Heavy Metal briefs: ABB, Soil Machine Dynamics, FLSmidth, Keech, Caterpillar
Staff reporter, 25 January 2012
SUB-SEA mining units employed at the world’s first large-scale submarine mine, off the coast of Papua New Guinea, will feature ABB transformers and switchgear after the engineering giant won a contract to supply the equipment to British manufacturer Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD).
The transformers and switchgear will help power three Seafloor Production Tools (SPTs) ordered by Nautilus Minerals Inc, which aims to produce copper and gold from seafloor massive sulphide deposits at Solwara 1 in the Bismarck Sea.
ABB is supplying three 6 MVA RESIBLOC dry-type transformers, and 23 pillar UNIGEAR ZS1 air insulated, arc proof, medium voltage switchboards in what is said to be “a new direction for ABB marine, which has built up its expertise through supplying marine power installations for the oil and gas industry and for vessel propulsion”.
“Up to now, ocean ROVs [remote operated vehicles] have operated on either low voltage or medium voltage levels up to 3.3kV, but they are beginning to be used at greater depths with more power demanding equipment,” said ABB projects manager Manuel Kooijman. “Greater depths and more power demand mean longer cables and using the aforementioned voltage supplies means increasing the cable diameter, which becomes expensive with the high price of copper. Manufacturers are thus switching to medium voltage supplies of 6kV and higher, which need a whole different skillset.”
Sub-sea mining also represents a new business direction for SMD.
“The mining business stream has been set up primarily to deliver the Nautilus contract, but also to engage in research and development work associated with this exciting new sector,” the company says.
“Successful delivery of this unique project and parallel development of flexible sub-sea equipment and mining methods will strategically position the company as the supplier of choice in this emerging market.”
SMD and Nautilus have a team of about 40 people who have been working since April 2010 on the design of three sub-sea vehicles and associated power, control and handling systems.
“This work builds from SMD’s prior success in the development of large, tracked sub-sea ploughs and special vehicles,” the company said.
“The first vehicle is known as the Auxiliary Cutter. A flexible production tool, one of its key tasks being to level remnant volcanic chimneys to create flat operational areas for the main production tool, known as the Bulk Cutter. The third production tool is the Collection Machine [pictured above], which gathers sized material and transfers it to the sub-sea lifting pumps.”
SMD is also supplying all deck equipment for the launch and recovery of the seafloor machines.
BIS Industries will use a FLSmidth Rahco mobile stacker to handle up to 18.2 million tonnes a year of dry tailings from Karara Mining’s Karara iron ore operation in Western Australia’s Mid West region.
Transport and logistics group Bis won a $A23 million-a-year contract awarded by Karara Mining to employ “world-leading technology” to provide tailings management services for the project, which is jointly owned by ASX-listed Gindalbie Metals and China’s Ansteel.
“The production of dry tailings represents a significant investment in water recycling capacity at Karara, allowing the project to reduce its water consumption by about a one-third,” Gindalbie said. This provided significant environmental benefits in the arid area where the project is situated.
The FLS Rahco mobile stacker will ultimately stack tailings material up to 95m high, performed in three lifts, over more than 20 years.
AUSTRALIAN manufacturer Keech Australia will next month formally release to market a new “mechanical bucket” said to have demonstrated wear-system replacement time savings on underground mine loaders at Newcrest Mining’s new Cadia East gold-copper mine in New South Wales.
The Keech Mechanical Bucket (KMB) was put on trial at Cadia East after 12 months of development by Keech and Canadian company Carriere Industrial Supply. The mine is testing a 12-cubic-metre bucket with ‘Armourblade’ edge system on two LHDs.
“The KMB bucket front with the Keech Armourblade edge system can be replaced within three hours on site. Operators simply unbolt the front section and replace it with a new one,” said the supplier’s regional and export sales manager, Mark Adams.
“Given that the edges on some buckets need to be cut off, which can take up to 35 hours, the KMB is likely to generate significant efficiencies for underground mine applications.”
The Keech Mechanical Bucket currently being trialled at Newcrest Mining’s Cadia East gold-copper mine.
WESTERN Australian gold producer Navigator Resources is renting rather than buying additions to its truck fleet at the Bronzewing mine.
The company said it would mobilise four new Caterpillar 777F 100-tonne dump trucks from SMS Rental to work in the Cockburn openpit.
“These new trucks are intended to complement the EMECO truck fleet whilst the company completes its analysis of the mining fleet tender process,” Navigator managing director David Hatch said. The company had committed to a 12-month rental term for the four trucks with an option to extend to 36 months.
Also in the January 25 - 31, 2012 edition
- AFRICA
- A walk on the wild side
- Africa rule change will backfire, says Turner
- ASIA DESK
- A fraudulent opening
- Next up for Atlantic … bauxite in Vietnam
- AUSTMINE
- MST on global recruitment drive
- Supply sector consolidation continues
- BREAKING NEWS
- Altius on path to production
- Anglo global production
- Anglo platinum rise
- Anvil action dismissed
- Astro hires ex-Iluka geo
- Banro awards contract
- Barberton green light
- Bathurst signs port lease
- Beacon Hill expands Moatize reserve
- Beadell lift
- Beating a path to court
- BHBP approves extra port funding
- BHPB titanium exit
- Bima in limbo
- Birimian aims at three targets
- Bold Endeavour
- Boseto on track
- Bullabulling add-on
- Bullabulling encouragement
- Cashed-up Legacy
- China ports closed
- Citigold's solid quarter
- Condoto buys into Colombia
- Cooma positive for Ironbark
- Copper smelter shut
- Cortona breakthrough
- Cosmo pivotal
- De Grey raises funds
- DiamondCorp amends Lace plans
- Discovery drops AIM
- Doornkop stop
- Dorado Discovery launch
- Evander deal set
- Excelsior boosts options
- Ezulwini falls short
- Fekola looking good
- Ferrochrome hike
- Finnish start
- FNR drilling to start
- Frontier approvals
- GME looks to mine Devon
- Gold One looks to HKSE
- Goldcorp raises stakes
- Harmony suspension
- Hold the Forte
- IronClad deal
- Jiangsu expansion study
- Kansanshi advance
- Kolomela's early dividend
- Kuusamo boost for Dragon
- La Negra promise
- Less than optimum
- Liberia iron promise
- Lithium expansion
- London milestones
- Lonmin ire
- Luiri hopes lift
- Lycopodium for Dutwa study
- Lynas gets licence
- Maiden JORC for Peak
- Maiden resource for Kinney coal
- Manganese interest grows
- Mba approval given
- McArthur output to double
- Merger talks denied
- Merlin looking good
- Miranda trading again
- Modikwa deaths
- More Coober Pedy magnetite
- More drilling for Red Rabbit
- More Mowana funding secured
- More tests for Dutwa
- Namibian eyes Hambok
- Namiquipa numbers impress
- Navarre starts Tomorrow
- New CAT record
- New resource coming for Bau Central
- Noble upgrade on cards
- PanTerra tables offer
- Petra's Finsch boost
- Picketed Finning
- Platinum output down
- PNG stake lifted
- Quebec rated highly
- Radio pilot success
- Richards Bay allocation
- Rio sales mooted
- Rio suspends work
- Rubianna extends Bloodstone
- Rustenburg strike spreads
- Sable secures Mount Nimba
- Salamanca moves forward
- Sese sampling
- Shanta signs good in Tanzania
- Silver tail
- Sinking index
- Sphere heads to frozen Red Lake
- Stander returns to Bushveld
- Stuart Shelf drilling starts
- Sudbury stoppage
- Talisman's next move
- Tampakan resource lift
- Thor raises funds
- TNG to start DFS
- Tobin Hill find
- Tonkolili funding in place
- Tusker up-rated
- Vale says China ports will be open
- Vale to expand N5
- Viper earns stake
- Vista BFS to provide spur
- Volta board change
- Xceed moves forward
- Xstrata capex plan
- Xstrata's copper shift
- COAL
- Killara narrows search
- CONSULTING
- Snowden eyes new growth phase
- CONTRACTING
- Karara contract close
- EXPLORATION
- Rex looms as key local copper play
- Year of the rig
- FINANCE
- Canada beckons for Crusader
- FORUM
- HighGrade, Mining Business Media join forces
- Mine closure volume fills a void
- FROM THE CAPITAL
- December quarter stars and dogs
- GOLD
- Good news and bad for Phillips River holders
- HEAVY METAL
- Cat plows into Chinese coal market
- Joy, Fletcher bolt together
- Long haul to diamond mine
- INSIGHT
- The case for an AusCodes framework (JORC/VALMIN)
- MINING INTELLIGENCE
- Rational planning rationale would be radical
- MINING IT
- IT notebook: Visualisation Sciences, Codan, CAE
- PEOPLE
- Mining people on the move: IronClad, International Goldfields, Australasian, Scotgold, Lodestar, OGL Resources, VDM Group, Forge Group, Bass Metals, Exco Resources, Western Areas
- South America catches the eye of art-loving geologist
- RUSSO'S RULES
- Beards, bellies and budgets
- SOUTH AMERICA
- Lost in translation
- TECHNOLOGY
- Australian mines embrace auto-guidance
- Crocodiles speed drive to diverless
- VIEW FROM THE WEST END
- Mixed signals
