Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
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VDMA Innovative Technology to Keep Mines More Productive German companies' investment in R&D; is by no means limited to heavy equipment. Right across the board, they are continuing to develop new and innovative technologies that find ready markets within the mining and exploration sectors—worldwide. The range of specialization within the VDMA's mining-branch membership is nothing short of staggering. In this chapter, Best of Germany looks at some of the other ways in which these companies contribute to making mining safer and more productive. In some cases, they offer technology that has been transferred from other industrial sectors to find valuable uses within mining and mineral processing. Conversely, there are situations where equipment has been designed specifically for mining, and now finds applications elsewhere. There are also companies that specialize in providing their skills and expertise to OEMs, either for new machinery or through repair or renovation services for equipment that has already given good service in the field. As an example, IAG Magnum GmbH offers expertise in welding and machining large metal parts weighing up to 300 mt. In addition, its service portfolio includes heat treatment, assembling, logistic and surface protection. Based in Osnabrück, the company says that besides its services to the mining sector, it is well established in the energy, machining and offshore oil and gas industries. Looking at a completely different market segment, hema electronic GmbH specializes in producing components and systems for camera and video technology, LED lighting, machine vision and opto- electronics, industrial electronics, control and regulation technology, and measurement data recording and evaluation, all areas of growing interest as mining becomes more technologically sophisticated. Specialized Exploration and Mining Equipment Part of the Bauer group, headquartered in Schrobenhausen (50 km from Munich), Bauer Maschinen GmbH provides equipment and services to the water and environmental industries, as well as offering specialist mine-development and exploration services. Although better-known for its expertise in areas such as diaphragm walls and foundations for construction projects, Bauer Maschinen has successfully transferred this technology to mining. In addition, the company's subsidiaries include the drill-rig manufacturers Prakla and Hausherr, which supply equipment to the global market as well as for projects undertaken by its sister company, Bauer Resources GmbH. Today, Bauer offers equipment and systems for on-shore and offshore exploration, bulk sampling, groundwater control, cut-off systems and mine development. Its experience in offshore exploration dates from the 1990s, when one of its trench cutters was mounted on a ship for bulk sampling during diamond exploration off the coast of South Africa. Since then, its equipment has been used in bulk-sampling projects in Africa, Canada and Australia, drilling holes up to 2.5 m in diameter to depths of 115 m, or 1.2 m-diameter holes down to 360 m, for diamonds, iron ore and other minerals. In addition, the company uses its hydraulic grabs, mounted on specially adapted crawler cranes, as a valuable tool for bulk sampling, even in hard rock conditions. A case in point here is their use in evaluating shore-line diamond deposits in Namibia. The company has been involved in diamond-project development, an example having been the construction of cut-off walls at the Diavik mine in northern Canada. This allowed Rio Tinto to dewater the area above its open pits, which could then be brought into production. Elsewhere, the use of Bauer's cutter system in Sierra Leone has simplified the mining of narrow kimberlite dykes, as well as reducing the amount of waste dilution being sent to the recovery plant. Bauer reports that its equipment has also been used to construct cut-off walls to prevent water inflows into Vattenfall's lignite mines in eastern Germany, with soil excavated from the cut-off trench being mixed with clay before being replaced as a water-tight barrier. In Canada, Bauer has been involved with Areva's Maclean Lake uranium project, for which it developed a high-pressure reverse-circulation system to recover ore from small, shallow lenses within the sandstone host rock. More conventional equipment from Bauer includes its Hausherr blasthole drill rigs and rotary/blasthole rigs made by Bauer-Dewet in Botswana. GermanyÕs Largest Drill Manufacturer Creating a cut-off wall using Bauer Machinen equipment. VDMA 50 Prakla Bohrtechnik GmbH specializes in the design and supply of drill rigs, primarily for the exploration- and waterwell-drilling markets. Its rigs are typically mounted on truck chassis, making them highly maneuverable as well as giving them good depth capabilities, the company's head of sales, Ulrich Pelleter, told Best of Germany. "In fact, Prakla is the only company in the world building a rig with 50 mt pull-back on a three-axle truck," he said. VDMA MINING SUPPLEMENT • 2013