australia. We will continue to invest in opportunities that combine the best value with the most favourable technical and geopolitical attributes.”

Sustainability

As a core value, sustainability – serving as a catalyst for local economic development through transparent and respectful stakeholder engagement and as responsible stewards of the environment – is a deeply ingrained principle that guides Newmont’s actions and supports its purpose to create value and improve lives through sustainable and responsible mining. Newmont’s

strategy is based on the premise that strong sustainability performance throughout the mine lifecycle delivers value for its business, shareholders and stakeholders. Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future requires Newmont to understand and effectively manage its broad profile of social and environmental risks.

Newmont’s sustainability strategy is aligned to the three platforms of its business strategy: • Secure the gold franchise, • Strengthen the portfolio, • Enable the strategy though effective management of both current and emerging threats and opportunities.

Newmont was named the mining industry leader in overall sustainability by the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index in 2015 and 2016.

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axis house

from lab to plant Since its establishment in 2001, Axis House has become a major supplier and distributor of chemicals to the mining industry.

Managing director Trevor McLean-Anderson and senior technical advisor Paul Woods tell Martin Ashcroft how a customerfocused approach has helped the company thrive.

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As a process for separating valuable minerals from unwanted material (known as gangue), froth flotation has been around for 100 years. The steady development of this technique has improved the recovery of copper and other minerals, effectively reducing the cost of production and allowing the recovery of minerals economically from lower grade ore than was previously possible.

Axis House has forged a reputation as a world-class supplier of novel flotation and hydrometallurgical reagents for mineral processing, with a comprehensive range of proprietary collectors, depressants and frothers designed to aid recovery of mineral particles. The range is constantly expanding through research and development, and is finding new applications in the flotation of platinum

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group metals (PGM), rare earth oxides, phosphates and lithium bearing ores.

“We do research and development in our laboratories and that R&D is focused on a couple of different angles,” says managing director Trevor McLeanAnderson. “The first one is product development, where we look at trying to innovate new chemistries for existing applications. We also try to invent new applications for existing processes.

And we also look at chemistry on a molecular level to try and find cheaper alternatives where we haven’t found a novel chemistry. We try to find similar molecules that are maybe more readily available, closer to market, or more economical, so that we produce a cost per output benefit to the customer.

That’s the first pillar of our R&D.” The chemistry is important, of course, but it’s the focus on understanding the

customer that elevates Axis House. No two ore bodies and no two flotation plants are the same. There are too many variables involved in a flotation process for a one-size-fits-all approach to be effective, so an Axis House solution is tailor made for the customer’s application.

“The next pillar is to scale down the production process at a specific customer’s site in our laboratory and work on the customer’s own ore,” says McLean-Anderson. If a cheaper reagent can be developed to lower the customer’s output cost, that’s a solution in itself, but “it’s more interesting to find ways of making mines more efficient, so they can improve their output with chemistry,” he adds.

“In an ideal world we would develop a reagent package, dosing combination and dosing procedure that is cheaper

axis house from lab to plant

“We take a collaborative approach and our focus is always on increasing the yield for the customer”

going in, and gets more mineral out at a higher grade,” he says, “and we often achieve that.” When the perfect solution is not possible, however, more often than not the cost of the chemicals goes up slightly but the amount of copper produced goes up by a higher factor, meaning that the customer’s cost of mineral production still goes down.

A tailored chemical recipe is produced by replicating the customer’s process and using the mine’s own ore, leading to the third pillar of the Axis House approach. “We now have a laboratory case study for the improvement of a mine’s efficiency and profitability,” says McLean-Anderson, “and that’s all well and good, but laboratory work is done in a very controlled environment.

Plants are different from labs because there are a lot more variables. There’s soil dynamics, there’s water quality, there’s ambient temperature differences, operator knowledge and training. So we have a team of onsite engineers that will take the customer through the process of implementing the technology on their site, and we do that until such time as we have proved our technology on the mine site.”

The market, at the moment, is mainly the central African copper belt of Zambia and the DRC, but is expanding in terms of geography and mineral range. “The bulk of our operations is in Africa,” says McLean-Anderson, “but we also have laboratories in Australia.

We have staff and offices in Peru and we serve Chile also from our Peru office.

We also have offices and technical people in Mexico, and we’re doing some work in Kazakhstan and Russia.”

While it’s normal practice for customers to send their ore to one of the Axis House laboratories, some countries are reluctant to allow ore to be sent out, so Axis House scientists will travel there to do the test work.

The company has also been busy expanding its range of chemicals. “A large portion of our business is in copper and base metals. In 2009 we bought a very novel patented copper oxide flotation technology from an Australian company called Ausmelt.

That was when we first saw the cost to the customer going up by about 50 cents or a dollar per tonne of ore, but the customer getting far more at the end.

For a hundred thousand dollars more per month on chemicals, the customer would be getting $7 million more out in extra copper. So that was a no-brainer.“ Owning a technology like that allowed Axis House to improve it, and to develop it for other applications.

“We have applied our knowledge into various other streams,” says McLeanAnderson. “Similar chemistries are used in the flotation of industrial minerals, so we’re now quite strong in fluorspar and phosphate flotation. We also have flotation chemistries and technologies in platinum group metals and rare earth oxides.”

Mineral prices are notoriously volatile, and copper in particular has been up and down in recent years. How vulnerable is the company to this kind of fluctuation? “If you had asked me that question before 2009 when the bottom fell out of the copper market,” says McLean-Anderson, “I would have said our business was reliant on the copper price and that we were very vulnerable to it. But since then we have seen a lot more interest in the Axis House offering.

“Marginal mines are struggling,” he continues. “They need to be efficient.

When the price is high, it’s all about volume and they care less what it costs to get the metal out. They just want tonnes. We thought it was going to be awful for us but it was exactly the opposite.“ Although the copper price has recovered a little, the market is still somewhat uncertain, so mines are still receptive to technology and novel ideas, he explains. “When copper is at $8000 a tonne they don’t want to lose any production, but when the mines are on care and maintenance or five day weeks, they have time on their hands to invest in improving efficiencies. Technology is more interesting to customers when they need to be efficient.”

Flotation works by exploiting the properties of the materials involved in relation to water. Hydrophobic materials are water-repellent, while hydrophilic materials are attracted to water. A flotation cell recovers mineral particles from a slurry when the particles attach themselves to air bubbles pumped through the mixture. The ore is initially crushed and ground to separate a proportion of the copper sulphide ore World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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axis house from lab to plant

particles from the gangue. The ore is then wetted, suspended in a slurry, and mixed with reagents which accentuate the particles’ hydrophobic properties. As air is forced through the slurry, bubbles attach to the hydrophobic copper sulphide particles, which rise to the surface where they form a froth and are skimmed off. Frothing agents, known as frothers, may be introduced to promote the formation of a stable froth on top of the flotation cell. Axis House has a range of these called Hydrofroth™, too.

Paul Woods heads up the company’s Australian market developments, but is also MD of the frother business, Hydrofroth Pty Ltd, and technical advisor across the group. He endorses

the customer-focused approach as fundamental to the way the company works. “Our focus is to understand the customer’s aims and objectives and then understand their process,” he says. “So our approach is a collaborative one.

Our flotation technicians and engineers out in the field will go to the customer’s site to see how the operation is run, and work with the metallurgists and operators on site to determine the best way to increase the yield. Our focus is always on increasing the yield for the customer. We don’t go to a mine site simply looking to replace the reagents they use with our own. We’re not trying to tell them how to run their operation either, but with our experience with

the chemicals, and the expertise of our technicians, we can suggest ways to increase the yield, either by using a different chemical or by changing the process slightly.”

The lab work is carried out in a very controlled environment but the real work happens in the field, says Woods.

“We look at it very holistically to give our chemicals and processes the best chance of succeeding,” he says. “We employ local people who have been in the field a long time. They know a lot of these plants and they know the operators well. That’s our key difference in the market.”

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glencore the best commodities Glencore is one of the largest natural resource commodity companies in the world.

Its diverse asset portfolio, comprising low-cost positions in commodities such as copper, cobalt, nickel, zinc and thermal coal, is well aligned with society’s changing needs.

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glencore the best commodities

A

company founded by entrepreneur Marc Rich in 1974 as a metals and minerals marketing company has grown by merger and acquisition to become one of the world’s largest resource traders and producers, having diversified into mining, smelting, refining and processing.

The name Glencore emerged as an acronym for Global Energy Commodity Resources, after Rich’s partners

engineered a management buy-out in 1994. Subsequently operating as a private partnership, the company went public in 2011 in what was then the biggest stock exchange float in British history. Relatively unknown outside the commodities industry, Glencore was catapulted onto the world stage by the IPO. Reuters famously described it as “the biggest company you never heard of.”

After a so-called “merger of equals” in 2013 with another global mining giant, Xstrata, which Glencore created, the company has become a household name. The Group’s operations now comprise over 150 mining and metallurgical sites, oil production assets and agricultural facilities, with around 155,000 employees.

As for the rest of the mining industry, 2015 was a tough year for Glencore, with

profits down substantially as a result of lower prices in all key commodities and its own actions to preserve future resource value by reducing supply (and thus associated costs) in some of them. Taking what it calls “a highly disciplined approach towards supply,” Glencore curtailed production at a number of its coal, copper, oil and zinc assets in 2015/2016 to preserve value for the longer term and assist in market rebalancing.

After encouraging results in 2016, CEO Ivan Glasenburg believes that Glencore is well positioned for the future, as the company is still “genuinely diversified” while focusing on the “best” commodities. “Our robust financial performance during 2016 reflects the quality of our industrial asset portfolio and the resilience of our large scale diversified marketing business,” he said World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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in his introduction to the 2016 annual report.

The industrial side of the business delivered net profits of $7.3 billion in 2016, almost 22% higher than 2015, reflecting improving commodity prices as the year progressed, but also the delivery of material cost reductions and operational improvements.

A debt reduction plan was adopted in September 2015 to bring down financial leverage and strengthen the balance sheet. This is now complete, with net debt reduced to $15.5 billion after a divestment programme which raised over $6 billion, including the sale in late 2016 of a 50% interest in Glencore Agriculture for $3.1 billion (to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation), and the sale of Glencore’s Hunter Valley coal rail

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haulage business (GRail) in Australia, for $840 million. Disposals also included the sale of non-core gold and silver byproducts at a number of copper mines.

Glencore now has a new net debt/ adjusted ebitda target of no higher than 2:1.

Commodity portfolio

Glencore believes that not all commodities are equal, but that it has the right ones. One of these is thermal coal – not a universally popular energy source, but necessary for the foreseeable future. The International Energy Agency’s modelling of the commitments made in the 2015 Paris climate change agreements shows that absolute demand for coal will continue to grow.

Under every policy scenario set out in its calculations, demand for coal will be sustained by the building of low-

cost, coal-fired electricity generation in developing economies, underpinning the consumption of 120 to 140 billion tonnes of coal between 2013 and 2030.

Glencore consequently expects its coal business to remain viable and is progressively integrating climate change challenges and opportunities into its business planning and risk management frameworks.

Nickel and cobalt, two of Glencore’s core commodities, have a promising future, with demand being driven (no pun intended) by electric vehicles.

Glencore produces some of the world’s purest nickel and cobalt and is one of the largest recyclers and processors of nickel and cobalt-bearing materials, including batteries. Car manufacturers are investing in electric vehicle technology to achieve regulatory emissions targets. Battery chemistry that

glencore the best commodities relies on nickel and cobalt compounds is emerging as the technology of choice.

Copper is a critical modern day metal used in hundreds of everyday products and applications including electricity distribution, plumbing, healthcare and telecommunications. It is estimated that the average home contains over 100 kg of copper.

After underperforming for most of the year, the copper market sprang back into life in the closing months of 2016. The much vaunted “wall of supply” failed to emerge, and stronger than expected Chinese demand propelled copper up towards $6,000/t by year end, from a low of $4,310/t in early 2016. Glencore is the third largest producer and one of the world’s largest recyclers of copper and other metals from electronic goods. Its copper assets are located in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Peru, the Philippines and Zambia.

Zinc and lead play an important role in modern society, too, with the former used primarily to protect steel from rusting by coating it using a process called galvanizing. Lead is predominantly used in lead-acid batteries, which power our everyday industrial and consumer products.

They also provide important emergency power supply for hospitals and mobile phone networks.

Coal assets

“Our robust financial performance during 2016 reflects the quality of our industrial asset portfolio and the resilience of our large scale diversified marketing business”

Coal is one of the most reliable, abundant and affordable energy sources, providing around one third of the world’s primary energy needs. It is used in the production of 70% of the world’s steel.

Glencore has interests in coal mines in Australia, South Africa (the Goedgevonden complex, Izimbiqa coal, Tweefontein complex and iMpunzi complex) and Colombia (Cerrejón and Prodeco, which includes the La Jagua and Calenturitas mines). Its total coal production in 2016 was 124.9 million tonnes, 6.6 million tonnes (5%) lower than 2015, mainly due to the deconsolidation and subsequent sale of Optimum Coal and some scheduled mine closures in South Africa, weatherrelated constraints on production in Colombia, and some curtailment of production in Australia.

Glencore’s interest in coal began

with the acquisition in 1998 of the Cumnock and Mount Owen coal mines in Australia, and it is now one of Australia’s largest coal producers. The Cumnock mine is now part of Glencore’s Ravensworth Operations in New South Wales.

Glencore is the largest coal producer in New South Wales, managing the production of over 50 million tonnes of thermal and coking coal in 2016, and employing around 4,400 people in eight mining complexes across four coalfields: Hunter Valley, Newcastle, Western Districts and Southern Districts. Coal is exported from the Port of Newcastle and also from Port Kembla.

Ravensworth Open Cut mine is located in the NSW Hunter Valley, between the towns of Muswellbrook and Singleton.

It incorporates the open cut mine and a Coal Handling and Preparation Plant.

The mine is a joint venture between Itochu 10% and Glencore 90%. The CHPP assets are owned by the JV but operated by Glencore.

The Mt Owen Complex consists of the Mt Owen, Ravensworth East and Glendell open cut coal mines. These mines are owned and managed by Mt Owen Pty Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Glencore. The integration of these adjacent Glencore owned operations enables all sites to utilise existing infrastructure and coal handling facilities at Mt Owen Mine.

Also nearby in the Upper Hunter Valley of NSW is Liddell Coal Operations (LCO), an established opencut mine approximately 25 km north west of Singleton. LCO is a joint venture between Glencore (67.5%) and Mitsui Matsushima Australia (32.5%). Fifteen kilometres south west of Singleton is the Bulga Complex, which includes Bulga Open Cut, Bulga Underground Operations and the Coal Handling and Preparation Plant. Bulga Open Cut and Bulga Underground are managed by Glencore, which is also the majority shareholder, via a somewhat complex ownership structure.

Bulga Coal produces approximately 16 million tonnes of semi soft coking coal and thermal coal a year, which is shipped by rail to the Port of Newcastle for export to China and Japan. The coal is used predominately for steel making and power generation. Bulga World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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“Taking what it calls ‘a highly disciplined approach towards supply,’ Glencore curtailed production at a number of its coal, copper, oil and zinc assets in 2015/2016 to preserve value for the longer term and assist in market rebalancing” World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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Depth of Knowledge

The Cementation group has sunk several of the deepest shafts in the world including Glencore’s Kidd Mine D No. 4 Shaft, the deepest shaft in

2016

the Americas. Our design build capabilities provide one point accountability and constructibility which is critical in carrying out complex and technically challenging projects. Guided by our “best for project” philosophy and a commitment to safe work, Cementation offers your project a valuable depth of knowledge as well as knowledge of depth.

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“Glencore believes that not all commodities are equal, but that it has the right ones”

glencore the best commodities

Underground is a longwall mining operation and has approval to mine coal until 2031.

Mangoola Open Cut is a coal operation in the Upper Hunter Valley, 20 kilometres west of Muswellbrook and approximately 10 kilometres north of the township of Denman. A relatively new mine, the 100% Glencore owned Mangoola Open Cut commenced production in November 2010, and won the Australian Mine of the Year award in 2013 in recognition of its water, noise, air and dust management and its community engagement.

Away from the Hunter Valley, Tahmoor

Mine is an underground coal mining operation situated in the Southern Highlands Region of New South Wales, approximately 75km south west of Sydney. The mine produces mainly hard coking coal along with small amounts of steaming blend coal. Both the coking coal, used for steel making and the steaming blend, used for power generation, are sold to European and Asian markets.

Last year Glencore announced plans to close the Tahmoor mine in 2018, but a resurgence in the price of coking coal has prompted a change of mind. The mine will now be kept open, but put up

for sale, largely because of its isolation from the company’s Hunter Valleybased operations.

The Ulan Mine Complex is one of the most established coal mining operations in the western coalfields of New South Wales. A joint venture between Glencore (90%) and Mitsubishi Development (10%), mining operations consist of two underground mines and an open cut. In 2015 Glencore secured approval to expand the underground mine to extract another 13 million tonnes of coal and extend the mine’s operational life by another two years, until 2033.

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over 2,600 people, managing the production of more than 38 million tonnes of saleable thermal and coking coal. Its Queensland coal assets include five mining complexes in the Bowen Basin, incorporating seven open cut and underground operations and four coal handling processing plants. Coal is exported via the Abbot Point Coal Terminal, Dalrymple Bay, the RG Tanna Coal Terminal and the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal (WICET) in Gladstone.

Collinsville Open Cut is Queensland’s oldest coal mine, having operated as an underground or open cut mine for almost 100 years. It was recently operating as a joint venture between Glencore Coal Queensland (55%), Itochu Coal Resources (35%) and

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Sumitomo (10%), but Glencore bought out its joint venture partners in Collinsville last September, along with the Newlands coal operation.

Glencore owns a 55% share in Oaky Creek Coal in Central Queensland, which has two underground operations and a coal preparation plant. Open cut operations ceased in December 2006. The underground operations are modern, state-of-the art longwall operations with associated development works. Coal is exported through eastern seaports in Mackay and Gladstone to Japan, Asia, Europe, North Africa and South America.

Xstrata’s acquisition of Mount Isa Mines in 2003 brought Glencore (eventually) a 75% share of the Rolleston Open Cut coal mine in the southern

part of Queensland’s Bowen Basin. At the time, Rolleston Open Cut was still in the planning stage, but development was approved in 2004 and operations began in 2005. Approval has been given to expand operations into the site’s adjacent leases to extend the operational life of Rolleston Open Cut, ideally through until 2038.

Clermont is a large scale open-cut operation, located approximately 12 kilometres from the town of Clermont in central Queensland. Glencore manages operations at Clermont on behalf of a joint venture in which it owns a 25% share. After commencing operations in 2010, Clermont now produces approximately 12 million metric tonnes of high energy thermal coal with relatively low ash and sulphur.

glencore the best commodities Copper assets

“The Katanga and Mutanda operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo represented an investment of over $6 billion by Glencore at the end of 2016”

Glencore has copper assets in North and South America, Africa and Australia.

Copper production of 1,425,800 tonnes was 76,400 tonnes (5%) below 2015, reflecting production suspensions in Africa, but partly offset by improved grades and volumes in South America.

The Collahuasi mine in Chile produces copper concentrate and cathodes. As of December 2015, it was the world’s third largest copper operation and has one of the largest deposits of copper mineral resources (9,964 million tonnes).

Collahuasi’s deposits are located on the plateau of northern Chile’s Atacama Desert, 4,400 metres above sea level. The town of Huatacondo is 40 kilometres from the operation. Glencore and Anglo American each own 44%, with a Japanese consortium owning the remaining 12 per cent.

Altonorte is a custom copper smelting operation located near the port of Antofagasta in northern Chile. The Glencore operation has the capacity to process 1.6 million tonnes of copper concentrate from third parties per year.

Also in Chile is Punitaqui, a copper mine and concentrator acquired by Glencore as a brownfield development in early 2010.

Glencore has a 50% controlling stake in Alumbrera, an open pit copper - gold mine in the Catamarca Province of north west Argentina. El Pachón is a copper project located in Argentina’s San Juan Province, five kilometres from the Chilean border.

In Peru, Glencore owns a 33.75% interest in the Antamina open pit copper and zinc mine, 4,300 metres above sea level. Antamina’s concentrator is considered to be one of the world’s largest polymetallic processing plants, treating ores containing copper, zinc, molybdenum, silver and lead. Glencore’s Antapaccay copper operation is located in Espinar Province in southern Peru.

The operation includes an open pit copper mine and processing facilities in addition to port loading and facilities at Matarani.

In Africa, Glencore is a substantial investor in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Katanga and Mutanda operations represented an investment of over $6 billion at the end of 2016. In the last three years, Glencore’s operations

in the DRC have paid over $1 billion in taxes and royalties to the government.

Katanga’s assets include the Kamoto underground mine and KOV open pit mine, providing sulphide and oxide ores respectively; and the Kamoto Concentrator and Luilu Metallurgical Plant for the onsite production of refined copper and cobalt. Katanga also has a number of other mines and plants.

Katanga has the potential to become Africa’s largest copper producer and the world’s largest cobalt producer, but in September 2015, the board of Katanga confirmed the suspension of copper and cobalt production for 18 months.

Katanga will continue with the planned investment of $880 million into ongoing processing plant upgrades, including the commissioning of a new leach plant to replace the existing oxide concentration process. The Whole Ore Leach (WOL) project is currently on schedule to be commissioned in Q4 2017, when production is expected to resume. This is expected to significantly improve both copper recoveries and operating unit costs.

Despite the closure, Glencore has recently added an extra 10% stake in Katanga. In February 2017, Glencore purchased the Fleurette group’s remaining 31% stake in Mutanda Mining Sarl, a high grade copper and cobalt producer with operations in the province of Lualaba in the DRC, and at the same time increased its investment in Katanga. Glencore now owns 100% of Mutanda and approximately 86.33% of the shares in Katanga.

This deal marks the first significant cash expenditure since Glencore started its deleveraging programme at the height of the commodity slump in late 2015, and is a sign that Glencore chief Ivan Glasenberg is back on the deal trail after a year of paying down debts and strengthening the company’s balance sheet.

Zambia is another source of investment for Glencore, which is majority owner of the Mopani Mine. In 2015 the decision was taken to restructure production at the mine, to deliver more sustainable growth in the long term. Mopani worked closely with the Government and unions to put in place a plan to help minimise the impact on affected employees.

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“Coal is one of the most reliable, abundant and affordable energy sources, providing around one third of the world’s primary energy needs. It is used in the production of 70% of the world’s steel”

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One project recently completed at Mopani is the $500 million, threestage upgrade of the copper smelter.

The upgrade ends a legacy issue in the region. When Glencore took ownership of Mopani in 2000, it had been releasing 100% of its sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions into the atmosphere for almost 80 years. The mine now captures over 95% of all SO2 emissions, significantly improving local air quality.

Since 2014, Mopani has invested over $1 billion in site expansions and upgrades to extend the life of mine by a further 25-30 years. In March this year, Mopani chairman Moses Chilangwa told a media briefing about a new US$1.3 billion investment in capital projects that include sinking and equipping three new shafts, which are scheduled to come online by the end of 2018. These will more than double

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Mopani’s mining output from the current 3.8 million tonnes of copper ore hoisted per annum to 9 million tonnes by 2020.

“The new shafts that we are constructing underline Mopani’s longterm commitment to our operations and our confidence in Zambia,” he said.

“Apart from extending the lifespan of our mines by another 30 years, the new shafts will inevitably safeguard existing jobs, gain access to more copper ore with enhanced grades and provide sustainable contributions to the Treasury through taxes and mineral royalties.”

In Australia, Glencore’s copper business is integrated across the entire supply chain, from resource development, mining and processing, to transport, storage and export to worldwide customers. The company’s

North Queensland copper mining and processing operations include the Mount Isa Mines complex, Ernest Henry Mining near Cloncurry, and the copper refinery in Townsville.

Operating since 1924, Mount Isa Mines remains one of Australia’s largest industrial complexes, with two separate mining and processing streams, copper and zinc-lead-silver. The Mount Isa copper operations host two underground mines, including Australia’s deepest underground copper mine at 1,900 metres. Ore is processed and smelted on site before being transported via rail to the copper refinery and port operations in Townsville for further processing and export.

Ernest Henry Mining is a copper and gold mining and processing operation located near Cloncurry. The operation began production in 1998 as an open

glencore the best commodities pit mine and in 2011 transitioned to underground mining as part of a $589 million life of mine extension project.

Copper ore is processed at the on site concentrator and trucked to Mount Isa Mines for smelting into copper anode.

With a mining history spanning over 140 years, Glencore’s CSA Mine is Australia’s highest grade copper mine, and at 1,600 metres deep, it is also the second deepest underground copper mine in the country. Located in Cobar, Central Western New South Wales, CSA Mine produces copper concentrate with a silver by-product. The product is then transported via rail to Port Waratah in Newcastle, from where it is shipped to smelters around the world.

Zinc assets

“Glencore believes that its broad range of products will be required as the global economy continues to grow, as countries develop and for the transition to a lower emissions economy”

Over half Glencore’s total zinc and lead reserves and resources are located in Australia, which also hosts the world’s No.1 and No.2 zinc resource bases at Mount Isa Mines and McArthur River Mine.

Responding to challenging market conditions (low global zinc and lead prices), in 2015 Glencore announced it would reduce global zinc and lead production by about 500,000 tonnes to preserve the value of its resources.

The North Queensland zinc operations include an integrated supply chain comprising mining, processing, transport and logistics, and port facilities. The zinc operations at Mount Isa include the George Fisher underground mine, zinc-lead concentrator, zinc-lead filter plant and lead smelter. Glencore also owns the high-grade Lady Loretta underground mine near Mount Isa, where production has been temporarily suspended.

The processing stream treats ore from the Glencore mines to produce both zinc and lead concentrates, as well as lead bullion. The products are transported to port operations in Townsville for export.

McArthur River Mine (MRM) in Australia’s Northern Territory is around 970 kilometres south-east of Darwin and includes an open cut mine and processing stream. MRM currently produces bulk concentrates and zinc and lead concentrates, which are transported by road from the mine site to Glencore’s Bing Bong Loading Facility 120km north

of MRM on the Gulf of Carpentaria.

From there, product is loaded onto a barge and transported to ships at sea.

Nickel assets

Glencore’s nickel business produces some of the world’s purest nickel, ferronickel and cobalt and it is also one of the largest recyclers and processors of nickel and cobalt-bearing materials.

Around two-thirds of all nickel goes into the production of stainless steel.

The remainder is used for applications including super-alloys, batteries and electroplating. The company’s nickel assets are in Australia, Canada, Norway and New Caledonia.

Glencore is one of Australia’s largest nickel and cobalt producers, and with more than 30 years of nickel reserves, it has one of the longest life of mine reserves. Murrin Murrin is a worldclass hydrometallurgical nickel project located between Leonora and Laverton in the north-eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia, and operated by Minara Resources, wholly owned by Glencore. Murrin Murrin uses high pressure acid leach technology to recover nickel and cobalt from laterite ore. Processed nickel and cobalt is transported via rail to Kwinana, south of Perth, for export to customers worldwide.

In Canada, Glencore’s Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations (Sudbury INO) include exploration, the Fraser Mine, Nickel Rim South Mine, Strathcona Mill and Sudbury Smelter.

The company has been mining nickelcopper ores in the Sudbury area of northern Ontario, Canada, since 1928.

The facilities are spread throughout the 60 kilometre-long, oval-shaped geological formation known as the Sudbury basin. Nickel and copper are the primary metals but cobalt and precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum and palladium are also produced.

In the far north of Quebec, Canada, the Raglan mine property has four underground mines and associated infrastructure, with high-grade ore deposits of nickel and copper spanning the nearly 70km property.

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glencore the best commodities

lowest-cost nickel refineries in the western world and produces high purity nickel in the form of cathode and crown products.

Koniambo Nickel is a ferronickel mine and processing plant in New Caledonia.

The operation is a JV partnership between Glencore (49%) and Societe Miniere du Sud Pacifique SMSP (51%).

It includes a pyro-metallurgical nickel smelter, power station and 11km overland conveyor, seawater desalination plant and other infrastructure.

Risks and ambitions

Mining operations are dependent on the expected volumes of supply or demand for their commodities, which can vary for many reasons, such as competitor supply policies, changes in resource availability, government policies and regulation, costs of production, global

and regional economic conditions and events of nature.

Glencore’s main strategic objective is to grow shareholder returns sustainably while maintaining a strong investment grade rating and acting as a responsible operator. To achieve this ambition, the company is focusing on three strategic imperatives: to fully integrate sustainability throughout its business; to maintain a robust and flexible balance sheet; and to focus on cost controls and operational efficiencies throughout its entire business.

Glencore believes that its broad range of products will be required as the global economy continues to grow, as countries develop and for the transition to a lower emissions economy. Copper and steel are required for renewables-based power stations as well as energy-efficient infrastructure and the electrification of

the transport sector. Nickel and cobalt are required for energy storage and likely to play an important role in the growth of electro-mobility.

Fossil fuels remain a key input for industrial sectors and a critical source of safe, reliable and secure energy. When coupled with carbon capture and storage technologies, fossil fuels can continue to play a significant role in the global energy mix. Glencore’s recent $2.55 billion bid for Rio Tinto’s coal assets in Australia’s Hunter Valley underlines that belief, and signifies the company’s return to the cut and thrust of corporate acquisition.

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Prairie Machine & Parts

renewable transport is here Miners looking to reduce maintenance costs while improving compliance with ever-tightening emissions regulations should “try the electric vehicle alternative,” says Kipp Sakundiak, general manager of PMP

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A

ir quality in underground mines is a hot topic. As the regulatory environment develops, it only ever goes in one direction - tighter. Under pressure to reduce the number of diesel particulates in the air, miners have a limited choice – pump in more clean air, or reduce the number of diesel vehicles used underground, with an inevitable effect on productivity.

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Manufacturers have worked wonders in their attempts to clean up the diesel engine, but you can’t eliminate emissions altogether. If only there was an alternative to diesel-engine vehicles.

“We are a mining equipment manufacturer and we acquired an electric vehicle business two years ago,” says Kipp Sakundiak, general manager of Prairie Machine & Parts (PMP), based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. “We are now building electric vehicles which have zero emissions and tremendous advantages in reducing operating and maintenance costs compared to their diesel equivalents.”

PMP’s background is in mining machinery for the potash mines in Saskatchewan. The business started in 1977 doing repair and rebuild work on customers’ mining equipment.

Becoming familiar with the equipment’s weaknesses, they were often able to make improvements of their own, returning a superior product to the customer. Before long they were building their own and now have a variety of mining equipment with a focus on minerals found in sedimentary rocks, including borer-style mining machines, a state-of-the-art Flexiveyor™ continuous haulage system, belt storage

prairie machine & parts (PMP) renewable transport is here and extensible conveyor deployment systems, roof bolters and other auxiliary equipment.

A few years ago, not far across town, a company called PapaBravo Innovations was causing a stir with its electric personnel carriers. Aware of its success and the environmental and operational cost benefits of electric vehicles, Murray Popplewell, president of PMP, approached PapaBravo’s president Patric Byrns, and the acquisition was arranged.

On 1 April 2015, PapaBravo relocated from its facility on Jasper Avenue in Saskatoon to PMP’s facilities on Miller Avenue.

The first vehicles to be produced are the light-duty personnel carriers developed

by PapaBravo, but if the technology proves itself in the hard rock mining environment, there would be huge potential in the development of electric versions of PMP’s range of heavy-duty mobile equipment.

“We are now building electric vehicles which have zero emissions and tremendous advantages in reducing operating and maintenance costs compared to their diesel equivalents”

“The Ontario hardrock market is a target market for PMP. Currently we have our Marmot EV on trial right now at both the Musselwhite and Fraser Mines in Ontario,” says Sakundiak. “Musselwhite’s trial started in June 2015 and Fraser’s started in March of this year; so far, both are success stories.”

PMP’s electric vehicles are designed to withstand the harsh conditions of a mining environment, and offer reliable operation with low maintenance and minimal down time for repairs. The industrial grade chassis and readily available parts provide for a durable mechanical platform that takes the pressure off any company’s maintenance department. These electric vehicles provide a superior alternative to diesel/ gas vehicles; with zero emissions and zero fuel cost, they offer both improved air quality and increased production capacity. Our electric vehicles are equipped with very advanced vehicle monitoring systems. “We can provide the customer with a detailed report of how the vehicle is being used, which helps them to look at the fleet as a whole and make informed decisions,” adds Sakundiak.

The Marmot EV, on trial with PMP’s hardrock clients, is a 4-wheel drive half ton carrier originally designed for up to four but modified to seat eight people for the trial. Designed specifically for ramp access, it can navigate a 20% grade with a full payload for a total vertical elevation change of 2.5 kilometres; going down it utilizes a regenerative braking system which uses the electric motor as a brake, recharging the battery as it does so. “One customer specified the vehicle must come with a costly wet brake system – we convinced them to try the vehicle with standard dry disc brakes – they told us it will never work, the brake pads will be worn out in less than a week. That vehicle is in operation two years later and the brake pads have not been changed. The product range also includes the Badger EV, a customizable one ton EV and the Gopher EV, an allpurpose quarter ton, two-passenger (or four-passenger) light truck, available in 2wd and 4wd versions, with multiple battery module options.

“These are not conversion vehicles, they are designed with purpose and ‘fuelled’ by our passion to build the very best electric powered vehicles on the market,” says Sakundiak. “This is not a conversion. We don’t take a pre-existing diesel truck and put a battery system in.

It’s an electric vehicle built for mining.

It has to be efficient but it also has to be mine duty,” he continues. “We strike a balance between the demands of those requirements. We have a patented modular system which means that the vehicle has been designed for very low maintenance.”

It may be an electric vehicle, but you don’t need an electrician to service and maintain it. “The entire system is modular,” says Sakundiak, “so if something goes wrong with the master control module for example, the box that controls the whole vehicle, the advanced diagnostic system informs the technician of the issue, saving costly troubleshooting time and because of the patented modular design modules are swapped with ease. It’s the most fundamental part of the vehicle, but you can take the master control module out in less than two hours, put in a new World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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“These are not conversion vehicles, they are designed with purpose and ‘fuelled’ by our passion to build the very best electric powered vehicles on the market” World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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prairie machine & parts (PMP) renewable transport is here

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“We appreciate the support of our clients and the efforts they put into learning how electric vehicles will make their operations better today and in the future” one and keep your vehicle running.

You can then send the module back to us (PMP) for repair and then we will send it back to the mine. The modular concept means you don’t need specialist maintenance people to look after our vehicles.” So for mining customers in remote locations they do not have to rely on proximity to technical service people – they can educate their own people to service the vehicles which is another benefit to going PMP electric.

Vehicle maintenance is a huge cost for miners, who want to keep their equipment operating for as long as they can. Diesel vehicles, however well designed and however carefully looked after, have parts that wear out and consumables that need continual replacement. “There are far fewer moving parts in an electric vehicle,” says Sakundiak. “There’s no engine, no transmission, no filters, no oil. For every electric vehicle you use, there is less diesel to manage at the mine site and less storage space required for it.” As

underground mines tend to get deeper as they get older, ventilation costs increase significantly as the air needs to be cooled before being pumped into the mine. Electric vehicles are a cost effective way to reduce these ventilation costs by reducing emissions and thus the need for the high volumes of ore.

Also maintenance on vehicle braking systems takes on greater significance.

On an electric vehicle, the major part of the braking is done by the electric motor. “When you’re going down a hill, the regenerative braking system kicks in so the motor turns into a generator and actually charges the batteries.”

There is a small premium on the capital cost, he admits, but when you compare the total life cycle cost, reduced ventilation costs and the safety (operators not breathing in harmful diesel emissions) electric vehicles are the clear winner over diesel. The batteries do need to be recharged, of course, but this can be done rapidly while the crew takes breaks or between shift changes.

Because diesel vehicles regularly need replacement parts, new engines, transmissions, and brakes, it doesn’t take long to recover the extra capital cost of the electric vehicle.

These two trials have proven that an electric vehicle, purpose-built for the mine, is at home in the mine. There is huge potential for electric vehicles, and not just in underground mines. “This is a tremendous opportunity that both clients have given us,” says Sakundiak.

“They made the commitment to try out the electric concept, both clients have really bought into it and they have great teams of people supporting the initiative. They want to make it work.

We want to do our part to assist them to be more cost effective and productive.

We appreciate the support of our clients and the efforts they put into learning how electric vehicles will make their operations better today and in the future.”

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AUSSIE WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SET TO GO TO WORK WORLDWIDE

A

s the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention.

And that is nowhere truer than in the Total Workforce Management System (TWMS) developed by Damstra.

From simple beginnings tracking their own workers’ skills and qualifications, Damstra is now established as a leader in workforce management, compliance, and safety management, with their TWMS delivering powerful solutions that radically transform the ease with which companies can manage and protect their entire workforce.

The Australian-designed system has grown exponentially from managing workers within a NSW-based mining labour hire company to the point where Damstra’s TWMS recently attracted huge interest from companies in countries including the US, Chile, Peru, South Africa, West Africa and Canada when it was showcased at a US mining expo in October 2016.

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This interest is not surprising when you consider the comprehensive capabilities of the Damstra TWMS, a system which delivers a suite of valuable service offerings where other workforce management systems in the market deliver only a few.

These include Contractor PreQualification, Online Inductions and Training, Skills and Competency Management, Asset Management and Equipment Tracking, Human Capital Management, Site and Access Control, Visitor Management, plus apps and other tools which enhance workforce visibility and control in the field.

Damstra’s web-based TWMS has proven itself so valuable that its clientele has quickly expanded from the mining sector to include leading companies engaged in telecommunications, utilities, manufacturing and construction.

Indeed, the statistics are impressive: over 11,000 companies now engage with Damstra, over 60,000 persons are active in the system, over 1,000,000 man hours and more than 4,800,000 skills and certifications have been tracked, more than 500,000 safety alerts have been generated and over World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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3,000,000 automatic breath tests collected – to mention just a few figures.

And the roll call of clients is now set to increase, with Damstra already rolling out operations in New Zealand and preparing to establish a US base in 2017 to pursue the global opportunities which have arisen since the US mining expo.

Speaking to CEO Christian Damstra, who instigated the development of the needs-based workforce management software over a decade ago, it’s easy to see why the company’s unique TWMS - and equally unique approach to working with its clients – is achieving such success.

“We designed the system from the ground up and got programmers to do what we wanted, rather than programmers designing something and the business having to adapt to match their thoughts,” Christian said.

“We weren’t a technology company or writing software because we saw a need in the industry; our system grew organically from actual business needs

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and that makes it extremely practical and effective and very different to other systems.

“We now have an amazing technology product that’s not only the most comprehensive workforce management system available, but also unique in being a truly web-based system where we don’t have servers or such things

on clients’ sites because our terminals ‘talk’ straight back over the internet to us.”

Asked why he believes the Damstra TWMS drew such interest at the US mining expo, Christian outlined the many benefits Damstra and its system offer to companies of all kinds.

“This is a system for every company

with employees, whether one or thousands, because every single employee is covered by some form of legislation with particular requirements; it can be as simple as whether they’ve had a medical or they’re allowed to work in the country, through to having to have a working at heights ticket, a confined space ticket, an electrical licence or other such specific requirements.

“Apart from the obvious operational benefits of our system in managing any workforce, I think companies appreciate the fact that we’re very

flexible in partnering with clients to tailor and customise the system to make it do what they need, rather than making them reinvent themselves,” he explained.

“Also, a lot of software companies will say ‘We don’t care if you have one employee or 50, it’s going to cost you $100,000 to buy this software,’ however the way our pricing model is set up, we can tailor for even the smallest companies; if you’ve got 10 people you can afford us, if you’ve got 20 you can afford us, if you’ve got 1,000 people you can afford us - because

what we provide is all relevant to how many people you employ.

“The other thing that is quite unique is our growth strategy and the way we develop our software,” Christian continued. “We don’t charge hundreds of thousands of dollars if a client wants a new feature which is beneficial in the overall system – we will build it and give it to them as part of our service.

“We’ve always been a growth company that believes in partnering with our clients; we don’t just sell something and walk away, because it’s the service and support that goes with it that makes our system so powerful,” he concluded.

“We stay with clients through the years, growing and working together to ensure they get all they need from our system and every possible benefit, because that’s what the relationship is all about.”

For more on the Damstra Total Workforce Management System visit www.damstratechnology.com

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scania mining making mines smart and lean

Volatile mineral prices cause the mining industry to focus on reducing capital and operational costs while optimising production. With everyone looking for a smarter solution, the industry has been talking about lean. It sounds good on paper, but can it be done in real life?

Scania Mining shows how to bring a smart and lean solution into a real mining operation through collaboration and partnership between OEM and mining operator.

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scania mining making mines smart and lean

U

nder the hot sun and haze in Singrauli in the state of Madhya Pradesh in northern India, VPR Mining Infrastructure Pvt Ltd has been steadily removing over 50 million tonnes of overburden at the Jayant coal mine, owned

by Coal India subsidiary Northern Coalfields Limited.

It’s a big job. After starting in 2014, they expect to finish in 2019. A team consisting of members from Scania and VPR Mining Infrastructure is currently collaborating on an 18-month Scania Site Optimisation Project, involving 160 Scania trucks, to see what productivity improvements can be made.

Scania Site Optimisation is a framework of tools, methods and

information to improve mining transport operations. The core feature of this service framework is to view the mine as a factory, implementing lean principles, tools and methods. As with any lean implementation, Scania Site Optimisation examines inefficiencies with a view to minimising waste; in the mining environment this involves five key elements; time, load, road, safety and sustainability: • Time because inefficiencies such as idling, waiting and queuing affect overall productivity • Load because an optimal loading process will reduce cost and increase efficiency • Road because bad roads kill productivity, damage equipment and pose safety risks • Safety risks, not only because of their human cost, but also their potential to lead to costly hold-ups in production • Sustainability because elimination of waste means more effective and efficient use of available resources.

Scania Site Optimisation depends upon collaboration with the customer. The

first step is to evaluate the current state, recognising the reality and establishing a baseline for improvement. The second step is improvement potential, in which Scania and its customer find weaknesses and wasteful practices in the current state which can be improved upon. “By looking at the big picture, we can avoid sub optimisation and make sure the improvements will impact the whole operational flow,” says Jon Fangel, Project Manager for Scania Site Optimisation. “Then comes the implementation plan, where together we plan and execute the implementation in steps, working towards continuous improvements and making sure the new ways of working become THE ways of working, in order to avoid falling back into old habits.”

VPR’s “current state” at the Javant mine when the Scania team arrived was much like that of any number of similar mining operations, with a considerable amount of queuing in the loading and unloading areas. The drivers kept a tally of how many trips they completed and productivity was measured by the number of trips completed for the World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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scania mining making mines smart and lean

volume of earth shifted at the end of the day. Every month, productivity was then evaluated to see if targets were being met.

“For the first three months of the project we focused on reducing idling time and queuing, as well as on driver training,” explained Fangel. “We implemented an organised loading and unloading area, as well as an optimised unloading method. We also set a rule to turn engines off after 1 minute of standing still, to reduce idling.” Scania also connected over 400 drivers to its fleet management system, the first time that number has been achieved for a single customer, to help the driver training program to tailor training to individual needs.

One of the key factors in improving productivity is to reduce cycle time.

As part of the optimisation project, a 24-hour test was conducted on transport flow at the mine site. The implementation of lean’s ‘just-in-time’ principle helped here. An excavator was assigned a certain number of trucks based on the total number of trucks and excavators, as well as the truck’s average cycle time. The aim of the test was to show that with the right number of

trucks per excavator and a defined takt time, queuing and waiting time can be significantly reduced and productivity increased.

In lean manufacturing, takt time is the rate at which a finished product needs to be completed in order to meet customer demand. It can also be described as the average time between the start of production of one unit and the start of production of the next unit, when these production starts are set to match the rate of customer demand. In our mining example, takt time refers to the time between the first bucket on the first truck, to the first bucket on a second truck, on the same excavator.

“To balance the flow, we allocated a certain number of trucks to an excavator, with a specific number of loading buckets based on our calculation of cycle time and takt time,” explained Fangel. “The results showed a more than 30% increase in productivity per truck involved in the test compared to the rest of the fleet.” So far, idling time has been reduced from 37.5% to 30%, fuel consumption has gone down and productivity per truck is increasing.

The project in Singrauli is entering its ninth month with promising results.

VPR and Scania are working together in a continuous improvement process, making sure the improvements ‘stick’ by embedding them into the workflow, creating a new ‘current state’. “Years of experience in implementing lean principles in our own organization is a proof of our concept,” comments Björn Winblad, Head of Scania Mining.

“The most important aspect of the project is collaboration with the customer,” concludes Fangel. “It’s about working together to find improvements, prioritising what needs to be done, and implementing the solution. Without the collaborative work, this would just be theory on paper.”

Collaboration between supplier and mine operator plays a crucial role in implementing lean principles on a mine site. It’s something many people talk about, but Scania Mining manages to make it a reality. That’s Scania Site Optimisation.

Find out more about Scania Mining at www.scania.com/ Mining

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vale

transforming the world Vale, the world’s largest iron ore and nickel producer, is in the business of mining essential ores.

Vale is also the world’s biggest producer of iron ore and pellets, raw materials essential to the manufacture of steel. So how and why does Vale mine these materials?

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vale transforming the world

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F

rom phones to airplanes, building structures to coins, ores are essential ingredients for indispensable items in today’s world.

Iron ore is found in nature in the form of rocks, mixed with other elements. By means of various industrial processes incorporating cutting-edge technology, iron ore is processed and then sold to steel companies. The iron ore produced

by Vale can be found in houses, cars and household appliances. In 2016 Vale reached a new output record, producing 349 million tonnes of the steelmaking ingredient, thanks partly to the opening of its massive S11D mine, its largestever operation. The figure, which beat Vale’s own forecast, was also the result of a strong performance at its mines in northern Brazil.

Vale is the also world’s largest producer of nickel, one of the most versatile

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metals in existence. Hard and malleable, nickel resists corrosion and maintains its mechanical and physical properties even when subjected to extreme temperatures. Vale’s high-quality nickel is valued for its applications in plating and batteries. It also gives your bathroom taps and shower heads their bright metallic finish. It’s in everything from coins to cars and in mobile phones and the rechargeable batteries that power them.

Vale also operates in the coal sector; coal being essential for the transformation of iron ore into steel, as well as for the generation of electricity.

Copper, that reddish-orange metal that has been used to benefit civilization since 8000 BC, is one of the most important metals used by modern industry. Prized for its ability to conduct heat and electricity, it is an element that helps

facilitate the world as we know it, and is another focus of Vale’s investment.

Malleable, resistant to corrosion and high temperatures, recyclable and blessed with the best electrical and thermal conductivity of any commercial metal, copper is highly valued for its application in power transmission and generation, building wiring as well as electronic equipment, including mobile phones and television sets.

Manganese, the fourth most widely used metal in the world, is present in the composition of paint and batteries, and many other objects of everyday life.

Vale is a leading producer of manganese, an essential steelmaking input, and also of ferroalloys – combinations of iron and one or more chemical elements, such as manganese itself. Nearly 90% of manganese output is used in the steel industry, but its applications also include

vale transforming the world the manufacture of fertilizers, animal food and cars.

Global demand for food is increasing, while the space available on the planet to grow crops is decreasing.

The answer to this conundrum lies in fertilizers: substances that raise crop yields and enable larger harvests. The relationship between this sector and mining is simple: two of the main inputs for making fertilizers – potash and phosphates – are extracted from the ground through mining processes. The demand for Vale’s fertilizer operations continues to grow.

KEY OPERATIONS

Vale’s continued growth and success comes from carefully managed assets, investment in future prospects and from efficiency savings across its entire range of operations. Key mining sites in North and South America, Africa and Asia contribute to the bulk of this success.

In Brazil

“Carajás, the world’s largest open-pit iron ore mine, began operating in 1985, 18 years after the first discovery”

Minas Gerais: Itabira is the town in Minas Gerais where Vale was born.

Its name is of Tupi origin, meaning rock (“ita”) that shines (“bira”). It is said that during full moons, one of its mountains, Cauê Peak, used to shine as if lit up by floodlights hung from the sky.

However, contrary to the assumptions of the explorers who arrived to dig at the foot of Cauê Peak in search of gold, what made the mountain shine was its enormous quantity of iron.

At the turn of the 20th century, Cauê Peak was mapped as the largest iron deposit in the world. This mineral reserve was expropriated by the Brazilian government and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce – now Vale – was set up in 1942. Since then, many other mineral deposits besides Cauê have been discovered and mined in the state of Minas Gerais. At the moment, Vale operates more than 20 mines, broken down into the Southeast System and South System. Together, they account for more than 60% of the company’s iron ore production. The Southeast System is made up of three complexes – Itabira, Central Mines and Mariana.

The South System encompasses the Paraopeba, Vargem Grande and Itabiritos complexes. Vale also jointly

owns the Samarco Mineração Complex in partnership with BHP Billiton, but operations here have been closed since the tragic failure of two tailings dams in November 2015. In addition to iron ore and pelletizing complexes, Vale also has fertilizer and manganese operations in Minas Gerais.

S11D: Located in the Brazilian Amazon and part of the Carajás complex, S11D is the largest mining complex in Vale’s history. The S11D Eliezer Batista operation is an iron ore enterprise that integrates productivity with respect for people, and technology with environmental intelligence. In addition to increasing production in the state of Pará to 230 million metric tons per year, the project brings innovative solutions such as the truckless system, which replaces traditional off-highway trucks with conveyor belts and will reduce diesel consumption by about 70 per cent. The dry processing (using iron ore’s own natural moisture) will cut water consumption by 93% and it eliminates the need for tailings dams.

Investments in innovation, combined with Vale’s experience, enable a more efficient operation with less impact on the environment.

Carajás complex: On 11 July 1967, on board a helicopter with room for two passengers, the history of mining in Brazil (and the world) began to change. Flying over Carajás Forest, geologist Breno dos Santos sighted some enormous clearings and suspected they were “canga” areas – meaning places rich in ore very close to the surface, impeding the growth of trees. “When I knocked my hammer into the ground, a red substance came out. I thought: ‘Wow! Everything here is iron!’” Breno later recounted. In addition to the largest iron ore reserve ever found in the world, containing 17 billion metric tons, the region was also found to have deposits of manganese, nickel, bauxite, gold, silver, copper, zinc, chromium, tin and tungsten. In 1985, 18 years after this discovery, Carajás, the world’s largest open-pit iron ore mine, began operating.

That same year, Vale also started to operate the Azul manganese mine.

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vale transforming the world

“Vale is researching the potential development of an underground mine at Voisey’s Bay, which would add 400 jobs at the mine and concentrator”

in the municipality of Ourilândia do Norte. In turn, its Sossego (Canaã dos Carajás) and Salobo (Marabá) copper mines started up in 2004 and 2012, respectively.

In Peru

Located in Sechura, a desert region on Peru’s northern border with Ecuador, Bayóvar is one of the largest deposits of phosphate rock in South America.

The project has existed since 1920, but for many years it didn’t attract any investor willing to tackle the challenge of mining phosphate rock in the desert.

Vale took on this challenge in 2005, after winning a licence to mine in the region.

The operation has a concentration plant, conveyor belts to transport the phosphate within the mining site, drying and storage areas, and a port from which to export the output. The

main markets for the product are Brazil, North America and Asia.

In Canada

Voisey’s Bay: Operations at Vale’s openpit mine and concentrator at Voisey’s Bay in Labrador began in 2005. This 6,000 tonnes-per-day facility produces two types of concentrate: nickelcobalt-copper concentrate and copper concentrate. Voisey’s Bay is a fly-in/flyout operation. Significant infrastructure is required to support the mine and concentrator and to ensure a safe and comfortable living environment for the people that work at the site. At present, the Voisey’s Bay operation employs about 450 people. Vale is currently researching the potential development of an underground mine. An estimated additional 400 people will be employed at the mine and concentrator when World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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underground mining begins.

Sudbury: Located about 400 km from Toronto, Ontario’s Sudbury Basin hosts one of Vale’s biggest operational sites. The mining complex has six underground mines: Coleman, Creighton, Copper Cliff, Garson, Stobie, and Totten, which opened in February 2014 as Sudbury’s first new mine in over 40 years. Together, these mines are essential to Vale’s Base Metals business, producing mainly nickel, but also copper, cobalt, PGMs, gold and silver. The Sudbury complex includes integrated milling, smelting and refining facilities that process extracted minerals.

Besides producing finished nickel here, Vale sends nickel oxide, an intermediate product, to its nickel refinery in Wales or its Asian refineries to be processed into end products.

In Mozambique

Moatize - With its extensive territory rich in natural resources, Mozambique

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is a strategic region for Vale’s business in Africa. Vale’s commercial relations in the country began in 2004, when the company won a bid to develop Moatize mine, one of the largest coal reserves in the world. In 2008, work began on constructing the Moatize operation – Vale’s first project conducted in Africa.

Three years later, the complex came on stream. The Moatize mine currently has an annual production capacity of 11 million metric tons of coal. The output is sold to major overseas markets such as East Asia, the Americas, Europe and India. Over the coming years, Vale plans to invest more than US$8 billion in Mozambique. These resources will guarantee the execution of large projects such as Moatize II, which will double the mining complex’s production capacity.

In Zambia

Lubambe: Vale produces copper at the Lubambe mine through a joint venture with African Rainbow Minerals. Vale’s

history in the country began in 2010, with the launch of the Konkola North project in the African copper belt, the most promising part of the world in terms of high-grade copper deposits.

In Bemba, the Bantu language spoken in Zambia, Lubambe means eagle. There are some eagle nests within the complex and it is very common to see them flying over the region. Around $400 million has been invested in getting this project off the ground and besides this mining operation, Vale is carrying out surveying and mineral development activities in Zambia.

In Australia

Carborough Downs: Vale’s Carborough Downs underground mine is located in central Queensland in the Bowen Basin, approximately 20 kilometres east of Moranbah and 180 kilometres southwest of Mackay. Vale has been operator of the mine since 2007 when the company entered the Australian market and

vale transforming the world

acquired assets from AMCI Holdings.

The mine produces predominantly hard and semi-hard coking coal with pulverized coal injection (PCI) as a secondary product. Carborough Downs coal is sold to international customers primarily for use in the steel making industry. The site is expected to continue producing until 2019, with further potential for the extension of the mine life beyond that timeframe.

The Isaac Plains open cut coal mine is a 50/50 joint venture between Vale and Sumitomo. Situated approximately seven kilometres from Moranbah in Queensland’s coal rich Bowen Basin, the mine is managed by Isaac Plains Coal Management, with John Holland contracted to perform full service mining operations. The current mining lease, covering an area of more than 2,900 hectares, was granted in December 2005 with first coal mined, processed and railed for export in 2006.

The operation’s product split covers

pulverized coal injection (PCI), thermal coal and coking coal. Isaac Plains has five planned open cut pits positioned along a north-south striking seam subcrop. Mining is conducted through the strip mining method utilising a dragline (commissioned in June 2011) and results in production of approximately 2.8Mtpa of coal product for export. With proven resources of 44Mt and a further 22Mt of measured and indicated resources, Isaac Plains has an expected mine life of more than 10 years.

Where will Vale’s next mines be? To answer that question, Vale invests in research studies all over the world in the quest for locations housing new mineral reserves. Its teams of geologists and engineers are at the forefront of this endeavour, using techniques ranging from rock-sample collection and subsoil drilling to satellite image analysis to identify the presence of minerals.

Some development projects of note that

we have not yet mentioned, include the Belvedere Coal Project, located near Moura and approximately 175 kilometres from the Port of Gladstone in Australia. Vale owns 100% of the Belvedere Coal Project. Planned to be developed as an underground longwall operation, the project has immense potential, offering a large, good quality, metallurgical coal resource.

The Eagle Downs Coking Coal Project in which Vale has a 50% stake, is an approved underground longwall coal mine project, currently under construction, located approximately 20 kilometres southeast of Moranbah in Queensland’s Bowen Basin. It’s estimated that when completed the Eagle Downs Coal Mine will produce an average of 4.5Mtpa of product coking coal in the first ten years of full production from one underground longwall.

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rema tip top: the future of mining is now   World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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rema tip top the future of mining is now

In comparison to other industries, mining is often seen as simple: integrated supply chains, clear contractual relationships and strong control by individual stakeholders over all production variables.

However, anyone working in or with the industry will quickly come to a different conclusion. Mineral deposits are becoming ever more scarce, and demands for environmental protection and the protection of natural resources continue to grow. Since mines usually make a significant impact on existing landscapes, operators bear a unique responsibility to respond to these demands.

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ne solution to this challenge is truckless mining. In truckless mining, ore is placed directly on conveyor belt systems which transport the material to processing facilities. Even operators of some of the largest mining locations in the world use this method.

Of course, foregoing the use of mining dump trucks also poses challenges: for instance, the need to install additional conveyor belts. That’s why many companies trust REMA TIP TOP to partner with them on major projects and handle installation, operations and maintenance for the conveyor belt systems.

“All from a single source” – “one brand – one source – one system” is the motto for REMA TIP TOP’s work.

Almost nowhere in the world is this commitment more clear than in Brazil – the home of the rubber tree. The company serves the customer’s entire value creation chain in Brazil: materials, installation, maintenance, training, replacement parts, engineering. REMA TIP TOP is among the top companies in Brazil when it comes to conveyor belt service and maintenance. To further expand its position on the Brazilian market, the company acquired longterm partner Norte Sul Serviços at the beginning of the year. The acquisition allows REMA TIP TOP to further expand its global presence, and the company is now represented in Brazil by a 100% subsidiary.

Over 80 years of experience

Each party to the collaboration is able to optimally supplement its own expertise, leading to a well-functioning partnership. Employees of the Brazilian service provider have been able to develop their unparalleled material and application expertise over decades. Firstclass technology by REMA TIP TOP is based on over 80 years of research and development for rubber products.

Nortel Sul is more successful today in Brazil than it has ever been in its more than 30-year company history.

The partners are also combining their corporate growth aspirations. In the future, they will be able to use their joint expertise in an even more targeted way to help as many customers as possible succeed with personalized solutions.

As part of its partnership with REMA TIP TOP, Norte Sul also wants to provide its customers access to the comprehensive services offered by its German partner, such as the REMA M³

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rema tip top the future of mining is now

“All from a single source” – “one brand – one source – one system” is the motto for REMA TIP TOP’s work. monitoring system. The system doesn’t just sound an alarm when the conveyor belt tears – it actually calculates in advance when the next maintenance will come up by continuously monitoring belt strength and recognizing misaligned belts and loss of tension immediately.

Computer-supported worldwide service is also becoming more and more important to global companies. The advantages are obvious: Every hour of unplanned downtime a customer can save improves their accounting sheets.

Safe conveying around the clock

However, even high-tech monitoring still requires on-site personnel. REMA TIP TOP is working in numerous mines, processing operations and harbors in Brazil to ensure conveyor belt operations around the clock. With millions of tons of conveyed materials, and conveyor belts that might reach hundreds of kilometers in length, this isn’t an easy task. Maintenance, monitoring and repair for the conveyor belts essential to the operations of each location are assigned to experienced specialists.

That’s why REMA TIP TOP is always ready for action in some of the largest facilities in the country, with some teams numbering almost 100 employees, to provide 24/7 service – and not just for planned maintenance downtimes.

If needed, REMA TIP TOP can also handle unplanned repairs as quickly as possible with increased manpower.

Reducing downtimes, ensuring efficient operations

With its comprehensive range of services, REMA TIP TOP makes a long-term contribution to reducing downtimes, ensuring efficient conveyor belt and port facility operations. This greatly increases the service lives of these facilities. REMA TIP TOP is a reliable partner to the mining industry, ensuring these benefits with products, technical consulting, installation, proactive, reactive and shutdown maintenance, ongoing improvement processes, and employee training – a partner for the future.

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Wireless Communication for Mining Automation

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luidmesh technology offers miners the fastest, most reliable connectivity for their automated vehicles

While driverless cars are still a dream for the automotive industry, driverless trucks have been in operation on mine sites around the world for some time – another step in the advancement of the Internet of Things.

The mining industry is renowned as an early adopter of new technology, but internet connectivity for moving vehicles at a mine site is a different proposition from static objects.

Clearly, the network must have some sophisticated technology to be effective

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and reliable in those conditions.

“Fluidmesh wireless mesh networks are specifically designed to be easily deployed, managed and maintained in harsh conditions,” says Cosimo Malesci, co-founder of Fluidmesh Networks.

“The basic concept of a mesh is that there is no single point of failure. All mesh nodes are able to communicate with each other, ensuring redundancy and reliability.”

Traditional wireless solutions used in mining are based on a wi-fi approach, he explains, “but wi-fi technology was developed for different applications; downloading emails, surfing the web, connecting your tablet. It’s not designed for reliable, mission critical vehicle communication.”

Fluidmesh was founded in 2005 by a team of researchers and visionaries from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Politecnico of Milan, Italy. “We started with wireless mesh based solutions for video surveillance,” explains Malesci, “and about six years ago we expanded the business by creating a new division to focus on vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicleto-ground communications. Connecting vehicles presents a set of challenges that are not present in traditional static wireless networks, so we have developed dedicated technology to address those challenges.”

The network has three components, he explains. The first is a radio fitted to the vehicle itself. There can be up to four

fluidmesh wireless communication for mining automation

“If you have a vehicle without a human being on it, you want to be able to control it very carefully.”

of these. The radios connect the vehicle to the wayside network, an array of radios deployed around the pit, fitted on trailers or along an underground tunnel.

The third component is the backbone, which connects the wayside radios to the main network. “Our radios are engineered with no moving parts, so we can handle stress agents like vibration, humidity and dust on the jobsite. That’s why many leading mines and oil and gas companies trust our radios.”

The big advantage of the Fluidmesh network is that it uses an MPLS wireless solution (multi-protocol label switching). “This is a technology that was developed some time ago for fibre networks but we have applied it to wireless networks,” explains Malesci.

“We have patents out on it. By applying MPLS to wireless communication we are able to solve a lot of the challenges that traditional wireless mesh networks have had in delivering communication and connectivity to vehicles.”

One of those challenges, he explains, is latency – the delay between information being sent and received. “As soon as you put automation on a vehicle, latency plays a key role,” says Malesci. “If you have a vehicle without a human being on it, you want to be able to control it very carefully.” Clearly, if there is any delay in receiving information, even for a fraction of a second, the vehicle is out of control.

“The second problem we have solved is hand-off time,” he continues. The haul truck stays connected to the network as it moves around the pit by ‘roaming’ from one trailer or wayside radio to the next. The time it takes to hand off from one to another has an impact on the stability and availability of the network.

“It’s a very common issue in wireless systems,” says Malesci. “We have been able to solve that problem with MPLS. A wi-fi system has a hand-off anywhere

between 200 and 500 milliseconds. That may sound like a small amount of time, but when you apply that to controlling a machine, streaming video or sending data, it has an impact on the operation of the system and by extension, on the productivity of the mine. We are the only wireless solution that has no handoff. We can deliver a zero millisecond hand-off.”

Malesci says that Fluidmesh delivers ‘five 9s of reliability’, meaning the network is 99.999% reliable. “This means your network is always up,” he insists. “That has an impact on equipment availability which then relates to productivity. If you look at most mines today they get a connectivity of about 93 or 94 per cent.

This is mostly because they are using wireless solutions which are not fit for the application. By designing a solution specifically for the vehicle, we are filling that gap in connectivity.”

Another string to the company’s bow is the development of antennas specifically for the mining environment. “MPLS allows us to use multiple radios on a vehicle,” says Malesci, “which means we can use directional antennas to create what some people call a beam forming approach, where the vehicle automatically selects the best radio, the best antenna to talk to the wayside. That improves the range of communication, so we can provide a lot more coverage.

And it also improves the RF noise in a pit where you can have 30 or 40 vehicles all talking at the same time. By going directional we control that traffic a lot better.”

The Fluidmesh network has clear advantages over traditional wi-fi solutions, but there is one we haven’t mentioned yet – bandwidth. When you remove human beings from machines and put them in air-conditioned offices, you need a tremendous amount of data to be able to do what the driver used to do. “We have the capacity to deliver up to 500 megabits per second on a vehicle,” says Malesci, “which is a massive amount of bandwidth, and that helps us support the cameras used in tele-remote operations. And we do teleremote operations underground as well as in the open pit.”

The technology is very scalable, too, he concludes, so it’s equally applicable to major, intermediate and junior miners.

“Anybody can use it.”

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anglo american refining assets Anglo American celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. After a year of austerity, its return to profitability heralds the next century in style

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alking about Anglo American’s end of year results for 2016, Chief Executive Mark Cutifani reflected on a tough but successful year. “We got there.

We delivered it,” he said, with relief and pride in equal measure.

While austerity has become a way of life in some European economies, Anglo American set out a plan at the beginning of 2016 to become fitter and leaner over the course of one year – and they did it.

When investors questioned whether the company could survive the downturn in metals prices, Anglo scrapped its dividend and decided to shrink the business by selling assets, to concentrate

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on three core commodities: copper, diamonds and platinum. “The decisive and wide-ranging operational, cost, capital and portfolio actions we set out in 2016 – to sustainably improve cash flows and strengthen the balance sheet – have enabled us to reduce net debt by 34% to $8.5 billion,” said Cutifani, “significantly below our $10 billion target.

“The $1.5 billion sale of the niobium and phosphates businesses further supported our balance sheet recovery goal and, combined with the sale of a number of coal and platinum assets during the year, we received $1.8 billion of disposal proceeds in 2016.”

Anglo American put a number of other major assets up for sale in 2016, but despite strong interest, its reluctance to let them go cheaply meant that some prospective transactions were not

completed. The company is now in a position, however, where it no longer needs to make disposals to reduce debts.

Iron ore

Among the businesses previously considered non-core are Anglo American’s iron ore mines in South Africa. Anglo business unit Kumba Iron Ore, the fourth largest iron-ore producer in the world and the largest in Africa, owns the Sishen mine (through its subsidiary Sishen Iron Ore Company).

Sishen is the company’s flagship operation and one of the largest open pit mines in the world – some 14km long. Located in central South Africa in the Northern Cape, Sishen produces a high quality lump ore and a premium fine ore, with sufficient reserves to sustain a 19-year life of mine. Mining is by opencast methods and the ore is

anglo american refining assets

“Iron ore is transported from the Sishen and Kolomela mines to Saldanha Bay along an 861km rail system linking the Sishen mine to the dedicated deepwater port and bulk loading facilities”

transported to the beneficiation plant where it is crushed, screened and beneficiated. The jig plant at Sishen mine is the largest of its type in the world.

Kumba Iron Ore also owns 51.5% of the Kolomela mine. Located around 90km south of the Sishen mine, near Postmasburg in the Northern Cape Province, the name means ‘to dig deeper’ or ‘to persevere’. Kolomela lump iron ore is in demand because of its excellent physical strength and high iron content.

Kolomela exceeded expectations in 2016, producing 12.7Mt, benefitting from increased throughput as a result of further plant optimisation. The mine, which was originally designed to produce 9Mtpa, is on track to produce between 13Mt and 14Mt in 2017 without significant additional capital expenditure. The mine is targeting a 20% improvement in fleet efficiency for 2017 to offset cost inflation. Kolomela’s life of mine decreased from 21 to 18 years, however, as a result of the planned ramp-up in production.

Over the past two years Kumba implemented key interventions to reset the cost base and preserve cash. This entailed moving from a volume to a value based strategy by reconfiguring the mines to reduce the amount of waste mined and to reduce costs in all operational areas. A substantial workforce restructuring was completed and some 2,500 full-time employees and contractors left the company.

The strong set of results delivered in 2016 reflects not only the benefit of higher iron ore prices, but the progress made in the execution of this strategy.

“It has been a successful year for Kumba, despite challenging and volatile iron ore markets,” said Themba Mkhwanazi, CEO of Kumba Iron Ore. “We acted quickly to restructure the business, reset the cost base and stabilise operating performance.

“The rise in prices and realising full value for Kumba’s premium product, together with our cost reductions, resulted in improved margins and strong cash flow generation. With total production of 41.5Mt, both Sishen and Kolomela exceeded operational guidance following a successful restructuring. Controllable costs were

reduced by 34% lowering our average cash breakeven price to $29/tonne.

“This year’s excellent performance has enabled us to build a strong balance sheet and a net cash position of R6.2bn.

This will support a conservative capital structure and place us, as a single commodity miner, in a strong position to deal with potential further market volatility.”

Logistics

Every day of the week, iron ore is transported from the Sishen and Kolomela mines to Saldanha Bay along an 861km rail system linking the Sishen mine to the dedicated deepwater port and bulk loading facilities, which are among the most efficient and advanced logistical systems in the world. The port at Saldanha Bay is the only dedicated iron ore export facility in South Africa and is larger than the country’s other four major ports combined (Durban, Cape Town’s Table Bay, Richards Bay and Port Elizabeth).

The system is owned and operated by Transnet (the South African parastatal transport company) and is regarded as a model of integrated planning and cooperation between the public and private sectors in South Africa.

Massive trains weighing 34,200 tonnes leave the mines every nine hours, each train having five to six locomotives and 342 wagons containing iron ore.

The wagons are offloaded at the Saldanha port, and from there the ore is transported via conveyor belt to stockpiles, onto a vessel waiting in the harbour, or to the ArcelorMittal South Africa Saldanha stockpile.

The ore quay at Saldanha has two berths where two vessels of 310,000 deadweight tonnage can simultaneously tie up at the iron ore jetty. The terminal operates 24/7 and has the capacity to offload 10,000 tonnes per hour onto a vessel. From arrival to departure an ore vessel carrying 170,000 tonnes will be in Saldanha Bay for just 24 hours.

Brazil

As well as South Africa, Anglo American also mines iron ore in Brazil.

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operation, with the mine, beneficiation plant, 529km slurry pipeline and dedicated export facility at the port of Açu. Anglo owns 100% of Minas-Rio, and 50% of the port facility. First ore on ship (FOOS) was achieved on 25 October 2014, ahead of schedule and with total project capital expenditure expected to be $0.4 billion below the revised budget of $8.8 billion.

Also in Brazil is Anglo American’s nickel business unit, comprising two operating assets, Codemin and Barro Alto, both ferronickel producers in the state of Goiás.

Barro Alto’s processing plant was built at a capital cost of $1.9 billion and commissioned in 2011. Located about 170km northwest of Brasilia, and 150km from the Codemin operation, Barro Alto produced 30,000 tonnes of nickel in 2015.

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The Barro Alto nickel deposit was discovered in the late 1960s and Anglo American completed its purchase of the deposit for $35 million in 2002. The company began to mine in Barro Alto in 2004, initially transporting the nickel to the Codemin plant for processing, before the Barro Alto plant was built.

Barro Alto’s two furnaces were rebuilt in 2015 to address certain design flaws.

Following the successful rebuild the nickel business achieved a production record in 2016 of 44,500 tonnes, an output increase of 47% compared to 2015. At Codemin, production was in line with 2015 at 9,000 tonnes.

Coal

While coal did not fit in Anglo American’s strategic portfolio in 2016, work nevertheless continued on its prestigious Grosvenor project in

Australia.

The project was approved for development at the end of 2011, and delivered its first coal from its underground longwall in May last year, seven months ahead of schedule and more than US$100 million below budget.

The $1.95 billion Grosvenor longwall project site is located approximately 190 kilometres south-west of Mackay, Queensland, adjacent to Anglo American’s existing Moranbah North facility. The project involved developing a greenfield underground coal mine, producing up to 5 million tonnes per annum of coking coal for export, and is the first underground coal mine in Queensland to use a tunnel boring machine to develop the drifts, or access tunnels. At full capacity, the Grosvenor longwall is capable of producing 7.5

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“Our priority for 2017 is to deliver further productivity improvements while maintaining capital and cost discipline in order to be in a position to resume dividend payments”

million saleable tonnes per year, and has an anticipated mine life in excess of 30 years.

Metallurgical coal is an essential ingredient in blast-furnace steel production and accounts for around 70% of global steel output. Emerging markets, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, continue to drive demand for metallurgical coal — for infrastructure, housing and consumer goods.

“We have delivered the Grosvenor metallurgical coal project ahead of schedule and below budget, with an outstanding safety record and in line with our environmental obligations,” said Seamus French, CEO of Bulk Commodities for Anglo American.

“The Grosvenor mine project has taken more than seven million man hours to construct, with almost 6,000 personnel inducted onto the project. We

began the installation of the longwall just 24 days before its first shear and production of coal – a truly remarkable feat and a result of the team’s technical expertise and the modular approach we have taken to our underground longwall operations in Australia. We look forward to shipping the mine’s high quality product to our steel customers across Asia as production begins to ramp up in the months ahead.”

Copper

Copper is one of Anglo American’s core commodities, and the company has interests in four operations in Chile, producing copper concentrate, copper cathode and associated by-products such as molybdenum and silver.

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Collahuasi mine; Anglo also manages and operates the El Soldado mine and Chagres smelter (50.1% interest in both). In Peru, the company has an 81.9% interest in the Quellaveco project.

Copper’s unique properties make it a vital material for urban and industrial growth. Around 60% of total global demand is for electrics – wire, cables and connectors, including in vehicles and consumer electronics. 20% is used in construction: water pipes and roof sheets benefit from copper’s resistance to corrosion. Copper’s thermal conductivity is also useful in air conditioning and refrigeration.

Platinum

Anglo American is the leading primary producer of platinum group metals (PGMs), providing the world with around 40% of all newly mined

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platinum. All of its operations are located in the Bushveld Complex in South Africa, with the exception of Unki mine on the Great Dyke formation in Zimbabwe.

Anglo is optimising and reconfiguring its PGM portfolio, which when complete will give it a ‘best in class’ core operating footprint at the Mogalakwena and Amandelbult mines in South Africa and Unki in Zimbabwe, alongside its joint venture interests in Bafokeng-Rasimone, the Mototolo mine and Modikwa mine in South Africa. Also in South Africa, Anglo owns smelting and refining operations which treat concentrates from its joint venture partners and third parties as well as its wholly owned mines.

Mogalakwena, located in Limpopo, South Africa, is the world’s largest openpit platinum mine, covering an area

of 137 square kilometres, with a life of mine expected to extend at least until 2040. Amandelbult consists of Tumela and Dishaba, two underground mines located between the towns of Northam and Thabazimbi in Limpopo, on the northwestern limb of the great Bushveld mineral complex.

Diamonds

Anglo American owns 85% of De Beers, the world’s leading diamond company. The remaining 15% is owned by the Government of the Republic of Botswana (GRB). Through De Beers and its partners the company produces about a third of the world’s rough diamonds by value, employing more than 20,000 people around the world.

Anglo’s diamond mines are located in four countries: Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. In Botswana,

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the company works in partnership with the GRB through a 50:50 mining joint venture, Debswana, with operations including Jwaneng, one of the world’s richest diamond mines.

In Canada, De Beers has operations at Victor in Northern Ontario and a 51% interest in the Gahcho Kué project, also in the Northwest Territories.

In Namibia, De Beers operates in partnership with the Government of the Republic of Namibia through Namdeb onshore and offshore through Debmarine Namibia.

In South Africa, De Beers’ mining takes place through De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM) in which its partner, Ponahalo Holdings, has a 26% shareholding. The majority of its South African production comes from Venetia mine, located in Limpopo, and South Africa’s largest producer of

diamonds. An underground mine is currently being developed beneath the existing open pit to extend the life of Venetia beyond 2040.

In Canada, Gahcho Kué, the world’s largest new diamond mine in the last 13 years, officially began commercial production on 2 March 2017. The mine, a joint venture with De Beers Group (51%) and Mountain Province Diamonds (49%), is expected to produce approximately 54 million carats of rough diamonds over its lifetime.

Anglo American’s performance in 2016 seems to have preserved its reputation as a diversified miner, which it might have lost had it sold off all its non-core assets.

“Overall, it’s clear that as a result of our decisive actions in 2016, and the results delivered by our people across the company, Anglo American is now more

robust, with a stronger balance sheet and more competitive cost structure around a world class diversified asset base,” said Mark Cutifani. He also had a warning, however. “Despite our significant progress, it is critical that the lessons of recent years are applied and, although there is confidence in the long-term outlook for our products, the balance sheet must be able to withstand expected price volatility in the short to medium term. We will continue to refine our asset portfolio over time to ensure our capital is deployed effectively to generate enhanced returns.

“Our priority for 2017 is to deliver further productivity improvements while maintaining capital and cost discipline in order to be in a position to resume dividend payments for the end of 2017, and to restore an investment grade credit rating.”

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sandvik mining and rock technology the right breaker boom for every job

Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology is a leading supplier of equipment and tools, service and technical solutions for the mining and construction industries. Its comprehensive range of rock breakers and breaker booms enhances the safety, productivity and profitability of crushing operations in mines and quarries around the world.   World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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breaker boom plays a critical role in a hard rock mining process.

It’s the crusher’s job to reduce the size of the ore for further processing, but a rock breaker may be deployed to keep the crusher feed moving or to reduce oversized material into suitably sized pieces.

In a high throughput operation, any delay to crushing can cause supply issues downstream, so there is a strong incentive to minimise downtime and interruptions to production to avoid a significant loss of revenue. Efficient use of breaker booms is an important factor

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in improving the efficiency of crushers.

A breaker boom is a hydraulic manipulator consisting of a boom assembly and a hydraulic breaker. The boom looks like an arm with three or four joints, with hydraulic cylinders acting as the muscles (a common boom structure shared by every excavator).

In July 2016, Sandvik merged its Mining and Construction operations into one business area – Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology, which has a complete range of crushers, screens, drills, loaders, LHDs, etc, and also has unique expertise in breakers. “Sandvik is a global leader in complete turnkey systems for the mining industry,” says Kaj Koskela, Vice President, Sandvik Mining & Rock Technology – BU Breakers. “A very important element

of this is the breakers and the breaker booms.” Every mine site is different, and while there is some truth in the old adage that a bad workman blames his tools, it’s becoming more important in modern mining to have the right tool for the job.

Sandvik’s product offering includes breaker booms under its own brand as well as the historic Rammer brand, which it owns. “When it comes to the booms, the breaker offering that Rammer and Sandvik have can cover every application on a mine site,” says Koskela, “whether it’s a gyratory, grizzly, or whatever kind of a crusher they have.

We have a full package of booms, from under one tonne up to 22 tonnes. It’s a complete product offering with more than 50 models.” Sandvik provides a

sandvik mining and rock technology the right breaker boom for every job turnkey package here, too, with power packs optimised for the breaker and the boom, and options for lubrication and fire suppressants.

The horizontal and vertical reach of the booms ranges from around 5 metres in the smallest versions, up to 14 metres in the largest. Compact booms are used on small range, light breakers for applications in mobile crushing plants and impact crushers. These feature a low-profile design that maintains the crusher’s low transportation height, so are also suitable for small grizzlies with limited headroom. The hydraulic power for compact range booms can be obtained either by the crusher’s hydraulics or by a Sandvik power pack.

Medium range booms are typically used in quarry and mining applications to enhance the productivity of stationary crushers by feeding material to the crushers and raking the hopper area. These are designed to withstand tougher duty cycles and can also be used in more demanding applications like underground grizzlies.

Large range booms are the most common boom range in heavy duty mining, and feature a shock absorbing pedestal mounting and Sandvik full electrification. Suitable breakers for the large boom range starting on BR3288, designed using a revolutionary operating principle that combines stroke length, blow energy and Sandvik’s idle blow protector, which allows the breaker to be modified to match individual

applications, thus improving hydraulic efficiency and safety. The breaker delivers massive impact energy and high blow frequency for an exceptional power-to-weight ratio. Enhanced lubrication allows for longer service intervals, reducing operating costs, and heavy-duty housing also lowers operating costs by providing improved wear life.

As a global market leader in breakers, demolition tools and booms, Sandvik has also designed and produced a full range of rock breaker accessories, parts and tools to keep customers’ machinery running in optimal condition. Its huge range of breaker accessories includes automatic lubrication systems and highly efficient dust suppression systems, as well as all the parts and tools needed to carry out on-site maintenance, reducing downtime and maximising efficiency.

Standardised production in state of the art facilities means that even though there are a lot of versions and varieties, the core product is essentially the same.

“In some applications the breakers are in use 24/7, but in others they are only used when there’s an oversized boulder for a crusher,” says Koskela. “We have the right breaker boom for every need.”

Understanding what customers need is an important factor in product development. “We keep in touch with customer needs by having a number of customer forums every year,” says Koskela. “We listen to customers and

“It’s becoming more important in modern mining to have the right tool for the job”

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sandvik mining and rock technology the right breaker boom for every job

end users about what they really need, and we try to deliver our product offering to match those needs. It’s important that we are not developing things that customers don’t really need!”

One of the enhancements developed over recent years has been automation.

“When we visited MinExpo last year it was ‘automation, automation, automation’ everywhere,” says Koskela, “for safety and productivity reasons.

Our offering now includes tele-remote, so one operator can operate multiple booms from an office 30 kilometres away from the mine site. One person can operate five or six booms with HD quality video and the latest sound

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systems.”

Automation may be all the rage, but it’s still in its infancy, Koskela believes.

“I think we have just scratched the surface with automation,” he says.

“The imagination is the limit. There is much more to come from the Internet of Things in terms of what can be automated, and we have many interesting projects going on in Sandvik.

I think there will be some product launches before the end of the year and more coming in 2018.”

The modern mining customer is concerned about total cost of ownership, and this is where the strength in depth of a leading organisation pays

dividends. As part of its commitment to the highest standards in quality, environment, health and safety, Sandvik is certified in accordance with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.

Every boom is built to the customer’s specifications, with lead times from two to twelve weeks, depending on the size of the machine. The equipment is manufactured for easy installation and commissioning, and every breaker is backed by a comprehensive support and spare parts service. With more than 3000 units in operation in 82 countries, expert help and advice is always close at hand through Sandvik’s extensive global dealer and distribution network.

BREAK THE LIMITS Designed and manufactured to the highest of standards, the new 9033 is the most powerful, durable and reliable hammer to ever join Rammer’s line up. Starting with its heavy duty housing, which features a reinforced and wear resistant lower boot, the 9033 also features all the key traits for which professional users have come to expect from Rammer.

Sandvik Mining and Construction Oy / Lahti, Finland / +358 205 44 151 / rammer@sandvik.com / www.rammer.com

de beers in pursuit of brilliance De Beers, the name synonymous with diamonds, is investing in the future with a series of multi-million dollar projects designed to boost diamond production and benefit the communities in the areas in which it operates. Join us for a glimpse into its sparkling future.

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T

he history of De Beers dates back to its foundation

by Cecil Rhodes in South Africa in 1888.

Run by the Oppenheimer family for most of the 20th century, De Beers is recognized internationally as the industry leader.

Now owned jointly by Anglo American (85 per cent) and the Government of the Republic of Botswana (GRB –15 per cent), De Beers is dedicated exclusively to the exploration for, and mining and marketing of rough diamonds, and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with mining operations in

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Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Canada.

Diamonds are usually found in kimberlite pipes formed millions of years ago under intense pressure and high temperature, deep below the earth’s surface. Volcanic eruptions propel the diamonds upwards, embedded in the rock, which was named kimberlite after the first recognized diamond deposits were found in Kimberley, in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa in the 1870s.

South Africa

While the original ‘Big Hole’ in Kimberley is now a museum, De Beers’ flagship property in South Africa today is the Venetia Mine in Limpopo Province, the country’s largest producer of diamonds.

The diamond-bearing ore at the current Venetia Mine is expected to

be depleted by 2021, so De Beers is currently investing over US$2 billion (R20 billion) to convert the open pit mine into an underground operation to extend production well into the 2040s. The underground mine is De Beers’ biggest single investment in the country’s diamond industry, and is scheduled to begin production in 2021, climbing to full production in 2025, when it will treat about 132 million tonnes of ore containing an estimated 94 million carats.

The project was approved in 2012 by the De Beers and Anglo American Boards. Environmental authorisation was granted in July 2012, and the Environmental Management Plan was approved by the Department of Mineral Resources in October of that year. The final outstanding regulatory clearances were obtained in February 2013, clearing the way for excavation

de beers in pursuit of brilliance work to begin in the year that De Beers celebrated its 125th anniversary. Two vertical shafts, each seven metres in diameter, are being sunk to a depth of 1,080 metres, an operation that will take until 2018. The tunnel decline from the surface providing access to the underground mine has reached more than 1,000 metres in length.

“The development of the underground mine at Venetia is a massive financial commitment in our operational capabilities, and a major investment in the safety of our people,” said Head of Venetia Underground Project Kevin Botha at the time. “It is a huge undertaking, and while we’ll need to bring in certain specialist skills from both Canada and Australia, we’ll be recruiting locally to meet the bulk of our labour requirements. We’re expecting to have more than 1,000 people from the surrounding Limpopo region employed on the project.”

Botswana

“While the original ‘Big Hole’ in Kimberley is now a museum, De Beers’ flagship property in South Africa today is the Venetia Mine in Limpopo Province”

Diamonds were discovered in Botswana in 1967, barely a year after the former British Protectorate of Bechuanaland gained its independence. In 1969, De Beers and the GRB (Government of the Republic of Botswana) formed the De Beers Botswana Mining Company, a 5050 joint venture which became known as Debswana.

Fifty years later, Botswana is the second-largest diamond producing country in the world by value and third largest by volume. Debswana is the single largest contributor to the country’s gross domestic product, export earnings and government revenues, and is the largest private employer in Botswana.

Debswana has diamond mining operations at four sites: Orapa, Letlhakane, Damtshaa and Jwaneng.

These four mines have contributed significantly to the economic growth of Botswana, as well as producing revenues responsible for lifting the country from one of Africa’s least developed to an international development success story.

Orapa itself is an open pit mine and is the largest diamond mine in the world by area. It is the oldest of the four mines operated by the company, having begun operations in July 1971. The mine is located on two kimberlite pipes that converge near the surface, covering 1.18

square kilometres at ground level. The mine was expanded in 1999, doubling its previous capacity, and now produces approximately 11 million carats (2200 kg) of diamonds a year. The processing plant at Orapa also processes the ore produced at the Letlhakane and Damtshaa diamond mines.

It is in the expansion of Jwaneng, however, one of the world’s richest diamond mines by value, in which De Beers is currently investing. The name means place of small stones but Jwaneng is one of the world’s richest diamond mines and generates up to 70% of De Beers’ revenue in Botswana. Jwaneng has been expanded seven times since it opened in 1982, which is why the latest development is known as ‘Cut-8’, a project which will extend the life of mine to at least 2033.

Cut-8 is expected to become the main source of ore for Botswana’s Jwaneng mine in 2018. This latest expansion will increase the depth of the mine from 400 metres to 650 metres, making the pit 2.7km long and 1.8km wide. The expansion will elevate the mine to ‘super-pit’ status, making it one of the largest open pit mines in the world.

The new mine is expected to provide access to an estimated 93 million carats of mainly high-quality diamonds from about 84 million tonnes of ore mined.

But before a single diamond can be found, about 500 million tonnes of rock surrounding the diamond-bearing ore must be removed. Every day, more than 340,000 tonnes of waste rock and 23,000 tonnes of ore are removed during work on Cut-8.

Canada

De Beers has carried out exploration activities in Canada since the 1960s, but it was 2008 before it opened its first mine in the country. The Snap Lake Project, approximately 220 kilometers (roughly 140 miles) northeast of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, just south of the tree line, was De Beers’ first mine outside Africa, but was put into care and maintenance in December 2015. De Beers’ second Canadian mine is Victor, located in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario (the first diamond mine in Ontario), approximately 90 km (55 miles) west of the coastal community of Attawapiskat.

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“De Beers is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with mining operations in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Canada”

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Construction of the mine began in February 2006, and the official opening was held on 26 July 2008.

Production at Victor continues according to plan, but the current excitement in the country’s diamond industry has been generated by De Beers’ third and largest mine in Canada, Gahcho Kué, located at Kennady Lake, about 280km northeast of Yellowknife.

The mine is a joint venture between De Beers (51 per cent) and Mountain Province Diamonds (49 per cent), and is expected to produce approximately 54 million carats of rough diamonds over its lifetime.

Gahcho Kué is an open-pit mine, comprising three pits and covering 1,200 hectares. Full construction started in the 2014/15 winter and the mine officially opened on 20 September 2016.

Production ramp up began on 1 August 2016 and commercial production was

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officially declared on 2 March 2017.

Production is expected to last 13 years, averaging 4.5 million carats a year from around 35 million tonnes of scheduled material.

“Today marks a significant landmark for De Beers in Canada as Gahcho Kué becomes an important contributor to the Group’s global production,” said Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group. “That the mine has reached this landmark, on budget and ahead of schedule, is testament to the partnerships that have worked together since construction began. It’s a result of these partnerships that the mine is set to deliver socio-economic benefits of more than C$5 billion to the economy of the Northwest Territories over its lifetime.”

In any construction project, delivery of equipment and materials is a challenge to logistical expertise. The construction of a mine in the Northwest

Territories is infinitely more complex than most. Permanent roads would be prohibitively expensive to build, so an ice road was built to enable the delivery of supplies - about 2,500 loads each year of fuel, construction supplies, mining equipment and other materials.

Anything the mine required that needed to be delivered by road, had to come up the ice road in an eight week window in the coldest part of the winter.

To access the kimberlite deposits at Gahcho Kué, the water level is being lowered in part of Kennady Lake, one of thousands of small lakes in the region.

Some sections will be partitioned off and drained to reach the kimberlite by building a series of dykes, ditches, berms and ponds. But, as the water level is lowered, clean water is pumped into another watershed north of the lake.

Gahcho Kué, which means place of the big rabbits or hares in the local

de beers in pursuit of brilliance

“Anything the mine required that needed to be delivered by road, had to come up the ice road in an eight week window in the coldest part of the winter”

Chipewyan language, began in 1995 when Mountain Province Diamonds discovered the first kimberlite deposit, known as 5034. Three other deposits were discovered by De Beers Exploration two years later, with two of them, the Hearne and Tuzo kimberlites, having excellent economic potential.

Extensive drilling and analysis followed and environmental permits were sought and granted for 5034, Hearne and Tuzo.

Canada is the world’s third largest diamond producer by value and the fifth largest by volume. Underpinned by a US$1 billion capital investment, the development of Gahcho Kué between 2006 and 2015 has already provided a C$440 million boost to the NWT economy, according to a recent socioeconomic impact study conducted by EY on behalf of De Beers.

More than 90 per cent of Gahcho Kué’s economic impact will be delivered once

the mine becomes fully operational, equivalent to a further C$5.3 billion in Gross Value Added to the North West Territories. Including its supply chain impacts, the mine supported more than 2,700 jobs in 2015, with employment at the site representing more than 10 per cent of employment in the NWT’s extractive industries.

2016 was a busy and significant year for De Beers, and for its CEO Bruce Cleaver. “I have been working closely on the Gahcho Kué project since I joined De Beers a decade ago,” he said, ”and to see it happen so soon after I took the reins as CEO made me very proud. The opening was a very special occasion, with leaders from the First Nations communities who are hosting our mining activities joining us for it. We are a business that relies on partnerships, and our partnerships with communities of this kind are critical.”

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NEW PATENT PENDING AXLEWEIGHR IN-MOTION AXLE-SCALE - WEIGHS TRUCK AT THE JOB SITE! Rinstrum’s new In Motion Axle Scale is a fast, accurate and economical way to weigh trucks and verify your net payload. The patent pending precast concrete design is semi portable and can be moved from jobsite to jobsite. Contractors, farmers, and plant managers will find this low cost scale indispensable to their operations. At 1/3 the price of a full length scale Rinstrum’s axleWEIGHr is excellent value Payload:

Always know what payload you are carrying. Roll across the scale at 2-3 mph and the easy-to-use controller will totalize the net payload for each truck as it passes over the scale. Up to 250 different trucks can be stored in memory. A door mounted printer records all transactions and data is captured to digital memory via USB storage drive, or Ethernet connection.

Convenient: The small footprint of this scale easily

integrates into the flow of traffic. No need to stop on the scale. Simply drive across at a constant speed (2-3 mph) and the scale will automatically do the rest.

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24 YEARS

Data Driven: The system will record total gross

vehicle weight by truck ID, commodity, time and date. Use the optional truck ID clicker system to identify the truck and select the commodity on the large remote display. Each trucks tare weight is saved in memory and then recalled when the truck crosses the scale for single pass operation.

Data can be printed or stored to a convenient USB storage drive for easy transport to the office PC.

Economical: About 1/3 of the cost of a full length

Safe:

An accident with an overloaded vehicle is serious business. Know your axle weights and your total vehicle weight before you leave the jobsite. Stay under the legal load limit and be safe.

Accurate: On average better than ±0.5% repeatability

can be expected. Company testing as well as extensive field trials have shown that with flat and level concrete approaches ±0.2% or better accuracy can be achieved.

truck scale, the axle scale is great value for the user that does not have legal for trade requirements. Save time and expense by not driving to a faraway truck scale and install the axleWEIGHr at the job site.

About Rinstrum Inc.: Rinstrum has been

designing and manufacturing weighing systems for over 20 years. Our global manufacturing network has facilities in the United States, Germany, Australia and Sri Lanka in addition to an extensive network of dealers, OEM’s and service companies. Our Troy Michigan facility proudly manufactures the axle scale and other weighing products in the United States.

For more information please contact us at: Call Toll Free 1 877 829 9152 or +1 248 680 0320 from outside the United States Rinstrum in-Motion Axle Scale – Proudly made in the USA www.rinstrum.com World Mining Magazine www.ogsmag.com

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ION-IX

TM

Advanced ION EXCHANGE Technology Why use ION - IX ?

TM

ION-IXTM is the ideal new system for: ●

●

●

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Highest recovery of precious metals Steady product & efluent stream Reduced chemical and water usage Lowest O&M costs

Major benefits of the ION-IXTM System are: ●

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Reduced chemical & water usage Lower waste volumes, higher concentration of metals recovered Compact footprint Reduced resin inventory Flow rates of up to 500 m3/h per valve possible

Elution profile with metals separated by ION-IXTM

Dikberd 14 unit 10A ● B-2200 Herentals ● Belgium Tel & Fax: +32 (0) 14 70 50 41 sales@puritech.be ● www.puritech.be

ION-IX Hydrometallurgy TM

Advanced ION EXCHANGE Technology Nickel / Cobalt

Zinc Recovery

Uranium

Copper Recovery

Nickel Laterite

Rare Earth

What Puritech does...

Plant design The engineering of continuous countercurrent ion exchangers CCIX includes: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

PFD & mass balance Process & Instrument Diagram Technical data sheets 3D design Piping & vessel drawings Electrical & instrumentation Commissioning Start-up

Pilot trials & Process Development Puritech has developed a process design simulation package. This software package allows us to calculate process performance before pilot trials.

We have several pilot systems available for: ● ● ● ● ●

Optimising of existing process applications Developing new hydrometallurgy applications Obtaining data for a full size production plant Testing of different types of resin Providing proof of high performance

Copper Recovery Advantages of ION-IXTM System over solvent extraction for copper recovery are: ● ● ● ● ●

Lower capital and operating cost No fire hazards No crud formation or handling Much smaller footprint No strong electrolyte post-treatment

After electrolyse, copper can be extracted from the solution.

ION-IX

What Puritech builds...

Nickel Laterite Nickel is a hard, silver white metal. It is mainly used in the manufacturing of stainless steel, steel alloys and superalloys.

Nickel laterite can be found in large amounts in the tropics and comprises 73% of the world nickel resources.

Nickel - Cobalt Separation A 200 m3/h Ni/Co Separation plant has been designed and installed in Africa by Puritech.

By using a split elution, the Nickel is separated from the Cobalt stream. A double or triple adsorption zone allows removing the desired metal almost completely.

Zinc Recovery The Zinc chloride can be removed from pickling acid. ZnCl2 will form a stable complex which is removed by anion resin.

The resin is afterwards eluted with water.

Uranium & Rare Earth Applications Hydrometallurgy is used more and more as the first choice to recover precious metals.

Some of the applications are: Uranium Lithium Rhenium Germanium Gold & silver ● ● ● ● ●

TM

world mining directory the directory for the global mining industries drilling & blasting

electrical equipment

Doran Manufacturing Lee Demis Director of Business Development 2851 Massachusetts Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45225 Ph: (513) 699-6230 Email: Demis_Lee@Doranmfg.com Web: www.doranmfg.com

Dyno Nobel 2795 East Cottonwood Parkway Suite 500 Salt Lake City, UT 84121 Phone: 800-732-7534 Fax: 801-328-6452 Email: marketing@am.dynonobel.com Customers in the mining industry choose Dyno Nobel for quality products, reliable service and technical expertise. Dyno Nobel is the market leader in North America with facilities in Australia, Canada, the United States, Indonesia, Mexico, South America and Papua New Guinea.

With a customer driven focus, Dyno Nobel develops practical products that will benefit customers in real time. Customers can count on real solutions to their pain points of today, helping them to reduce costs and increase production. Renowned for excellent safety performance and innovative explosive products and services, Dyno Nobel continuously delivers groundbreaking performance through practical innovation.

Established in 1953, Cincinnati, Ohio based Doran Manufacturing LLC. is a global leader in tire pressure monitoring systems and other transportation safety technology. Doran 360TM TPMS continuously monitor tire pressure and temperature data using wireless valve stem-mounted tire pressure sensors. Doran TPMS data can be integrated with telematics to communicate tire pressure and temperature data off equipment via wifi, gps and more for remote visibility of tire data.

LumAware Advanced Photoluminescent safety products include Personal Protective Equipment (PPE – Helmets, Safety Vests) Exit Signage and more that makes workers performing tasks in low light/no light conditions safer, and illuminates exits and escapeways in emergencies.

drivetrain solutions

geotechnics

Formed in 1997, Canary Systems provides integrated geo-monitoring solutions for a broad range of mining applications, including open pit, tailings, SW-EX, and underground. We help clients better manage risk, monitor performance, and increase the safety of their operations by tying together the loose ends: the hardware required for automatic or semi-automatic data acquisition – and the software to collect, store, and analyze data in a simple and efficient way on a single combined powerful platform.

We provide turnkey solutions – including system architecture, hardware and software development, telemetry, and instrumentation – as well as individual components customized to and augmenting existing project needs.

Canary Systems, Inc. Mining Group 4732 Oracle Road, Suite 112 Tucson, AZ 85705 USA Tel: 520.887.9800 info@canarysystems.com www.canarysystems.com

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• World Mining Directory mineral processing

GEA Group Peter-Müller-Str. 12 40468 Düsseldorf Germany Tel +49 211 9136-0 chemical@gea.com GEA is one of the largest supplier for process technology and components for sophisticated production processes for many industries worldwide. Across a broad range of mining and mineral operations, GEA offers technologies, equipment & services in evaporation and crystallization, drying, cooling, calcining and conditioning, classification, thickening and dewatering, crud treatment and solvent extraction and wastewater management.

Salter Cyclones Salter Cyclones specialises in fine solids removal with its own Hydrocyclones and Multi-Gravity Separators. These achieve powerful and precise separations in practical, compact, reliable, operator friendly and economic systems.

Salter Cyclones Limited Tel: + 44 1242 697771 Fax: + 44 1242 690895 Email: sales@saltercyclones.com Web: www.saltercyclones.com

MINPRO

MINPRO International have subsidiary offices in 4 countries all of which have the same business, supplying mineral processing equipment and engineering for the mineral processing industry worldwide. Our main products are AKER Flotation Machines; Hydraulic Roller Mills, Semi Mobile Modular Concentrators, Hydro Cyclone Batteries as well as Polyurethane wear parts for the mineral processing industry.

We deliver complete new mineral processing installations, renovation and upgrade existing mineral processing plants, retrofitting the AKER flotation mechanisms in existing flotation machines as well as engineering services and consultancy

Tel: +48 515 368 833 Minpro International Sp. z o.o. www.minpro.com

Want to advertise in the World Mining Directory for 12 months?

• Small Advertisement (12 month placement) Total price: £595.00 • Large Advertisement (12 month placement) Total price: £795.00 For more information please contact sales@ogsmag.com mining equipment rentals

United Mining Rentals (UMR) was born out of a specific niche in the market for both short and longer term rentals for both new and used, Sandvik & Getman equipment for both underground & surface mining and also tunnelling applications.

Coupled with +35 years of experience in the mining business, UMR provides both sales and rental of new & used mobile equipment for various mining & tunnelling operations across the world. In addition, our sister company, QME Mining Services Division (which operates as an International mining and tunnelling contractor), also operates a large fleet of predominately Sandvik equipment.

Tel. +353 (0)87 149 1945 www.unitedminingrentals.com

mining technology

Adrok is a cutting edge service technology company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, with exclusive global patents to Atomic Dielectric Resonance (ADR) imaging technology. This innovative technology has been developed for use in Oil and Gas, Mining and Civil Engineering sectors. Adrok’s technology has been used in several projects around the world to explore the sub-surface geology and locate accurately and identify precisely the fluids present at great depths providing high resolution without drilling the underground. This subsurface imaging scanner generates ‘virtual borehole’ logs of subsurface geology from the surface. It is lightweight, field rugged and portable, to enable cost-effective mobilisation.

49-1 West Bowling Green Street Edinburgh, EH6 5NX (Scotland, UK) Tel: +44(0) 131 555 6662 Email: info@adrokgroup.com Website: http://adrokgroup.com/

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world mining directory process water treatment

software

GEA Group Peter-Müller-Str. 12 40468 Düsseldorf Germany Tel +49 211 9136-0 chemical@gea.com GEA is one of the largest supplier for process technology and components for sophisticated production processes for many industries worldwide. Across a broad range of mining and mineral operations, GEA offers technologies, equipment & services in evaporation and crystallization, drying, cooling, calcining and conditioning, classification, thickening and dewatering, crud treatment and solvent extraction and wastewater management.

Formed in 1997, Canary Systems provides integrated geo-monitoring solutions for a broad range of mining applications, including open pit, tailings, SW-EX, and underground. We help clients better manage risk, monitor performance, and increase the safety of their operations by tying together the loose ends: the hardware required for automatic or semi-automatic data acquisition – and the software to collect, store, and analyze data in a simple and efficient way on a single combined powerful platform.

We provide turnkey solutions – including system architecture, hardware and software development, telemetry, and instrumentation – as well as individual components customized to and augmenting existing project needs.

Canary Systems, Inc. Mining Group 4732 Oracle Road, Suite 112 Tucson, AZ 85705 USA Tel: 520.887.9800 info@canarysystems.com www.canarysystems.com

Salter Cyclones specialises in fine solids removal with its own Hydrocyclones and Multi-Gravity Separators. These achieve powerful and precise separations in practical, compact, reliable, operator friendly and economic systems.

sump

Salter Cyclones Limited Tel: + 44 1242 697771 Fax: + 44 1242 690895 Email: sales@saltercyclones.com Web: www.saltercyclones.com

scales & weighing equipment

IVAC Industrial Vacuum Systems Ltd., manufactures a powerful pneumatic powered vacuum/ delivery system that allows you to pick-up and deliver your most difficult materials. The materials can be wet or dry including gravel, sand, slimes, sludge’s and water. The powerful, virtually maintenance free vacuum system is able to deliver the materials short or long distances, even up too kilometres through a pipeline or hose. Its is ideal for sump & ditch clean-up, tanks, under conveyors, around crushers and mills anywhere shovels, vacuum trucks or water hoses are being used for your clean-ups today!

Contact: Brad Fryburger Brad.Fryburger@rinstrum.com +1 248 680 0320 Website: www.rinstrum.com

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IVAC Industrial Vacuum Systems Ltd. 35-111 Chartrand Avenue, Logan Lake, BC V0K 1W0 Canada Phone 604-628-3367 Email zereko@zereko.com http://industrialvacuumunit.com

Motors, drives, mechanical power transmission – all from one supplier.

We have delivered reliable products to the mining industry for decades and being a valued partner with our customers is something we care about very deeply. One way we can help increase reliability is to make sure all the components in your system fit together seamlessly. When you are specifying a power train for your application, we can design and deliver a complete solution with variable speed drives, motors, couplings, bearings, gearing and pulleys.

Take your energy efficiency to the next level with the best possible cost of ownership. With our expertise and extensive product and service offering you can ensure safe processes for machines and people.

To learn more, call ABB or visit www.abb.com/powertrain-mining.

What can United Mining Rentals offer your company?

At a time when fiscal responsibility is becoming exponentially more important, in an industry where the highest safety standards and productivity must be maintained, providing your operation with the best fleet at a minimal cost is fundamental to any successful and profitable business. United Mining Rentals (UMR) has over 30 years of experience in the Mining & Tunnelling Industry and we are proud to offer rental and ownership opportunities for the full range of new Sandvik and Normet equipment. We trust you will find the product that suits your Mining or Tunnelling operation, backed by the numerous advantages associated with theUMR rental, or rent with an option to purchase models that will reduce cost of ownership and help maintain productivity.

Our full range of new Sandvik and Normet products are backed with full Factory Warranty, Technical Support, OEM Parts and a global network of local and regional OEM service centres. With such a robust range of support services, renting with UMR reduces maintenance costs and guarantees availability hence improving productivity for our customers whilst also eliminating rebuild down time.

Striving to provide quality at a reasonable price, UMR offers an innovative model of flexible rental or rental/purchase options tailored to suit every kind of end user in the Tunnelling and Mining industries, allowing customers to avoid tying up capital and invest it in the future purchase of rented equipment. Our rental/purchase option offers an attractive allowance for paid rentals against pre-agreed purchase price easing upfront capital spending and is a way of investing in the ownership of the Equipment at a pre-determined date.

For all mining equipment rentals visit www.unitedminingrentals.com

EUROPE United Mining Rentals Ltd. Coolfore Road, Ardbraccan, Navan, Co. Meath, C15 KXY3, Ireland.

NORTH AMERICA United Mining Rentals Ltd. Suite 1200, 220 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5J 2W4, Canada.

Tel: +353 87 1491945 Tel: +1 647 267 8193 Email: info@unitedminingrentals.com www.unitedminingrentals.com Our philosophy at UMR is simple – Downtime costs money. This philosophy inspired our aim to provide solutions to one of the major contributors of downtime in the mining and tunnelling industries: low availability of equipment. To ensure our customers don’t experience any downtime, we offer rentals and rent to purchase plans for new Sandvik and Normet equipment on a global basis, making use of the vast network of Worldwide Service Centres provided by two of the world leaders in Mining and Tunnelling Equipment. We also offer the option of bridging units to keep our customer’s operations running smoothly until their new rental unit arrives.

We recognise that each customer has different requirements so we offer very flexible terms. Our first option is rent to purchase which allows for purchase of the equipment following a minimum one year rental period with a percentage of the rental payments deductible from the pre-agreed purchase price. Another option we offer is variable term rental from a minimum of 1 year upwards allowing the customer long term rental, consisting of 2-3 years allowing the customer to return the equipment with no commitment to purchase. We also offer a “Rolling Replacement” option, which allows the customer to return equipment to UMR following a 3 year rental and replace with new equipment for another 3 year term or pre-agreed period.

RENTALS AVAILABLE: Trucks and Loaders Underground Drilling & Bolting Roadheaders Exploration & Surface Drilling Lifting & Installations Scaling & Charging Underground Logistics Spraying

Our business model is designed with Mining Companies & Tunnelling Contractors in mind, who often have short or long term contracts, as well as Start-up mining operations which may wish to defer spending capital on expensive equipment for use in another area until positive cash flow is realized. Fixed rental payments simplify budget planning, and can be 100% Tax deductible against business income.

By using a reliable rental provider such as UMR for a long term rental the costs of acquiring, running and maintaining the right equipment for the job can be greatly reduced, as renting equipment can generate significant savings by avoiding depreciation, the total cost of the purchase price, and unnecessary unit and component rebuild costs.

UMR Equipment comes with a managed service tailored to each customer’s requirements covering bridging units, full technical support and immediate reaction to warranty issues ensuring availability at all times.

Making that vital decision whether to buy or rent is not just a matter of budget, but of business strategy. So weigh up the numbers, and make the right decision for your business.

For all mining equipment rentals visit www.unitedminingrentals.com

Are equipment trips slowing down your ore?

Operate to constraints to maximize flow.

Pavilion8ÂŽ drives your operation to maximum potential The Pavilion8 Material Flow Management application provides real-time visibility of complex multiple conveyor systems in a mining facility. By taking advantage of existing data, the application improves performance by initiating preventive or corrective measures prior to a system trip.

Discover how a Pavilion solution can help you operate your facility at maximum efficiency.

Discover.rockwellautomation.com/Mining Pavilion8 is a registered trademark of Rockwell Automation, Inc. Copyright Š 2015 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All Rights Reserved. AD2015-45-US