Category: Tech Talk

REDUCING on-site fuel spend can have enormous impacts for overall mining efficiency. Fuelfix specialises in providing premium solutions for fuel storage and management through innovative products and services. National manager marketing and corporate strategy, Henry Westbrook, described the recent work on an in-pit refueller project for one of Australia’s largest mining companies as one example of Fuelfix’s problem solving capabilities and delivery of an innovative solutions. “We worked out that if we positioned the fuel tank in the actual mining pit rather than have all the trucks having to travel to a fuel farm, it would save both time and money for the customer” Mr Westbrook said. “But to make it work we actually had to build a big enough…

BUCKET components have to cope with a lot of wear and tear, unexpected shocks, jolts, bangs, nicks and jabs, costing expensive repairs and hours of downtime. The extreme properties of Hardox allow manufacturers to make buckets that can stand up to these types of wear. Hardox Wearparts wear services manager Stuart Sephton said that in some cases, it was even possible to double or triple the service life of bucket components. “This is because Hardox has a relative flat hardness curve, which means the wear is spread evenly throughout the entire steel thickness, and not only on the surface,” he said. “Its high toughness is also very important because it allows for use in cold environments.” These durable wear characteristics…

MINEGLOW is improving the safety of mining, industrial and tunnelling projects across Australasia with its superior range of tailored lighting solutions. The company’s LED strip lighting products are used to help ensure safe working environments by providing a complete flood of light from floor to ceiling, in often hard to reach locations. Mineglow general manager Carinne Pater said the company is passionate about providing safe, robust and durable solutions that significantly reduce preventable incidents. “Protecting people at work is our number one priority,” she said. “Poor lighting can severely impact people’s ability to identify hazards and we’re committed to removing that risk for our customers no matter what type of environment they work in. “Our product range is designed to…

WITH more than 40 years’ of proven performance behind the company, the Davey Group offers much more than just heavy haulage solutions. The company is a leading provider of civil, structural and mechanical engineering, tanks, project development, agricultural and forestry equipment, blasting and paint services, and specialist aluminium welding services. Since purchasing Lust Low Loaders in 2007, the Davey Group has transformed the brand into Rhino Low loaders – the benchmark of Australian manufacturing.  The Davey Group’s facilities are unparalleled in their ability to manufacture heavy duty, custom built trailers and dollys, and to provide a full range of spare parts and services to clients. At their specialist facility in Toowoomba, Rhino dollys and trailers are built to the highest…

DIESEL engine performance and efficiency generally deteriorate with age. To a large degree this is due to the progressive accumulation of deposits throughout several parts of engines. Piston ring grooves, valves, diesel injectors, diesel particulate filters, turbochargers and exhaust gas recirculation valves are typical places where deposit build up occurs. One of the more visible, early signs of deteriorating performance is dirtier engine oil, a direct result of increased oil soot levels. It’s a direct indicator that all is not right. Elevated soot level is the main culprit in limiting the oil service period.  It’s also known to increase engine wear and shorten service life. Taking corrective action to physically remove these deposits will immediately restore operating performance and efficiency,…

DESPITE differences, mines and civil contractors have the same needs when it comes to monitoring fuel. They need a robust, reliable and fully customisable system purpose built for Australian industry. For more than 30 years, Datafuel has been designing and manufacturing fuel management system components that today define the benchmark for such systems in Australia. The Datafuel system automates the supply of reliable and precise operational data on fuel usage, fleet consumption, tank levels and more. Amongst wider uses, such information is essential for accurate diesel fuel rebate claims. Fuel can be accessed with PINs, security cards or both, as well as acquiring odometer values and job numbers as required. Usage limits can be placed on both users and fleet…

A LEADER in a highly specialised steel product manufacturing field, Bisalloy Steels owes its success in the Australian mining industry to the benefits of local knowledge, along with the right combination of resilience and formability. Established in 1980, Bisalloy Steels is Australia’s only manufacturer of high-tensile and abrasion-resistant quenched and tempered steel plate. With its heritage firmly grounded in the critical mining and manufacturing sectors, the company also now provides its highly sort-after products to a range of markets including defence, energy, mineral processing, structural engineering, and transport. Within the mining sector, the company’s BISALLOY Wear steel plates find use in a broad range of products, including demolition tools, ground engaging tools, earthmoving buckets, drag line buckets, wear plates, chutes,…

POOR lighting conditions and heavy machinery in the same space can be a recipe for disaster. It can cause project work to stop, it can jeopardise worker safety, and can result in costly downtime and undue stress when working to tight project deadlines. Site Light Rentals is more than just a hire company: it refines, designs, engineers and manufactures the majority of its own lighting products. This means that the company has the knowledge and skill set grounded in an end-to-end understanding of the state-of-the-art solar and diesel LED light towers it designs, builds, manufactures sells and hires. The company manufactures the smaller four-metre concrete block street-mounted for carpark/ pedestrian lighting, all the way up to the 24-metre, 4200 watt…

LASERBOND is an Australian-based, Australian-founded and ASX-listed company specialising in surface engineering technology, manipulating surfaces to enhance their properties, to either repair them by cladding with a superior materials to the original components, or to extend the life of component by enhancing the material properties of the part. In mining equipment, there are many wearing components that are production-critical. On very large equipment like drag lines, there are large shafts which can take up to a year to get made overseas and transported to Australia, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and while the majority of components may be serviceable, relatively small numbers of parts are worn and need to be repaired or replaced. LaserBond National Sales and Marketing Manager…

ENERFLOW Mining Services moved into a 3000sqm state-of-the-art warehouse in Neerabup in December 2018 – a move which allowed the company to increase production capacity. The new premises includes two overhead cranes, five haul truck-sized work bays, plus areas for the fabrication of loader buckets, mechanical and electrical workstations, and a dedicated spare parts area. Enerflow general manager David Smith said the workshop had been very busy. “There has been a variety of work completed that includes the rebuilding of several drill rigs that have gone back to work,” he said. The scope of the drill rebuilds was a ground-up refurbishment with all components removed and rebuilt in-house, with all wearing components brought back to OEM specifications, full rehose, rewiring…

THE most valuable result emerging out of the data age is the ability to extract deficiencies in a mining operation. When it comes to haulage, it’s become pretty clear there are some serious gains to be made with the right maintenance regime. Tyre destruction, high fuel usage and premature wear of haul truck suspension have all popped up on the radar in this big data era. Now we know the problem, how do we fix it? Comprehensive studies into haulage profitability point back to haul road integrity, surface conditions and an obstruction-free working surface. These are all areas that South Australian company Broons has been specialising in for close to 50 years. The company’s unique towed rollers have been maintaining…