Category: Underground Mining

Mine dewatering may be a standard requirement at mining operations across Australia and globally, but that doesn’t mean it’s always smooth sailing, often throwing up challenges depending on the materials involved. When it comes to particularly thick slurries and high solids contents, traditional types of pumps including slurry, submersible, sump, air-operated diaphragm and helical rotor pumps simply cannot cope with the task. Usually, this means bringing in expensive machinery or manual handling to deal with the issue. But there’s a better solution, according to SupaVac Global Sales Director Daniel De Groot. The SupaVac patented product range is owned and manufactured by an Australian precision engineering company, Poche Engineering. Daniel said when traditional pumps are no longer able to handle the…

IT’S essential for underground mining that adequate ventilation systems are in place. The Ventchoke system is a low cost mechanism that can control  secondary ventilation circuits underground with any vent duct installation. After 30  years working underground, UVS chief executive officer Darren Gilbertson took matters into his own hands to improve the ventilation issues he had experienced, and developed Ventchoke. Designed and innovated over four years, it has been through strict condition testing on-site, including 13 months initial research and development on a Kalgoorlie underground mine site. The Ventchoke offers a solution to the problem of ongoing repairs by eliminating costs on maintenance. It will work continually without attention for a minimum of 12 months, offering massive saving to mines…

SINCE the release of Northern Light Technology’s (NLT) award-winning (Australia and the USA) N-Connex networking solution a little over two years ago, the market growth has been exponential. NLT is now about to roll out its 25th installation after successfully concluding two new sales to Imerys mines located in Greece. N-Connex has been hugely successful for NLT in both the global hard rock mining and tunneling markets. N-Connex system N-Connex was specifically developed for harsh environments and the simplicity, robustness and reliability of the N-Connex system is a major reason for the success. The product suite is a modular, IP67 rated, data network and communications solution. N-Connex provides a gigabit (10 Gb available now as well) fiber backbone, Ethernet and…

Innovative lighting solutions for demanding environments FOR more than 40-years, Eye Lighting has provided quality lighting solutions for industrial, mining, and commercial businesses, sporting venues, and hazardous lighting and equipment. Eye Lighting’s operations have expanded to include sales networks throughout Australia and New Zealand, delivering comprehensive service and advice. The company offers technologically advanced and efficient high intensity discharge (HID) lamps, developed by global producer Iwasaki Electric, to add to a growing portfolio of LED products suitable for industrial environments.  Driven by the motto “creating light – developing the future”, Eye Lighting’s team of technical staff is occupied with ongoing research and development. With the latest technology at their fingertips and in-house design facilities, qualified lighting engineers and design staff…

TECOM Australia has many strings to its bow. In addition to innovative underground communications and SIL hazard reduction technologies, it also designs and builds custom gas monitoring, evacuation and storage systems for the coal mining industry. A significant burden to most coal mining operations is the accumulation of explosive and noxious gases like methane, which congregate in the ceiling of underground tunnels and voids. The real problem arises when these gas levels build to the point where they present an asphyxiation or explosion risk to workers. These gases must be removed in order to make the coal seam safe for mining. The first step in mitigating this risk is monitoring gas levels with a dedicated tube bundle system, which constantly…

JUST as Cerberus guarded the gates of the underworld in Greek mythology, Tecom Australia’s Cerberus conveyance communications management system guards underground personnel from many of the hazards they face on a daily basis. Tecom Australia specialises in hazard reduction technologies and was the first Australian company to develop Safety Integrity Level (SIL) rated communications for drift and shaft winders, not only permitting the instant management of incidents, but also adding multiple safeguard layers and incorporating video to monitor down shaft, inside cages, man-riding conveyances and winders. Cerberus is a closed loop system that adds additional layers of redundancies, which are themselves SIL-rated. An example of this is a simple switched door lock on a typical personnel cage. If the single…

FOR productive and safe raise excavation, raiseboring is the most successful method, and Raisebore Australia is one of the country’s leading specialists. Raisebore Australia is a one-stop shop – providing specialised, adaptive drilling solutions to meet the client’s needs. The new addition to the fleet is the diverse slot machine – the Rhino 100. Raisebore Australia Operations manager Alex Hughes said the Rhino 100 is an easy to use one-man machine, taking slot raise drilling to new heights, maximising the output and reducing the risks without compromising productivity. “The set-up time for the machine is around 15 minutes, which is much quicker than conventional/box hole raiseborers,” Mr Hughes said. “You also don’t need concrete foundations for the derrick to be…

WHY do so many new starters in mining fail? It’s not like this is a new problem, with three in five new starters failing in the first six months being a long-term industry average. It was going on when I first started underground in 1994 and continues today. Every time we hit an upswing and have to hire new starters, and there are always issues retaining them. To be fair to the employers, they have over the years (and continue to) spent large amounts of time and money to address this problem – but with limited success. Underground Training was founded by a group of Western Australian shift bosses in 2009 who were frustrated by the high turnover of the…

MALCOLM Thompson Pumps has a proven history delivering quality pumping solutions to a wide range of Australian applications. This 50-year-old company is now the proud owner of Stalker Pumps, providing even more solutions for its customers with the benefit of still being manufactured on Australian soil. The recent redevelopment of Stalker Pumps – a reliable pillar in the Australian Pumping industry for more than 90 years – is delivering customers a quality solution for removing water from underground mine sites. This culmination of Stalker Pumps and Malcolm Thompson Pumps (MTP) has created an unbeatable workhorse delivering exceptional pumping solutions for Australian mining. Stalker Pumps have been engineered to provide exceptional durability, higher flow and reduced maintenance to meet the end…