Engineering & Mining Journal

SEP 2017

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84 E&MJ; • SEPTEMBER 2017 www.e-mj.com SUPPLIERS REPORT After completing several raises at copper mines located in the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, the Terratec TR3000-R18 raise boring machine (RBM) was put to work on the 1,200-megawatt (MW) Huanggou Pumped Storage hydroelectric power sta- tion project, which is currently under con- struction about 90 kilometers (km) north of Mudanjiang, in the Heilongjiang Prov- ince, in the far north of China. From the commencement of opera- tions to date, the Terratec machine has completed five inclined shafts at an- gles ranging from 30° to 50° with raise lengths varying from 350 m to 370 m and a reaming diameter of 2.4 m. Each shaft was completed over a period of approximately two months, including both the pilot hole and the reaming. Terratec reported that, despite the challenging inclines, the TR3000 machine achieved very high levels of accuracy with limited downtime for maintenance in the medium strength rock, which has a hardness of around 120 MPa to 150 MPa. The machine will now go on to bore a further 11 shafts for the Huanggou project. Manufactured in Tasmania, Australia, the TR3000 RBM is a highly robust piece of equipment, designed for ease of oper- ation and maintenance, providing a high level of reliability. The low-profile unit has a nominal boring size of 3 m in diameter and 500 m in depth and has a standard pilot hole diameter of 311 mm. It has a maximum pilot drilling torque of 78,000 Nm, reaming torque of up to 237,000 Nm and breakout to 266,000 Nm. The maximum down thrust force is 1,600 kN with up thrust being 4,500 kN. The total installed power on the machine is 352 kW. Fluor Lands South Flank Project HP contracted Fluor for project and con- struction management services for the South Flank iron ore project located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. For the upcoming scope of work, Fluor will work with BHP to optimize the fea- sibility study design with a focus on ex- ecution readiness and capital efficiency. A decision to move forward with the exe- cution phase of the project is expected in mid-2018. The work is being performed from BHP's office in Perth, Australia, with Flu- or and BHP managing the project togeth- er as an integrated project team. BHP announced in late June its ap- proval of $184 million (A$244 million) (BHP share) in initial funding for the South Flank sustaining mine project in the central Pilbara, Western Australia. BHP President of Operations, Min- erals Australia, Mike Henry said the funding would generate several hundred construction jobs and provide "exciting opportunities" for Western Australian suppliers. The South Flank project, which will leverage and expand the existing Mining Area C hub, is BHP's preferred option to replace production from the 80-million- metric-ton-per-year (mt/y) (100% basis) Yandi mine when it reaches the end of its economic life in the early-to-mid-2020s. The project is expected to be sub- mitted for board approval in the middle of the 2018 calendar year, with first ore targeted in the 2021 calendar year and ramp-up timed to coincide with the ramp- down of Yandi. Henry said the South Flank project offered attractive returns, with its high- grade lump and fines ore and a strip ratio in line with the WAIO average establish- ing it as a highly competitive operation. The initial funding will be used pri- marily for the expansion of accommoda- tion facilities to support current and fu- ture workforce requirements. "As well as supporting our current operational requirements, this work will advance potential first ore from South Flank, while we further optimize the full development and progress external and internal approvals. "As we have said previously, a con- tinuing stable investment environment in Western Australia is required to underpin Terratec Bores Shafts for Chinese Power Project One of Terratec's TR3000 raise boring machines (RBM) has successfully achieved a series of impressive inclined raises with a high level of accuracy at the Huanggou Pumped Storage Power Station Project in the Heilongjiang Province of China.

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