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MAY 2017 • E&MJ; 47 www.e-mj.com SUPPLIERS REPORT of South Australia, Imdex, Omnilogix and the University of South Australia. A final field trial is expected for the middle of the year before the technology is offered to DET CRC partners for licensing. DET CRC was established in 2010 un- der the Australian Government's CRC Pro- gram to develop technologies to discover new mineral deposits at depth beneath barren rock cover. Last year it developed the Wireless Sub, which uses Bluetooth sensors to deliver precise drill rig data in real-time. The sub enables drillers to rep- licate the highest performing parameters in any drilling program. The Wireless Sub was the third ma- jor technology licensed by DET CRC, following the AutoSonde for downhole determination of rock properties and the Lab-at-Rig for surface determination of geochemistry and mineralogy. South32 Plugs into GE Data Platform GE and South32 recently announced the signing of a three-year strategic partner- ship intended to "to assist in the devel- opment of South32's technology roadmap and activation of the company's digital transformation." The partnership, which GE said is its first with an Australian mining company in the digital space, represents "a step towards playing a much bigger role in the global mining sector." South 32 also not- ed that GE is "the ideal partner," as the mining company has recently embarked upon its own digital transformation. South32 will utilize GE's Predix plat- form, which connects industrial equip- ment, data analysis and instant insights. The system, said GE, will enable South32 to make fast, informed decisions, and provides the opportunity to optimize en- tire operations, rather than individualized assets and equipment. "Bringing the world of operational technology and information technology together to monitor equipment and sys- tems remotely and predict future behavior is a game changer," Graham Kerr, CEO of South32, said. "It has the potential to identify and solve a problem before it af- fects operations." "By partnering with GE, we have an opportunity to transform the way we work," added Ricus Grimbeek, chief tech- nology officer of South32. "If we get this right, the result won't just be an incre- mental improvement but a new level of efficiency and performance." "Mines collect terabytes of data today, but do not have the platform or solutions to provide real-time insights to deliver opera- tional productivity." GE Mining CEO Scott Phillips said. "Together, GE Mining and South32 have the opportunity to help solve these challenges in the mining sector. This is a very exciting time to be in mining." South32 has operations in Australia, Southern Africa and South America. TAKRAF to Install Equipment for Bauxite Plant TAKRAF GmbH has secured a major contract for the turnkey supply and in- stallation of a bauxite handling plant in Guinea, West Africa. Project value is ap- proximately €100 million. Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (CBG), jointly owned by the internation- al mining houses Alcoa, Rio Tinto, Dadco and the State of Guinea, has initiated an ambitious program to increase export ca- pacity, for which TAKRAF supplies equip- ment for the unloading of rail wagons and crushing and conveying of the bauxite. A major challenge is the brownfield charac- ter of the works, which means that the new equipment installation and modifica- tions to the existing plant have to be car- ried out while the installation is in opera- tion, under difficult logistical conditions. TAKRAF said it is executing the con- tract in close cooperation with subsid- iaries in the USA, China and South Af- rica, although the project lead is based in Leipzig, Germany. TAKRAF's CEO, Dr. Frank Hubrich, has underlined the impor- tance of this project in establishing the company in the Western African market. Commissioning of the plant is scheduled for the second half of 2018. FLSmidth Signs Equipment/ Engineering MOU for Phosphate Project Arianne Phosphate, a Canadian company currently advancing the Lac à Paul proj- ect in Quebec's Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, has signed a memorandum of un- derstanding agreement with FLSmidth to provide all production equipment and engineering for the future plant, in col- laboration with the various key suppliers involved in the project development. "Over the last few months, Arianne has been focusing its actions on bringing to- gether industry leaders and experts to suc- cessfully undertake the Lac à Paul proj- ect," said Jean-Sébastien David, Arianne's COO. "These partnerships help to improve and optimize the project as a whole." Arianne said FLSmidth introduced the Lac à Paul project to the official Danish Export Credit Agency Eksport Kredit Fond- en (EKF), an agency established in 1922, supporting commercial agreements by as- sisting with credit arrangements. "This is one of the largest phosphate greenfield projects in the world; we look forward to providing our expertise in equipment and processes to ensure op- timal productivity with the lowest total cost of ownership," FLSmidth's Minerals Division Group Executive Vice President Manfred Schaffer said. Guinea bauxite producer Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (CBG) has embarked on a $1-billion expansion to increase its production capacity to 23.5 million metric tons per year (mt/y) by 2018. CBG is 51% owned by Halco Mining, comprising Alcoa, Rio Tinto and Dadco Investments.