Champion Iron Limited (ASX: CIA) has signed a Letter of Intent with Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) to implement artificial intelligence based Advanced Drilling Technologies on Cat equipment at its Bloom Lake Mine, located in Quebec, Canada.
Champion Iron, through its subsidiary Quebec Iron Ore Inc., owns and operates the Bloom Lake Mining Complex, located on the south end of the Labrador Trough, approximately 13 km north of Fermont, Quebec. Bloom Lake is an open-pit truck and shovel operation with a concentrator, and it ships iron ore concentrate from the site by rail, initially on the Bloom Lake Railway, to a ship loading port in Sept-Iles, Quebec.
The project will progressively implement a remote-controlled, semi-autonomous and fully autonomous Cat electric drilling fleet, utilising the technologies engineered, designed, and/or integrated by Caterpillar. With Champion contributing its experienced workforce, and Caterpillar’s independent dealer, Toromont Cat, its aftermarket support, the collaboration will aim to optimise Bloom Lake’s operational productivity and reduce energy consumption, while demonstrating the capabilities of Caterpillar’s advanced drilling technologies.
A Drill-to-Mill strategy (D2M) is expected to be deployed based on a series of tightly integrated systems, driven by Cat® MineStarTM solutions, designed to optimise the drilling, loading and hauling processes. D2M is focused on delivering improved milling performance by supplying optimised mill feed, while contending with dynamic operational conditions.
Champion’s chief executive, David Cataford said, “We are honoured to collaborate with industry leaders like Caterpillar and Toromont Cat, and are confident that our workforce’s proven operational expertise and ingenuity will be an asset in deploying these technologies. The aim and vision of improving mining practices and ultimately reducing waste and energy use is the foundation of this collaboration.
“The entire Bloom Lake team has already demonstrated its ability to operate at a consistently high level, since commissioning the mine in 2018. In doing so, we have continuously strived to improve operations utilising the best existing and new prospective mining technologies. D2M aligns with our core value of respecting the land that we exploit, as it will enable us to responsibly extract non-renewable resources using the best means possible.”
