After a period of intense mining project development, driven by increased emerging market consumption of building-block commodities such as coal, copper, and iron ore, the mining industry now finds itself in a period of cost cutting and capital preservation. Between 2005 and 2015, mining firms worldwide constructed and started up more than 1,230 greenfield mines representing total investment value of $265 billion. The mining boom, which included greenfield mine construction and expansions of existing mines, really peaked in 2012, but significant spending for major mining projects continued in 2013 and 2014, albeit at a lesser rate, as large projects that had started in earlier years reached peak construction.

Originally presented at Haulage & Loading 2015, this is an overview of how targeted training at an ASARCO mining operation improved efficiency and safety.

Originally presented at Haulage & Loading 2015, this is an overview of using the Remote Asset Monitoring Process™ to use advanced technology and analytics to enhance equipment performance and reliability throughout equipment’s life cycle.

Originally presented at Haulage & Loading 2015, this presentation contains an overview of emissions regulations and strategies for meeting requirements while maintaining operational performance with diesel-powered equipment.

Originally presented at Haulage & Loading 2015, this is an overview of inspection and certification services for OTR wheel and rim management for safety, cost management, and maintenance efficiency.

Originally presented at Haulage & Loading 2015, an overview of using suspension data to reveal suspension and structural frame performance, tire performance, running surface performance, ongoing maintenance requirements, and Instant indicators that lead to life performance evaluations.

Third edition of this important book containing extensive information about preventing, detecting, and fighting fires in your mine. Complete with exhaustive examples and detailed information.

This edition of The Best of Germany focuses on work being done by VDMA Mining member companies to give the best possible support to the global mining industry. German mining equipment manufacturers have taken great efforts to optimize operational safety of the machines. In cooperation with their worldwide customers, this leads to a unique level of safety, particularly for underground mining.. This also leads to substantial improvements in energy consumption, optimized endurance of machines and plants, and higher efficiency in total.

An overview of recent developments in the iron ore market with a forecast of the near future opportunities.

The first of six papers showing how a mining enterprise supported by a maintenance organization performing at the “world-class” level stands to reap many benefits including sustained, continuing productivity and profitability. Over the course of this series, the actions needed to achieve world-class mining maintenance status are explained in six consecutive steps that lead to recognition as a first-rate organization with productive employees performing quality work, and consistently reliable equipment to meet production and quality goals. Developed by Paul D. Tomlingson, maintenance management expert and author of the book, “Maintenance in Transition—The Journey to World-class Maintenance,”

International Lead and Zinc Study Group's (ILZSG) 2015 overview of the market's supply and demand for lead and zing along with a forecast of the market for 2016.

This paper illustrates the crucial importance of developing a checklist culture to identify and eliminate human error throughout the mining operations lifecycle. It highlights the drivers for checklist development, training, coaching, and execution, as well as case studies from high reliability industries that depend on procedures-based cultures, where precision operations are mandatory. It concludes with a detailed look at how the combined expertise of Check-6 can help the mining industry deliver on its business objectives – ensure decision makers and crewmembers get the job done right, done safe the first time, every time.

Check-6’s Performance Coaching program dramatically reduces processing facility’s MSHA violations, increasing production while lowering cost per ton through enhanced leadership mentoring and hands-on workforce engagement.

Check-6’s Performance Coaching program greatly accelerates mining company’s efficiency by enhancing the collaborative relationship between production operations and mobile maintenance.

Analysis of the forces shaping the market for rough diamonds from 2015 and throughout 2016.

Telsmith T-Series Cone Crushers are engineered to deliver un-compromising productivity, safety and ease of maintenance for maximum uptime in tough, abrasive aggregate and mining applications.

Telsmith Hydra-Jaw models combine a century of experience with the most advanced jaw crusher technology available today. From a distance, the most obvious element of the Hydra-Jaw® is the sculpted, low profile look. The result is a dependable, highly productive line of jaw crushers that are safe to operate, easy to maintain and deliver greater uptime availability

Introducing The T900 - Engineered by Telsmith, specifically for mining applications, the T900 is packed with the power you need to deliver high productivity with lower operating costs, allowing you to maximize the efficiency of your mining operation.

For over 100 years, Telsmith, Inc. has been providing the global mining and aggregate industries with crushing and vibrating equipment, modular stations and portable plants through integrated solutions designed to improve efficiency, profitability and safety. A global network of dealers and factory representatives are available to provide the right solution for aggregate, mining, industrial, or recycling needs, as well as the parts and service to keep Telsmith products running for decades.

For more than a century, aggregates and mineral producers have been using woven wire screen cloth to size their product. Recently, studies have shown that new screening technologies such as Flex-Mat 3 have proven that woven wire screen cloth cannot fully screen material in a crushing and screening operation.

Midwestern demonstrates how to change a screen with a center in a separator screener.

STT Enviro Corp engineers and supplies a range of cost effective environmental and industrial products and services. By combining the highest quality products with cost competitive prices we deliver superior customer value to the biggest and most respected names in the mining and oil & gas sectors. Plus, we are continuing to work to find ways for our customers to reduce their environmental footprint, cost effectively. We’re the experts in the engineering and design of chemical makedown systems and liquid and bulk material storage and handling. We’re also the experts in how to optimize these systems afterwards.

This overburden crushing, conveying, and stacking system is capable of handling 12,000 tonnes per hour of material. The mobile conveyor’s control system combines human interface and automatic controls for various functions. The operator can override the automatic controls if needed as well as control the upstream equipment. Manual controls such as the tripper speed and cross conveyor position can be used to build the smoothest possible leach pad. Automatic controls generally monitor frame alignment, leveling, and other conveyors upstream for the operator. The controls system is unique to the equipment and allows the MSC to handle material while it moves. It is important to point out that ore handling does not stop when the tripper or the entire machine moves.

With increasing challenges of lower grade ore bodies, more complex mineralogy, and stricter environmental regulations, mining companies need the tools to help evaluate and optimize their investment. FLSmidth's state-of the-art ore characterization & process mineralogy labs provide metallurgical services, to assist with exploration, mine site geology, expansions, feasibility studies, plant support optimization, and environmental work. Read more about these services by downloading the brochure.

FLSmidth designed and constructed a new Evolute™ feedwell to replace an older design at Carpentaria Gold in Queensland, Australia. The improvements in settling rate and overflow clarity resulted in lower operational expenditure on chemical, electricity, water and maintenance, and improving the efficiency and availability of the gravity concentrator.

FLSmidth installed Dorr-Oliver® flotation mechanisms to replace old technology at Mount Isa Mines in northwest Queensland, Australia. The results included increased copper grade and recovery, lower cost wear parts, and reduced maintenance costs. FLSmidth continues to invest in forced-air, mechanical cell design improvements and introduced the innovative nextSTEP™ rotor/stator to the mining industry in 2015.

The authors describe the application of remote isolation systems in mining industry conveyance systems and offers case study details where these systems have been installed.

Common myths and documentation regarding circuit breakers utilizing Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) gas interrupters and switchgear using this gas for insulation. Regulatory, operational and total life-cycle costs associated with this technology and safety from the perspective of not just the electrical workplace but the impact of SF6 designs on the business and the impact on the planet.

This paper is a case study outlining the experience of a multisite cement producer and their experience in implementing an enterprise-wide electrical workplace safety program, including compliance with the National Fire Protection Association 70E-2012 standard.

Overview of arc-preventative motor control centers and how they enhance personal safety, protect equipment and support more reliable operations.

Working with Eaton can help you better manage costs, mitigate risk, protect people and equipment.

Lehigh Hanson implements an enterprise-wide arc flash compliance program

The mining industry is a competitive business with operators competing to uncover every advantage. Perhaps the biggest step forward could come from an unlikely source. Read about 10 things you may not have known about LED lighting in mining operations.

An overview of how the Kespry Drone System makes can automatically calculate the volume of any type of stockpile. Automatically measure any type of stockpile using a drone, from aggregate materials like sand, stone, gravel and rock, to biomass products like pulp, timber, logs, and lawn and garden like woodchips, mulch and fertilizer, even landfill stockpiles.

Blog post on pipe handling safety in the underground hard rock mining environment.

High pressure water as an ore flow solution: A mining innovation partnership between MacLean Engineering and Newcrest's Telfer mine in Western Australia delivers the world's first-ever sub level water cannon. http://www.macleanengineering.com/media-en/the-rig-report/180-wc3-water-cannon

Prohibitive ventilation costs as mines go deeper and concerns about worker health and safety are ushering in a new era in propulsion options for underground mining.

Immersive Technologies has released further detailed verified results arising from their work with key mining customers. In partnership with mine management teams across Australia, North America, Latin America, Africa, Europe and Asia Immersive has delivered dozens of Continuous Improvement (CI) projects that have helped miners control costs, lift productivity and maintain safety standards. Verified in-pit gains over the last 12 month period include: US$1,100,000 haul truck fuel savings for a North American Mine 72% reduction in machine abuse events for a North American Mine US$500,000+ fuel savings at an Indonesian Mine US$770,000 tire life savings at an Indonesian Mine 68% reduction in haul truck down time for a Latin American Mine 4.9% spot time improvement at a Latin American Mine 31% reduction in equipment abuse events at an Australian Mine 5.1% excavator dig rate improvement at an Australian Mine 13% reduction in breakdown hours for excavators at a European Mine 72% reduction in breakdown hours for wheel loaders at a European Mine US$400,000+ Fuel savings in a Brazilian Mine 28% reduction in tire replacements saving US$1,500,000 in a Brazilian Mine 99% engine fire pass rate – global average after training

WorksiteVR™ has a relatively low cost of delivery with training environments that can be customized to deal with many worksite training challenges. • High learner retention and recall levels – Learning environment is highly focused, highly memorable and free from distractions. • Multiple learning style compatibility (seeing, hearing, doing) – To cater for various adult learning principles • Safe learning environments – No risk to personnel or property, educate learners in relation to hazards and their potential consequences. • Portability – Transported in a small suitcase sized package.

Everyday thousands of operators across the world begin their shift by assessing and responding to equipment issues before they begin operations but how can mine sites be sure pre-start inspections are properly completed and that safety, machine uptime and maintenance costs have not been compromised? A new interactive and virtual tool from Immersive Technologies has been launched to ensure effective and consistent training and assessment of operators on machine inspection routines. Early detection of equipment that is unsafe or worn saves on maintenance costs and reduces likelihood of injury, downtime or environmental damage. The new Pre-Start Inspection tool by the world leading mining simulation technology provider, Immersive Technologies, trains and assesses mining personnel on the correct identification and actions to be taken in relation to equipment issues. This tool allows operators to demonstrate competency when real world training is not possible and where mistakes are costly if undetected.

Whether it’s a low hang-up in a drawpoint, or oversize rock on the ground that’s too large for scoops to handle and too disruptive to get rid of with concussion blasting, it’s your secondary reduction rig that solves the problem and ensures that production isn’t held up. And when it’s not tasked with this mission, it can be put to use for ancillary drilling for mine services. www.macleanengineering.com

GEN-3 Feeds on MacLean Bolter: Ground support innovation delivers installation quality, safety, productivity & versatility http://www.macleanengineering.com/media-en/the-rig-report/179-gen-3-scissor-bolter-feeds

Oversized hang-ups present significant challenges to ore flow for mine operators. MacLean’s comprehensive suite of ore flow solutions starts with Water Cannons as a first line of attack to bring down hang-ups; it progresses to low, medium, and highreach Blockholer drills for persistent hang-ups and secondary breaking; then moves to the Mobile Rockbreaker for fragmenting the oversize at source without blasting. www.macleanengineering.com

An ideas instead of mining boom has a nice ring to it as a slogan, but what if mining booms and ideas booms are one in the same? http://www.macleanengineering.com/blog/getting-innovation-right

Through JoySmart Solutions, Joy Global helps solve its customers’ toughest challenges using data-driven intelligence, collaboration through partnership and experienced-based service execution. It is a solutions-based offering designed to help reduce costs and increase productivity for customers, while helping them achieve or exceed their operating and financial goals.

Joy Global Life Cycle Managment (LCM) solutions reduce mining costs by enabling us to partner with customers to optimize machine performance throughout the asset’s life cycle. Joy Global’s direct service teams work on-site and in local service centers to provide superior maintenance and repair services along with quality service products and consumables (SP&C) to meet the unique requirements of each mining environment. These teams work alongside mine personnel and recommend productivity-enhancing options and modernization's to help keep the asset available to achieve the lowest cost per ton throughout its life cycle.

Joy Global applies unparalleled experience, service capabilities, facilities and personnel for delivering “like-new” performance at a cost significantly less than purchasing a new machine. Partial rebuilds are designed to be flexible ensuring machine performance and minimizing downtime between major rebuilds. Machine rebuilds or exchanges can also be bundled per an agreed-upon schedule.

A few extra metres per day of advance can represent significant increases in the value of an ore body over a mine’s life, so rapid development isn’t just a buzzword, it’s now a business imperative. www.macleanengineering.com

Making front suspension the standard, not the option: An increasing body of research is linking chronic Whole Body Vibration exposure to musculosketal disorders such as lower back pain, and these disorders are now the leading cause of chronic injury and absenteeism in the Canadian and US workforces. So for a mining industry facing prolonged pricing headwinds, keeping workers healthy and productive isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s also essential to surviving the downcycle to prosper on the other side.

Hexagon Mining is the only company to solve surface and underground challenges by integrating design, planning, and operations technologies for safer, more productive mines. With its commitment to shape smart change, Hexagon Mining does not just imagine bridging the gap between short-term planning and operations, connecting eet operations with mine planning, or making analytics and business intelligence holistic and universal - it is making these solutions a reality.

MineSight 3D visualizes output from MS3D and other MineSight products. Core functionality includes creating and manipulating 2D and 3D data, editing, querying, and plotting/display of all types of geology and mining data.

Jmineops is the fleet management software at the heart of the Jigsaw solution. It is the window into your mining operations, providing critical information – all updated in real- time – allowing dispatchers, administrators and maintenance personnel to seamlessly interact with the Jigsaw Jfleet, J2guidance and J3autonomous solutions.

The development and application of systems that can protect drivers and operators from collisions in busy surface mines, particularly where large haul trucks are interacting with smaller personnel vehicles, has been a major industry focus in recent years. Companies committed to safer surface mining turn to SAFEmine, the leader in Collision Avoidance and Fatigue Monitoring systems, delivering extensible solutions that save lives. Currently protecting more than 20,000 vehicles in over 50 mines worldwide, SAFEmine provides a complete range of advanced traffic safety solutions for surface mining and sets the benchmark for Collision Avoidance Systems (CAS). SAFEmine offers an array of products and services that include CAS, real-time full-fleet tracking, fatigue monitoring, systems to protect clean up equipment around heavy rotating machines, and sophisticated displays that integrate vital safety information intuitively in cabins. • 360° protection at any speed or visibility • Best proven and reliable Collision Avoidance System in surface mining • Upgradeable and customizable to mine’s requirements • Cost effective, can reduce downtime and improve SAFETY SAFEmine CAS LIVE REPORTING Track TrackingRadar ShovelAssist Reduce collision risks SafetyCentre FATIGUE MONITORING FatigueMonitor COLLISION AVOIDANCE Increase productivity Global Support productivity

SHAPING SMART CHANGE FOR THE LIFE OF YOUR MINE Hexagon Mining is the only company to solve surface and underground challenges by integrating design, planning, and operations technologies for safer, more productive mines. By combining the experience, leadership, and expertise of MineSight, Leica Jigsaw, SmartMine UG, and SAFEmine, Hexagon Mining delivers an unprecedented portfolio of technologies.

Senior MineSight Specialist Ernesto Vivas and Luis Zozaya, Chief Engineer, Cobre del Mayo, discuss how the alignment of mine planning with operation has dramatically improved performance at the Piedras Verdes mine.

Alois Geierlehner, Director Business Development Geosystems, explains how Hexagon mine360 is connecting planning, operations, geodetic slope monitoring, surveying, UAV, and radar-based monitoring systems for a holistic view of a mine.

UAS Sales Manager, Bryan Baker, and Mine Planning Specialist, Johnny Lyons-Baral, explain the many advantages of using UAS and point clouds in blast optimization and general mining operations.

Safety Product Line Manager Cyrille Sauvain discusses how Hexagon Mining’s collision avoidance and fatigue monitoring technology is helping mines to respond to the ever-increasing demands for safety.

Episode Description: Hexagon Mining is combining integration and innovation to deliver real-time information that makes mines safer and more productive. EVP Technology and Innovation, Glenn Wylde explains the highlights.

Hexagon Mining is unique among technology providers in integrating solutions for planning, operations, and safety. President Hélio Samora discusses how the company is helping mines to prevail amid tough economic times.

A discussion of how to overcome resistance to organizational change.

Enrique Sánchez, Asesor Técnico Senior Grupo México, explains how the company has seen unprecedented levels of efficiency and control at its Toquepala mine in Peru by integrating fleet management with mine planning.

EVP Technology and Innovation, Glenn Wylde explains how Hexagon Mining is solving miners’ most complex problems - from autonomous mining to distributed computing - by adopting technology and innovating.

Times may be tough for the mining industry but President Hélio Samora explains how Hexagon Mining’s integrated approach to technology is relieving pressure on customers.

EVP of Technology and Innovation, Glenn Wylde, explains how Hexagon Mining is integrating planning, operations and safety technologies to solve surface and underground challenges.

Mines in the Asia-Pacific region are not alone in seeking more from their operations: more productivity, increased safety and a healthier bottom line. Hexagon Mining is uniquely positioned to solve these challenges in the region, explains Hexagon Mining President Hélio Samora.

African Barrick Gold (ABG) needed help to address rising energy costs and tightening profit margins at its North Mara mine in Tanzania. North Mara is a high-grade open pit gold mine with a life-of-mine estimated at 10 years, and the potential to process 8,000 tonnes of ore per day.

In 2013, Mexico’s Cobre del Mayo (CDM) was attempting to solve common, yet complex issues at its open-pit copper mine in southern Sonora, 21 kilometers from the town of Alamos. CDM produces grade-A copper cathode, supplied as refractory, and vein-type ore for processing into concentrate. The mine is a copper porphyry system, structurally controlled by shear faulting with mineralization stockwork, disseminated and variable depth ranging oxidation.

The Pueblo Viejo gold mine in the Dominican Republic is a joint venture between Barrick Gold and Gold Corp., which hold 60% and 40% ownership respectively. The mine is operated by Barrick Gold and 2013 was the mine’s first full year of production.

Pan American Silver subsidiary, Minera Corner Bay, operates the Alamo Dorado open pit silver mine in Sonora, Mexico. Commercial production began on April 1, 2007. Production from Alamo Dorado generates most of its revenue from silver with the remainder from gold.

The Greens Creek mine, owned and operated by Hecla Mining Co, produces gold, silver, lead and zinc from an underground mining operation on Admiralty Island, Alaska. Employees must travel a 19-kilometer, single-lane access road to access the mine site, which is shared with ore haulage and freight trucks. Hecla sought a simple and robust way to augment its radio call-out procedures to increase driver awareness of approaching traffic and improve safety on the access road.

Situation – Today, many maintenance organizations are still not satisfied with the expensive, often complex and difficult to use information systems intended to help them control work. After many years problems still exist that should have been resolved long ago.

Discussion of why many fully-integrated industrial information systems fail to effectively support maintenance work control needs.

Maintenance supervisors have difficulty using work order system elements forcing them to use inadequate work control methods that provide neither control nor data required to develop essential information.

Watch a video about how Sully-Miller, an aggregates and asphalt company, part of Colas USA, is using Kespry's Automated Drones for mine planning and operations.

The successful introduction of battery power to hard rock mining isn’t going to be about the correct choice of battery chemistry alone, it will be about engineering a battery propulsion system that is fit-for-purpose with the mining application and duty cycle, and one with maximum flexibility to allow for the rapid pace of battery technology advances that will inevitably open up options for diesel-free mine planning and retrofitting. http://www.macleanengineering.com/media-en/blog

A quality mine maintenance program is the best assurance that the 35% of operating costs typically spent on maintenance yields consistently reliable production equipment upon which mine performance depends. The accompanying Powerpoint presentation: Implementing the Plant/Mine Maintenance Management Program (93 slides) is provided as a professional courtesy to help evaluate your existing program or develop, document and implement a similar program. Additional Powerpoint presentations are available. A listing appears at the end of the presentation.

What can drones do for you? If you are wondering how drones can be integrated into your operations, we invite you to read our Drone Mapping Considerations whitepaper. It discusses our experiences in research and development of drone systems and offers advice on integrating drones into your business.

Part 4 – Information Systems and Maintenance Work Control - Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this series established that many existing fully-integrated information systems do not provide adequate support of supervisor’s maintenance work control needs. Work order elements are too complex and time consuming for use in the ‘pressure-cooker’ working environment of maintenance supervisors. As a result many supervisors are using ineffective work control procedures that neither control work nor provide field data for required information. In turn, maintenance planners are compelled to prepare ‘official’ work order documents to capture missing data. Many planners are simply ‘work order administrators’ with no time left to plan. When management requires information, these planners may be ‘creating’ bogus information misleading management decision-makers. Since not all work requires planning, a simpler work order element for supervisors can meet their work control needs and also allow them to control all non-planned work. Information system problems are acknowledged by system developers but without being corrected. However, many maintenance organizations have contributed by not developing a well-defined maintenance programs and specifying their information needs. Instead, they have accepted and tried to use the generic information output of overly complex package systems. This ‘log jam’ requires corrective actions. An outstanding PC-based system that satisfies the supervisors work control requirements, returns planners to their full time planning tasks and creates essential information has been identified. The system developer’s introductory presentation was obtained and is attached.

The Kespry Drone System provides customers the tools needed during mine development to evaluate production potential and plan scheduling using PDF overlays, 3D Models, Contour Maps, Property Boundary Surveys, Geologic Borehole Locations - easily accessed and shared online with Kespry Cloud.

Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) is one of the most effective ways to improve the impact of preventive maintenance. While traditional preventive maintenance can avoid some premature failures, RCM adds advanced condition monitoring technologies to identify potential failures far more quickly and accurately while concurrently identifying root causes to eliminate or reduce their impact. A series of 6 phases examines the implementation of Reliability Centered Maintenance.

Part 2 provides an outline of the eight (8) steps recommended for the implementation of Reliability Centered Maintenance.

When mining maintenance requires improvement an evaluation is the essential first step of the improvement effort and a guarantee of its success. The evaluation avoids guessing at what needs to be improved, how and the priorities of corrective actions. The result is a realistic plan of action instead of confusion, frustration, disappointment and no improvement. Here’s how to get started.

Part 3 of Implementing RCM discusses Identifying Critical Equipment; Reliability and identification of failure patterns and Responses to general failure patterns.

Complete a free self-guided system review that provides you a customized report outlining simple, cost-effective ways to improve the operation of your dry chemical handling system.The System Health Check uses our expertise & data to help you take a proactive approach to identifying potential safety, reliability and process challenges before they become a problem.

Choosing the right lime slaker for your application is no easy task. Here you will find information on each type of lime slaker and we’ll help you to understand the advantages and disadvantages between Detention slakers, Paste slakers, Horizontal Ball Mills, Vertical Ball Mills and Mixtank/ Batch slakers.

Reliability Centered Maintenance identifies and applies maintenance responses to specific types of failures.

Updating the PM Program - RCM implementation will alter the nature of the PM program by changing the ‘detection’ processes. Inspections conducted on time-based intervals, for example, might give way to condition-based monitoring. Some time-based services might be supplemented with condition-based monitoring and some equipment might be subjected to redesign to better meet new requirements for reliability. Still other equipment especially of a non-critical nature might be allowed to run to failure. Explore these significant and worthwhile benefits.

Part 6 – Implementing Reliability Centered Maintenance describes the repair history capability and the use of analytical tools to support RCM implementation and ooperation.

The diversity of mining operations, experiences of personnel and numerous other factors may preclude standardizing mining maintenance terminology. However, a clarification of maintenance actions and procedures can improve common understanding and communication among all who perform maintenance, support it or depend on its effectiveness. Toward those objectives the following Mining Maintenance Terminology definitions are offered for your consideration. Any feedback can be incorporated into a revised document for subsequent publication. Contact: [email protected].

My 'best effort' at listing maintenance terminology was posted a few days ago. So far lots of 'views' and 'downloads' but very little 'feed back.' Let's take a second look and make this a document that proves mining maintenance really knows what we are talking about. Your input will be incorporated into a revised document for subsequent publication.

The primary purpose of posting Maintenance Terminology was to solicit feedback adding, modifying or removing the definitions listed. So far there have been numerous views and downloads and only one offer to add a definition. My 'best effort' at listing these definitions of common mining maintenance terminology warrants a closer look and some feedback. It seems important that mining maintenance establish that 'we do know what we are talking about.' And more importantly we inform those who rely on maintenance to know as well. Feedback to: [email protected]. A subsequent listing will incorporate your additions or modifications.

Learn more about the Patent Pending VERTIMILL® Retrofit Kit. VERTIMILL® slakers have been utilized as a premium lime slaker that eliminates the grit handling requirements and also produces a superior quality, more reactive, lime slurry. A typical VERTIMILL® slaker, as supplied from the factory, may allow short-circuiting of the fresh feed, resulting in large particle carry-over downstream. A small, but meaningful, percentage of the fresh feed will pass directly from the top of the slaking/grinding chamber directly into the Separating Chamber before effective slaking or grinding of the grit has occurred.

Choosing the right lime slaker for your application is no easy task. Here you will find information on each type of lime slaker and we’ll help you to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each.

What kind of work does maintenance perform and how is it controlled?

UNDERSTANDING THE BACKLOG - It is not . . . “the work we ain’t done yet” . . . as many think. Rather, it is a valuable management tool enabling workforce size and craft composition to be determined and labor more effectively managed.

This short PowerPoint tackles the many misconceptions about bolted tanks and leakage. Get the facts!

Eliminating Large Particle Carryover – Improving Milk of Lime Reactivity STT's Patent Pending VERTIMILL® Retrofit has exceeded performance expectations. After 8 months of operations: Elimination of large particle carry-over.; 16% reduction in lime consumption per ton of SO2 removed; Higher scrubbing efficiency was achieved (less SO2 discharged to the environment); Maintenance intervals and tank cleanout frequencies have been improved due to reduced largeparticle carry-over. This is a ‘Patent Pending’ improvement is suitable for all sizes of Lime Slaking VERTIMILL® in lime slaking duty.

Joy Global introduces DynaMiner prototype featuring DynaCut technology for continuous hard rock mining

Joy Global debuts new Montabert drill attachment, the CPA 295

This video provides an example of the content and structure of a Performance Associates International computer-based operator training program. In this video, we focus on the user experience of our eLearning module for operators in a gold mill grinding circuit. This example demonstrates the following program features: • Language toggle controls. • Interactive process flowsheets. • Process descriptions. • Principles of operation. • Workbook feature. • Equipment (SAG mill) 3D animation. • Process variables. • Control loops. • Interlocks. • Alarms. • Interactive plot plan. The grinding circuit is just one of 11 modules included in the complete plant operator training program. Each individual module covers the technical aspects of a specific plant area. The program also contains modules presenting basic introductions to many applicable unit operations and a variety of basic mechanical skills. Additionally, detailed maintenance training modules cover each significant piece of equipment in the plant. A comprehensive training component to develop supervisory skills is included as well. Building, running, and maintaining a new plant is a significant investment. A work-force well-trained from top to bottom is the best way to protect that investment by ensuring a successful start-up and continued operations at peak performance. If you are building a plant and preparing your operators and supervisors for start-up and operation, please stop and ask the question “what components of this training program do I NOT want my operations team to be thoroughly familiar with?”

Although many mines and processing plants have sophisticated maintenance cost information systems, cost control relies ultimately on management actions based on the information such systems generate. A systematic management approach to solving problems and implementing solutions is the key to effective maintenance cost control

Effective plant-specific computer-based training (CBT) used in a formal training program can make the difference between a successful start-up and a failure. Or, in the case of an existing plant, it can make a huge difference in the effectiveness of operating results—particularly if turnover of experienced personnel is a factor. Once the plant process design and control strategies have been established, equipment has been ordered, and the plant is either operating or under construction, the only major variable affecting success is the capability of plant operating personnel. It is essential that the myriad details concerning plant operation are documented in a comprehensive CBT system suitable for training the non-technical personnel who will operate the plant.

In this training module, Performance Associates International (PAI) covers the characteristics of a gyratory crusher that’s designed to be the first stage in the size reduction of run-of-mine ore. A gyratory crusher receives ore from a mine and crushes the ore between a gyrating main shaft and stationary liners called concaves. This module explains the gyratory crusher’s principle of operation and provides detailed descriptions of the major components and the role that each component plays in its operation. You'll learn how the drive system operates, the details of the dust sealing system, the importance of the various lubrication systems, and the two functions of the main shaft positioning system, or MPS. We’ll also explain the operation of the balance cylinders and how they’re designed to prevent oversize boulders from causing damage. We’ll also cover the apron feeder, which conveys the crushed ore from the crusher to a downstream discharge conveyor belt. The principle of operation and detailed descriptions of the components of the apron feeder—including the drive chains, pans, rollers, and an electric or hydraulic motor—are illustrated. This is one of many plant area modules that is covered in a typical PAI operations training module.

What would it mean to your process if the variation in your key process variables could be cut in half? For example, consider greatly reduced variation in: • Leach circuit pH. • Thickener flocculant concentration. • CIL circuit cyanide concentration. • Cyclone feed density. Do your operators know if variation is random or non-random? If your operators were more familiar with the process control methodology, would it make a difference? What would be the result if your operators could troubleshoot and optimize each process control loop? At Performance Associates International (PAI) we believe that if the process variables in the plant are controlled at or very near their individual target ranges, the plant should be operating at near optimal efficiency. This translates into the lowest operating cost per unit production. This white paper describes how PAI approaches this component of training for your specific plant. We train on your process variables, their target ranges, the method of controlling those process variables, as well as the impact on the process if the process variables are not properly controlled.

Far too often, natural resource companies start up new plants without a properly trained operations and maintenance team. The results can be disastrous for both safety and revenue. Obviously the ultimate objective is a plant that operates in a safe and profitable manner. In most cases, the pre-start-up safety training is satisfactory, resulting in few if any accidents during start-up and ongoing operations. However, many plants drop the ball when it comes to properly training operations and maintenance personnel. The payback on a properly executed training program far outweighs the cost. If you are going to budget for high-quality engineering, efficient procurement, and experienced and proven construction management (including commissioning), why leave training open to chance? Performance Associates International (PAI) developed an extensive operations and maintenance training program for Torex Gold’s El Limón-Guajes project in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. In 2015, PAI industry training specialists traveled to the project site to carry out the training for Torex Gold employees in anticipation of plant start-up and gold production. The venture was a “massive success,” according to Nelson Bodnarchuk, Director, Operational Systems. This video tells the story of that success, including generous feedback from the executive officers at Torex recognizing our role in the partnership.

These recommended duties and responsibilities of key maintenance personnel provide guidelines for efficient maintenance interactions and interdepartmental cooperation that can enhance the overall maintenance performance,

Con demasiada frecuencia, las compañías de recursos naturales ponen en marcha plantas nuevas sin contar con un equipo de operaciones y mantenimiento debidamente capacitado. El resultado puede ser desastroso tanto en términos de seguridad como de ingresos. Obviamente el objetivo fundamental es una planta que funciona de forma segura y rentable. En la mayoría de los casos, la capacitación sobre seguridad que se da antes del arranque de la planta es satisfactoria, resultando en pocos accidentes (o ninguno) durante la puesta en marcha y operaciones subsecuentes. Sin embargo, muchas plantas son negligentes cuando se trata de la buena capacitación de su personal de operaciones y mantenimiento. Un programa de capacitación bien ejecutado compensa con creces los costos de ejecución del mismo. Si se va a presupuestar una ingeniería de alta calidad, un proceso de adquisición eficiente y una gestión de construcción experimentada y comprobada (incluyendo el comisionamiento), ¿por qué dejar a la suerte la capacitación? Performance Associates International (PAI) desarrolló un programa de capacitación por computadora comprensivo, el cual abarca operaciones y mantenimiento, para su planta de oro El Limón-Guajes en el estado de Guerrero, México. En el 2015, los especialistas de capacitación industrial de PAI viajaron al lugar del proyecto para entrenar a los empleados de Torex Gold en anticipación de la puesta de marcha de la planta y la producción de oro. El emprendimiento fue un “éxito masivo,” según Nelson Bodnarchuk, Director, Sistemas Operacionales. Este video cuenta la historia de ese éxito, incluyendo comentarios generosos de los oficiales ejecutivos de Torex, quienes reconocen nuestro papel en la colaboración.

Dry drilling on MacLean Small Section Bolter - In 2015, MacLean worked with Petra Diamonds’ Finsch mine in South Africa, the second largest diamond mine in the RSA, to develop a dry drilling option that was required for Finsch’s unique application / mine plan needs. www.macleanengineering.com

This paper is an introduction to AirGon’s Bring Your Own Drone (BYOD) Mapping Kit. This kit contains all of the software components and training that you will need to conduct successful mapping operations using a DJI Phantom or Inspire. While it is unabashedly an advertorial for our products, I think you will also gain understanding of where low cost drone mapping can be effective and the steps you will need to take to execute a project.

The availability of skilled mining workers is a common struggle in many countries throughout the world, impacting mining productivity, safety and ultimately profitability. Many countries are forecasting dire shortages in the coming years due to unskilled talent pools, an aging workforce and increased mining production. The development of training programs is a key focus for governments, mines and educational institutions. In support of this industry challenge, Immersive Technologies’ solutions have proven to be vital at numerous training centers around the world. In this case study one customer shows how the introduction of a simulation based training center accelerated operator learning and retention. Over the past five years this type of training center has been on the rise for Immersive Technologies. More case studies are available by emailing [email protected]

What are your operators really costing you? Operator skill and behavior directly affects site safety, tire life, bucket fill, machine availability, fuel usage, cycle times and machines repair & maintenance costs. Successfully managing each of these aspects can be the difference between a mine that is profitable and one that is not. Immersive Technologies can show you the financial gain of improving each of these through Operator Optimization on your mine. We’ve done it many times before. We’re yet to find a mine that has no opportunity for significant financial gain.

Simulation based operator training has been successfully applied to a range of diverse industries where high risk and high costs are everyday issues requiring smart solutions. Whether piloting a plane or launching a space shuttle, simulation training has been proven to dramatically reduce risk, cost, unscheduled maintenance, increase trainer effectiveness and efficiency while maximizing productivity. Within the often hazardous mining industry, simulation training has quickly gained recognition as a significant method of increasing site safety and profitability through improved operator skill and knowledge. Simulators provide operators a safe environment to learn and practice their skills while allowing the operator to practice for a range of possible emergency situations. Many of these situations are too dangerous, too difficult or too expensive to test in an actual mine. Operators can also be shown and assessed for the proper operating technique much more quickly and accurately than the traditional in machine approach. Focus on improving operator technique with Immersive Technologies’ simulators has delivered proven results including longer tire life, reduced spot time, reduced brake abuse, improvements in fuel use, reduction in engine overspeeds and more. Simulator training allows operators to be shown and assessed without the need to borrow machines from production. This allows new operators to practice many skills before being placed into a production circuit. Because operators are consistently shown and assessed on the proper operator techniques they have a better understanding and knowledge of the real machine. Following Immersive Technologies release of the world’s first mining dump truck simulator in 1998, their customer results, support network, machine range, global mining footprint, level of realism and OEM endorsements are without equal in the industry. Highlighting the benefits of simulation training, four leading Original Equipment Manufacturers, Caterpillar, Hitachi, Komatsu and Liebherr have chosen to exclusively sign technical information licensing agreements with Immersive Technologies, providing access to proprietary technical information necessary to accurately replicate the operation of their mining equipment. After significant supplier evaluation each major OEM has chosen to exclusively recommend Immersive Technologies' Advanced Equipment Simulators. This unprecedented support and commitment from the OEM's has helped to firmly entrench Immersive Technologies' Simulator technology as the industry leader. This provides customers the comfort of knowing they are investing wisely in a proven and accepted technology that is here to stay. As the world’s largest supplier of mining equipment simulators, Immersive Technologies’ has a customer base that includes many of the world’s leading mining operations, mining contractors, training schools and original equipment manufacturers. Widely recognized as the global industry standard, Immersive Technologies’ has extensive experience in delivering complete training solutions to the mining industry with measurable safety and business improvement outcomes. Immersive Technologies has worked closely with thousands of mining training professionals, managers, and executives to deliver comprehensive solutions that have been proven to improve safety and mine profitability.

Optimisation and productivity are buzz words in mining at present and they also apply to maintenance. In order to have sustainable mining operations, it is important that due attention is given to optimising maintenance, which Techenomics does with its oil analysis, condition monitoring and fluid management services, complemented by the tungsten disulphide additives it distributes.

483 MSHA reportable injuries involving jacklegs occurred at US mines between 2003 and 2012, according to a recent study published by NIOSH (Clark et al., 2016). And these are just the reportable injuries - if you consider the “Heinrich Safety Triangle”, this can be viewed as the tip of the iceberg. What are the options for mechanization?

There are no world class maintenance organizations. Rather, there are ‘world class’ mining organizations that include a world class maintenance organization. Maintenance, by itself, is a service-provider. When that service is exceptional, it is made that way because maintenance is operating in a mining environment that requires it to be exceptional. Mining managers will have created a working environment in which maintenance can be exceptional. They have caused operations to accept responsibility for the effect utilization of maintenance services and staff departments like warehousing or purchasing to provide exceptional service because it is expected of them. World class status is only achieved when there is a total operation effort.

MacLean Hard Rock Equipment R&D Report: The last 12 months at MacLean have seen the culmination of a two-year phase of intense product development activity, including fleet electrification; face bolting on the MacLean 975 Omnia Bolter; and, a new, ultra-versatile utility vehicle for high reach/heavy load applications - the MacLean LR3.

Columbia Steel manufactures long-lasting wear parts for the world's most demanding industrial equipment. We invite you to learn more about our company, its people, its products and unwavering guarantee.

Columbia Steel manufacturers wear parts that go the distance in the world's most demanding industries. We work hard to make to make long-lasting castings that our customers have come to expect and demand. Tough Customers Welcome.

Columbia Steel manufactures long-lasting wear parts for the world's most demanding industrial equipment. We invite you to learn more about our company, its people, its products and unwavering guarantee.

Columbia Steel manufacturers wear parts that go the distance in the world's most demanding industries. We work hard to make to make long-lasting castings that our customers have come to expect and demand. Tough Customers Welcome.

Columbia Steel manufactures long-lasting wear parts for the world's most demanding industrial equipment. We invite you to learn more about our company, its people, its products and unwavering guarantee.

Tank Connection is a global leader in Dry Bulk Storage solutions and processes. Our bolted RTP storage silos are precision engineered, won't leak, feature a smoothwall tank interior, are manufactured with a powder coat system, and have unlimited options. Construction of our silos is at grade-level using a proprietary synchronized jacking process.

This multiple tank load-out terminal features 4 precision bolted RTP silos 27 feet in diameter and 85 feet tall. For lime storage, we lead the industry in turnkey storage systems for limestone, lime, hydrated lime, pebble lime and quicklime applications. When you are looking for a mineral storage tank system, you can't beat the quality and service provided by Tank Connection.

The Van der Graaf Brush Belt Cleaner offers a belt cleaning solution to remove residual materials from conveyor belts without the wear and tear of a conventional belt scraper. The compact, low profile design provides space savings, efficiency and reliability with virtually no maintenance. As a one component brush assembly, it can be easily installed behind the head pulley or inside the belt conveyor frame. This durable drum motor design is entirely sealed from the most challenging cleaning environments, providing a completely reliable, less complex solution.

The purpose of this experiment is to compare efficiency, losses and overall energy cost between a conveyor powered by the conventional motor/gearbox conveyor drive and a conveyor powered by the internally driven drum motor.

Pinetree Power, a subsidiary of GDF Suez Energy North America, in Fitchburg, MA, upgraded their conveyor drives to Van der Graaf Drum Motors. This upgrade allowed them to free up between 300 and 500 homes worth of electricity, increasing their revenue, while lowering operating and maintenance costs.

Drum Motors for Mining and Aggregate Applications Requiring High Power Conveyor Drives The rugged design of the Van der Graaf drum motor is ideal for the harsh and abrasive environmental conditions of the mining and aggregate handling industry. The drum motor encloses all moving parts within an oil bath that prevents dust and grit from wearing out key components. The benefit of this design eliminates the maintenance required on conventional exposed conveyor drives. • Engineered for Harsh Abrasive Environments • Lower Energy Costs • No Maintenance • Up to 300 HP

Van der Graaf is a leading designer and manufacturer of specially engineered drum motors. Built to endure the demands of the bulk handling industry – from ship loading, to power generation, to surface and underground mining. Van der Graaf products are manufactured and marketed worldwide through a respected international network of distributors. As the leading global supplier of conveyor belt drives, Van der Graaf has proven to be highly intuitive in projecting and reacting to changing market demands. The Extreme Duty Series offers a conveyor drive in which all components are housed internally. This advanced design eliminates the need for external features including the motor, gearbox, sprockets, chain, chain guard, and pillow block bearings, making it ideal for the harshest of environments. The Van der Graaf Extreme Duty Mining Series incorporates the benefits of a tried and tested drum motor with an increase in power and capacity. This durable design is entirely sealed from the most challenging work environments, providing a completely reliable, less complex, and virtually maintenance-free belt drive solution.

This video shows a Terra Sonic International Sonic Drill Rig in action.

The Terra Sonic International Products Brochure offers detailed information on all of our products, including the TSi 150T Truck-Mounted Sonic Drill Rig, the TSi 150C Crawler-Mounted Sonic Drill Rig, and the TSi 150CC Compact Crawler-Mounted Sonic Drill Rig.

Syntron Material Handling - Link-Belt idlers

Syntron Material Handling - Link-Belt underground catalog

SMH provides quality Syntron Heavy-Duty Feeders for all your Material Handling needs

Syntron vibrators off an efficient, cost-effective means to maintain free flow of product from bin, hopper and chutes, with a direct and positive result on the bottom line.

Syntron Material Handling is the answer for all you Coal Mining Material Handling needs.

Link-Belt is the industry standard for screw conveyors, feeders and components. We make a complete line of screw feeders, conveyor screws, troughs, trough ends, hangers, bearings, shafts, seals and drives.

Syntron Material Handling Working with Hoppers

Successful implementation of Reliability centered maintenance (RCM) creates circumstances that sharply increase the equipment problem detection capabilities of preventive maintenance. In turn, gains in the ability to plan more work help maintenance to deliver consistently reliable production equipment for its mining operation.

The TSi 150T Truck-Mounted Sonic Drill Rig is a powerful Sonic Drill Rig that can create in situ core samples and perfectly straight boreholes. The powerful 150 Series Sonic Oscillator powers this Sonic Drill Rig, which can drill up to 1,000 feet depending on the lithology and casing design. Download this sell sheet to learn more.

Do not be fooled by the small size of the TSi 150CC. Although it is small enough to fit inside a standard shipping container, the TSi 150CC Sonic Drill Rig is just as powerful as the TSi 150T Truck-Mounted Sonic Drill Rig. Download this sell sheet to learn more.

The authors describe the application of remote isolation systems in mining industry conveyance systems and offers case study details where these systems have been installed.

This paper will explain some of the physiological aspects which give us our hearing capabilities. It will also describe how damage to the ear should be considered as part of an electrical safety program, as well as potential methods for reducing the hazard.

Customer success story on Deilmann Haniel explaining how Eaton increased safety and operational performance in a difficult climate.

Overview on how to improve flexibility; maximize space while lowering total installed cost of supports in electrical, mechanical, and plumbing (MEP) facility-subsystems.

FLEET ELECTRIFICATION THAT CONNECTS THE MINING CYCLE TO THE BATTERY CYCLE: The MacLean approach to battery propulsion is built on giving our customers access to best-in-class battery, electric motor, onboard charging, and vehicle analytics technology, and then successfully integrating these components into mobile underground equipment by leveraging our multi-discipline engineering expertise, hard rock mining knowledge, and custom manufacturing experience. In other words, you can’t just understand the battery cycle, you need to understand the mining cycle in which it will be used. This is how MacLean has developed battery power, engineered for life underground.

Site simulation, Volvo articulated haulers and excavators, and flexible financing from Volvo Financial Services play a pivotal role in a family-owned garnet mining business.

The Volvo A45G articulated hauler is designed to be both powerful and productive, while remaining incredibly nimble and efficient. The A45G — powered by the latest Volvo D16, Tier 4 Final engine — boasts 469 horsepower (350 kW) and is capable of 45-ton payloads. New improvements include the Volvo Dynamic Drive system, which provides an enhanced gear-shifting strategy that increases customer fuel efficiency by 3 to 10 percent. New standard safety features include Hill Assist and a dump support system.

The A60H, the new 60-ton articulated hauler from Volvo, opens increased production opportunities and cost savings potential. The 673-horsepower (502 kW) Volvo D16J engine offers ample power, and the active hydraulic front suspension, hydro-mechanical steering and high ground clearance at the articulation joint allow for easy navigation of tough terrain. A range of new features come standard, such as Hill Assist, a dump support system, on-board weighing and serviceability improvements.

The new 75-ton EC750E excavator from Volvo boasts significant improvements to power, productivity and efficiency compared to its predecessor. It is equipped with the Volvo D16J 516-horsepower (392 kW), Tier 4 Final engine, providing an 11 percent increase in horsepower and 7 percent increase in digging force. Its 5 percent gain in fuel efficiency enables higher production at a lower cost per ton. A 4 percent boost in hydraulic flow is made possible by its new electro-hydraulic control system that reduces loss of flow and pressure for increased production.

Is bigger always better? When it comes to articulated haulers, the industry certainly seems to be moving in that direction. While capacity increases can boost production numbers, and ultimately reduce cost per ton, there are many more factors at play that must be evaluated by a fleet manager to ensure the site can reap the rewards of a larger machine. Learn how site simulation and telematics can help you determine the ideal size hauler fleet for your aggregate site.

Site simulation, Volvo articulated haulers and excavators, and flexible financing from Volvo Financial Services play a pivotal role in a family-owned garnet mining business.

LP360 for sUAS is an advanced desktop application designed to make easy work of extracting information and derived products from data collected by small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS, UAVs, drones). LP360 works with point clouds derived from LIDAR systems as well as Structure from Motion (SfM, dense image matching, point clouds from imagery, multi-ray, photogrammetry) point clouds. For sUAS data collection and processing, LP360 picks up where point cloud generation tools such as PhotoScan and Pix4D leave off. LP360 has a very rapid Return on Investment (ROI), paying for itself within just a few stockpile edit sessions.

Education – A Counterbalance to the Mining Maintenance Challenge. The already difficult circumstances of mining maintenance are compounded by remote locations, indigenous workforces, recruitment of management personnel and a whole range of difficulties, some unexpected. Many of these adverse circumstances can be offset by educating the mining workforce on how they can help to make maintenance more effective. Please see the Mining Maintenance Management Course.

Unified Screening & Crushing Crushing Parts Brochure 2017 http://www.unifiedscreening.com/

The maintenance supervisor holds the most difficult job in mining. Don’t think so? Then consider his daily situation.

Consider the impact these five educational steps could have to help improve maintenance performance. Initially, clarify internal maintenance actions. Then specify help needed from other departments. Finally, secure the dedicated overall direction from mine management in a mine-wide coordinated maintenance effort

Solving the Mystery of Improving Maintenance Maintenance often represents over 35% of total mine operating costs. Yet, little is known by the general mining population of the details of what maintenance does, how they do it and the help, support and cooperation they require. Many see maintenance as a ‘closed book.’ Herein are both the problem and the solution. Maintenance has done little to explain what they do, how they do it and specify the help that they need.

Mining is unique among all industries as are the challenges of maintaining its equipment. Successful maintenance will require fully-coordinated help from all departments and knowledgeable, dedicated management oversight. Effective training can help to meet these requirements. Un fortunately, public seminars on maintenance management are seldom mining-specific and are usually generic. Little that is useful can be learned from these generalizations or from non-mining attendees. Attendance fees and travel expenses can be prohibitive. Attendance from remote mining locations is seldom possible. These remote workforces can include local recruits unfamiliar with mining and are often staffed with ex-pats with widely diverse backgrounds and experiences. Training can enable them to perform consistently as a reliable team. All of these training needs can be met by the Mining Maintenance Management Course specifically designed for on-site training conducted by your own personnel.

No Maintenance Program – Major Omission Attention Mine Managers – If maintenance does not have a program parallel to the one described in this article, don’t expect them to be able to deliver consistently reliable production equipment. Here is how to correct that situation. See an important notice at the end of the article.

A maintenance program that prescribes who does what, how when and why is the primary necessity for effective maintenance. Without it you are wasting your time. Here's the proof.

Maintenance Planning Essentials Please review the PowerPoint presentation to learn the essential, proven planning techniques that ensure the significant benefits of well-planned work are achieved. Note especially the illustrative diagrams, informative captions and the detailed instructor’s notes that ensure effective training.

The mining operation that understands who does what about performing or supporting maintenance, how, when and why can meet the objective of providing consistently reliable production equpment. A well informed workforce confident in all aspects of achieving effective maintenance guarantees this reality. The reality is the development, documentation, implementation and operation of a proven mine maintenance management program.

Learn what World Class mining organizations do to make maintenance planning more efficient, deliver reliable production equipment, reduce cost and help ensure mine profitability. Implementation of these 10 actions can have a direct, positive impact on maximizing maintenance performance. A must read for all mining and maintenance managers whose objectives include improving maintenance.

The utilization of professional training materials in the conduct of on-site maintenance management training has many advantages. Training can accommodate the availability of key personnel to avoid conflicts with operating schedules. As many personnel as necessary can be trained, singly or in logical organizational groups. Personnel from several departments can be trained together to clarify interdepartmental roles and actions. Presentations can be repeated for new personnel or those assigned new responsibilities. Individuals can train themselves. Training needs at remote mining locations are met avoiding expensive attendance fees and travel expenses to distant venues. Training solutions and recommendations are based on actual, realistic and proven situations unique and directly applicable to the mining industry.

Download an Interactive Overview of aggregate processing technologies and services provided by Phoenix Process Equipment. See why We're All About The Process.

See how the PHOENIX Belt Filter Press dewaters slurry of pre-thickened solids from a pumpable, liquid state to a solid, belt conveyable and stackable dry cake.

See how the PHOENIX Belt Filter Press dewaters slurry of pre-thickened solids from a pumpable, liquid state to a solid, belt conveyable and stackable dry cake.

This video by PHOENIX Process Equipment shows the steps in dewatering slurry into a dry cake discharge with a Recessed Chamber and Membrane Filter Press.

PHOENIX provides process solutions to reduce slurry pond area with a rake-less Ultra High-Rate Thickener that provides mixing, flocculation and internal dilution followed by clarification and positive sludge collection and removal in a single tank. Complete elimination of slurry ponds can be obtained by adding a Belt Filter Press or Recessed Chamber Filter Press to dewater the thickened slurry.

Need a solution to reduce your slurry pond area? Clarifies the water while thickening the slurry from a wash plant to 40-45% solids to reduce the volume going to the slurry pond. For complete elimination of the slurry pond, a PHOENIX Belt Filter Press or Recessed Chamber Filter Press may be added to dewater the thickened slurry either initially or at a later date.

Browse the directory for Haulage & Loading 2017. This includes complete exhibitor list and contact information along with the technical program for the conference.

The cut size can be varied over a broad size range, while density sorting of light weight contaminants from sand or silica sand from heavy minerals is feasible. The HYDROSORT™ consistently produces high quality, spec sand from variable quality raw material.

I have attached a PowerPoint (PPT) presentation on how to implementing a Mine Maintenance Management Program. But before you study it please understand that superior maintenance performance is built on three conditions: 1 - Maintenance proficiency – Maintenance personnel from manager to worker are proficient in all aspects of management, control and work execution. 2 - Knowledgeable support – All mining departments understand the help needed to make maintenance successful and provide it. 3 - Strategic direction – Mine managers assign mutually–supporting departmental objectives, provide policies to guide interdepartmental actions and verify performance. The one proven answer that meets these conditions is a quality maintenance program. That program must spell out who does what, how, when and why. These guidelines must be applied to the nine essential maintenance management phases: How to (1) Request or (2) Identify work, (3) Classify it to determine the best reaction, then how to (4) Plan, (5) Schedule, (6) Assign, (7) Control and (8) Measure the resulting work and finally, (9) Assess accomplishments against goals such as performance standards and budgets. All personnel in maintenance as well as those who interact with maintenance must be included in the program since every maintenance action requires a supporting or cooperative interdepartmental reaction. Just as the maintenance planner follows specific planning procedures, so must the purchasing agent who orders major component replacements for the job the planner is organizing. After 44 years as a mining maintenance management consulting in all types of mining operations, I can confidently state that the absence of a quality program will preclude meeting these three conditions and frustrate all efforts to achieve superior maintenance performance.

This paper outlines the experience of one global cement producer that embarked on site surveys and studies to achieve arc flash safety compliance at 13 cement plants in the U.S. and Canada.

The purpose of this paper is to review a case study of a successful energy project at the ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor facility involving the addition of five new adjustable frequency drives (AFDs) used to regulate flow of the high-volume water spray system for the runout table (ROT). The paper will outline 1) processes used in justifying new technology updates, 2) mill alignment with the serving electric utility to leverage energy credits, 3) equipment selection and installation and 4) metrics used to demonstrate the project delivered the desired payback.

Download PowerPoint instructions - How to Implement a Maintenance program.

The Mining Maintenance Management Course is ideal for training maintenance personnel on the procedures, techniques, strategies and methodologies required to manage maintenance effectively. While maintenance personnel are the primary audience, staff organizations and operations will learn how to focus their support and cooperative efforts to enhance maintenance performance. Mining managers will appreciate recommended policies and key indices to guide and monitor the overall maintenance effort. The overall course objective is the development of a cohesive, efficient team from manager to worker to meet the unique maintenance requirements of the mining industry.

Tony Cinkovich, Senior Project Manager at Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel, will discuss how their company uses drone data for inventory management, mine planning and haul truck road construction. Register here.

Dewatering equipment and processing solutions for Aggregate Processing from PHOENIX Process Equipment.

The Elusive Qwest for World Class Maintenance - ‘Seat of the Pants’ Maintenance Isn’t Good Enough - A major deficiency of too many mining operations and the explanation of most maintenance problems is no program. As a result, maintenance personnel who are to carry it out or support it (like purchasing, warehousing and operations) are confused and uncertain about how to help. Mine managers are frustrated and impatient, expecting that maintenance should, by now, know what they are supposed to do and how. Too many assumptions have been made starting with the mine manager who should have said, "I want a logical, well-defined program about maintenance that fits our operating plan and I want all mine personnel to understand it, support it and make it work." To those mining operations and their maintenance departments who insist they know what to do, have them prove it with a well-documented program. Many can’t.

A maintenance organization was found to be planning only 21% of all work. Study revealed that most equipment deficiencies were being discovered just before failure. Major jobs that required detailed planning were being attempted as unplanned work. As such, they cost too much, took much longer to complete, were hurried and often failed again prematurely. Read how this situation was corrected.

Here are some of the maintenance planning/scheduling questions that require resolution if this activity is to be carried out efficiently.

Significant work control problems are needlessly created when there are no criteria for determining which maintenance work requires planning.

Determine production utilization required to determine minimum equipment availability. Comments welcome.

How to Utilize Maintenance Planners Effectively Don’t waste this valuable resource Paul D. Tomlingson A Key Player - Maintenance planners are utilized in larger organizations where there is considerable major work requiring detailed and advance preparation before the work can be scheduled. Smaller organizations still have a need for planning but, the task is often carried out by supervisors or team members. For those organizations using planners, it is important to establish what the planner should do, how it is done and what tools are required to do it well.

Eaton’s B-Line series metallic cable ladder systems are engineered to provide superior strength to weight ratio while providing the lowest total installed cost of any cable management system in the industry today. This is achieved through continuous innovation, market and customer based knowledge.

Ramp trials of the MacLean BT3 battery electric boom truck in Canada - Switching out diesel fuel for battery electricity on mobile equipment in underground mining is as much of a user experience exercise as it is an engineering exercise.

Dyno Nobel’s Titan ∆E 1000 was trialed over a period of four (4) months at AngloGold Ashanti's Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Co. (CC&V) in Cripple Creek, Colorado. Performance of the Titan ∆E 1000 product was measured against typically loaded production blasts of similar size, in similar geology. Blast designs (drill pattern and blast hole sequence) for the performance and baseline blasts were not altered during the trial, and all blasts, except for one, were initiated using Dyno Nobel’s DigiShot® Plus electronic initiation system. Measured results confirmed that significant value in productivity, cost and blast performance were delivered. The mine reduced its overall powder factor by 18%, realized an 8% increase in shovel productivity in both waste and ore, and in the case of ore, experienced no reduction in crusher throughput. Additionally, they completely eliminated visible NOx after blast fumes in even the wettest areas of the pit.

After speaking with Dyno Nobel, the mine decided to implement BlastWeb®, a centralised blasting system that is specifically designed for use in underground mining operations. BlastWeb allows reliable remote initiation of development, production and stope blasting from a safe and controlled location on the surface. The blast areas can be completely evacuated as no-one is required to be underground for the blasting. In addition to the obvious safety benefits, the other main benefit of the system at this mine is a reduction in the re-entry time. After the implementation of BlastWeb, a comparison was made of the blast completion times before and after its introduction. It was determined that centralised blasting reduced the blast completion time, on average, by 10 minutes. The implementation of Dyno Nobel’s Centralised Blasting System supports both the safety of the mine employees during blasting and an increase in production time.

The Aerodyne Vacu-Valve is an economical alternative to rotary valves. Its unique design allows it to provide an airlock with no moving parts on dust collectors that are operating with a slight vacuum. Material that is fine, free flowing and will not bridge drains from the Vacu-Valve sleeve, while maintaining an airlock.

This widely-read and well-publicized article on Reliability Centered Maintenance is provided as a professional courtesy.

Sometimes a turning point can only be seen clearly in hindsight. Such is the case for the mine of the future as we begin 2018, coming out of a 2017 where major mining companies continued to demonstrate capital spending austerity and focus on debt reduction. All the while, there were growing signals that digitalization, electrification and automation were all gaining momentum, even though actual examples of minesite implementations could as of yet, still be counted on one hand. MacLean took the opportunity that industry downturn presented over the past several years to focus intensely on three key product development ventures – first and foremost, the battery electrification of our entire fleet, which will be complete by the end of 2018; second, the successful introduction of face bolting as a feature on our 975 Omnia bolter; and, third, the launch of the latest addition to our utility vehicle product line – the LR3 Boom Lift for heavy load and high reach applications. The past year was one where for the first time we had a fleet of battery electric vehicles working underground, allowing us the ability to validate our performance and total cost of ownership (TCO) models with real-world data, while at the same time continuing to build out our EV offer across the product lines. Looking forward, as we work hard to fully electrify our fleet of ground support, ore flow/secondary reduction, and utility vehicles, we’re keenly aware that electrification is but one step in the ongoing mechanization of underground mining, a transition to the mine of the future that will be increasingly efficient through digitalization and automation that will increase production and reduce costs.

Guidelines for the Utilization of Contractors to Perform Maintenance and Capital Work

Drone technology and aerial intelligence data enables companies to complete more accurate inventory management and maximize revenue. Download this report to learn more about drone technology for your organization.

The GPC Dust Collector is an efficient way to handle your dust collecting needs. The GPC dust collector’s small size makes it easy to solve dust collecting problems for plants and workshops with limited floor space or overhead clearance, making it an ideal solution for your dust collecting problems.

Evaluate your current dust collection system for operational efficiency. Explore these five crucial areas and assess the effectiveness of your: Pickup points, Duct work, Dust Collector, Cyclone, and Exhaust fan. Pinpoint how these major areas may affect your dust collection.

Drone technology is proving to be the most valuable tool available for industrial use cases. Companies using Kespry drone solutions are realizing better inventory management and data reliability, which increases profitability.

Do the rotary valves under your dust collectors cause maintenance headaches? Are they clogging? Are you having to drop everything and assign extra labor to fix them? Aerodyne™’s Vacu-Valve ® is the solution! Have a look at this infographic and to learn how the Vacu-valve solves these issues and improves the discharge efficiency of your baghouse, filters and cyclones.

The costs of replacement bags, machine downtime and wages accumulate quickly. Our infographic shows how placing a cyclone dust collector in front of a baghouse can lower expenses by extending filter life and reducing maintenance. See the components of an efficient, low-maintenance system. Download this infographic now to get more information about: 1) Components of a low-maintenance system. 2) 5 reasons to use a cyclone before a baghouse. 3) Animation of a counter-cyclonic dust collector.

How Much is Your Baghouse or Cartridge Collector Costing You? This whitepaper highlights: 1) The Top 5 Reasons to use a cyclone as a pre-filter for baghouses or cartridge collectors. 2) How pre-filters help to extend bag or filter life, and improving removal efficiencies.

Since its inception, AirGon (a wholly owned subsidiary of the GeoCue Group) has focused on high accuracy small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS or drone) for surface mine, industrial and construction site mapping. As a result of helping many customers piece together workflow solutions, it became obvious that a well-integrated softwate kit would save considerable time and frustration. Whether you are the owner/operator of a site or a service provider to the site, AirGon Mapping Suite is intended for just these applications. Rather than acquiring all the necessary components in a piecemeal fashion resulting in a steep learning curve, the mapping suite includes all of the software components necessary to create a smooth workflow solution for high accuracy data acquisition, processing, analysis and data delivery

Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS or drones) along with exciting new image processing algorithms are enabling a fundamental change in how stockpile volumetric computations are performed. It is now possible to create accurate three dimensional models of stockpile areas using inexpensive cameras carried by a low cost sUAS (drone). From these 3D models, volumetric computations are easily derived. These new technologies result in significantly lower cost of collection, improved accuracy and non-disruptive data collection. Best of all, they keep data collectors out of harm’s way with collection performed from a low altitude drone.

GeoCue Group Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, AirGon LLC., is bringing to market Loki, our third generation direct geopositioning system for small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS or drone). Direct geopositioning reduces or, in some cases, eliminates entirely, the need for ground control points in high accuracy aerial mapping.

Drone Mapping is the direction that small industrial site and construction mapping is headed. It has significant advantages over all ground based models and generally is less expensive than traditional manned aircraft mapping approaches. Best of all, drone mapping, with the new FAA regulations passed in August of 2016, is a technology that you can fully internalize, resulting in both increased responsiveness and reduced cost when compared to contracted services. This paper will provide you with an overview of the different models that can be used for drone mapping with sufficient detail for you to make an informed choice. You will discover that, with all factors included, acquiring your own technology (hardware and software) may be the most economic long term approach to modernizing your mapping operations.

These are just some of the questions that should be addressed when considering a material handling valve for your application. What type of material is being handled? How much should be spent? What kind of power source can be supplied? This white paper offers an easy how-to-guide for selecting the right material handling valve for your specific application.

This video from the Dust Efficiency Clinic discusses five warning signs that your dust collection system needs a pre-filter. Pre-filtering may reduce operating and maintenance costs by extending bag or filter life and improving removal efficiencies.

At Firmatek, we do a lot of inventory measurements for our clients. Often times, we know plant managers aren't thrilled about getting their inventory measurements because of problems they've experienced with past vendors. However, we serve as a trusted advisor for our clients and make the inventory process as easy as possible from start to finish. With our share of success, we see our share of issues. In this study, we discuss the top issues we see with inventory measurement and how we work to mitigate these issues.

Firmatek provides independent, third-party measurement and reporting to help manage your business and inventory needs. Our data analytics solution utilizes both advanced drone data collection technology and LiDAR, and allows us to serve the unique needs of your sites, from one acre to over 1,000. We know stockpile measurements are more than just a number on a balance sheet, so we deliver confidence in your data, equipping you to make important decisions for your business.

Telsmith Engineer, Shamus Coughlin tells us what it takes to go the extra mile for Telsmith customers – like dropping everything to take the world’s longest flight to fix a plant in Indonesia.

These are just some of the questions that should be addressed when considering a material handling valve for your application. What type of material is being handled? How much should be spent? What kind of power source can be supplied? This white paper offers an easy how-to-guide for selecting the right material handling valve for your specific application. Simply fill out the form and you will have immediate access to the guide.

Firmatek conducted a study comparing 3 types of equipment across 29 piles ranging in size on a site where we have significant historical data. In this analysis, we look at how two types of drones compare to Lidar.

Learn why long-time Firmatek client, Brox Industries, chose to move to Firmatek's Drone Solutions program.

Is your dust collection system working at peak efficiency? A quick, do-it-yourself examination may identify symptoms that your system needs a check-up. Enjoy this video from The Dust Efficiency Clinic at Aerodyne. You'll be able to identify five signs that may diagnose a sluggish system so that you can return your system to full efficiency.

Join AirGon staff for closer look into our proven drone mapping workflow. Over the course of 1,000+ successful drone mapping missions, we have perfected our workflow to achieve accurate results in a timely manner. With the addition of our Post-Processing Kinematic direct geopositioning system, Loki, we are able to alleviate the need for dense ground control and cut field time down tremendously without sacrificing accuracy. In this webinar, we will present an overview of the entire AirGon workflow from mission planning to hosting your data and the products we use to power our process. Click download to view the webinar.

Electrification now competes for attention in underground mining projects. Click the below link to know more: https://www.macleanengineering.com/blog-view-all/ev-momentum-inevitability

The amount you pay for your measurement is not your only cost when it comes to inventory. In the industry, we talk about what it costs to measure your inventory, but rarely do we discuss the cost of not measuring your inventory. Cutting costs by rarely measuring inventory could actually be costing your business more money. We invite you to download our article on the costs associated with not measuring your inventory for more information.

Firmatek has been measuring stockpiles and helping the Aggregate Mining Industry manage its inventory for almost 30 years. The industry has used a variety of different technology over the years. From wheel and tape, to drone solutions, Aggregate Mining companies have continued to develop innovative solutions for measuring inventory. With each evolution in the technology, there have been improvements in everything from accuracy, to safety, to management systems. Let’s take a look back at how we got to where we are today.

Fresh ideas aren't just welcomed, they are needed. Sustainable mining practices have been a concern for years and they are now more important than ever. As demand for resources continues to grow, mining companies are focused on figuring out how to deliver raw materials as efficiently and sustainably as possible — and the driving force behind this effort is technology. Download our article for more information on the 3 Ways to Continue Mining's Journey Toward Sustainability.

Underground mining is at an interesting place right now, with the availability of diesel-free, battery electric equipment in most of the vehicle categories except heavy haulage, with that gap being actively addressed by a number of OEMs and the solution, not something to be relegated to the distant future as a theoretical. It’s coming, along with fast charge capabilities underground.

Each individual will require more than 3 million pounds of minerals, metals and fuel during his or her lifetime, meaning companies must optimize to meet increased demand. Big data can help achieve that goal, but only if it's used correctly. Because data is being collected more frequently, it's more important than ever for everyone to understand the basics of data collection, analysis, and delivery. The best way to do this is by forming an accurate  picture of the end-to-end process. Download our published article to learn more. 

Turner Mining Group continues to embrace new technology to increase efficiency and keep their employees safe. Drones have had a big impact on both of these factors. From billing reconciliation to safety, adopting Firmatek’s Drone Solutions across Turner Mining's nationwide organization has helped them improve efficiencies in a number of areas. Download our case study to learn how drone solutions can help improve your operations.

Transform your site data into business intelligence. Conducting inventory measurements on a monthly basis gives you key insights about your operation. The measurement itself is just data, but when you turn the data into insights, you're building your level of business intelligence. This allows you to manage and improve your overall operation. Download our article to learn more about the 3 Reasons to Conduct Monthly Inventories and how you can improve your operation.

StrataConnect DigitalBRIDGE™ is a point-to-multipoint Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) digital network for underground applications. It delivers both power and high speed digital data over a single coaxial cable to any location where digital end-point devices are desired. DigitalBRIDGE™ provides data speeds and capabilities comparable to fiber and can be used for a wide variety of applications such as, Voice-over-IP (VoIP) communications, Wi-Fi access, video, cameras, telemetry, tracking, tele-remoting and more.

Proximity detection and collision avoidance is one of the most vital of today’s technologies for keeping workers safe around heavy machinery. The ever-enhancing Strata HazardAvert® is designed to be used in both underground and surface mining operations and the system promotes safer work practices through increased safety awareness and modified worker behavior. It works to prevented accidents and collisions which in-turn improves overall productivity and efficiency.

Strata excels in problem solving, and we have the products, equipment and expertise to work with mine personnel to overcome difficulties and deliver reliable and lasting results. Strata’s qualified mining professionals are available to evaluate your mining conditions and recommend the best solution.Strata’s uniquely formulated injection products provide unlimited applications in: Water Control - Sealing, diverting, stoppingCavity and Void FillingFragmented rock consolidationGround consolidation and stabilizationRock Cracks and Faults Repair/SealingStructural Support

In many mine and plant operations, safety is looked upon as an extra layer of special attention placed above the operations management layer. But safety awareness must be built into the detailed operations and maintenance training on the equipment as well as on the process itself.  

Performance Associates (PAI) delivered a jaw crusher introductory maintenance manual and animation to Northern Star Resources, Ltd.—Kanowna Belle Project in Western Australia on June 7, 2019. The animation provides a narrative description of the jaw crusher’s location in the process, its function, components, and maintenance requirements. With this delivery, PAI successfully met Northern Star Resources’ need for an animation that could introduce new maintenance personnel to the Kanowna Belle jaw crusher in a dynamic visual context. The narrated animation replaced the standard text and graphics in the description section of the equipment maintenance computer-based training (CBT) module. The descriptive text was adapted to a narrative form. Multimedia specialists used engineering drawings and photographs to create models of the equipment and animate the modeled images to illustrate the key concepts and components in concert with the narration.

Excellence in Mining, Process Plant, Maintenance, and Safety Training  Performance Associates International, Inc. (PAI) is the world leader in online and on-site training for the mining industry. We provide organizations with a single source for assessments, skills training, continuing education, safety training and compliance mandates, and more. Our first-class content guides your staff to gain the critical knowledge they need to work safely and efficiently today.  Our proven, leading-edge industrial training programs improve performance in existing operations and ensure success during the start-up of new operations. Our training programs have saved companies millions in personnel accident prevention, production loss, and equipment damage. We partner with our customers and consult collaboratively to provide the analysis and content development to meet your needs.  Services PAI Offers  Plant Operator Training Our three-tier concept for effective plant operator training starts with fundamental knowledge and progresses to plant-specific concepts that are reinforced through detailed animations and interactive simulations.  Maintenance Training We custom build state-of-the-art maintenance training programs using exploded graphics, explanatory text, detailed procedures, and management systems.  Mobile Equipment Operator Training Our first-class training program focuses on operator controls and indicators, safety, and performance optimization. It also includes operating, emergency, and troubleshooting procedures. Commissioning and Start-Up We can identify, track, and control the thousands of activities that must occur for the successful commissioning and start-up of a process plant. There is no shortcut to a successful start-up. Testing and Tracking Systems We can help manage and track the performance of employees to improve the overall performance of the mine and plant industrial training programs. Our testing and tracking systems provide invaluable assistance in safety and operational compliance.  Introductory and Safety Training Off-the-shelf introductory and safety training packages are an excellent source for mine and plant industrial training courses. They provide fundamental knowledge and basic training concepts. Now offering online courses! E-Learning, Animations, and Simulations Our interactive e-learning keeps trainees focused and engaged. Our experienced in-house multimedia team develops state-of-the-art graphics, virtual and mixed reality training, stunning 3D animations, and technically engineered simulations of real-world scenarios. Other Services We also provide many services relevant to planning, analyzing, and evaluating process plants, including: ·         Operations readiness plan. ·         Planning studies. ·         Quality management. ·         Systems implementation. ·         Statistical process control. ·         Reliability-based asset management. ·         Productive capacity studies. ·         Surveys and needs analyses. ·         Economic life analysis. ·         Process control strategies and methods. ·         Debottlenecking and process optimization. ·         Spare parts inventory and analysis. ·         Feasibility studies. ·         Consulting assistance. Consulting * Gap Analysis * Content Development * LMS * On-Site * Train-the-Trainer * E-Learning * Process Plant Optimization * Training * Safety * Mine Training * Plant Operator Training * Maintenance * Mobile Equipment * Competencies * Commissioning  

Three dimensional animations integrated into a process plant computer-based training (CBT) program can greatly enhance trainee understanding of process equipment. This introductory maintenance manual and animation provides a narrative description of a jaw crusher’s location in the process, its function, components, and maintenance requirements. The animation introduces maintenance personnel to the jaw crusher in a dynamic visual context. The narrated animation replaced the standard text and graphics in the description section of the equipment maintenance (CBT) module. The descriptive text was adapted to a narrative form. Multimedia specialists used engineering drawings and photographs to create models of the equipment and animate the modeled images to illustrate the key concepts and components in concert with the narration.

During the final stages of metallurgical plant construction there is tremendous pressure to commence production. More often than not, there will have been budget overruns and schedule delays. Corporate management and investors are naturally anxious to generate cash flow. This pressure may evolve into a fast-track culture regarding the commissioning and start-up.  www.perfnet.com 

During the final stages of metallurgical plant construction there is tremendous pressure to commence production. More often than not, there will have been budget overruns and schedule delays. Corporate management and investors are naturally anxious to generate cash flow. This pressure may evolve into a fast-track culture regarding the commissioning and start-up. www.perfnet.com 

Developing a profitable mining venture is no small matter. It requires enormous initial investments in research, construction, and equipment. But a mineral processing plant does not run itself. Even with the best equipment and good ore quality, optimal results are dependent upon keeping the process running smoothly, avoiding process upsets, maintaining process variables in the desired range, and minimizing breakdowns and downtime. A highly trained workforce is an essential element in a successful, and profitable, start-up. The knowledge and abilities of plant operators and maintenance personnel can make or break an operation. Trained operators know what to look for during preoperational and routine inspections, allowing maintenance tasks to be planned and unexpected costly breakdowns avoided. Trained operators know what variables exist at different stages in the process and how to make appropriate adjustments in real time. Trained maintenance personnel are well acquainted with the plant equipment, and maintenance planners can schedule work and maintain a spare parts inventory to minimize downtime. Additionally, new operations that train their workforce just prior to plant commissioning can utilize their operators in the commissioning process. Having been trained and gained field experience through plant commissioning, operators are ready to hit the ground running once feed is introduced. A faster ramp-up means more earnings, more quickly. The cost of developing a proper training program is a small percentage of the overall engineering, procurement, and construction budget but it constitutes a large percentage of the gains realized from a successful start-up and ramp-up to full production. Performance Associates International (PAI) has designed and presented custom training programs for operators and maintenance personnel in metallurgical plants around the world for over 35 years. We are proud to have been part of the successful start-ups at Lundin Mining’s Eagle Mine, Vale’s Voisey’s Bay project, and Torex Gold’s El Limon-Guajes project. Click Download to view the actual vs. projected start-up results from these three metallurgical plants that made use of PAI’s custom-built training programs and on-site training.

Telsmith provides a full range of integrated processing equipment to the aggregate, mining, industrial, and recycling industries with cone crushers, jaw crushers, vibrating equipment, portable plants, track plants, as well as full-scale modular processing facilities. 

With reference to greenfield plant projects, using process simulators similar to the designed plant Human-Machine Interface (HMI) or Distributed Control System (DCS) has become common practice. These simulators represent a “virtual plant” based on process modeling of the circuit chemistry and thermodynamics, and on the physical nature of the plant, including equipment, valves, piping, etc. The virtual plant allows trainees to troubleshoot problems, optimize process variables, react to alarms, etc., all based on the process simulation model. Performance Associates’ experience is that this complex simulator training is valuable, but only after more in-depth training on the process and control logic. To truly optimize a process plant, prior to simulator training, the control room operators must have detailed knowledge of the following:  Process objective of each process system, comprising a group of unit operations.  Process objective of each unit operation.  Process chemistry and the variables affecting it.  Important characteristics of each unit operation, the variables affecting it, and the impact on downstream unit operations.  Plant control loops, interlocks, and alarms.  Safety issues related to the process and control schemes.  Operating procedures for start-up and shutdown under various scenarios, as well as important operator tasks. Additionally, trainees must be intimately familiar with the applicable fundamental scientific concepts, such as pressure, temperature, heat exchangers, electricity, PID control logic, combustion, etc. With this fundamental and plant-specific foundation, the process simulator can be fully exploited for training.

With reference to greenfield plant projects, using process simulators similar to the designed plant Human-Machine Interface (HMI) or Distributed Control System (DCS) has become common practice. These simulators represent a “virtual plant” based on process modeling of the circuit chemistry and thermodynamics, and on the physical nature of the plant, including equipment, valves, piping, etc. The virtual plant allows trainees to troubleshoot problems, optimize process variables, react to alarms, etc., all based on the process simulation model.  Performance Associates’ experience is that this complex simulator training is valuable, but only after more in-depth training on the process and control logic. To truly optimize a process plant, prior to simulator training, the control room operators must have detailed knowledge of the following:Process objective of each process system, comprising a group of unit operations.Process objective of each unit operation.Process chemistry and the variables affecting it.Important characteristics of each unit operation, the variables affecting it, and the impact on downstream unit operations.Plant control loops, interlocks, and alarms.Safety issues related to the process and control schemes.Operating procedures for start-up and shutdown under various scenarios, as well as important operator tasks.Additionally, trainees must be intimately familiar with the applicable fundamental scientific concepts, such as pressure, temperature, heat exchangers, electricity, PID control logic, combustion, etc. With this fundamental and plant-specific foundation, the process simulator can be fully exploited for training. 

Because water plays a critical role in both open pit and underground mining, Xylem Rental Solutions can help you solve even the most complex water challenges. Whether you require fast-track temporary emergency response or reliable long-term operation, we design, build and manage rugged, scalable turnkey systems that provide greater efficiency, reliability, and peace of mind. With our advanced treatment equipment, precision analytics, and wide range of durable pumps – including Godwin, Goulds and Flygt – you can rent everything you need from one trusted partner. And with our deep expertise in mining exploration, development and long-term operation, we also provide the brainpower you need for smarter, more environmentally responsible water management.

We know that geospatial data collection is increasingly accessible. But data is more than just a number. Real solutions come from understanding and analyzing the data that is collected. We work with our clients to develop meaningful deliverables for underground mining applications that save our clients money and improve their operations. Transforming data into actionable insights is what the Firmatek team delivers. Learn more about the data collection and analysis process in our case study by Seaver Hall, Project Engineer.

The geology report, feasibility study, and mine plan look great. Why do so many mining project start-ups fail to perform? Most mining companies put a great deal of emphasis on the nature of the reserve, the mine plan, the extraction process to be used, and the process plant design—obviously all very important. Even when large, highly regarded engineering, procurement, and construction firms develop the project, operating results are very often disappointing. In this paper, we explore the role of Operations Readiness on the financial impact of mining project start-ups. A relatively small investment in operations readiness produces a huge financial return. Many investment firms, as well as mining company senior executives, fail to consider this important factor in operating success.

Thanks to recently advanced sensor technology and pump automation, you now have the ability to accurately ensure that discharge water is in compliance – which lets you reduce manpower costs while ensuring all discharge guidelines are being met.

Founded in 1983, Performance Associates International (PAI) is the worldwide leader in mine and plant industrial training. Our custom training modules and on-site training have improved start-up success and operations for clients on nearly every continent. We invite you to experience one of our e-learning training modules. Here you will see a video demonstration of a sample principle of operation from an e-learning module. A principle of operation describes in detail how a piece of equipment or a process works. In this sample, you will learn about Jameson Cell flotation technology and how its design allows for more efficient mineral separation in a much smaller tank than traditional column and mechanical flotation cells. We describe in detail the key components of the Jameson Cell and the operating principles. At the end of the module, a test will help assess what you learned. In a full training program, test results can be recorded and tracked in an LMS. A principle of operation like this would be only one of many included with a full plant operations training program. Note: This is a sample and does not contain the Jameson Cell training module in its entirety. If you would like to try out this e-learning module, please contact Kenneth Slack at [email protected] or +1-520-544-2220.

Failure of permanently installed mine dewatering pumps can wreak havoc with production schedules and budgets. Fortunately,  for practically every permanent pumping system there’s a temporary rental alternative that prevents costly downtime while the root cause of the failure can be found and fixed.  

How can the overall performance of your plant be determined? Most plants calculate availability, or the percent of the time the plant or a particular circuit is operating, as well as overall production and recovery. But, is this information enough? Does it provide sufficient fine-grained information on where improvements can be made? This paper suggests five quantitative factors applied to a plant or to individual parts of a plant that identify the productivity of the plant—in other words, its productivity profile.

In this interactive PDF, we talk about common training myths and our responses.

How can the overall performance of your plant be determined? Most plants calculate availability, or the percent of the time the plant or a particular circuit is operating, as well as overall production and recovery. But, is this information enough? Does it provide sufficient fine-grained information on where improvements can be made? This paper suggests five quantitative factors applied to a plant or to individual parts of a plant that identify the productivity of the plant—in other words, its productivity profile.

NPSH is the abbreviation for Net Positive Suction Head, the condition most often associated with suction cavitation. This can be a confusing concept for people who use pumps so the following is an explanation in plain English.

See how secondary check valves in discharge piping up a highwall work to prevent water hammer and alleviate stress on the pump to help you avoid ugly repair bills and downtime. For more information on secondary check valves or any of your pump rental needs, contact Xylem Rental Solutions.

Ensure that your plant has a good inventory of spare parts on hand by learning how to collect the data necessary to build your own spare parts inventory model.

Increase efficiency, improve safety, and reduce downtime with the VDG Drum Motor. Customers and OEMs share their experiences upgrading their belt conveyors with our one-component drum motor.  The innovative VDG Drum Motor has all drive components including motor and gear reducer enclosed inside the drum for a safer, more efficient, and space optimized belt conveyor drive solution. Reducing energy expenses by 30% per drive, all components of the VDG Drum Motor are designed for 80,000 hours of continuous operation before maintenance, minimizing downtime, reducing maintenance costs, and increasing production.  All VDG Drum Motors are engineered and manufactured in-house in USA and Canada, using cutting-edge production technology and automation, ensuring quality, fast delivery, and after sales support.

Leading-edge hydraulic engineering makes Pioneer Pump centrifugal pumps the highest performing pumps on the market. Available in pump sizes from 3" (80 mm) to 30" (760 mm) with flows up to 44,000 gallons per minute (10,000 m3/h) and heads to 850 feet (260m), our pumps are designed to provide better flow, higher head and greater efficiency to meet your unique challenges.

As emission regulations change worldwide to accommodate environmental conditions, engine owners and operators are faced with new challenges in terms of learning how to run, maintain and maximize their diesel engines.Final Tier IV engine mechanics can lead to issues in the field for pump operators and long-term maintenance concerns for equipment owners. While selecting the right pump engine is more complicated than ever, it has also never been more important.This white paper takes a closer look at package curves— a tool that help owners and operators select the right Final Tier IV engine to meet their specific pump application needs.

The SS Series Single blow impact energy is more economical and features better production than other options. Models range from 25,000 ft-pounds of striking force all the way to 150,000 ft-pounds of force.

The webinar, moderated by North American Mining magazine editor Donna Schmidt, will feature Weir Minerals Australia applications engineering business manager AARON SCHOT, who will discuss diverse problems dealing with mud, sludge and spoils in mining and how they can be transported safely and efficiently across sites continuously without impacting machinery – and while minimizing personnel involvement in that process for greater miner safety. Hear more about the Multiflo Mudflo solution, its history, and how the pump can be integral to an advanced sites’ dredging plans. About Aaron Schot:Aaron, business manager for Applications Engineering at Weir Minerals Australia, joined the company as a graduate engineer after completing a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) in 2014 at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Since then, Aaron has held multiple roles within Weir Minerals working primarily with the Multiflo product, specializing in formulating the engineering design of electric and diesel dewatering pumping solutions for both domestic (Australia) and international customers across the mining, municipal and agriculture industries. During his tenure with Weir Minerals, Aaron has also completed a significant amount of work developing and designing new fuel management systems within the Hydrau-Flo™ brand. About the moderator:Donna Schmidt, editor of North American Miningmagazine and the globally focused Miners News weekly e-newsletter and news editor for The ASIA Miner, has been a part of the trade press community for nearly 18 years and has hosted a number of webinars for mining suppliers and partners on a various topics including digitalization, automation and site efficiency, among others. Part of the editorial staff of SEMCO Publishing, which is also home to titles such as Rock Products, Concrete Products and Cement Products magazines, has directed editorial at both NAM and MinersNews.net since their respective inceptions in 2021.

With a seventy-year history in designing, manufacturing, operating and service of pelletizing equipment, Haver & Boecker Niagara has established itself as a leading specialist in the production of the innovative SCARABAEUS© 7500. Sustainability, maximum efficiency and improved product quality are the main reasons for our customer from Ukraine, to place its trust in our team by ordering in total 15 of our pelletizing discs, 7 of which are about to go into production due to the currently signed contract.

Haver & Boecker Niagara updated its deck frame technology to include Pin & Anchor and Cap & Slide designs.Compatible with any groove-style screen media panel, the Cap & Slide deck frame offers ease of installation and extended wear life. The design features a simple polyurethane sleeve that locks into the rail and is held in place with a key. The Pin & Anchor deck frame system incorporates laser cut rails with polyurethane pins and anchors that firmly hold screen media in place and are easily replaceable as wear occurs, extending wear life and reducing downtime.

Haver & Boecker Niagara introduces a new electronic guide that expands its dedicated suite of tools to complement its PROcheck approach.

BEUMER Group, a global leader in overland conveying for more than 50 years, has the expertise gained in hundreds of overland conveying installations and operations worldwide and the technology to improve efficiency; reduce capital and operating costs; and make the conveying process more environmentally friendly and sustainable.

Large conveyor capital expenditures in sectors like mining, power plants, and ports must take safety and sustainability into account, but this isn't done as effectively or as regularly as it should be to make sure the investments make financial sense.A fundamental economic assessment is necessary for businesses thinking about installing an overland conveying system to examine the expense, but it's not usually simple to carry out.

Having developed tailer-made system solutions for mining for almost 90 years, BEUMER’s acquisition of FAM GmbH, Magdeburg supplements the company’s know-how and global position, giving customers the combined experience of the leader in the bulk materials technology market and aptitude of a time-tested conveying system manufacturer.

Having developed tailer-made system solutions for mining for almost 90 years, BEUMER’s acquisition of FAM GmbH, Magdeburg supplements the company’s know-how and global position, giving customers the combined experience of the leader in the bulk materials technology market and aptitude of a time-tested conveying system manufacturer.

With the acquisition of one of the leading companies for air supported belt conveyors, The Hendrik Group Inc., the BEUMER Group is expanding its portfolio in the field of bulk material transport. In particular, the handling of alternative fuels (AFR) and raw materials confirms BEUMER's commitment towards sustainability and is at the same time fully complementary to the current technologies offering ensuring an even broader customer benefit. The technology also generates additional potential in the field of bulk material handling of sensitive materials when it comes to preventing hazardous substances from being released into the environment. 

Do you need to change the belt in your conveyor system but want to avoid prolonged shutdowns? We have a solution, and it’s based on a very special method. In our blog post, we’ll explain how you can do it smoothly.

Belt conveyor systems can solve complex transport problems involving bulk materials of all kinds. When choosing the components of a system, you have to consider factors like wear resistance and maximum permissible slopes. How is the BEUMER Group able to develop the perfect solution for your application and deliver it to you? You’ll get answers from Christoph Dorra, Regional Sales Manager for South America, Conveying and Loading Systems, and Martin Rewer, Team Leader for Overland Conveyors.

Essential materials produced by mining companies play a vital role in the global transition to a lower carbon economy. Yet, mining activities have a far-reaching impact on the environment and society. This represents both a challenge and an opportunity to mining companies. As a result, mining companies are constantly striving to improve the efficiency and sustainability of mining operations by identifying and implementing new innovative solutions.

Mining companies and their suppliers are constantly looking for new ways to increase safety, productivity, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Nowadays they are putting more emphasis on climate-friendly and eco-friendly processes, zero-emission technologies, and optimal allocation of resources. Automation and digitalization are also playing a bigger role at all levels.

Agglomerates are the hidden companions of our day-to-day life. Every day we use a multitude of products from different branches of industry that are produced with the help of agglomeration technology. The main objective of agglomeration is to make fine-grained materials into agglomerates or pellets. 

The outlook for rare earth elements is quite promising due to the demand for modern technologies. Haver & Boecker Niagara provides solutions for efficient processing equipment for rare earth elements.

Haver & Boecker Niagara highlights the advantages of pairing eccentric screening technology with polyurethane screen media. The combination of eccentric machines like Haver & Boecker Niagara's F-Class and N-Class with polyurethane media such as Ty-Max and Ty-Deck leads to more uptime, fewer screening problems and higher screening efficiency.

FAM Minerals & Mining GmbH, as part of the BEUMER Group, is a globally active company headquartered in Germany with a long history as a manufacturer of conveying systems dating back to the 19th century. As one of the leading suppliers, FAM Minerals & Mining GmbH offers machines along the complete transport chain for bulk materials. From extraction, conveying, loading and storage to the processing of various raw materials, FAM Minerals & Mining GmbH offers efficient solutions for different industries. FAM as part of the BEUMER Group combines many years of know-how in series and individual production and offers high-quality engineering as well as extensive service. Download Whitepaper to learn more.

The BEUMER autopac® is an efficient and cost-effective system for simultaneous loading and palletising of bagged materials such as cement, lime or gypsum. In either a mobile or static configuration, it offers a wide range of applications guaranteeing optimum utilisation of dispatch capacities. Download the brochure to learn more.

Our size reduction equipment includes diverse crushers and mills for extensive material processing in a variety of industries. Sand and gravel, clay and limestone, gypsum, building site rubble – the reference list of the BEUMER Group’s materials is extensive. From a technical standpoint, the systems are always at the heart of production. Theproduct portfolio includes various crushing & screening plants, including impact, hammer, single & double-roll crushers, plus many more crushers and mills. E.g. cement works rely on the BEUMER Group’s solutions to move limestone over long distances from the quarry to the plant, making operations more sustainable and reducing the plant’s ecologicalfootprint. We strive to be a benchmark in providing you with high quality in every aspect of your individual needs for specialized equipment.

Our size reduction equipment includes diverse crushers and mills for extensive material processing in a variety of industries. Sand and gravel, clay and limestone, gypsum, building site rubble – the reference list of the BEUMER Group’s materials is extensive. From a technical standpoint, the systems are always at the heart of production. Theproduct portfolio includes various crushing & screening plants, including impact, hammer, single & double-roll crushers, plus many more crushers and mills. E.g. cement works rely on the BEUMER Group’s solutions to move limestone over long distances from the quarry to the plant, making operations more sustainable and reducing the plant’s ecologicalfootprint. We strive to be a benchmark in providing you with high quality in every aspect of your individual needs for specialized equipment.

In the area of opencast mining technology, FAM offers an impressive selection of various machines and systems, such as bucket wheel reclaimers for the extraction of mineral resources like lignite, hard coal, overburden, marl, etc. Opencast mining is a mining technique of extracting minerals from the near-surface layer of the earth, these raw materials can be then used for further processing, for example, in the production of metals or building materials. Our product portfolio ranges from mining equipment (e.g., excavators) to crushers, belt conveyors and subsequent stacking technology.

Learn how BEUMER helped modernize and increase the performance of the plant between the longitudinal stockyard and the ship loading system for ASEAN Bintulu Fertilizer.

Does the market demand higher throughput? No problem: The BEUMER paletpac® high-performance palletiser could be your answer. Our palletisers and palletising systems can stack exceptionally high quantities of robust, bagged products onto pallets and then move them carefully, safely and economically. Take the opportunity to increase your production with an automated palletising process. 

Vibrating screens work hard to keep your product in spec. But, like all equipment, they require proactive maintenance, wear part replacement and periodic upgrades to more efficient technology to maintain reliability and productivity. Read more for daily, weekly and monthly inspection tips.

While your vibrating screen is designed for minimal maintenance, it can still benefit from regular inspection and preventive maintenance. Read more about our recommended inspections on a monthly basis.

Haver & Boecker Niagara highlights the advantages of pairing eccentric screening technology with polyurethane screen media. Read the benefits here.

Haver & Boecker Niagara has realized a demand for the fertilizer industry and adapted their processing technology to process sulfate of potash. Throughout the decades, Haver & Boecker Niagara has developed special processing solutions that grant high production rates, improved material quality and low maintenance intervals. 

Haver & Boecker Niagara offers Make & Hold Agreements and Stocking Agreements so you can secure your stock and minimize unwanted downtime.

Whether for vertical transport hot or cold materials – BEUMER belt bucket elevators ensure an economic vertical transport of fine or coarse bulk material up to large heights. They are highly reliable with long service time, even under strong ambient conditions. They have proven their reliability in thousands of installations in continuous operation, e.g. for silo feeding or in the cement industry for feeding the preheater tower. Download the brochure to learn more.

Pipe Conveyors overcome challenging terrain. The flexible tubular shape means pipe conveyors can overcome steep inclines and thus make transfer towers and power stations redundant. This is a key factor, especially in comparison to other conveyor belt systems. When a pipe conveyor must traverse a downward incline, this motion can be used to efficiently recover energy. The structurally flexible, low-maintenance system with a small footprint can conquer even the most challenging terrain and keep existing facilities in use and in place. 

Mined raw materials travel along extensive transport routes. Ores, raw salt feeds, waste rock, and overburden pass through various steps from mine to mill (mining, material transfers, comminution, mineral processing, hydrometallurgy, filtration and tailings disposal). Our systems ensure smooth, economical, and environmentally friendly processing at each stage of materials handling. From mining to product shipping we have the solutions you need.