A lot will change in the cement industry in the coming years: increasing digitalization, more use of alternative fuels, and the growing need for automation. Added to this is the changeover from 50- to 25-kilogram bags in some countries. This will pose a major challenge in the market.

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.

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.

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.