Haver & Boecker Niagara offers the Scarabaeus pelletizing disc to enhance the productivity and profits of mining operations. The cutting-edge processing technology allows operations to sustainably produce iron ore pellets by reducing CO2 emissions while providing heightened efficiency with a 97% production rate of pure iron. 

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.

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.

In advance of MINExpo 2021, Xylem Business Development Manager Jessy Parmar talks all things mining operations, including an overview of the industry, typical challenges facing today’s mine operators and Xylem’s holistic approach to smart water management. Check out the second half of this two-part series, which focuses on the various nuances of mine operations and how those differences can become critical strengths in successful water management strategy: https://apple.co/3iIP5tY For everything you need to know on Xylem's presence at MINExpo 2021, visit our landing page: www.xylem.com/minexpo2021

In advance of MINExpo 2021, Xylem Business Development Manager Jessy Parmar talks all things mining operations, including an overview of the industry, typical challenges facing today’s mine operators and Xylem’s holistic approach to smart water management.Check out the second half of this two-part series, which focuses on the various nuances of mine operations and how those differences can become critical strengths in successful water management strategy: https://apple.co/3iIP5tYFor everything you need to know on Xylem's presence at MINExpo 2021, visit our landing page: www.xylem.com/minexpo2021

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.

Telsmith offers a full line of vibrating equipment with models specifically designed to serve industries ranging from 24 hour mining operations, to heavy-duty aggregate processing and sizing, to recycling asphalt and concrete products. Products include grizzly and pan feeders, inclined screens, horizontal screens and inclined vibrating grizzly screens.

When maintenance understands maintenance - - reliable equipment can follow. When operations understands maintenance - - full cooperation can follow. When staff departments understand maintenance - - quality support can follow. When mine managers unify the effort - - reliable equipment follows.    The Mining Maintenance Management Course provides mining operations with the means to educate everyone on who does what, how, when and why of maintenance. This ensures the support and cooperation from all departments and its reinforcement by knowledgeable mine managers. The result is consistently reliable equipment to gain operational efficiency and assure profitability. I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity. Please review the Course content (attached).   Paul D. Tomlingson Mining Maintenance Management Consultant (Retired) Role of Honor Member, Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME)   

ISO 55000 is a standard for establishing an asset management system. When applied by mining operations to maintenance the outcome is consistently reliable production equipment sufficient to meet production goals that assure profitability. When internal maintenance functions are assessed, the procedures used confirm a world class performance level. Numerous such assessments have resulted in a compilation of performance standards, which upon successful application can help align an organization to achieve world class designation. Please examine the 25 performance standards applicable to Preventive Maintenance (PM). Subsequently, standards applicable to other critical maintenance functions such as planning, scheduling and work control will be posted. This information extracted from: Maintenance in Transition – The journey to World Class Maintenance. Courtesy: Paul D. Tomlingson  

The Best Training Results - Industry-specific maintenance management training yields positive results. Public maintenance management seminars are often generic and provide few ideas that have immediate application to the mining industry. Other attendees usually have little understanding of mining and cannot share any useful experiences. Expensive attendance fees often preclude attendance and associated travel costs further limit those who might attend. Some topics like ‘supervision’ may have universal themes but the chief janitor has little in common with the smelter foreman. Off-site courses can pull key personnel away from the operation for the seminar duration plus travel time creating a troublesome gap in essential control of work. The timing of potentially useful courses might be in conflict with shutdown schedules further limiting attendance. While specialized topics like condition-monitoring technologies have potential utilization, the factors of cost and absence may outweigh the value gained. Similarly, specialized reliability topics can be valuable but the absence of a maintenance program platform can preclude their useful implementation. And remote mining operations often cannot even consider off-site training no matter the topic or its potential value. Their response is no training no matter the urgency. The tradition of promotion from within ultimately to maintenance manager has produced dismal results primarily because no training is being provided. No public seminar or course can fill this need. This training must come from within. It must not only be industry–specific, it must be site-specific.   These factors were the incentive for creation of the Mining Maintenance Management Course. It mitigates all of these negative training factors by providing complete on-site maintenance management training available to all - - anytime - - without limits. See attachment.

Maintenance evaluations and seminars carried out at 61 mining operations found a common need for documentation of maintenance operating details. We especially noticed that overseas operations using local nationals and ex-pats always had exceptionally good maintenance program documentation. As a result there were few interdepartmental coordination problems. They made efficient use of local personnel despite language barriers and achieved cohesive use of ex-pats despite their diverse backgrounds. We established that documentation of maintenance operating details assured the efficient conduct of internal maintenance activities. It also guaranteed a cohesive effort by all mining departments to support and cooperate with maintenance. And it provided well-informed management oversight. Our conclusion: When everyone in a mining operation knows what to do, how, when and why about maintenance, it is successful. A well-defined program creates an educated workforce to result in effective maintenance. This paper explains how.

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 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.

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.

Learn how aerial data is collected by drones at Lehigh Hanson, one of the largest aggregate companies in North America. Free online webinar January 17th at 11am PST. Register here.

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.

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.

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].

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.

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.

Joy offers a complete range of longwall equipment to suit the needs of mining operations worldwide. Globally recognized as the leading manufacturer of complete longwall systems, Joy provides its customers with a single, accountable source for shearers, roof supports, face conveyors, stageloaders, crushers and mobile belt tail pieces.

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.

Electric rope shovels are high value assets that carry ultra-high criticality in surface mining operations. In the current environment of depressed commodity prices, many customers are seeking opportunities to make investments in technologies that improve operational costs of these assets.

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.

Part 1 - An explanation of ISO 55000 and its many benefits for mining operations. Future post: Part 2 -Implementation of ISO 55000

Published by The Heartland Institute, This study considers the “social” impact of sand-mining operations, including their impact on land use, scenic beauty, and property values. Emotion and opinion, rather than technical facts and scientific data, tend to dominate the discussion.

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.

Mining is an expensive business. The costs of equipment, fuel, payroll and maintenance add up quickly, and every dime spent detracts from the mine’s profits. You want to get the most out of your mining operation, so it’s in your best interest to make sure all aspects of your operation are performing as cost-effectively as possible. Caterpillar understands this challenge, and we have the expertise and technology to help you meet it. We asked our customers to identify their biggest sources of increased costs, and many of them gave us the same five answers: process variability, unscheduled repairs, fuel costs, collisions and shift change. In this paper, we’ve gathered brief explanations of each of these challenges and offered our advice on how you can measure and respond to them. In addition, we’ve included information on how Cat® technologies can help you get the lowest possible cost per ton from your mining operation.

Originally presented at Longwall USA 2005, this presentation explores the uncertainty for coal development opportunities.