Category: Tech Talk

Finding new solutions to old problems is par for the course at Mining Maintenance and Fabrication Services (MMFS), where the motto is ‘if we can’t do it, no one can’. Possessing unrivalled reliability, MMFS is a full-service company offering support for projects large and small, from their design and inception to implementation and finalisation. MMFS fabricates, rebuilds and repairs mobile and fixed plant equipment for companies operating in heavy industries across WA. Having started out offering field service repairs on mine sites around the state, the company opened its Perth-based workshop about 12 months ago after MMFS director, Terry Newell, realised the potential it represented. The workshop had allowed the team to rebuild and repair heavy equipment that may have…

Some maintenance jobs are just too big or require too much precision to be done on site.  In those instances, mining companies opt for fully equipped workshops with the processes and machinery to tackle the largest jobs and deliver quality work on time. J&S Engineering and Maintenance, in the Hunter Valley, is the largest of the privately owned engineering workshops in the region and has set itself up with enormous machining capacity and the most advanced CNC tooling to complete any repair, service or maintenance requirement. Its Rutherford workshop has more than 125t of cranage and a specialised machine shop built to handle large excavators, track frames, drag line components and truck drivelines. The Big End of Town In pride…

Mining Equipment Maintenance (MEM) is a diverse and leading mechanical, fabrication and auto electrical service provider to the Central Queensland region. Based in Rockhampton, MEM not only specialises in providing mechanical services to the mining and minerals processing industry, it also provides structural design and fabrication solutions to whomever requires a specialised solution. Managed by qualified engineers, mechanics, project managers and mining professionals, MEM’s 20 acre industrial complex is fully equipped to deliver heavy mining equipment repairs and rebuilds, fabrication and design solutions (for both mobile plant and stationary/structural requirements), light and medium vehicle maintenance. MEM boasts a comprehensive complex, complete with a mechanical workshop including a wash-down bay, an abrasive blasting and painting workshop, a cylinder rebuild facility, three…

Uncontrolled release of energy is a major safety concern in any industry that utilises heavy machinery, mobile equipment and mechanical plant in the production cycle. Bringing to rest an uncontrolled moving object in a controlled manner is an engineering challenge that has both the potential to prevent catastrophic damage to equipment, and more importantly the potential to save lives. The Technogrid Strain Energy Absorber is a novel solution to this problem, and was developed by Hamilton Stephenson and Gawie Mahne of Technogrid Pty Ltd. Established in 1995, Technogrid Pty Ltd has been at the forefront of research and development for energy absorption devices. The solution was initially developed as a station stopper for loads on horizontal rails and was later…

In any mineral processing application, fluids are introduced to separate the coarse from fine material, the heavy from the light and the valuable material from the waste. After this, dewatering is essential to remove water or other fluids from the final solid product or waste material. Dewatering centrifuges are commonly used in various mineral processing applications. A centrifuge is a machine that uses centrifugal forces to separate the feed slurry, based on their density. When the centrifuge spins, it creates a strong centrifugal force, the solids are then dewatered by passing over a screen. Continuously operating centrifuges are the best solution for mechanical separation of solids from liquids, from a technical and economical point of view. They can dewater large…

Innovations in technology, increases in worker productivity and streamlined efficiencies in production processes are the only means by which an industry can expand, grow and ultimately survive. The Australian mining industry leads the world in all three of these areas. Whether it is the advent of autonomous mining, or constant improvements in information management, the companies that look to the future are the ones that secure prosperity. Companies involved in trailing cable repair often employ standard decades-old repair methods and processes. The sense that if something works well enough, then stick to it, is a common feeling that we all share, but for businesses involved in the high-risk, competitive and capital-intensive world of mining, it is the pathway to obsolescence.…

Alongside excess noise and vibration, perhaps the chief long-term threat to worker safety at a mine site is suspended particulate matter, or dust, generated by the daily operations of mining. At its most extreme, long-term exposure to coal dust can produce coal worker’s pneumoconiosis, or ‘black lung’, a respiratory condition in which a worker’s lung degrade and turn black from coal dust exposure. Though black lung is perhaps the most extreme example of the hazardous effects of dust exposure, respiratory ailments such as asthma and bronchitis brought on by long-term exposure can also have debilitating effects of a worker’s health and productivity. Only preventative dust monitoring and suppression methods can hope to block the emergence of these types of corrosive…

Dismantling and removing rock and concrete through explosives entails a suite of costs and hazards that place a substantial burden on all mining operations. In addition to noise and vibration, precise, high-skilled labour and expensive capital expenditure is required to perform this activity; a central part of the cost burden weighing on any operation. Neoferma Australia promises a revolution in mining through its Ecobust Expansive Controlled Demolition Agent, a technological innovation that works to perform complex demolition jobs in a safe and relatively “noise-free” manner. So what is it, and how does it work? The Australian Mining Review spoke with Neoferma Australia Director Brian Heighes to gain some deeper insight into this remarkable product. Ecobust Ecobust is designed to break…

Neutron spectroscopy evolved from James Chadwick’s initial discovery of the neutron back in 1932.  The evolution of this technology has recently taken another leap forward thanks to its recent application to downhole assaying, which enables near real-time collection of assay data in a fast, semi-autonomous system. Technology Partnership The successful and effective adaptation of this technology to the mineral resources sector was made possible by a partnership between Sodern – the developers of the FastGrade downhole spectroscope and MPC Kinetic – the developers of the semi-autonomous, truck-mounted rig and data logging system, Oresight. BHP were also heavily involved in bringing this technology across from the oil and gas industry and applying it in their iron ore businesses.  Ultimately, this joint…

Talk to anyone in the industrial healthcare sector and it will become immediately clear that hearing loss in mine operators is one of the most common occupational health and safety challenges confronting every mine site across the country. The common practices of blasting and crushing and the use of heavy machinery mean that dangerous noise generation is an unavoidable by-product of mining and mineral processing. According to a report from Safe Work Australia, for the years 2010-2011 in mining, a full quarter of workers’ compensation claims were related to deafness and the terrible effects that hearing loss has on the quality of life for miners. Settling these claims presents an expensive proposition for mining companies. Reducing the prevalence of this…

The process of line boring takes a considerable amount of time, which will depend on the size of the job and the wear on the bore: but what is true across all line boring work is that it is a meticulous process that requires sustained concentration, exact measurement, and plenty of time to get things right. But that’s no problem for Queensland-based TE Line Boring, which employs an efficient system of simultaneous welding and machining to effectively work on multiple bores at the same time. And according to TE Line Boring founder and chief operator Tyne Carlin, this is a core feature of his business. “Say I’m working on a dump truck tray, for example, and the bores are 3m…