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.

With the broadest line of mining equipment in the industry, Cat mining systems work harder, last longer and help move more material at a lower cost.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Today’s mining market is a challenge, but Joy Global has the solutions to help mining operations reduce costs and increase productivity, while achieving or exceeding operating and financial goals. The company’s JoySmart Solutions are integrated offerings of its smart connected products and systems, advanced analytics and direct services, customized to solve the toughest mining challenges.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Description of essential planning steps: establishing criteria to help determine which work should be planned: discussion of scheduling procedures.

Criteria for planning work; Planning steps; Scheduling procedures.

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.

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.

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.

The maintenance workload is the identification of the essential work carried out by maintenance. When properly identified it avoids confusion by clarifying the nature of required work and, most importantly, provides a direct means of establishing the correct size and craft composition of the workforce required to carry it out.

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.

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.

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

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].

The Cat® 793 Mining Truck has a long-standing reputation as one of the most reliable haul road workhorses in the industry. One mine in the western United States recently put a pair of brand new 793F trucks to work. The results from their first full year of operation on the demanding Montana mine site are nothing less than spectacular.

With the introduction of the Cat 794 AC, more and more mines are discovering its advantages over existing 320-ton trucks. As these mines replace aging eets with Cat 794 ACs, they’re seeing substantial improvements in truck performance and cost per ton— without having to adjust their operations to a different sized truck or a different drive system. Here are seven ways the Cat 794 AC outperforms the most popular competitor in the 320-ton electric drive truck class.

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.

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

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

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.

Determination of equipment availability levels to meet production targets is strongly influenced by the quality of maintenance support. But for maintenance to deliver reliable equipment and operations to meet production targets, mutual understanding of the elements that impact availability is essential. Comments on the illustration are most welcome.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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

Spivey Disposal, the leading hauler and construction and demolition (C&D) recycler in southeastern Virginia, needed to replace their concrete tipping slab due to the abrasive environment of the waste separation facility. The life expectancy of a typical concrete tipping slab is a very short 3 to 4 years. Spivey needed a longer, more durable concrete life. PREVent-C technology, in combination with 1.5" steel fiber, allowed for a jointless slab solution with high impact resistance and a compression strength of 7000 psi.

Blue Ridge Beverage Company, Inc., is one of the largest, full-service wholesale beverage distributors in Virginia. When Blue Ridge Beverage Company built a 40,000 square-foot warehouse expansion at its Salem headquarters, the goal was to extend the joint spacing beyond the traditional 15’ to match the column lines. 

Blue Ridge Beverage Company, Inc., is one of the largest, full-service wholesale beverage distributors in Virginia. When Blue Ridge Beverage Company built a 40,000 square-foot warehouse expansion at its Salem headquarters, the goal was to extend the joint spacing beyond the traditional 15’ to match the column lines.

Gossett Concrete Pipe Co. operates from a 30-acre site that houses two manufacturing plants—one designed for production of small and mid-range-diameter concrete pipe and one for box culverts and large-diameter pipe.The company utilizes materials handling equipment to move pipe within the manufacturing facility, transport it to storage areas across the yard, and onto flatbed trucks for delivery.

Gossett Concrete Pipe Co. operates from a 30-acre site that houses two manfacturing plants—one designed for production of small and mid-range-diameter concrete pipe and one for box culverts and large-diameter pipe.The company utilizes materials handling equipment to move pipe within the manufacturing facility, transport it to storage areas across the yard, and onto flatbed trucks for delivery.

The right loading technology is crucial for efficient and safe delivery of your products to your customers. Whether trucks, railway cars or ships, BEUMER Group can offer the ideal solution for any loading or unloading task. The actual loading machine forms the centre. The entire loading system is planned, manufactured and installed around it, depending on the customer’s requirements and on the products to be conveyed. BEUMER Group loading systems offer economic efficiency, easy operation, and high performance. Download to learn more.

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. 

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.