AMS-Online Issue 03/2009

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EDUCATION

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200903

EVENTSThe AMS Event Calendar 2009

Methods for Exploratory Drilling of Deposits of Mineral Commodities

Continental/ContiTechMetso Minerals

Sandvik Mining & ConstructionVermeerZeppelin

Tudeshki, H. ; Hertel, H. Surface Mining and International Mining | Clausthal University of Technology | Germany

ESCO GmbH

KLEEMANN GMBH

WIRTGEN GMBH

METSO MINERALS Germany GmbH

MB Crusher S.p.A

AVANT TECNO Germany GmbH

ATLAS COPCO Surface Drilling Equipment, Tunnelling & Mining Equipment

CATERPILLAR INC.

Kellner, M.Geotechnique, Mining, Petroleum Engineering | Surface Mining and International Mining | Clausthal University of Technology | Germany

ContiTech Conveyor Technology corporationNortheim | Germany

ThyssenKrupp Fördertechnik GmbHEssen | Germany

Volvo Construction Equipment Germany

Tudeshki, H. ; Xu, T.Surface Mining and International Mining | Clausthal University of Technology | Germany

von der Linden, E. Linden Advisory | Dreieich | Germany

Debriv; Tudeshki, H.

Hot Success! Steelworks « Dillinger Hütte » & « Saarstahl »

Stationary plants now become mobile thanks to interlinked plants! Kleemann demonstrates what is possible today with process know-how and high-performance plants

New SURFACE MINER 4200 SM from Wirtgen: Maximum performance in large-scale opencast mining!

Improved performance out in the open!

The new bucket crusher BF

Solving many Problems at Once!

Atlas Copco launches ROC T35M a robust surface drill rig! The Atlas Copco Simba W6 C rig available for new markets!

Diamond scrap heap - Cat-machines process one of the world’s largest scrap metal stock piles in Namibia!

TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY

NEWS & REPORTS

Impact of financial crisis on the German & global commodity market and the mining industry

Round Table at Hannover Messe 2009: Climate-Friendly and Energy-Efficient Raw Material Extraction

ThyssenKrupp Fördertechnik (conveyor technique): Fully Mobile Crawler-Mounted Crushing Plant for Large Open-Pit Mines

Volvo Fleet Under Ground - All Good Things Come From Above

Methods of Boulder Crushing in raw materials production

Development of the Oil-shale-project El Lajjun in Jordan

The most intelligent chapter in mining history was written by German Engineering


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http://www.vermeer.de

http://ww.zeppelin-cat.de

http://www.escocorp.com

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http://www.wirtgen.de


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Application Consulting – Your“life insurance” for major projects

Contact:Dip.-Ing. Roland Redlich • Zeppelin Baumaschinen GmbH • Graf-Zeppelin-Platz 1D-85748 Garching bei München • Germany • Phone +49 89 32000-204 • Fax +49 8932000-7204 roland.redlich @zeppelin.com • www.zeppelin-cat.de

If you’re embarking on a major project that involves moving a few thousand tonnes of earth each day, yourfirst thought won’t be about machinery. What you’ll first want to do is find the best consultation possible.This is where Zeppelin comes in. Its team of highly trained mining engineers can provide you with expert,qualified advice on mines, quarries and large-scale projects of all kinds, anywhere in the world. By gettinggood advice you can avoid making expensive mistakes right when you start to plan. Zeppelin’s project con-sultants have more than 30 years of professional experience, and they have references testifying to theirexpertise from all over the world.At the conclusion of our consultation we’ll recommend machinery and equipment that are perfectly matchedto your task. This is the necessary basis for an economically viable project. The advice provided by Zeppelinis nonbinding, and the rates are fair. You’ll be able to save millions. And if you have to spend millions, you’llspend them right!

To arrange consultation for your project, please contact Roland Redlich at the Zeppelin headquartersin Munich.

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4Issue 03 | 2009

EDUCATION



OverallThe drilling technique had established itself as a key technology for the search and exploration of mineral resource deposits. However, along with the advancement of mining of raw material deposits which outcrop immediately at the surface or are only slightly covered, we now face the task of finding and opening up deposits that are located deeper under the surface.

IntroductionThe forming of accessible exploration-excavations at

economically and technically meaningful expenses is limited to a depth of 30 to 50 m. The unknown geological characteristics and rock properties entail a multitude of technical, economical and safety-relevant risks for underground mining operations. This includes the high expenses for keeping the underground cavities and making them again usable, in case nothing is found. For exploration of extensive deposits that are present immediately at the surface and deposits with highly irregularly distributed resource contents in compact, and in none and low water-bearing formations, mining exploration methods (prospecting trenches or shafts) are preferred. Furthermore, technically simple exploration excavations can be constructed in very remote and hard to reach exploration areas. A tendency to explore deposits in increasing depths can be expected for future prospection and exploration activities, so that the exploration by excavations will further loose importance. The increasingly lower target horizons of exploration activities go hand in hand with the progress of raw material extraction in deposits near the surface, as well as with the increasing performance and efficiency of modern mining technologies. If nowadays the usual exploration horizons are located 200 to 300 m under the surface, in future years the average target depths will reach over 1000 m. Even today these depths are sometimes significantly exceeded by single raw material projects (e.g. Gold mining in South Africa).

Through drilling direct access to the deposit can be achieved, with a range from a few meters under the ground level up to several thousand meters, and qualitative and appropriate information on the overburden and the deposit can be obtained. With a multitude of drilling methods a large variety of rock mass properties can be controllable. In contrast to exploration shafts and trenches, drillings are not accessible by man, so that geological address and determination of rock mechanical, as well as hydrological parameters is done by means of the extracted sample

by Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. H. Tudeshki ; Dipl.-Ing. Heiko HertelSurface Mining and International Mining | TU Clausthal | Germany

material and its analysis in the laboratory. The rock mass properties can be derived from the rock properties of the sample material or can be determined direct from the bore hole with special auxiliary tools in special procedures. In the interpretation of the samples derived from drillings, the degree of disturbance of the samples both by the mechanically and partly hydraulically supported loosening process of the material out of the rock and the consecutive transport from the bore hole bottom to the sampling point above ground, has to be considered. The quality of the samples is significantly determined by the characteristics of the formation to be investigated, as well as by the applied drilling method. Here the general rule is that the specific costs for one meter drilled increase with increasing quality of the samples. In principle the success of a drilling campaign is to be measured with the following factors: quality and quantity of the samples to be extracted, as well as the economical costs of drilling. The gross costs for drilling are composed of specific cost for one meter drilled and the drilling length in total. The drilling length is again dependant on the number of drillings and their final depth.

This planning approach, which often initiates the drilling planning, only refers to the process of drilling and the sampling. The degree of requirements for this drilling planning in the true sense is increased with:

The required information from the sample material•

The increasing drilling length•

An irregular quality distribution in the deposit•

Stratigraphic and tectonic interfering factors in the deposit •and the overburden

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During planning of the overall project, a multitude of external factors, e.g. climatic conditions, location of the drilling site, infrastructure, etc, have to be taken into consideration. These factors can possibly limit the application of optimum technical means and considerably increase the costs for their application, respectively.

Drilling is used for various tasks in research, civil engineering, as well as in mining projects, both for near-surface, as well as deep underground exploration. Apart from the search for and exploration of solid mineral deposits, some important examples for exploration drilling are:

Exploring the deep underground•

Search and exploration of groundwater levels•

Exploration of fluid and gaseous hydrocarbons•

Ground exploration for foundations•

Differences for the needed information on the rock and rock mass characteristics, as well as on the economical, technical and operational conditions have to be derived from the individual and specific project definitions.

Due to the fact that, based on the application area of the drillings, different rock parameters have to be explored, an increasing specialization of methods, tools and equipment components has taken place. Three standard drilling methods were established for exploration drilling for mineral deposits. In the following report some special drilling methods for special applications are introduced. Before the description of the method, significant requirements and background for the selection of the drilling method are explained.

Background and Requirements of the Exploratory Drilling Technique

The primary goal of exploratory drilling is to obtain reliable sampling material in an adequate amount, so that a precise and resilient modeling of the deposit can be made. The quality of a sample can be determined by the following characteristics:

Degree of preservation of the natural rock formation•

Specific volume (subject to the bore diameter) of the sample•

Completeness of the sample material•

Separation of cuttings/material from overlying formations •and avoiding mixing of sample material

Orientation the sample according to their location (in hard •rock)

Sampling according to depth, or clear assignment of location •of sampling

One of the most important quality criterions of drilling samples is the degree of conservation of the natural rock formation, as well as the pore volume and the filling of the interfaces. The degree of disturbances in sampling material is mainly subject to:

The drilling method•

The drilled rock (loose or hard rock)•

The professional execution of drillings•

The diligence in sampling•

The transport and (intermediate) storage of sample material •

With special procedures it is possible to obtain (almost) undisturbed samples with mechanical and partly with hydraulic processing during the loosening and extraction process. However, impairment of the sampling material to different degrees cannot be avoided in all standard drilling methods, including in the common methods of exploration of mineral deposits. This is due to economically driven aspects of the drilling progress. As for the procedurally conditioned disturbance of the natural rock formation, this can be stated as a planned and previously known reduction of the sampling quality. Depending on the applied drilling methods, the achievable quality of the samples is explained in different norms and regulations. Within the context of procedural mechanical and hydraulic application of drilling forces, rock characteristics also have to be observed. In principle, for drilling and collection of undisturbed samples of rocks without or with low granulation (non-cohesive loose rocks), higher demands have to be met, compared to compact hard rocks. The following general statement can be derived from the connection between granular binding, extraction force and interference of the sampling material:

Low granulation • a low extraction forces, high interference

High granulation force • a high extraction force, low interfe-rence of the sample

The quality category that is supported by the drilling method needs to correspond to the exploration goal. However, based on the goal of the exploration, it is possible

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that even samples with a high degree of disturbance are adequate. In bigger exploration projects meaningful combinations of various drilling methods lead to a cost-efficient and at the same time reliable results.

In addition to the technical quality criteria, and criteria aspects that are planable prior to the drilling campaign, certain influencing factors such as qualification of the drilling personnel also need to be heist red. The resulting disturbances can appear throughout the entire sampling or randomly in individual areas. The reliability of the obtained information can be ensured by professional and diligent execution of the drillings, the sampling, as well as their storage and documentation. The risk of disturbances by the sampling and storing of samples is reduced through special sampling containers (e.g. Liner).

The area of direct information out of a drill hole (information window) is limited by its final depth and its bore diameter. The bore diameter in particular, significantly influences the information content and the reliability of the samples. In principle a drill hole only opens a very small window in the rock mass. Therefore it is possible that erratic changes in the rock mass, e.g. tectonic disturbances or a strongly irregular mineral distribution can be missed by the obtained borehole area. A multitude of erratic changes can be determined with geophysical methods, which often are used complementary to exploratory drilling under difficult rock conditions. However, these do not allow for a precise determination of the resource content. The expected distribution of mineralization can be derived with a high probability from the genesis and the evolved type of deposit and needs to be taken into consideration in the dimensioning of the borehole diameter and the needed specific sample volume.

The highest informative value of a sample is achieved by an end-to-end and complete sampling over the entire borehole length. In certain exploration goals the composition of the rock mass is mostly known or of secondary importance for the planned extraction of the raw material. In such cases complete sampling is not necessary and sectional samples are derived in regular distances along the drilling path. These distances range usually between 60 cm and 130 cm. With this method, the secured amount of available data is reduced to the spot (random) samples obtained along the bore hole axis. A distinction has to be made between the incompleteness of the sampling material, which is due to the type of sampling, and the incompleteness which is due to procedural losses and losses related to the drilling technique. It is possible that due to the technical effects on the rock by drilling forces, individual elements are destroyed or lastingly changed, so that they are not suitable or cannot be identified any more. In case these impairments are not recognized during the interpretation of the samples, they can cause considerable

deviations from the actual rock mass composition and condition.

The requirements for stabilizing the bore hole wall in the exploratory drilling technique go beyond the role of keeping the operating safety. The extracted material from the bore hole bottom has to be kept free of rocks from the already penetrated formations. In drillholes without casing, it is possible that material loosen from the open bore hole wall – the so-called caving material – and mix with the sampling material. In obviously stable hard rock formations it is possible to generally drill without a casing installation. However, in the case of instable rock formations are encountered (e.g. areas that are loosened by tectonic influences or cleft areas that are filled with loose material), it is possible that the stability of the bore hole wall is highly altered. Smaller instable zones are usually not detected, so that the drilling is done according to plan. During further drilling it is possible that rocks may fall out of these zones and sink to the bore hole bottom or get into the mud flow. In completely obtained samples with high quality the caving material can easily be recognized and be separated from the actual sampling material. However, in highly disturbed and incomplete samples it is almost impossible to do this separation, so that altered material is addressed. With the mechanical stabilization of the bore hole wall the bore hole is shut off from the intersected formations, which ensures an optimal protection from caving. However, the advantages of a bore hole wall secured by a casing are faced by considerable economic and technical expenses through:

Costs of the casing installation•

The needed hook load of the drilling rig for casing handling•

The additional work and expenses•

The bigger bore diameter for casing sections•

The logistic expenses of establishing the drilling site•

Alternatively to casing installation it is possible to stabilize weak areas which tend to caving or which impede the stability of the bore hole wall, either through cementation or through wash over. A possible falsification through caving needs to be investigated during sampling and the first geological evaluation on-site.

Interfaces can be addressed in (almost) undisturbed samples. While interpreting these samples the direction of strike and dip is of interest. For this reason it makes sense to obtain oriented samples. In an additional working step, a mark is placed on the bore hole bottom for orientation of the position (Northern direction) before coring the next section. This allows alignment of the samples according to their original position, which is the base for modeling strike and dip of the interface structures.

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The quality and thus the secured information content of the drilling samples are mainly determined by the above-mentioned quality criteria. However, it is only possible to reliably process the information with a clear assignment of the sampling position. Furthermore it should be noted that sampling according to position and depth is often taken for granted and inadequately observed. An unrecognized deviation of the drill hole from its given axis always leads to a difference between the recorded sampling position and the real one. The influence of these deviations increases with the inhomogenity of the rock mass. Therefore it can be said that the controlled course of the borehole and as such the exact determination of the sampling position is less a quality characteristic than an indispensable prerequisite for secure and reliable exploration results. The measurement of the drilling direction can be done either after reaching the final depth or already in the drilling process. The measurement of the borehole measurement can be done either as a separate work step in given stages or immediately in the drilling process. Both possibilities allow control of the bore hole path and thus ensure to reach the given target.

In the classification of drilling samples, different technical regulations deal with the relation between the degree of conservation of the natural rock formation and the completeness of samples. The sampling according to depth and location, the extraction in adequate volumes, as well as the prevention of caving are more of basic minimum requirements than quality criteria. In accordance with the German DIN 4021, the following classifications can be mentioned for exploratory drillings of mineral raw material:

Complete extraction of undisturbed samples•

Complete extraction of disturbed samples•

Incomplete extraction of disturbed samples•

Pic. 1: Completely extracted and (almost) undisturbed samples

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In picture 1, completely extracted and almost undisturbed samples (core samples) are shown. The samples shown in picture 2 are incomplete and highly disturbed. These samples can only be used for quantitative assessment of the drilled formations and the determination of the resource contents.

The informative value of the samples is completed through the documentation of drilling parameters, as well as through the observations of a qualified drilling team. An adequate logging can provide valuable information on completeness, as well as on a possible falsification through contamination of the samples by caving, so that sufficiently accurate interpretation can even be derived from disturbed samples.

Standard Drilling Techniques Deposits of mineral commodities are mainly to be

found in hard rock formations except for placer deposits and accumulations through substitution processes. The framework of requirements for suitable drilling methods, drilling tools and equipment can be derived from geological and geo-mechanical rock characteristics, from the required quality criteria of the sample, based on the goal of the exploration project, as well as from the prognosed size, form and position of the deposit. Although in detail each drilling project has its own and special conditions, but with the high performance and universally applicable equipment of the modern exploratory drilling technique, they can all basically be dealt with by three drilling methods.

1. Core Drilling2. RC-Drilling (Reverse Circulation Drilling)

or CSR-Drilling (Center Sample Recovery Drilling)

3. Rotary- or Hammer-Drilling

Taking into consideration standards of the global exploration activities, these three drilling techniques can be called standard techniques for exploration of mineral raw material deposits. Because of their high quality samples, core drilling basically has the greatest importance for mineral exploration. Due to their varying sample quality, both other methods come across internationally varying acceptance. In addition, the possible application of the methods should be assessed differently due to topographic and climatic differences of the project area.

The standard drilling methods are complemented by less common drilling techniques, which are even popular for other drilling applications. Therefore they are called special technologies for exploration.

Core Drilling Technique

With the development of the core drilling method at the beginning of the 19th century, a milestone was set for the exploratory drilling technique. The technical principle of cutting out a rock cylinder from the rock beneath the bore hole bottom, with the help of a tubular drilling tool was able to stand up to a multitude of competing drilling methods, due to the high quality of the obtained samples. An important contribution to the performance of the method was the first application of diamond drilling tools in 1862 by the Swiss tunnel construction engineer A. Leschot. However, the industrial manufacturing of diamond drilling tools could only be realized in the 1950ies. Nevertheless, the core drilling technique was closely connected to diamond drilling tools, so that the expression diamond-core-drilling technique is often used to name this method in exploration. Diamonds are characterized by a very high degree of hardness (10 on the Mohs scale), through which hard rocks with high share of quartz or pure quartzite can be drilled under technically meaningful conditions. The application of diamond drilling tools requires the maintaining of a sufficient mud circulation for cooling.

Pic. 2: Incompletely extracted and disturbed samples

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In a further development the original core drilling technique was expanded to a multitude of individual core drilling methods, in order to cope with the various exploration goals, which partly have a very specialized character. Three core drilling methods have been established in exploration of mineral raw material deposits, which in the loosening and extraction technique are leaned against the classic methods.

The applied core drilling methods are suitable to completely obtain (almost) undisturbed samples. The rock beneath the bore hole bottom is cut out in form of a concentric rift with a core drilling tool, which is preloaded with static pressure by the drilling tool and in is rotated in a constant rotational speed. Since it is not the entire bore hole axis that is processed, centrically a rock cylinder remains, the so called drill core. The cuttings which result from the

cutting out of the annulus are continuously removed with circulating mud. Inside the drill string the mud is first lead to the core barrel, gets out at the drill bit into the annulus and flows loaded by cuttings back to the surface through the annulus (direct direction). The remaining drill core is constantly rising into the core barrel, until its length does not allow any further take up. The rock column is connected to the surrounding rock by its lower surface and has to be loosened by lifting of the bore string (see picture 3). This is done by a core lifter, which is located between the core barrel and the drill core in a conical cavity. While pulling the drill string the core lifter wedges the drill core through a friction locking (see picture 4). The core barrel with the inside drill core is drawn mechanically to the surface by pulling out all drill rods out of the hole.

Pic. 3: Schematic diagram of core drilling

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Core drilling with Single Core Barrel

The constructional composition of the single core barrel is limited to the basically needed components of a core drilling tool. Picture 5 shows the setup of a single core barrel. The multi-part drill set is composed of:

The core bit•

The reamer•

The core lifter •

The core barrel•

The head of the core barrel•

Pic. 4: Diagram core lifter

Pic. 5: Setup of a single core barrel

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Due to the slim construction of single core barrels, the core bits are equipped with a thin cutting edge. The measurement of the required widths of the edge is derived from the wall thickness of the core barrel + outer annulus (space between drill string and drill hole wall) + inner annulus (space between core barrel and drill core). The wall thickness of the core barrel is 3.5 to 4.5 mm, an extra 3.5 mm have to be added for both the inner and outer annulus. The inner annulus creates a clearance between the drill core and the inner core barrel wall while the core is rising into the core barrel. Furthermore the mud is lead through this annular space along the core to the bit. The outer annulus ensures a friction-less rotation of the whole drill string and the path for the mud back to the surface.

The reamer, which is directly positioned above the core bit, has the task of stabilizing the core barrel and ensuring a constant bore hole diameter. With the progress in drill hole length wear off in the gauge of the bit is unavoidable. Without the application of a reamer the bore hole diameter would decrease steadily.

During the entire time of the coring interval, the drill core is subject to the hydraulic influences of the mud, as well as the mechanical influences of the rotating and advancing core barrel. The high degree of disturbing factors can negatively influence the quality of the sample, as well as the drilling process. The mud flow, which is directly running along the drill core, washes out all fines, e.g. rock veins or clay-beds. It is almost impossible to avoid a mechanical impairment of the core through rotation influences. Radially acting strains on the drill core, which are caused by vibrations and unbalances in the drill string, have to be added. Results of this can be impairment of the sample quality, as well as considerable disturbances in the drilling process through broken core pieces. In case fragments of the broken drill core get jammed in the core barrel, the penetration rate is either strongly reduced or completely stopped. The entire length of the core barrel, which is between 1 and 3.5 meters in single core barrels, cannot be completely drilled out. Along with the restriction of the possible length of the cored section, additional round trips are needed for the achievement of the final depth. These additional processes have negative effects on the gross drilling performance. The extraction of the drill core, which in a single core barrel is done through the removal of the entire drill string (round trip), requires a significant amount of time, particularly with advancement into greater depths. In addition, core fragments in the core barrel are not optimally retained by the core lifter. These fragments may loosen under the strains of the mechanical extraction process, and fall back on the bore hole bottom. In case of such a concurrence of unfavorable circumstances the efficiency of the drilling process, as well as the sample quality is again strongly impaired.

The application of single-core barrels is limited to exploration of regular and compact hard rock formations that are close to the surface. In such circumstances very good drilling progress can be made with the narrow cutting edges of the core bits. In comparison with other competing core barrel constructions, less rock volume needs to be removed from the core bits of the single core barrels; therefore it is possible to achieve a faster penetration rate with a comparatively lower energy expense for pressure, torque and mud flow. The advantages of the lower specific cutting work have particular effect on application of small drilling equipment, whose feeding force is limited due to its dead weight. In addition, the narrow cutting edge of the core bit leads to a more favorable relation of the bore hole diameter to the core diameter. Next to the technical advantages, the single core barrels require a low investment and have relatively cost-effective wear parts.

Two types of single core barrels are distinguished in the technical nomenclature. The single core barrels with the model name B are produced from thin-walled material and need core bits of a cutting edge width of 7 mm. A more robust standard single core barrel with the model name Z, which needs a cutting edge width of 14 mm is also available. In the next issue, further details for the dimensioning of the bore diameters and the resulting core diameters will be given.

Core Drilling with Double Core Barrel

The double core barrel is a versatile drilling tool in the exploration technique for complete extraction of complete cored samples. The range of applications varies from exploration work in friable structures and weakly solidified formations to drilling of compact quartzite rock. With a modification of the “classical” double core barrel it is also possible to extract cores from loose rock formations. Due to the engineering design of the double core barrels, which in principle are characterized by one inner tube for the core recovery and one outer tube for power transmission, the following criteria should be ensured:

The protection of the drill core from hydraulic influences of •the mud

Protection of the drill core from mechanical influences of •rotation

The friction free inclusion of the core into the drilling •process

The secure extraction of a cored section, which should be •as long as possible

The non-destructive extraction of the core from the core •barrel

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In comparison with the single core barrel, the technically more complicated construction of the double core barrel consists of the following components (see picture 6):

The core bit•

The outer tube•

The reamer•

The head of core barrel•

The core lifter bush and•

The core lifter ring•

The inner tube•

Inner tube with swivel•Pic. 6:

Composition of a double core barrel)

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The power and energy transfer onto the core bit is done exclusively through the thick-walled outer tube, which is considerably more robust than the inner tube. The inner tube only serves to contain the drill core. The inner tube is connected to the core casing head of the outer tube through a swivel, in order to protect the drill core from the mechanical influences of the drilling process. The bearing decouples the torque, as well as the rotary motion of the outer tube from the inner tube. The drill core is only influenced by the cutting force of the core bit. The mud, which is directed from the drill string over the head of the core barrel, flows in the annular gap between the outer and the inner tube to the core bit, alongside of the newly cut drill core.

The contact area of the drill core and the drilling fluid is reduced to 5 to 10 cm by the path of the mud escape from the core lifter bush till the cutting edge of the core drill. Even if the contact surface is low, in un-solidified sediments, the mud contact leads to washing out of fine elements, up to the complete loss of the core. For this reason double core tubes are equipped with a modified core lifter casing in loose rock formations, which elongates the inner tube beyond the core bit, so that the core can be held without contact with the mud. It should be noted that the core is “cut” by the non-rotating inner tube, and not by the core bit. In this application a considerable wear-off needs to be provided for. The spectrum of application is basically limited to loose rocks. The core lifter rings of the hard rock drilling technique are exchanged with core a lifter clip, which closes the entire diameter of the inner tube with the lifting of the drill string, and thus allows for the complete discharge of the un-solidified drill core. With double core tubes it is possible to obtain samples of adequate quality in almost any formation. Highly alternating rock stabilities and grain adhesion are particularly challenging. The rock loosening process always has to refer to components with higher stability. Satisfactory results can be obtained in strongly unstable and weathered hard rocks with conventional double core tubes, which are equipped with special core lifter bush and core bits.

The core lifter bush is extended to the cutting edge, so that the annulus gap is strongly reduced for the mud outlet. The core bit has inner mud channels, which only exit at the cutting matrix. The disadvantage of these special core bits is their sensitivity towards small drilling mistakes, so that their application remains limited to difficult mountain conditions.

Four standard systems are offered in industrial manufacturing of double core barrels, as well as of the corresponding core bits; each one is specific to the respective manufacturer. Their main difference is in the

dimensioning of the tube wall thickness and the required edge width of the core bits. The double core barrel systems are characterized by the coding TT, T-2, T-6, D and K-3. Individual components are not compatible with each other.

The global application of double core barrels for the search and exploration of mineral raw material deposits is dominated by the T-2, T-6 und D systems. Core diameters of 22 mm to 84 mm are drilled with core barrel systems T-2. They have a low pipe wall thickness, so that core bits with small cutting edge thicknesses of 7 mm to 8.5 mm are used. Core diameters of 47 to 123 mm are obtained with core barrel systems T-6 and D. The cutting edge width of the core bits is between 9.5 and 12 mm. The next issue will provide further explanations on dimensioning of the bore hole diameters and the resulting core diameters.

Taking into consideration an economical, as well as a technically meaningful and achievable final depth, the application range of conventional single and double core barrels is limited by the mechanical extraction of the drill cores, through the extension of the entire drill string to exploration horizons of up to 300 m. With increasing drilling depth the time expense for round trips of the drill string for the core extraction accounts for a considerable share of the effective drilling time. The individual steps that have to be taken into consideration in the drilling performance are:

Running of the drill string to the hole bottom•

Drilling process•

Breaking off the core•

Extraction of the drill core through removal of the drill string •out of the hole

Removal of core•

The final depth, which can in fact be reached with economically justifiable expenses, is mainly influenced by the following factors:

The length of the cored section that is actually extracted •above ground. The maximum length of the cored section cor-responds to the inner core barrel length. In case this length is reduced, due to jamming in the core barrel or due to core losses during extraction, the total efficiency is also reduced, subject to the time of circulation of the tool. With increasing depth of the bore hole, the length of the cored section which is to be extracted, should increase.

The effective time for a round trip, which is influenced by •technical parameters and the operation method of the dril-ling team. The technical factors basically comprise of the length of the individual drilling rods (and as such the threa-ded connections that are to be disconnected), the solubility

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of the individual threaded connections and the driving speed of the lifting unit or the top drive of the rig. In order to achieve fast installation and removal of rods, a perfect functioning of the drill pipe system has to be ensured. In principle the technical factors are subject to the correct selection of the equipment, as well as to its maintenance. As a prerequisite, the professional handling of the technical equipment, as well as a command of the tasks to be achieved, requires corres-ponding qualification of the drilling team.

The unexpected geological disturbances in the bore hole. •Each exploratory drilling in unknown rock is linked with im-ponderabilities. These are easier to handle with a careful as-sessment of possible incidents and timely implementation of precautionary measures. This includes for example a casing plan, provision of plugging material to confine mud loses and of fishing tools for removal of junk from bore hole averages etc.

A particular challenge for the application of single and double core barrels is the penetration of unstable rock formations. Due to the procedural installation and removal of the entire drill set, the bore hole wall, which is partly to completely uncased, is subject to application of hydraulic and mechanical forces. During the fast lifting of the drill string the core barrel, which corresponds to the bore hole diameter, can produce a piston-like effect in the mud-filled bore hole. Thus it is possible that a hydraulic vacuum is produced immediately under the core barrel, which may lead to caving or even a bore hole wall collapse. Furthermore the bore hole wall is mechanically strained by possible contact to the moved drill string. There is a possibility that parts of the bore hole wall cave into the bore hole from unidentified and unsecured weak zones. The operation safety can be impeded by caving, particularly in deep drillings. In case weak areas cannot be handled, the installation of a casing is unavoidable. The maximum diameter of the drill string for the deepening of the drilling to the final depth is then limited by the inner diameter of the casing. The penetration of unstable mountains with conventional core barrels requires diligent planning of the casings to be installed.

One advantage of the round trip that is required for the extraction of the core, is the continuous checking of the equipment wear-off. The state of the core bit and the drill string can be checked after each cored section. Furthermore, a flexible adaptation of the core bit to the changing rock characteristics is possible.

Core Drilling with wireline core barrel

The wireline core barrel is a further development of the double core barrel, which is specially constructed to mechanically extract the bore core without the need to remove the entire drill string. The method of extracting

drill cores without a round trip, has opened up a range for application of the drilling technique for complete extraction of undisturbed samples, which significantly exceeds limiting conditions of conventional double core barrels. With the available wireline core barrel systems, which consist of a wireline core barrel assembly and special wire line drill rods, it is possible to achieve depths of over 1000 m in routine operations. In big drilling projects it has been possible to advance to depths of 3500 m under the surface with wireline coring systems. However, the performance of the wireline coring has its complete effect only in deeper drillings from 50 – 150 m. Therefore wireline coring systems are applied complementary to the double core barrels, as they show their strength for shallow exploration targets. However it is expected that the importance of wireline coring will further increase, taking into consideration the development towards deeper target horizons.

The engineering design of the wireline coring systems is composed of the wireline core barrel assembly, a latch and special wireline drill rods. The wireline core barrel assembly is geared towards the double core barrel, but the difference is that the conventional head of the core barrel has been replaced by a bolt mechanism, which locks the inner tube for the drilling process at the outer tube and can be unlocked for the extraction process. In order to protect the drill core from mechanical rotation influences, the inner tube is connected with a swivel. In picture 7 the design of a wireline core barrel is presented as an example.

Industrial manufacturers offer combinations of inner and outer tubes, with which cored sections in lengths of 1 to 9 m are feasible.

The wireline core barrel systems are characterized through advantageous core removal, which can be done without the time-consuming round trips of the entire drill string. The drill core is recovered together with the core barrel by a rope. This is done by stopping the mud circulation after the drill-out of the cored section, then breaking off the core from the rock by slightly lifting the bore string, and by consecutively disassembling the top drive from the drill rods. The rope with its overshot is lowered into the drill string by a winch, until it locks at the latch of the wireline core barrel assembly. Simultaneously the locking mechanism of the outer tube is disconnected. The diameters of the special wireline drill rods are adapted to the core barrel, so that it is possible to pull the whole core barrel assembly inside the drill rods. After the core removal the inner tube can again be inserted through the drill rods to the bore hole bottom.

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Pic. 7: Composition of a

wireline core barrel

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EDUCATION


This is done:

Through free fall in perpendicular to moderately inclined bore •hole distances ( less than 45% deflection out of plumbness), in which an adequate mud level is available

Through insertion at the winch in perpendicular to modera-•tely inclined bore holes that are almost or completely get dry through mud loss

Through attachment of the top drive onto the drill rods and in •highly inclined bore holes and through the use of a moderate pump rate, so that the inner tube is transported to the core barrel from the hydraulic flow rate.

As a principle, before inserting the inner tube, the extracted length of the cores section has to be checked. In case a core stump remains in on the bore hole bottom or in case cuttings are not discharged, a correct engagement of the inner tube can be prevented. In this case the drill string has to be pulled until its lower end is located above the core stump.

During the core removal the drill rods can take over the function of temporary casing through the geometric dimensioning and the installation. This could stabilize the borehole wall in regions with friable zones. Furthermore potential caving out of the bore hole wall is separated from the core sample, which is pulled inside the drill string. However, this cannot substitute a complete casing along bigger disturbance areas, since the drill rods rotate with the required rotary speed and an outer annulus for the mud has to be maintained during the drilling process. In disturbed rock mass areas that are too big and high mud losses are to be expected, the rod friction between drill string and bore hole wall can be highly increased. Under these circumstances it is necessary to install a casing. The advantages of a temporary casing by the drillstring can be found in a higher operational safety during the drilling process, as well as in the possibility of overcoming limited disturbance areas. Moreover the wireline coring drill rods offer the option of attaching measurement tools to them, for example to determine the bore hole direction. This contributes to a higher reliability and quality of the core samples.

Three different wireline coring systems that are manufactured with industrial standards are available. They mainly differ in their construction of the locking and latch systems (see picture 9 and picture 10).

The system that is marked with the coding SK 6 L and NSK, has been specially designed for low drilling depths of up to 300m, the system that is marked Gebor S is designed for medium drilling depths up to 500 m, and the system called CSK has been designed for depths from 500 m upwards.

Pic. 8: IInner tube with locking mechanism and latch of the wireline core barrel system CSK

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The bandwidth of the bore hole diameters starts at 48 mm and ends at 176 mm, whereas core sample diameters lie below the diameters of the single and double core barrels, due to the broad width of lips of the core bit.

Compared to single and double core barrels, the application of wireline core barrel systems basically requires a higher performance of the drilling rigs. This is due to the fact that the bore rods have higher weights and there is a higher rod friction in the drilling process. Furthermore, a high-performance winch with a corresponding length of the rope has to be available for pulling the inner tube. In connection with the higher expenses for investment and the arising spare part costs fore bore string and core bits, the specific initial costs are higher than in the application of conventional core barrel systems. However, the higher gross drilling progress in deeper drillings of final depths more than 50 to 150 m and the relatively easy handling of difficult drilling conditions compensates for the higher operating costs. The next issue will deal with the selection of core bits and the dimensioning of drilling parameters.

Pic. 9: latch and overshot, system CSK

Pic. 10: latch and overshot, system NSK

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Bibliography

[1] Arnold, Werner: Flachbohrtechnik; 1. Auflage, Leipzig, Deutscher Verlag für Grundstoffindustrie GmbH, 1993

[2] Buja, Heinrich: Handbuch der Baugrunderkundung; 1. Auflage, Düsseldorf, Werner Verlag GmbH & Co.KG, 1999

[3] Entenmann, Dr. Winfried: Baugrunderkundung, 2. Auflage, Renningen, Expert Verlag, 2008

[4] Happel, Martin; Homrighausen, Dr. Reiner: Bohrkerngewinnung zur Exploration von Baugrund und Rohstoffen, in: BBR Fachmagazin für Wasser und Leitungsbau, S. 42 – 49, Heft 12/2008

[5] Wirth Maschinen- und Bohrgerätefabrik GmbH: Bohrtechnisches Handbuch, Version 1.0, 2002

[6] Comdrill Bohrausrüstungen GmbH: Katalog Bohrausrüstung, 7. Ausgabe, 2007

[7] Internetinformation der Firma Archway Engineering (UK) Ltd: www.archway-engineering.com, August 2009

Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Hossein H. Tudeshki studied from 1977 to 1980 at the Mining Col-lege of Shahrud (Iran); following several years of work in the mining industry, he completed his mining study at the RWTH Aachen in 1989. Since 1992 he was Chief Engineer at the Insti-tute for Surface Mining (Bergbaukunde III) of the RWTH Aachen, mainly active in the field of open cast mining and drilling technique. He did his doctor degree in 1993 and qualified as a university lecture in 1997. In 1998 the Venia Legendi was awarded to him be the RWTH Aachen for the field “Rock and Earth Open Pit Mining”. In Novem-ber 2001 he was appointed as Professor for Surface Mining and International Mining at Clausthal University of Technology.He already has over 25 years of experience in the field of project planning and cost-benefit analysis within the frame of various mine planning projects. The international tasks rendered by him mount up to more than 300 international raw material-related projects.

| [email protected] | www.bergbau.tu-clausthal.de |

Dipl.-Ing. Heiko Hertel, born 1975, graduated in the years 1995 to 1998 trained as a well constructer. The activities of the well constructer he held until 2001. Immediately following the same year he began the study of Geotechniques, Mining and Petroleum Engineering at Clausthal University of Technology. He completed his studies successfully in 2007 and is engaged in silk as a research associate at the Institute for Surface Mining and International Mining at Clausthal University of Technology.

| [email protected] | www.bergbau.tu-clausthal.de |

http://www.advanced-mining.com


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Introduction and BackgroundThe collapse of commodity prices

The crash of commodity prices in the second half of 2008 has been an unexpected happening. Although a declension was predicted, a historical collapse at an average of about 50 % within five months was surprising. The oldest commodity index, 1957 founded CRB (Commodity Research Bureau), collapsed that quality after its historical peak in july of 2008. The position at the energy markets seemed to become even worse. The cruide oil price crashed from 150 US $ / barrel to 35 US $ / barrel within that period, i.e. a declension of about 76 %. Only the gold price lasted stabil. Reason here has been the role of gold as crisis metal, while traders lost their belief on currencies and bonds /1/.

Reasons for the rising and declension of commodity prices

The reasons for the historical declension of commodity prices are to find in direct periphery to the global financial crisis. Global deleveraging, i.e. the procedure of borrowing equity to substitute the debt, has been performed for debt retirement. Traders turned away from the class of investment “commodities” due to the possibility of still making profit. Together with the signals of a recession the declension became a dynamic process. Danger of excess of supply on the worldmarkets lowered the prices even more. Especially the industrial nations got under considerable strain.

To find a conclusion why commodity prices reached that high levels, which made a crash possible, there are to take parallels to the financial crisis. As on the financial market, the prices had been pushed up speculative /1/.

Energetic and industrial commodities prices climbed much more, than a normal price increase would do. The rising prices over the last years let mining companies capitalize onto exploration projects, profit seemed to be possible at reserves and resources that have been unprofitable before. Beginning excess of supply on the world markets, for example iron ore, had been ignored. Prices much higher than average prices (for example copper was at four times higher than usual) were tempting. Finally, the commodity bubble burst /2/.

by Moritz KellnerGeotechnique, Mining, petroleum/gas engineering |Institute of Surface and International Mining | Clausthal University of Technology | Germany

Controversy – Grudge or blessing for the industrial nations?

The economic impacts of the declined commodity prices are discussed controversial these days. Different views say, that the commodity crisis may be a grudge or blessing for the economics of the western world. In principle, following thesis is correct: Cheap commodities must have a good impact to push foreign economies.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) came to that conclusion: Due to fallen crude oil prices, the industrial nations save costs in a height of one trillion US-Dollars. This must be enough to secure all foreign efforts to push economic activities.

The other side dissents that view. The German Institute of economics analysis (Rheinisch-Westfaelisches Institut fuer Wirtschaftsforschung) can see, that this amount of money now is missing at the producing countries. The result is a global stand-off situation. Germany reduced costs around 40 Billion US-Dollars, money that is now missing in the middle east, Russia or Venezuela. Producing countries do not have any chance now to invest on world market products – for example German products. Furthermore, although there is saving, the economy looses consumer. In that case, the sense of efforts to push activities becomes senseless. The interdependencies between global financial crisis and flagging global economies as well as commodity prices are nontransparent. Although the IEA comes to the conclusion, that commodity prices do have an important influence onto global economies, but the other side of the view seems to be sensible as well: Flagging economies were the reason for the oil price crash, just moments later commodities crashed as well /3/.

Influences on the German commodities: Steel industry & Limestone and caking coal

Influences on the steel industryOnce there are signs of commodity crisis, steel industry

is one of the first that gets hurt. Although at the first moment, cheap commodities, in that case iron ore and caking coal, seem to be an offer to the steel industry, but consumers got lost.

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Of course, the steel crisis is a global problem. Iron ore, that has been pushed up by produces like Vale, lost that much value, that the production had to be cut down about 30 to 40 percent /1/. The biggest influence on development of the global iron ore price has the biggest consumer, China. If the Chinese steel industry, that wasn’t hurt that brutal as Europe or the United States starts buying ore in 2009 again, the price will become stabilized again.

The influence of the problems of the steel industry on the caking coal market began few times later. In October and November of 2008, steel production sank about 20 to 30 % in Germany. The impact was now viewable at the caking coal producers, for example BHP Billiton. The market for caking coal shrank around 40 percent compared to spring of 2008. The situation became even worse, as the caking coal price was unnaturally high in summer due to production shortages at one of the most importing coal supplier, Australia. The price on the spot market crashed form 300 US $ / t to 150 US $/t.

Another indication of steel industry weakness are the low freight rates from producing countries to China or Rotterdam. The influence on freight rates was directly visible as they crashed down to values, that were common in 2002 /4/. (Picture 1)

From global declension towards German miningindustry

The flagging German steel industry of course does have influence onto German mining industry. The mining industry stands at the end of series of interplays between sectors of industry. One simple model is able to show that interplays: The financial crisis directly hits the German automobile industry. Enterprises as Daimler-Chrysler or Opel start purchasing less commodities, i.e. steel. Germany’s largest steel producer Thyssen Krupp has to reduce production. Now the global crash hits one key industry of western world countries. /5/ This has consequences on the mining industry, for example limestone production or hard coal mining.

Declension of caking coal price – German hard coal mining in difficulties

As already said, the caking coal price crashed from 300 US $/t to 150 US $/t, demand sinks. But mostly, the collapse of the steel production put pressure on “RAG Aktiengesellschaft”, the German hard coal mining company. One-fifth of the hard coal production is directly sold to the steel sector. The power plant section, which makes 76 % percent of the hard coal usage, sinks as well. The reason here is a lower power demand from the whole industry.

Pic. 1: Freight rates

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The captive coking plant, “Prosper” at Bottrop is actually producing at a capacity of about 70 %, after producing over the capacity border and above all profitable last summer. The last mines at the Ruhr-area (West, Prosper Haniel, Auguste Victoria and Ost), politically in any case disputed, are mainly producing directly to the stockpile.

The high spot market prices during the last years until the summer of 2008 and an enormous demand from China let the German hard coal mining became more and more stand in better light. Now, the declined prices brings the German hard coal mining industry back into harsh and controversial discussions again /6/.

Rheinkalk: The largest limestone producer ofEurope without market

Beside the coal industry the limestone production is hurt as well by flagging steel industries. Limestone is elementary in metallurgy for producing iron and steel, because it reduces the melting point of the slag and is able to bind silicates. About 30 percent of the produced limestone goes into that sector /7/. If you focus on the largest limestone open pit mine, Flandersbach near Wuelfrath, the amounts of annual production of the past few years and upcoming years can clearly show the impacts. In 2008, Flandersbach reached nearly 10 Million tons, which has been an historical height for the company. The average over the last years always was around 8 to 9 million tons. Now in 2009, the amount is estimated at around 6 million tons. Furthermore, short-time work became necessary actually /8/.

Consequences for the Third World at the example of diamond mining

Direct impacts of the financial crisis on the developing countries

When the first information of financial trouble arrived to the developing countries, many of their governments showed careless reactions. Reason was a simple advisement: The developing nations did never invest into the American estate market, so there would result no consequences as the crash became reality. However, consequences commenced, but temporally delayed. The sunken willingness to invest of the western nations let markets of the developing countries shrink. While western nations were in fund to secure the social costs of growing unemployment the impacts on third world countries were even harder. A view on the global diamond trading is able to show that results in special.

Diamond market – A backlash for producers and processing industry

Around 50 % of global diamonds are mined at African countries. While the other diamond producing countries, i.e. Canada, Russia or Australia, have the possibilities of modern and western standard mining technologies, countries as the Democratic Republic of the Congo do have diamond properties near the surface, but do not have means over that technologies. More than a have million people live from diamond mining at the Congo and other producing countries like Tanzania, Angola, Sierra Leone or Liberia. Most of them are working without any social coverage and clear judicial situations, i.e. in the so called “informal sector”. Due to shrinking world markets consequences for these people are striking. Processing countries like India solve the same problematic.

The most important market for diamonds was and is the United States. That market is shrinking since September of 2008. In 2009, there will be an estimated market lowering of 60 %. The price for diamonds, that has been on a historical height in September of 2008, already fell about ten percent. The end of that development will not appear in 2009 say experts.

So the diamond prospectors in the African nations do not have markets anymore. Furthermore, countries as the D.R. of Congo employ many people in national copper and cobalt mines. More than 300.000 people got unemployed already. For a nation that makes 40 % of its national budget out of taxes of the commodities industry, this equals a national insolvency /9/.

The declension of the diamond price In principle, following assumption seems to be correct:

The diamond price should hold steady as the gold prices does. But while gold became an investment in turbulent times, diamonds seemed to be luxurious goods, on what people could abdicate. In addition, the diamond market is directly linked to the sector of industrial diamonds, which cope with the same impacts as other industries do /10/. Picture 2 shows the declined price within the last 12 months. The percentage on the vertical axis indicates the price development. Reference is an amount of 100 % from June of 2004. The climax was reached at a value of 131 % in summer of 2008.

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Price developments of metals

Gold – Precious metal with special status

The gold price lasted solid over the last months, even climbed partially. A correlation is obvious: A global downturn of commodity prices lets the gold price rise. The special status of gold can be made even more visible if you have a look at other precious metals. They were hit by the global downswing in the same way as the other industrial commodities.

The special status of gold can be made visible by the so called “Nickel to gold price ratio”. That index compares the current price of the ounce of gold and the price of a ton of nickel. If the ounce price of gold is at 1000 US $ and the ton price of nickel at 15.000 US $ the “Nickel to gold price ratio” lasts at the nondimensional account of 15. The nickel price on the spot market is directly linked to the steel industry due to its role as a refiner. The “Nickel to gold price ratio” reached its climax in may of 2007 at an account of 70 and declined down to the account of 15 in the end of 2008 /4/.

The pictures show two aspects: One the one hand you can clearly see the solid behavior of gold, on the other hand the declined nickel prices in fall of 2008. The account of 15, that was reached last December is valid up to now. Crashes of the “Nickel to gold price ratio” were always visible in the past at times of recession as picture 4 emphasizes. (Picture 4).

Pic. 2: Development oft the nickel price over the alst 12 months

Pic. 3: Development oft the gold price over the alst 12 months

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Platin Group Metals (PGM)Most important reason for the declension of the platinum group metals (palladium and rhodium besides platinum) is their

usage in the automobile industry (catalysts). The shrinking market directly led into overplus on the global markets. A rising is not cognizable, nevertheless the prices are behave solid since the end of 2008 /4/.

The very limited usage of the platinum group metals is the reason that there is no fast rebound. Rhodium is used in catalysts for 85 %. For the whole PGM there is an amount of 50 % going into the catalyst fabrication. The consequences for the producing countries, especially South Africa and even more drastic Zimbabwe are similar to the diamond producing countries in central Africa.

Pic. 4: Development of „Nickel to gold price ratio“

Pic. 5: Development oft the platinum price over the alst 12 months

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PGM Complex prices compared to goldFor the declension of the precious metals of the PGM complex apply the same results as at the nickel price. Both “Platinum

to gold price ratio” and “Palladium to gold price ratio” showed crashes. In case of palladium, the value already crashed in fall and winter of 2001 and now even declined. Platinum experienced a declension, that was worse than the crash in the shadow of 9/11 terror attacks. Picutre 6 indicates the price declining /4/.

Industrial commoditiesThe most important emporium for commodity prices, London Metal Exchange, observed the crash of all industrial

commodities back to prices of the year 2003 in the second half of 2008 /4/. Picture 7 shows the development of the zinc price in US $ the last ten years. Clearly visible besides the declension starting in summer of 2007 is a constant development up to 2005, when the price started to grow extra-ordinary.

Pic. 6: Development of “Platinum to

gold price ratio” and“Palladium to gold price ratio”

Pic. 7: Development oft the zinc price over the last 10 years

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Looking at the copper prices over the last 15 years makes obvious, that the sharp rising starting in 2005 only could occur by speculations, i.e. runs on the deposits. Also, the metal exchanges at London, Shanghai and New York incorporated shortages on the global markets.

Largest consumer of copper was and is the People’s Republic of China. The crash of key industries as the construction sector hit China as well. Therefore, the global copper price is linked to the Chinese exporting rates.

Many experts consider that copper has the best chances to get stabile in pricing already in 2010. The graphic of the copper price development over the last six months indicates that fact.

Pic. 8: Development oft the copper price over the last 15 years

Pic. 9: Development oft the copper price over the last 6 months

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The role of ChinaThe energy demand of China over the last years has

been the main reason for global growing on commodities demand. Mathematical models deliver the coherences of economic implications of the European Union and the United States relative to the rates of growth in China. They consider that a retardation of the commodity demand in Western Europe and North America of one percent leads to a declension of seven percent at China’s export rates. Regarding the expectation, that the commodity demand in 2009 will fall about 3 percent in the G7-nations and the Chinese export rates climbs at 10 percent in comparison to 2007, a declension of around 20 % considering the export is to expect.

Generally spoken it is remarkable, that the current crisis hits China harder than the Asian economic crisis 10 years ago. Although the demand for commodities will rise in 2009 and 2010, but less than the last years, namely 7 % this year and 6,6 % in 2010. Compared to other countries and regions, the rates would be extra-ordinary high, for example in Europe, but for the huge imports of commodities of China these rates are indices for a crisis /4/.

Canada’s oil sandsThe Canadian oil sands projects deliver exemplarily how

branches of commodity producing can be hit by unsteady price developments. That affects the temporary boom of Canadian oil sand industry that started about five years ago as well as the problems that arrived nowadays since the oil price turned down.

Regarding picture 10, it becomes visible that the oil price between 2001 and 2008 was extremely rising, especially since January of 2007. The low level in autumn of 2001, i.e. in the periphery of the N.Y. terror attacks, made clear, that a constant level that low can not be normal in the future. Constant rising together with predictions of growing demand made oil sand mining became more and more profitable. The crash of the crude oil price in autumn of 2008 to a level of 40 US $ per barrel was that striking, that the value now was lower than it would have been by standard rising values. Picture 11 now shows, that now quiet a stabile and slow rising oil price is to expect until 2010. Price will last around 60 US $ per barrel.

Location of the oil sands boom is the Canadian province Alberta. Around 1.7 trillion barrel are expected, one third of the global oil sands reserves. Oil sand in this region is a conglomeration of 83 % of sand, 10 % bitumen plus water and clay. The part of bitumen fluctuates between 1 % and 18 % and is the value that makes the profit possible. Generally, contents of at least 6 % of bitumen lead to profit.

Pic. 10: Development of the cruide

oil price between2001 and 2008

Development of the criude oil price between 2001 - 2008 (12. Dec)

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Some of them are afflicted with binary billion values. That leads to negative results during the financial crisis. The consulting company McKinsey comes to the conclusion, that Alberta’s bitumen has a cost disadvantage of 15 US $ per barrel on the important US-American market.

As seen above, upgrader projects need oil prices of 100 US $ per barrel. Furthermore there has to be a significant difference in prices between bitumen and synthetic crude oil. If Alberta processes crude oil and delivers less crude oil to its most important consumer, the United States, the US demand for bitumen grows. That leads to a smaller price difference, the most important requirement for the upgrader projects. Instead of that, export of bitumen is more profitable. However, lots of capital was invested in upgrader projects, so profitable economic activities are hardly to realize today. Concerns as Shell and Statoil delayed plans for new mines by now.

That also has consequences for the region. The absence of skilled personnel into the summer of 2008 perhaps leads into thousands of unemployed people in the Athabasca region /11/ /12/.

Pic. 11: Development of the cruide oil price and outlook until end of 2010

Now the expansion plans are showing first signs of slowdown, a correlation to the declined oil price seems to be visible. According to the president of the Mining Association of Canada the oil sand projects are challenged nowadays in its entirety.

For the Canadian projects exist three starting points, every one for a different way of mining and processing, that mark the edges of profitable economics:

Oil sand projects that need so called upgrader to process •the oil sand after mining require a long-ranging oil price of at least 100 US $ per barrel.

Oil sand projects that are mining per steam injection and do •not need upgraders require a long-ranging oil price 70 US $ per barrel.

Oil sand projects, which export the mined bitumen directly to •refineries in the U.S. (that are able to process the heavy oil) require a long-ranging oil price of 50 US $ per barrel.

Compared to figure 11, that “break-even-points” make clear that today only the third way, i.e. the export of unprocessed bitumen is profitable. It also makes clear, that the planed upgrader projects are deferred for the present or will be delayed. All upgrader projects were close to realization by nearly all global petrol concerns.

Besides the fallen oil price a result of the financial crisis became important. Canadian oil sand projects are inherently more capital-intensive than conventional mining projects.

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The failure of the mega-dealIn the direct periphery of the events on the global energy

and commodities market in the second half of 2008, one of the largest takeovers in history failed. British-Australian mining company BHP Billiton, largest global mining company, tried to overtake n°3, also British-Australian Rio Tinto. The takeover price firstly lay around 140 Billion US Dollars. If the takeover would become reality, a quasi monopoly would have lasted as a result. The huge iron ore production of Rio Tinto together with the very important role that BHP Billiton plays in hard coal mining would have let the new concern control one third of the global raw material for steel production. Therefore the competition commission of the European Union demanded already in the forefront that BHP has to give up other commercial lines in case of realization of the takeover. The reason was to prohibit a monopoly position.

The beginning declension of the commodity prices in the second half of 2008 firstly led into a declined takeover price down to 58 Billion US Dollars. Reason was, that BHP Billiton wanted to pay with own stocks. They had been fallen already because of the starting global recession. The final cancellation had the same reasons in principle. The new and unexpected market conditions and the economical lowering led into the decision to delay the takeover /13/ /14/.

Abstract & OutlookThe aftermaths of a global recession and financial

crisis lead into direct consequences on the energy and commodity world market. The links often are very complex and nontransparent. Since the year of 2005, commodity prices were pushed upwards speculatively.

Regarding crashing commodity prices, economic impacts appear temporally delayed as well for import as export nations. The interlocking of the events that started as first global crashes and ends at foreign or German mining companies is now clearly visible. The lowered propensity to invest of the western world becomes now, some months later, noticeable in the Third World countries, whose economics ground on commodities export. Furthermore, aftermaths become visible that the global commodities markets are changing if import rates of Chinese goods decline in the western world. China as the most important

consumer of commodities reduced import rates clearly. Excess supply let prices crash, for example the one of copper. Exploration projects that were profitable at high prices are delayed up-to-date.

Commences a betterment considering the purchasing power in the industrial nations, price risings over the average rates are possible again. The lowering of the production rates of the OPEC nations as well as the missing investments in new projects because of lacking exports and a low oil price can lead into a rising in the medium term when the economies of the consumer nations become solid again.

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bibliography

/1/ Handelsblatt: Rohstoffpreise fallen ins Bodenlose www.handelsblatt.com/finanzen/rohstoffe-finanzen/_b2118623/2/ Die Welt: Spekulanten lassen Rohstoffblase platzen http://www.welt.de/die-welt/article2281070/Spekulanten-lassen-Rohstoffblase-platzen.html/3/ Wirtschaft T-Online: Billige Rohstoffe verschärfen Wirtschaftskrise http://wirtschaft.t-online.de/c/17/46/44/46/17464446.html/4/ DB Commodities Outlook 2009; Deutsche Bank AG /London/5/ Wirtschaftswoche: Einbruch in der Stahlindustrie www.wiwo.de/unternehmer-maerkte/einbruch-in-der-stahlindustrie/6/ Handelsblatt: RAG leidet unter Kohlepreisverfall www.isht.comdirect.de/html/news/actual/main.html?C_Timeframe/7/ Heidelberg Cement http://www.heidelbergcement.com/de/de/country/produkte/kalk/einsatzbereiche/eisen_stahl.htm/8/ Rheinkalk AG, Werk Flandersbach/9/ Friedel Hütz-Adams: Diamanten – Finanzkrise trifft Förderer und Verarbeiter hart/10/ Handelsblatt: Diamantenmarkt fehlen kaufkräftige Baker www.handelsblatt.com/finanzen/rohstoffe/diamantenmarkt-fehlen-kaufkraeftige-banker; 2242473/11/ Germany Trade & Invest: Kanadas Ölsandprojektestocken www.gtai.de/fdb-SE,MKT200811068015,Google.html/12/ DiePresse.com: Ölsand-Industrie tritt auf die Bremse www.diepresse.com/home/wirtschaft/international/441538/13/ Focus: Finanzkrise lässt historischen Milliardendeal platzen www.focus.de/finanzen/news/bergbau-finanzkrise-laesst/14/ Börse ARD www.boerse.ard

Moritz Kellner studies mining at Clausthal Uni-versity of Technology. This work was created last summer as a part of a seminar at the institute for Surface Mining and International Mining. The presentation of this work was held on 18 May 2009.


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Round Table at Hannover Messe 2009:

Climate-Friendly and Energy-Efficient Raw Material ExtractionClausthal University of Technology presents “Energy-Efficient Conveyor Technology and Climate Protection“ study at the ContiTech booth - Panel discussion with experts from mining, industry and government

Hannover Messe, 2009. Conveyor belt units are the energy savers and climate protectors in haulage technology. They consume only a fraction of the energy required by conventional means of transport and emit much less CO2. With them greenhouse gas could be cut by 340 million tonnes in the next thirty years. This is a conclusion arrived at in the “Energy-Efficient Conveyor Technology and Climate Protection” study, initiated under the direction of Dr. Hossein Tudeshki, professor at Clausthal University of Technology’s Institut für Tagebau und Internationalen Bergbau [Eng.: Institute of Surface and International Mining]. At Hannover Messe, Professor Tudeshki is presenting his study for the first time as part of a round table event sponsored by ContiTech AG. He will then discuss the findings with a panel of experts from industry, mining and government.

Raw materials make the world go round. For years now the economic coming of age of threshold and developing countries and the mushrooming of the planet‘s population have been upping the demand for metalliferous ore, industrial minerals, fossil energy sources and raw materials for construction – what one finds, in other words, in virtually all articles of daily use, in everyday consumables and in buildings and other structures. A growth in demand at an average of four percent a year is forecast for the future.

What impact does haulage technology have on the environment and the global climate?

The environment and the global climate are, of course, not unaffected by the corresponding increase in raw material haulage. That is why the Clausthal University of Technology took a closer look at the consequences that the different transport options have on energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Raw materials are seldom processed where they are extracted. On average no less than 25% of the energy required for raw material extraction goes

for the internal transport of these solid mineral resources (currently more than 12.3 billion tonnes a year worldwide) and the related overburden (approx. 28.84 billion tonnes). And for mine operators, the question thus posed is: What are the most effective, the most cost-efficient and the safest processes – as well as the best from the standpoint of global climate pro-tection – for transporting raw materials from where they are extracted to where they are processed? To answer this question, the study compares conveyor belt units with special-purpose heavy-duty trucks, the chief means to date of hauling away what is mined.

The key conclusions: In the next thirty years, 340 million tonnes of CO2 can be cut by simply making more rigorous use of conveyors for raw material extraction. What is more, the study clearly shows that conveyor belts achieve a much better energy scorecard, requiring only about twenty percent of the energy needed by heavy-duty trucks. This translates into a big advantage for both the environment and industry.

Energy generation during raw material transport

During the panel discussion, Hans-Jürgen Duensing, general manager of the ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group business group, evoked the example of a mine operated in Jamaica to highlight another point: Conveyor belts not only consume less energy and reduce CO2 emissions. They can also generate electric power. At the Jamaican mine, a RopeCon conveyor unit transports 1,200 tonnes of bauxite an hour across a distance of 3.4 kilometers and an altitude difference of 470 meters. The braking force applied during downhill transport is harnessed to generate electric energy. In concrete terms this works out to 1,300 kW.

„The RopeCon concept itself is of advantage wherever high conveying capacity is required across impassable terrain, wooded areas or wide rivers,” adds Hans-Jürgen

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Duensing. “In Jamaica we were able to save the whole tree population by forgoing construction of a road to haul away the raw materials. The system makes up for the equivalent of 1,200 truck runs a day and eliminates the corresponding amount of CO2 and particulate emissions.”

Environmental and climate protection with conveyor belt systems

It is easy to understand why conveyor belt systems are a more energy-efficient alternative and less grievous polluters of CO2 emissions than the heavy-duty trucks mainly used in mining operations. As batchwise operating conveyances, heavy-duty trucks do both outward – loaded – runs and inward – empty – runs. The vehicle’s considerable deadweight is another key factor. For a truck, therefore, the ratio of overall mass moved, on the one hand, and payload, on the other, is around 2.2-2.6 to 1. By contrast, for a continuously operating conveyance like a belt system, the ratio is just 1.2 to 1. Simply stated, belts are much more efficient. A belt system’s conveying resistance is also much lower than what a heavy truck is up against.

It comes as no surprise, then, that the specific energy requirement for heavy-duty truck transport works out to 1.09 to 1.17 kW per tonne and kilometer, whereas a belt system gets by with a mere 0.14 to 0.25 per tonne and kilometer, i.e. just a fifth of what a truck needs.

Reduced CO2 emissionsAccordingly there are also differences in the amounts of

CO2 greenhouse gases emitted. Worldwide, power stations emit an average of 0.285 kg of CO2 per kW generated. 0.293 kg per kW is emitted in the combustion of diesel fuel. “When these values are applied to conveyances in mining,” notes Professor Tudeshki, “a heavy truck can be seen to have a specific CO2 emission rate of 0.331 kg per tonne and kilometer. The corresponding rate for a belt system is only 0.055 kg per tonne and kilometer. The specific reduction potential thus comes to 0.276 kg CO2 per tonne and kilometer.”

What exact conditions must be met to achieve a reduction in CO2 emissions of 340 million tonnes in the next thirty years? The amount cite represents, by the way, well nigh exactly the CO2 equivalent amount that the European Union pledged itself to achieving under the terms of the Kyoto Protocol adopted in 1997. Professor Tudeshki makes one thing clear: “Maximum flexibility is demanded in the mining of raw materials. This means that conveyor belt systems will not completely replace heavy-duty trucks.

But industry and the environment have much to gain from rigorous use of conveyor belt systems.” According to the mining expert, though, exploiting this potential would require that the proportion of belt systems be upped from thirty percent at present to fifty percent in 2034, and then held constant at that level. Taking into account the four-percent annual increase in the demand for raw materials, belt haulage would increase by three hundred forty-five percent through 2034 and by another twenty-two percent through 2039. Should this happen, the specific mass moved by belt systems would grow from 46.97 billion tonnes and kilometers a year at present to 254.29 billion tonnes and kilometers by 2039. In the whole thirty-year forecast period, CO2 emissions would be cut by over 340 million tonnes as a result of the expansion in conveyor belt haulage described here.

Economic benefitsHigher efficiency, a major reduction in CO2 emissions

and in energy consumption, virtually no negative impact on the natural environment, and the possibility, under ideal circumstances, of generating electric power as well – these are a number of the ways conveyor belt units can serve the environment and, at the same time, provide economic benefits. A cut in the energy costs incurred would, in effect, lower the overall expense for raw material extraction. Following ContiTech AG’s round table discussion, Hans-Jürgen Duensing noted by way of summary: “This is an aspect that would certainly give mining companies a strong incentive to greatly step up their use of conveyor belt units and thus do the environment a big favor.“

ContiTech Conveyor Technology corporationBreslauer Straße 14

37154 Northeim | GermanyTel.: +49 (0) 5551 702 207Fax: +49 (0) 551 702 504

eMail: [email protected] Internet: www.contitech.de/transportbandsysteme

http://www.contitech.de/transportbandsysteme

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CONTITECH CONVEYOR BELT SYSTEMS carry the earth’s valuable resources and protects our planet’s natural richness • Active worldwide • New plant in Brazil • Optimistic look into the future

The demand for raw materials is growing. Experts estimate that the worldwide requirement is growing at an average rate of four percent a year. As a manufacturer of conveyor technology, ContiTech‘s Conveyor Belt Group business unit participates in this growth and, accordingly, views the future quite optimistically. At the same time, the products developed by the company are climate- and eco-friendly. “Working with rubber, a material with much promise for the future, we create technological solutions for industry and the environment,” explains Hans-Jürgen

Duensing, general manager of the ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group. Here energy-optimized conveyor belts, which also reduce CO2 emissions, play just as big a role as does

the generation of energy in downhill transport operations. In the case of more comprehensive interconnected systems, ContiTech also cooperates closely with scientific research centers.

At ContiTech’s booth (A16) in hall 5 at Hannover Messe, the Clausthal University of Technology, for example, is presenting a development for acoustically identifying material. With the enclosed SICON® conveyor belt, Conti-Tech, moreover, is showing how sensitive goods can be protected from moisture and contamination while being conveyed and how spillage and dust emissions can be prevented.

With sales of €469 million, the Conveyor Belt Group is

The participants at the RoundTable:

Dipl.-Ing. Ralf to Baben:• Head of the Technology Center Mining/HW of RWE Power AG, Frechen

Hans-Jürgen Duensing:• Division Manager ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group, Northeim

Dr. Heinrich Sönksen:• Head of underground-mininig technique K + S Aktiengesellschaft, Kassel

Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil Hossein Tudeshki:• Head of Institute of Surface and International Mining, Clausthal University of Technology

Moderator:

Andreas Lorek:• Free TV and Radio Journalist

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the world‘s leading conveyor belt manufacturer and the second largest of ContiTech AG’s sev-en business groups. With a current workforce of around 3,000, the company manufactures belts for mining as well as special conveyor belts for the most diverse transport tasks in machine and plant engineering. The product portfolio encompasses several hundred offerings. Aside from its standard range, the company also develops individually customized solutions. It is thus always in a position to supply exactly the right products to satisfy cus-tomer requirements.

Active throughout the world – now in Brazil as well

Conveyor Belt Group products are in use all around the globe. Because of the products’ enormous volume and weight, transporting conveyor belts to where they are to be used can be a very involved and expensive undertak-ing. For this reason the Conveyor Belt Group produces in the markets in which its customers work – in Mexico, Chile and China, in India, Greece and Serbia, and in Hungary, Slovakia and Germany.

Before the year is out the Conveyor Belt Group will be stepping up its activi-ties in South America, where a new plant will be opened in Ponta Grossa in southeastern Brazil. At a 5,000 m² facility there, a workforce of ninety will be producing textile and steel cord belts. Brazil is the major South American market for conveyor belt systems, accounting for roughly fifty percent. “Thanks to the new plant and the existing one in Chile, we are well poised to establish a firm foothold on the South American market. We shall greatly expand our market position,” explains Hans-Jürgen Duensing the business unit’s strategy.

Eco-friendly and energy-efficient raw material extraction

Conveyor belt systems are the energy savers and climate protectors in raw material extraction. This is the conclusion that the „Efficient Conveyor Technology and Climate Protection“ study comes to. It will be presented at a panel discussion at the ContiTech AG booth in hall 5 at the Messe. The study was the brainchild of Dr. Hossein Tudeshki, professor at Clausthal University of Technology’s Institute of Surface and International Mining. It demonstrates how conveyor belts make much more efficient use of energy and emit considerably less CO2 than the heavy-duty trucks usually used in mining. What is more, conveyor belt units are also capable of generating current. “Wherever raw materials are transported downhill, braking energy can

be transformed into electrical energy – as in the case of a streetcar or a hybrid vehicle,” explains Hans-Jürgen Duensing.

Energy generation in the case of raw material transport

In Jamaica, for example, a RopeCon® conveyor belt is in operation hauling more than 1,200 tonnes of bauxite an hour over a distance of 3.4 kilometer and an altitude of 470 meters. The transformation of braking force into electric energy yields 1,300 kW. The current is fed into the local power grid. Functioning in much the same way as a ropeway, for which reason it requires only a few tower stations, the RopeCon® system is of major benefit for the environment. “In Jamaica we were able to save the tree population by forgoing construction of a road for the transport of raw materials,” reports Hans-Jürgen Duensing. The system makes up for the equivalent of 1,200 truck runs a day and eliminates the corresponding amount of CO2 and particulate emissions.

“For us it is not only a matter of transporting the world’s resources but also of protecting our planet’s environment,” emphasizes Duensing. “Responsibility for the environment also guides us in the development, manufacture and transport of our products.“

Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Hossein H. Tudeshki studied from 1977 to 1980 at the Mining Col-lege of Shahrud (Iran); following several years of work in the mining industry, he completed his mining study at the RWTH Aachen in 1989. Since 1992 he was Chief Engineer at the Insti-tute for Surface Mining (Bergbaukunde III) of the RWTH Aachen, mainly active in the field of open cast mining and drilling technique. He did his doctor degree in 1993 and qualified as a university lecture in 1997. In 1998 the Venia Legendi was awarded to him be the RWTH Aachen for the field “Rock and Earth Open Pit Mining”. In Novem-ber 2001 he was appointed as Professor for Surface Mining and International Mining at Clausthal University of Technology.He already has over 25 years of experience in the field of project planning and cost-benefit analysis within the frame of various mine planning projects. The international tasks rendered by him mount up to more than 300 international raw material-related projects.

[email protected] www.bergbau.tu-clausthal.de


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ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group | Phone +49 5551 [email protected]

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36Issue 03 | 2009



Thyssen Krupp Fördertechnik (conveyor technique): Fully Mobile Crawler-Mounted CrushingPlant for Large Open-Pit MinesIntroduction

As part of a priority research and development project launched in 2006, engineers at THYSSEN-KRUPP FöRDERTECHNIK developed the concept for a fully mobile crushing plant to enhance mining operations in large open pit mines (Fig. 1). The key innovations lie with the unique functionality and mobility of the machine which allow it to work along side the mining shovel at the mine face. The crushing plant feeds a dedicated belt conveyor system and the need for large haul trucks is eliminated.

The use of continuous mining technology not only brings economic benefits in the form of higher production performance with reduced capital cost (particularly when compared to a discontinuous system using trucks), it is also more environmentally friendly because it reduces CO2 emissions. In a cross-segment cooperation with ThyssenKrupp Steel, the developers investigated the use of high strength steel and utilized liners with special wear properties to provide adequate protection from the abrasive nature of the ore.

BackgroundThe use of continuous mining

systems is primarily dependent on the type and properties of the ore being mined. In the case of light and loose earth, bucket wheel excavator technology, combined with a system of conveyors, offers the advantages of a continuous mining system. In order to take advantage of continuous mining in harder ore, such as minerals and hard coal, crushers are required to reduce the ROM ore

to a conveyable size.The crushing plants can be stationary (mounted on

concrete foundations) or semi-mobile style, supported on steel pontoon feet. As the mining operation progresses, the semi-mobile crushing plants can be relocated within the mine using multi-wheeled trailers or transport crawlers. Typically, shovels load the ROM ore on to heavy-duty haul trucks that transport the ore to the crushing plant and relocating the crushing plant as the mine expands reduces the distance that the large trucks need to haul the ore from the working face.

The objective of the new development was to totally eliminate the need for trucks by having the shovel feed the ROM ore directly to a continuous material handling

Fig. 1: Fully mobile crushing plant for an open pit coal mine in China

http://www.tk-mining.com

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system. The crushing plant would need to be fully mobile such that it could follow the movements of the shovel, would have to be designed to suit the movement of the shovel boom and bucket and would have to match the operating capacity of the shovel.

To achieve this result, ThyssenKrupp developed a fully mobile crawler-mounted crushing plant which allows for continuous material handling while providing an economical solution not yet realized in a high capacity mine.

Cross-segment improvements inmaterial use

Possible changes and improvements to the fully mobile open-pit mining system were investigated at an early stage in the priority project and various products produced by ThyssenKrupp Steel were reviewed and analyzed. A common approach to reducing the construction weight of the supporting structural steel work is to use higher strength steel. To optimize the heavy components, it was found that further benefits could be realized by utilizing special alloy fine grain structural steels.

The know-how possessed by ThyssenKrupp Steel, along with valuable feedback from the employees at ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, resulted in employing structural steel in ways that could improve those components not governed by fatigue, such as the large crawler assemblies.

The demand for abrasion resistant wear materials increases with highly abrasive ore. There is a definite benefit to employ wear resistant steel where load bearing members must be protected against abrasion caused by continuous direct contact with the conveyed materials. In a fully mobile crushing system, typical high wear areas are the hopper, chutes and feeder skirtboard. For the referenced facility

in China, the customer was convinced by the advantages offered by wear-resistant XAR®400, a special purpose structural steel manufactured by ThyssenKrupp Steel (Fig. 2). When working with hard rock, XAR®400 offers two to three times the expected life compared to conventional steel.

Customer benefits

High level of system availabilityConventional shovel / truck operations in open-pit

mines leads to loss of efficiency due to the discontinuous transportation of the ore because the shovel needs to wait

Fig. 2: Feed hopper and skirtboard lined

with XAR®400 wear resistant plates

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for the loaded truck to leave and for the empty truck to spot itself beside the shovel. Depending on the number of trucks available, the shovel waiting time can be a few minutes or more per truck. In contrast, the fully mobile crusher is always positioned next to the shovel meaning that shovel operation is not interrupted. Ideally, the crushing plant is as mobile as the shovel such that neither has to wait for each other as they advance along the working face.

The crusher comminutes the ore to a conveyable size and discharges to a system of shiftable and fixed mine conveyors. To increase the flexibility of the system a short mobile transfer conveyor can be added to the system (Fig. 3).

In most cases, existing cable shovels or hydraulic excavators can be used if a mobile crushing plant replaces the truck fleet. The hopper height and geometry is similar to the truck box so the shovel operation is similar if loading trucks or the mobile crushing plant.

Lower operating costsA mine based on truck haulage requires a large

number of drivers and support staff while a continuous style operation allows customers to reduce personnel without affecting production output as only 3 to 4 workers are required per shift to operate and control a crusher / conveyor system. In addition to saving wages and wage related costs, customers can reduce their safety related costs as well. One of the hidden benefits of the continuous system is the fact

that the scarcity of tires for the large haul trucks becomes a no issue. Further, it is common for large mines to utilize trucks from several manufacturers and the expense involved in stocking duplicate spare parts can be considerable while the spare parts inventory for a crusher / conveyor system can be tailored to meet the clients exact needs.

Environmental considerationsFully mobile crushing plants with conveyors operate

exclusively with electrical power which leads to the overall CO2 balance favoring a continuous mining system over the diesel-powered haul trucks, as illustrated in the following

examples.Thanks to the overall saving of a truck operation, savings

of the large truck tires is another benefit. Compared to the rubber necessary for belt systems, for comparable transport systems the rubber is reduced by up to 95 %.

Use of a continuous systemIn many cases, the replacement of a truck transport

system with an innovative fully mobile crushing system forces customers to think of other technology that they can use to make their systems more efficient. ThyssenKrupp Fördertechnik has a broad range of products for such needs, extending from long overland conveyor systems, stockyard equipment, ore process plants, train loading and unloading systems as well as port facilities.

Long life expectancy extending in some cases to several decades

A characteristic feature of continuous open-pit mining technology is the long life expectancy. The large number of such examples includes the in-pit crushing system at the Morenci open-pit copper mine in the USA which commenced operations in the late 1980’s. Another example is offered by the open-pit mining facilities and equipment employed by RWE in the Rheinish lignite fields.

After Sales ServiceThe expected long life noted above yields a positive

image and provides the potential to create long-term customer loyalty with regards to repeat business and after sales service.

Cost savings for customers

Efficient use of capitalDue to the high system availability previously mentioned,

a continuous system directly contributes to the efficient use of invested capital. Associated with this is an increase in the capacity utilization of the shovel or hydraulic excavator and the downstream process equipment.

Fig. 3: System chain shovel – fully mobile crushing plant – mobile transfer conveyor – bench conveyor

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Reduction of operating costsBecause fewer employees are needed, ongoing operating costs are reduced not only as a result of lower personnel

costs, but also with regard to safety. The ratio of each ton of extracted mineral to applied cost is optimized through the decreased cost of wear parts, the standardization of spare parts, and, above all, the elimination of truck transport and the associated significant reduction in diesel and tire costs.

Fully mobile crushers can attain hourly output rates that could otherwise only be achieved with a large number of large mining trucks. These trucks have useful payloads of between 140t and 350t and the tires need to be replaced, on average, once per year. Depending on the size of the truck, a set of six tires currently costs between € 90,000 and € 300,000 and delivery can take up to two years.

Innovation and degree of implementation of fully mobile crushing plants fromTK Fördertechnik

The high degree of innovation is characterized particularly by the following:The primary features are the plant’s degrees of freedom in combination with a single slewing discharge conveyor as well

as the arrangement of the supporting structure. The large machine is supported on the two crawlers without the need for additional supports, thus providing for a “true” fully mobile crushing plant.

In the fall of 2007, the first fully mobile crushing system commenced operation at the YiminHe open-pit mine in China. The crushing plant processes ROM coal at a rate of 3,500t/h. Fig. 4 shows the crushing plant while being relocated from the assembly area to the mine face while the continuous conveyor system is visible in the background.

Fig. 4: Reference plant in China on its way to its operating site

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Once commissioned, the fully mobile system was able to demonstrate in harsh winter conditions – in Inner Mongolia down to -48° Celsius – that with optimum operation of all system components, the required production rate is met. Heating plates installed at the receiving hopper guarantee the trouble-free discharge of the coal from the hopper by the apron feeder (Fig. 5).

Another plant will be supplied by Krupp Canada, a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Fördertechnik, in the near future and will go into operation as the first fully mobile crushing plant operating in the oil sand mines of Northern Canada.

Recently, the company has signed a contract with another Chinese customer, in this case for the supply of four fully mobile crushing systems, three for handling overburden at an hourly nominal capacity of 6,000 tons. Figure 6 shows the existing open pit coal mine preparing for the future conveyor technology with fully mobile crushing plants.

Fig. 5: Winter operation in temperatures

down to -48° C

Fig. 6: Open pit coal mine Baiyinhua – In preparation for conveyor technology

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Worldwide market potentialThe continuous crushing system has worldwide market

potential particularly in the area of mining for coal and oil sand. Not least the economic boom of China and India is resulting in a rising coal demand in the Asian-Oceanic region.

The fully mobile concept can conceivably be utilized in all mining operations where a shovel can excavate the ore directly at the face, with our without blasting.

For large open pit ore mines, which on account of the deposit characteristics mainly extend downwards, potential applications are currently being examined. Compared to coal and oil sand mines, which typically have relatively wide benches, the planning and realization of a fully mobile concept in an iron ore mine is com-plicated by the chiefly vertical alignment of the deposits. The fully mobile system, however, promises considerable savings in capital and operating costs and it is very likely that a solution can be realized.

Environmental Contribution of the CO2 Reduction

Accompanying the development of the fully mobile concept, potential CO2 emission savings were examined based on the use of a fully mobile crushing system compared to conventional shovel truck operation. The result was CO2 reductions of up to 100,000 t per year. Key factors contributing to CO2 reduction are lower transport distances, lowering of the masses and rolling resistances as well as the utilization of electric energy.

As an example, in China a fully mobile crushing system with associated conveyors replaced about 26 large haul trucks. The mining trucks consumed about 190 liters of diesel for every hour of operation. Considering that annual production remains constant and factoring in the higher availability of the continuous system, the diesel fuel savings amounted to 22 million liters per year leading to a favorable carbon footprint for the continuous system.

Another environmental consideration is the savings in rubber that can be achieved. In the scenario just described, the expected life of the conveyor belt is 8 years and, comparing this to the tire needs of the 26 trucks over the same time period, a savings of 400 t of tire rubber could be realized.

SummaryThe newly developed concept of a fully mobile crawler-

mounted crushing plant has already proven successful in worldwide surface mining.

The innovative feature of this new concept is the facility for moving the crusher during operation, guaranteeing flexibility and mobility. In combination with a continuously operated conveyor, the entire truck transport that would otherwise be necessary is eliminated.

A first reference plant has been successfully operating now for almost one year in China, working at full production rate since the first day. A second plant is soon set to go into operation at a Canadian oil sand producer.

In addition to the cost savings to the customer, the fully mobile crushing system has huge potential for reducing operations related CO2 emissions providing a greener footprint.

ThyssenKrupp Fördertechnik corporationAltendorfer Str. 12045143 Essen | GermanyTel.: +49 (0) 201 8 28 04Fax: +49 (0) 201 8 28 45 10eMail: [email protected]: www.tk-mining.com

http://www.tk-mining.com

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VOLVO CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT: VOLVO FLEET UNDER GROUND - All Good Things Come From Above

In a genuine logistic work of art a transport chain, consisting of Volvo-construction machines, spectacularly arrive at the lowest point of Europe.

How can the extraction of a big underground mine receive new impetus? How can productivity and delivery rate be increased? Actually the answer is obvious: through the application of an effective Volvo transport chain. However, in this case, this is easier said than done. The reason is that the construction machines we are talking about – two L110E and four articulated dumpers A25D (4X4)- cannot just roll into the drift system of the potash mine and start their work. Rather, all six Volvo-construction machines have to be taken apart and be lowered piece by piece into a narrow material pit of only five meters.

Such an enterprise required a lot of know-how, an extensive planning, and an elaborate logistics. After all, the re-assembling of the dismantled machines “down” in the mine was to be done in narrow and difficult circumstances, including the test-run and test-application. In addition, numerous modifications were needed to adapt the Volvo-standard machines to the extreme conditions in the mining operation. For this reason the experts of Volvo CE came together with the appointed dealer of “Baumaschinen Könicke GmbH & Co. KG” and the “K+S KALI GmbH”, Sigmundshall plant, in order to work out a very special logistics concept. Furthermore the delivery of the underground mining fleet meant a rearrangement of mining and extraction techniques of the mine, which required further detailed planning.

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The K+S KALI company breaks new grounds with its application of the Volvo- construction machines in underground mining. The aim is to give up complicated customized constructions resulting from the use of wheel loaders and dumpers, and to use well-proven standard machines of high quality instead.

Among the factory-owned modifications of the Volvo equipment are a lower driver’s cabs, axial oil cooling, fire extinguishing equipment, coolers, air filters and air conditioners with higher performances, as well as other details for underground operation. It has to be taken into consideration that the equipment has to operate in depths of 1,400 m and below, and in rock temperatures of 40 to 60 degrees Celsius – and all this in very dust-laden pit air, in three shifts and for 7 days a week.

The responsible parties hope that the construction machines have significantly higher extraction- and transport performance than the so far used 17 tractor shovels, with shovel capacities of only 12 to 17 tons.

After all, each one of the four A25D (4x4) has a payload capacity of 24 tons. This is double the amount of a tractor shovel.

Being a compact and versatile articulated dumper, the four-wheeled A25D (4x4) that has a broad rear wheel track, a 13m3 shovel content and up to 53 km/h speed, is also suitable for quarries and other extraction operations. However, under ground, the speed is limited to a maximum of 35 km/h. In special cases, the vehicle is adapted to specific application profiles like for underground mining; in this case it was equipped with a low driver’s cab.

The Volvo low-emission motors of the dumpers efficiently use the fuel and achieve high engine torques at low number of revolutions. A board computer controls the automatic transaxle, so that an exact adaptation to driving conditions can be done at any time. Thus fuel savings in the planned inclination drives with load should be ensured. A loaded A25D, which weighs up to 44 tons, cannot exactly be called a slight vehicle. Actually it is 3.13 meters wide and 8.9 meters long over its outer edge. Whether it was the rear end of a wheel loader, or one half of the split shovel, there was always too little space available to lower the components, which were split to a an exactly defined maximum size, as well as the assemblies of the Volvo-construction machines. They all had to be lowered to a depth of 940 meters into the “Kolenfeld” pit. There was no room for any bad planning.

The disassembling of six big construction machines, the “just-in-time” delivery at the mine, which was according to schedule, the sequential fitting of all components and assemblies into the material pit, and lastly the assembly under narrow and difficult circumstances under ground, all these require an extremely precise logistic, which runs like clockwork.

In collaboration with the plant management of the Sigmundshall plant, the specialists of the Volvo-authorized dealer of construction machines set themselves a tight timeframe: The disassembly, delivery, the fitting in the Kohlenfeld pit, the assembly under ground, as well as the first test-runs were to be completed within only six weeks.

What appeared to be relatively daring and delicate, in reality proved to be excellently planned and optimally prepared: Under the leadership of Hanno Schoene - in charge of service and assembly at Koenike – and the

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underground mining-engineer Dr. Jan Tegmeier of the Sigmundshall plant, the disassembled construction machines took shape almost one kilometer under ground, exactly according to the timeline.

Why should conventional construction machines be used in the Sigmundshall plant instead of the so far used tractor shovels? “Proven and tested serial machines offer numerous advantages over small series engine like tractor shovels. This is not only related to the availability of spare parts, but also to the service”, Dr. Tegmeier explains. “We have found a clear-cut solution with “Baumaschinen Könicke“, he adds, “our workshop personnel on the 940 m brine is already running at full capacity. Therefore we have agreed with Könicke on a full service program. This includes an 85% contractually committed availability of

Volvo machines. In case you believe this is too little: under ground an availability of 85% is very high, Dr. Tegtmeier explains.

However, through the application of wheel loaders and dumpers the personnel expenses by no means are doubled. The reason is that only one driver will operate both the L110E, as well as an A25D (4x4), alternately. When times of circulation amount up to 20 minutes, the waiting time for the drivers will be too long, and he can also be assigned to a articulated dumper each. During application, the equipment has to defy the most difficult circumstances. Most of all, the extreme temperatures and the high dust formation can be mentioned. Within the framework of the full-service program the service technicians of Baumaschinen Könicke will attend to all emerging services on site in the fully equipped main repair shop on the 940 m brine.

The flexibility, with which Volvo CE altered the machine fleet to the desired low-height construction deserves special

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acknowledgement: Through special low-profile driver’s cabs the L110E were “shortened’ from a height of 3.36m to 3.09 m, the dumpers were even lowered to only 3.05 m. Dr. Tegtmeier is full of praise and says: “This is really not seen everywhere. According to our knowledge no other manufacturer offers wheel loaders in low-height construction”.

In this connection it is even possible to define some new terms: If someone calls these wheel loaders and dumpers construction machines, he does not really get the point. In fact, these modified specialists that are applied around the clock are no construction machines any more. They can therefore safely be called high-performance underground construction machines.

At the lowest point of EuropeThe potash and magnesium products of the K+S KALI GmbH are being exported globally and are mainly used

in agriculture and the industry, either for the production of fertilizers or in chemistry. The K+S group, to which the Sigmundshall plant belongs, globally belongs to the top flight of the suppliers of special and standard fertilizers, plant protection/-care and salt products. In the global potash production scale of 2006, the K+S group occupied the fourth rank with 6.7 million tons and a total share of 13 percent. The enterprise is continuing on the road to suc-cess: In the second quarter only, their sales volume increased by eleven percent at 778,6 million Euros, this is 78.5 million Euros more than in the previous year. Above all the global strong demand for potash and nitric fertilizers has contributed to this result. Visitors, who drive in a conveyor cage into the old-established Sigmundshall mine (located near Wunstorf close to Hannover), are mostly amazed because they see one of the biggest potash mines of Europe. Annually 778 employees extract more than 2.8 million tons of raw salt. Between the six main brines that lie between 350 and 1.400 m, a gigantic transport network, which is already longer than 250 km, has been formed. On the lower brine you are at the lowest point in Europe: The walls of the mine hall emit temperatures of up to 60 degrees Celsius, a fact that makes extreme demands on both man and machine. The reason for this unusual heat for this depth is the salt dome, which has set itself vertically in the past. Since salt is a good heat conductor, the high temperatures of the interior of the earth descend into the mine and as such into the mine openings.

Salt has been extracted for more than 100 years in the Sigmundshall plant. The first pit drilling was done in 1898, extraction started from 1905. The value and the economic worth of the potassium salt were only recognized mid of the 19th century. The chemist Justus von Liebig discovered the worth of the carelessly stashed away potassium salt as fertilizer for the agriculture. At that time, the booming expansion of the potash mining promised lucrative profits not only to the mine operators, but also opened a welcome source of income. The dimensions which the mine has to deal with can be shown alone by the ventilation: In the widely ramified route system the amount of 22.000 m3 fresh air is delivered. This air supplies and cools the workplaces of 422 men under ground.

How did the salt get under the earth?Whoever drives through the landscape west of Hannover, who might want to visit the beautiful lake, the

“Steinhuder Meer”, can hardly imagine that the enormous salt dome “Bokeloh” is located up to 3.5 km under this landscape and extends itself in a length of twelve kilometers and a width of 1.4 km. The question that arises is: How could these unimaginable salt masses get under the earth? The conditions under which this salt was formed, have to date not been definitely clarified. Besides other scientific theories the so-called BARREN theory is believed to be the most likely. 250 million years ago, in the coal-mine-stone age (ZECHSTEINZEIT), central Europe was mainly covered by a marginal sea. Shallow straits – called BARREN- separated the inland sea from the open ocean. In those times a desert-like climate prevailed, even in our latitudes. Due to the strong solar radiation, the water of the inland sea evaporated like in a giant pan. As a result the salt content of the water was increased, until the solute minerals crystallized and formed potassic layers.

Thus several hundreds of meters of huge sedimentations were formed; they were covered by water-impermeable layers during the further geological development and therefore protected from being dissolved again. Therefore the raw material from the salt dome is counted a natural product, which was created by the heat of the sun from pure sea water.

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Volvo-construction machines in a coil

The new Volvo fleet is to work in a coil, which is to be driven into further depths. The 1,800 meter long coil, in which the dumpers carry their load on an inclination of 16 percent, leads them to one third through useful material and to two thirds through rock salt. In increasing depths, separate intermediate levels are dirft in useful material, as five to seven meter wide roads, up to a length of 800 meters and tangentially continuative from the coil. It is there that the two L110E and A25D (4x4) are loaded. Here considerably higher extraction and production performances can be expected. The so far used tractor shovels, which are difficult to maneuver, are inefficient for transport distances of over 400 m. Due to the fact that the visibility conditions of the tractor shovels are neither ideal over the shovel nor the engine hood, in the future the drivers will be in a much better position to work better, more secure and more speedy. Due to its compact design the A25D (4x4) has a curve inside radius of only 3.2 meters, despite its high payload. This is ideal to cruise the seven meters wide gallery of the coil.

It is important to note the unique characteristic of the underground version of the A25D (4x4): It can always cruise the coil forward, therefore the driver has an optimal sight. The articulated dumper has a patented reversing device, which has been developed by the Volvo engineers, and with which it can turn 180 degrees in a gallery width of 9.5 meters in only 25 seconds.

Through a supported traverse that can be hydraulically lowered, the empty or even loaded rear end can be lifted. In case the articulated joint is activated with blocked front wheels, the rear end rolls over on two wheels which are located under the supporting traverse, to the maximum possible kink angle of the frame, making it possible to turn-over in the narrowest space.

Further advantages of the Volvo-dumper: With increasing length of galleries the time of circulation of the dumper can more than double and thus halve the extraction performance. Then more articulated dumpers have to be used, and care has to be taken that they come across each other without colliding, therefore they have to ensure optimal view for the driver. Furthermore the dumpers have to fit into the curved roads of the coils, together with the vital air tubes (big, long, flexible hoses for ventilation). Furthermore the rims should not be too high, so that there is

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enough room for the wheel loaders under the stick-ridge for quick loading. And lastly the shovel should also not be too long, because otherwise it would use up too much space over the underground crusher plant while tilting.

Shift in Direction in 25 Seconds!Thanks to a patented turnover-device, the A25D (4x4), it can turn 180 degrees in less than half a minute and in a width of only 9.5 meters. Only a width of 9.5 meters is required, so that the A25D (4x4) turns 180 degrees in a three-step maneuver. The turning wheels are operated hydraulically from the driver’s cab and lift the empty loading unit in way that the steering hydraulic can swing the loading unit for 90 degrees.

On 17 Juli 2006, Walter Michels, the Volvo CE Europe Company, met for an initial conversation with Dr. Jan Tegtmeier from the K+S KALI Company. Shortly after he visited the Sigmundshall plant, together with Erich Kribs, Volvo CE Europe GmbH, and Dirk Rinne (area manager Nord Baumaschinen Könicke), in order to get a first hand impression of the local circumstances. The aim was to exactly determine the passage height and width, as well as to consider the entire routing and the extreme temperatures deep inside the earth for their project planning. Is the driver’s cab of a conventional Volvo-dumper of type A25D low enough?

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Will the entire electronics bear up to the aggressive surroundings? Is it technically possible at all, to cope with the standard equipment of Volvo? These were only some of the many questions, which needed to be answered. Erich Kribs prepared a drawing, in order to determine the exact special circumstances. Walter Michels, Hanno Schöne (Könicke) and Scelder Clas Schwarze (Könicke) visited the Swedish Volvo-plant in Braas, in order to monitor the taking apart of the modified dumper

in separate parts and arrange for the consecutive transport to Germany to Baumaschinen Könicke. The modified dumper had a heightened and elongated shovel (15.5 m³).

The four articulated A25D, whose maximum speed was reduced to the 35 km/h, which is prescribed under ground, all have special Goodyear tires. The motors of the dumpers were also specifically certified for Erich Kribs. The two A25D, which are being used in the roadheader (WAV), possess a turning device. The other two,

1. Zum Wendeplatz vorfahren, mit Zugeinheit bis zum vollen Lenkeinschlag schwenken und die Bremse eingedrückt halten.

2. Ladeeinheit anheben und maximal 90 Grad einschlagen.

3. Ladeeinheit absenken und vom Wendeplatz aus zurück-setzen.

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which are en route in the coil, do not need this.

“It was clear after the first conversations and the visit to the pit that planning and implementing this project would be a huge challenge. But through the intensive cooperation of all involved parties and the well though-out logistic we managed to bring the slightly modified construction machines to the desired location and prepare them for the challenging application.“ Walter Michels, Sales Engineer Hauler & Loader Business Line.

“With this unique project of K+S KALI Company, the Vovo CE, the Volvo certified dealer Könicke Baumaschinen, as well the responsible staff of K+S have entered completely new grounds. This big challenge could only be met with a constructive and highly efficient cooperation between the Volvo-plants, the Volvo CE Europe GmbH, the Könicke Baumaschinen GmbH and K+S“ Erich Kribs, Sales Engineer Volvo-Radlader.

http://www.volvo.com/constructionequipment/europe/de-de/introduction.htm

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IntroductionOversized rocks, which emerge during mining of mineral

raw material, are called boulders. The geometrical size and frequency of occurrence of boulders in excavated material are determined by two main factors the evolutionary history of the mountain on one hand, and the technology of extraction on the other.

Boulders are usually found in accumulations of loose rocks, which have sedimented in a relatively short distance from the previously weathered block of hard stone. Such circumstances are encountered in glacial and fluviatile sediments. A further frequent manifestation is the deposits of dumpings in slopes and mountains.

In areas near to the surface of hard rock formations, boulders that are formed through weathering appear; they have volumes of up to several cubic meters. In deeper mountain zones, which are less affected by weathering, tectonically-related slicks in form of disturbances and clefts, as well as stratigraphically related inhomogenities assume a major role in the formation of boulders. Furthermore the type and quality of the blasting technique in open cast mining has a significant influence on the number and size of emerging boulders.

Boulders reduce the performance of loading equipment, due to low filling of the shovel. In extreme cases boulders are too big for the shovel. In the latter case a time-consuming sorting of the rock pile needs to be done. Consecutively the separated boulders need to be crushed up separately. Big, loadable rocks can lead to damage of the loading area/shovel during loading of the transport vehicle. At the primary crusher, boulders bring about a reduction of the throughput and can even lead to the complete obstruction of the plant.

It is for this reason that extraction businesses strive to avoid or at least minimize occurrence of boulders. Nevertheless these blocks more or less emerge in almost every hard rock opencast mining. Therefore the boulders that emerge during the loosening process have to be crushed prior to the loading process. For this further crushing, methods such as autogeneous crushing, drop ball, buster or hydraulic breakers, as well as explosives and boulder busters are applied. In the current document these methods are introduced, and their advantages and disadvantages, as well as their areas of application are compared.

The commonality of all methods is the fact that boulders initially have to be uncovered and separated. The secondary crushing is usually done when a sufficient

number of boulders accumulate, in order to avoid disturbing the operations and conducting a concentrated special operation. Based on the amount of boulders they can be crushed in-house, or the service can be outsourced.

Methods and Appliances of Boulder CrushingAutogeneous Crushing

In autogeneous crushing one boulder is lifted by a loading device and is dropped on another boulder. Compared to the following methods this method only frees relatively low forces, as only gravity, in connection with the net weight of the material, act as components. In addition, this technique is limited to boulders that can be lifted with the bucket of the loading device. Furthermore it cannot be influenced, which boulder is crushed to which degree.

Drop BallDrop balls are often used in quarries for secondary

crushing. In this simple method an iron ball of several tons weight is lifted by the loading device and dropped on the boulder that is to be crushed. The impact of the ball produces stress peaks in the boulder, which spreads with various speeds and lead to crushing.

The drop ball usually has a weight of 3 to 9 tons, with a diameter of 1 to 1.3 m. Along the lines of the autogeneous crushing, in this method potential energy is transformed to kinetic energy. In case the drop ball is lifted to 3 to 5 m above the boulder, approximately 90 to 450 kJ potential energy is accumulated in the ball. In free fall the accumulated potential energy is transformed into kinetic energy and upon collision with the boulder, it is released as destruction energy.

Due to its simple structure, crushing with the free-fall ball is a particularly low maintenance method and needs little repair. However, in highly abrasive material there is a possibility that a pronounced wear-out can occur on the ball, which then looses weight and at the same time efficacy, due to the abrasion.

An efficient application of the drop ball can only be achieved with a face shovel dredger with a clamshell, since only this type of dredger can grasp the ball and, what is more important, can vertically drop the ball. Back-actor dredgers or wheel loaders have difficulties in loading

by Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. H. Tudeshki | Dipl.-Ing. Tao XuSurface Mining and International Mining | TU Clausthal | Germany


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the ball, as there is the possibility of inadvertent rolling. On the other hand, due to the rolling of the ball up to the cutting edge, there is always a horizontal component with a resulting bent falling curve, which makes an exact hit difficult.

In principle there is a danger of an uncontrolled rolling of the ball after the collision. This leads to the fact that the loading device cannot perform while standing, but often has to be moved unproductively.

During the collision of the ball there is the danger of chipping and flying rock splinters. Therefore the front screen of the driving cab of the dredger needs to be equipped with a protective device (grid). Furthermore it has to be ensured that no other persons are present in the danger area.

A very import role in bouldering with drop balls is assumed by the operator, since the efficiency of the stroke is dependant on the marksmanship of the ball. The same applies to the stroke frequency, which can reach up to 6-times per minute by experienced operators.

The advantage of applying the drop ball is that no more technical equipment is needed. Furthermore it is possible to use idle time of the loading device for bouldering, so that the method is often a cost-effective alternative.

Hydraulic BreakerHydraulic breakers are also often used in boulder jobs.

They are attached as accessory equipment on a suitable

support frame (usually backactors) which supplies them with hydraulic energy. The high pressure oil affects a pressure reservoir (e.g. a nitrogen accumulator with a membrane), that in turn abruptly releases the pressure to the subjacent ram of the air hammer. The oil then flows back again through the output pipe from the hydraulic breaker to the support frame.

The energy of the ram of the air hammer is transferred to the plug tool, the bit, and through that it is transferred to the material to be crushed. For different material, different plug tools are used in form of single-point thread chaser, chipping chisels, or blunt chisels.

The forward motion of the chisel through the socket is detained by a holding wedge in the lower area of the hammer. In order to avoid damage to the holding wedges and the socket, the hammer should not be idly operated, i.e. without stroke resistance.

The hammer mechanism is usually embedded in a closed, damped casing, in order to absorb noise and vibration. This casing is usually wider at the top, since there the hammer mechanism, the hydraulic control, as well as the distribution is located, and narrower at the bottom, since this part is only needed for the sliding of the chisel through the socket and the lock-axis.

For the operation of a hydraulic breaker it s necessary on one hand to rightly adjust the hydraulic pressure (in Bar), and on the other hand the correct adjustment of the oil flow (in l/min) in the hydraulic system of the support frame is necessary. Furthermore attention has to be paid to the oil temperature and the counter pressure on the reflux

Pic. 1: Face shovel dredger with free-fall-ball

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oil pipe.Globally there are many

manufacturers of hydraulic breakers. Both the dimensions, as well as the areas of application keep increasing. Meanwhile the large equipment classes are seen as economical alternatives to blasting in the explosive-free extraction of rocks, and as such they are not only been applied in the secondary crushing, but also in the primary crushing.

In Bauma 2007, Atlas Copco presented the 10 ton hydraulic breaker HB 10000, and as such, after over a decade, replaced the HB 7000 (7t), which had been the biggest serial hydraulic breaker up to that date. The new breaker requires a minimum excavator weight of 85 t. Envisaged application areas are direct mining in quarries and the heavy retreat. The frequency can be regulated between 250 and 380 hits per minute. Based on specifications provided by Atlas Copco, the breaker, which has a chisel diameter of 240 mm, achieves an impact of 16 kJ and 760 t respectively. Attached to a Komatsu PC1250, the new HB 10000 reached 50% higher excavation rate in comparison with the HB 7000. The technical data of the model range is depicted in the following table:

Pic. 2: Heavy hydraulic breaker as accessory equipment on a hydraulic excavator

Pic. 3: Hydraulic breaker at the crushing of boulders in hard rock mining

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HB Hydraulic breakers HB 2200 HB 2500 HB 3000 HB 4200 HB 5800

Category of the support frames t 26-40 29-43 32-50 42-75 55-100

Service weight kg 2200 2500 3000 4200 5800

Oil flow rate l/min 140-180 170-220 210-270 250-320 310-390

Operating pressure bar 160-180 160-180 160-180 160-180 160-180

Number of blows /min 280-550 280-550 280-540 270-530 280-460

Plug tool mm 150 155 165 180 200

Thanks to technological developments, much can be expected from the hydraulic breakers of the heavy range:

Maximum performance •and highest productivity

Robust layout and high •durability

Optimum Energy conver-•sion and excellent run-ning smoothness

Consistent impact ener-•gy, independent of the oil supply of the supporting frame

BusterA buster is a tool, with which the stroke impulse is

created by the by the free fall of a weight, which is directed in a pipe. Currently two different models are offered, which are explained in the following.

The buster is accessory equipment for backacters, whose active principle is based on a drop weight, in analogy to the drop ball. The weight, which can be over 10 tons, is conducted in free fall on the rock to be crushed in a tube. Contrary to the drop ball this hit can be directed to an inch, by the boom of the excavator. The buster is connected to the hydraulic circuit of the support frame. The redirection of the falling weight to its initial position is done after the stroke through a hydraulically operated appliance.

Pic. 4: Technical data of HB hydraulic breakers of Atlas Copco

Pic. 5: “Stone- and Steel- Buster“ from Fractum Company

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The energy which is generated in free fall is conveyed through a icone point to the boulder which is to be crushed. Based on the type, hardness and size of the boulder differently shaped cone points from steel are available. They are easily to be exchanged, without having to change the entire drop weight.

Compared to the drop ball, a buster reaches a higher number of strokes of 6 to 20 strokes per minute, according to the building dimension.

The “stone and steel buster”, which has been developed by the Fractum Company from Switzerland, is specially suited for the effective crushing of big concrete elements, rock blocks and slags. It is the biggest hammer in the world and can unleash energy of up to 400 kJ with each stroke.

The stone and steel buster, which has a weight of up to 15 tons, can be attached to almost any commercially available dredger; however with increasing size of the buster bigger support frames are needed. The assembly is done in one hour only. The technical data of the series developed by Fractum company can be reviewed in the following table.

Model Model 80 Model 100 Model 200 Model 400

Energieniveau [J] 80.000 100.000 200.000 400.000

Gewicht [t] 4,5 5,5 10 14,5

Hydraulik-/Öldruck [bar] 180 180 215 290

Hydraulik/Ölfdurchluss [l/min] 160 160 200 260

Min carrier-stick mount t 23-27 30-35 50-60 65-70

Min carrier-boom mount t 20-23 25-27 35-40 50-60

The “stone and steel buster” is particularly suitable for oversized boulders, since it pass the strokes in a quick sequence into the rock and as such can create a crack (see picture7).

A second version of the free fall hammers are the so-called crash-crushers of the TERMINATOR-series, which were developed by the ROCKTEC Ltd. company from New Zealand. Contrary to the stone and steel buster, the free fall weight itself does not collide with the boulder, but the kinetic energy of the drop weight is conveyed to the rock through a chisel. As such this technology combines the mode of operation of the free fall hammer with the hydraulic breaker.

The dimensions of the TERMINATOR series are smaller than the ones from the „stone and steel buster“. The weight of the device is only up to 8 tons. They offer a single stroke energy of up to 100 kJ (RX750). The shock crushers can strike every three seconds (RX100) and five seconds (RX750) respectively. Accordingly even bigger rocks can be crushed within one minute.

Pic. 6: Technical data of the series

by the Fractum Company

Pic. 7: Crushing of an approx. 150 t basalt boulder by a “stone and steel buster 200”

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Technical data RX 100 RX 200 RX 300 RX 500 RX 750

Power of impact per stroke [Nm] 13.500 27.500 38.000 62.000 100.000

Number of strokes per minute 20 18 15 12 12

Weight without support and quick die change equipment

[kg] 1.265 2.020 3.345 5.100 8.350

Required pumpage [l/min] 80 130 130 160 250

Hydraulic operating pressure [bar] 125 160 125 160 160

Diameter of the beating chisel [mm] 100 125 150 180 195

Total working height of the Teminator [mm] 4.360 5.500 6.000 6.370 6.780

Minimum weight of the dredger (Assembly on the boom)

[kg] 8000 12000 17.500 30.000 40.000

Minimum weight of the dredger (Assembly on the oscillating motion boom)

[kg] 10.000 18.000 22.000 38.000 60.000

Minimum weight of the wheel loader [kg] 7.500 15.000 18.000 30.000 40.000

Pic. 8: Composition and mode of operation of the TERMINATOR of ROCKTECH company

Pic. 9: Technical data of the TERMINATOR

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Blasting of BouldersBesides the above-mentioned special technologies,

it is also possible to apply explosives for secondary crushing. In principle however, blasting of boulders leads to considerable noise emission and there is the danger of flying rocks. In order to reduce the danger of flying rocks, each rock to be crushed has to be measured separately, so that an exactly adjusted amount of explosives and positioning can be reached.

Blastings of boulders are divided, based on type of fitting of the explosive on the rock:

With applied load•

Blasting in a borehole.•

In BOULDER BLASTINGS WITH APPLIED LOAD the explosive charge is applied flatly on the boulder and ignited. This type of boulder blasting is quick and easy, however it has the disadvantage of high noise emission and high consumption of explosives (low effectiveness).

Compared applied LOAD, IN BOULDER BLASTINGS WITH BOREHOLE, only 30% of the amount of explosive charge is needed. Here the effectiveness is increased, while at the same time there is lower noise emission compared to applied load. The explosive is applied into the previously drilled bore holes, where the explosive effect unfolds directly in the boulder. The disadvantage of this method is that the bore holes usually have to be drilled manually, so that there are considerable mechanical, temporal, as well as personal additional expenses.

Theoretically the blasting method has no limitation of use, since the size and position of the boulder to be blasted, as well as the type of rock only play a secondary role in this method. However, the boulder blasting method has progressively become less important, due to the high cost of labour, the difficult drilling per hand, the environmental disturbance and the danger of flying rocks. As a result, the above-mentioned automated methods are increasingly used.

Boulder BusterBesides the blasting, the „boulder buster“is another

method that works with usage of bore holes. However, in that case, a so-called hydrodynamic impulse is applied instead of explosives.

As portrayed in picture 11, the boulder buster is a portable device. Its function is similar to a shotgun. A specific cartridge can be loaded into the boulder buster and ignited. In principle the boulder buster consists of an impulse tube, a sealing body and an ignition unit, as well as of an additional safety mat (see picture 11). For transport and storage, the components of the buster can be packed in a suitcase. Two different impulse tubes with diameters of 26 mm and 34 mm can be used, based on the size of the

drilled holes. The cartridges to be applied are the same for both impulse tubes.

a

b

c

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Pic. 10: Boulder blasting: Measurement, drilling, loading, blasting and check-over (Pic. a, b, c, d, e)

d e

Pic. 11: Boulder Buster and its

schematic design

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Pic. 12: Steps of procedure of boulder crushing with boulder buster (a – h)

a b

c d

e f

g h

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Picture 12 shows the procedure for the application of the boulder buster. In order to prepare the boulder to be crushed, a bore hole is drilled in its middle (a), which is consecutively filled with water (b). It is then closed with a cap (c) and the safety mat is added (d). After the insertion of the loading unit (d) and the attachment of the ignition unit (e and f), they are ignited. The ignition of the loading unit can be operated by remote control (g). Compared to blasting, this method is safer. It is only necessary to secure the area in a radius of approximately 10 meters.

The energy, which is unleashed through the ignition of the loading unit, is prevented to be directed to outside, due to the weight and elasticity of the rubber mat. Instead it is mostly directed inside the boulder through the medium water in form of a hydrodynamic impulse and can crush the boulder. Furthermore the safety mat significantly reduced noise and flying rocks.

For types of rocks which have high water permeability or boulders with clifts it is obviously difficult to keep the water inserted into the bore hole. In order to tackle this problem, a gel can be used instead of water as a conducting medium. The types of rocks and their characteristics have an influence on the required amount of charge. While the blast wave is better conducted in hard and stable rock, it can be mostly absorbed in plastic rocks. Here the application of a multiplyer charge is necessary.

The boulder buster can crush rocks that are bigger than 2 m in diameter, and is therefore an alternative to blasting methods for boulders. Thanks to its safety there is no need for a blasting license, and there is almost no danger for transport and storage. It is for this reason that it can be applied in versatile ways, in cases where blasting is not possible or can only be done with high effort. This method can even be applied in closed rooms and in canalization.

Conclusion and System ComparisonThe so-called boulders, i.e. oversized rocks, can be found

in almost every hard rock open cast mining. The boulders significantly affect all open cast mining processes. It is for this reason that boulders need to be separately crushed after the extraction process, and before they are delivered to consecutive quarry and processing processes. This article deals with the description of various methods and appliances to crush boulders. In summary, the following system characteristics can be put on record:

Drop Ball: The drop ball with a weight of 3 to 9 tons is being dropped on a boulder by a loading device from a height of approximately 4 to 5 meters, and crushes the boulder through the impulse of the clash. This method is cost-effective and almost maintenance-free, however it requires a high degree of precision, because the boulder has to be exactly hit for an effective crushing. With a drop ball it is possible to achieve 3 to 6 strokes per minute.

Hydraulic breaker: A hydraulic breaker is a hydraulic accessory equipment for a hydraulic dredger. The support frame supplies the hammer with hydraulic energy through high pressure tubes. The technological development of the hydraulic breakers has lead to very high application weights of up to 10 tons and high impact energy of up to 16 kJ, as well as to a rate of strokes of several hundreds per minute. As a result the performance of the devices has greatly increased and the areas of application vastly been expanded. A significant advantage of the hydraulic breakers results from their application possibilities on operational extraction equipment.

Buster: The working principle of a buster can be compared with a directed drop ball. A drop weight of up to 10 t hits the boulder to be crushed in a tube-like conduct in free fall. Contrary to the drop ball the stroke can be directed to an inch. Like the hydraulic breaker, the buster is accessory equipment, which due to its weight of up to 10 t requires a hydraulic dredger of a weight of a minimum of 40t. Contrary to the hydraulic breaker, the hydraulic energy is only needed to elevate the drop weight, therefore the energy consumption is significantly lower. The rate of strokes is comparatively low at up to 7 strokes per minute. Due to the very high impact energy of up to 100 kJ these devices are suitable for extremely big and hard boulders.

Boulder blasting: In classical boulder blasting the explosive is applied on the boulder or is applied in bore holes which were previously drilled. The blasting method is universally applicable and almost unbound to application borders. Disadvantages are the high noise emissions, the personnel and time expenses and the danger of flying rocks, which cannot be excluded. Therefore this method is increasingly loosing importance.

Pic. 13: Dimensions of the crushable boulder with boulder buster

60Issue 03 | 2009



Boulder Buster: Besides blasting, this technique is another method that works with bore holes. In this method the bore hole is filled with water and consecutively a specific cartridge and boosters are applied with the help of boulder busters. The energy, which is unleashed through the ignition of the loading unit, is conducted in form of a hydrodynamic impulse through the water to the body to be crushed. Thanks to its safety mat almost no flying rocks appear in application of this method and the noise is also reduced. In fact no blasting license is needed for this. However, the preparation work and drilling of the bore hole still require a high expenditure of time.

In conclusion the four introduced methods are compared in a table with the help of significant decision criteria:

Technical Data Drop ball Hydraulic breaker Buster Boulder Boulder Buster

Limitation of use

Size of boulder Up to medium size Up to very big big unlimited big

Rock hardness limited big big unlimited unlimited

Location of the boulder Highly limited Partly limited limited Almost

unlimitedAlmost

unlimited

Environmental pollution

Noise emission low medium medium Very high low

Vibrationof equip-ment Very low high low - -

Commotion in the surroundings none None up to very

low none low none

Danger of flying rocks

low(onky splinters

im suroundings)

low(onky splinters im

suroundings)

low(onky splinters

im suround-ings)

high Almost none

CostsInvestition low high high medium medium

Personnel medium medium medium medium to high

mittel bis hoch

Suport frame required yes yes yes no no

Crushing performance low high moderate Very high low

Suitability for extraction nein yes no yes no

bibliography[1] Road Building International Internetinformation: www.boulderbuster.co.za; 05/2009[2] TEREX GmbH Internetinformation: www.ok-mining.com; 04/2009[3] ROCKTEC Ltd. Internetinformation: www.rocktec.co.nz; 04/2009[4] Atlas Copco Internetinformation: www.atlascopco.com; 04/2009[5] Fractum GmbH Internetinformation: www.fractum.com; 04/2009[6] Volvo Internetinformation: www.volvo.com; 04/2009[7] Atlas Copco Construction Tools GmbH Bautechnik Report Spezial: Einsatzmöglichkeiten in der Gewinnung; 2003[8] H. Tudeshki; L. Kaup: Terminator- Der Aufprallbrecher für den Steinbruch; in: World of surface mining; 0472005; S.244-248[9] STBG Steinbruch-Berufsgesnossenschaft Schriftenreihe: Steinbrüche, Kies- und Sandgruben, 1989

Abb. 14: Vergleich der Knäpperverfahren

61Issue 03 | 2009




Dependence of global Supply on unconventional Oil

Serious forecasts on future energy markets like the example of the Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) presented below are predicting the dependence of oil supply on unconventional oil, i.e. syncrude from oil-sands and oil-shale. While oil-sands have seen already a remarkable development during the last three decades, in the first instance in the Athabaska Region in Canada, the development of an oil-shale industry is on the threshold of realization.

by Dr. Eike von der LindenLinden Advisory | Dreieich | Germany

JJordan Energy & Mining Ltd (JEML) is developing the oil-shale deposit Al Lajjun in Jordan. Syncrude from oil-shale will contribute to the global supply of oil supported by a long term oil price forecast of USD 90/bbl.The project has gone through a full FS with 80,000 engineering hours and including infill drilling, trial mining and processing of 500t representative samples in the ATP pilot plant in Calgary. The expenditures were born by a private placement which raised funds of USD 32m. The project will be in compliance with environmental thresholds related to carbon emissions, water consumption and other relevant criteria. The key findings of the bankable FS are:

based on NI 43.101 certified 2p reserves 29year mine life in the northern Al Lajjun concession •fieldTotal oil-shale mined 210m t containing 140-150m extractable barrels•Barrels per stream day approx 15,800•Net carbon emission 210 kg CO2/bbl•Water used (predominantly brackish water) about 0.5 m³/bbl•70 MW power generated partly for power export•Engineering and construction 42 months•Total initial capex before financial costs USD 1,500 million•Cash unit costs approx. USD 22/bbl, full costs approx. USD 55/bbl•

Pic. 1: Development of unconventional oil

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Oil Price OutlookIn the long term the oil supply costs of newly developed conventional and unconventional oil fields

will have a determining influence on future oil prices superimposing short term effects of supply demand balances and hedging.

Current 2009 finding and development costs to generate 2p reserves are in the order of USD 23/bbl. This is before production, processing for transportation and transport. Current full marginal cost of production reach USD 80/bbl. Average full costs of worldwide new sources of supply are in the order of USD 60-80/bbl.These data are supporting the following oil price outlook:

Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 long term

Brent USD/bbl 98,52 45,00 55,00 80,00 85,00 90,00

WTI USD/bbl 99,65 45,00 55,00 80,00 85,00 90,00

Global Oil-shale ResourcesOil-shale, amongst others, was used during World War II in Germany. Since the 1950-ies oil-shale

mining is the basis of power and syncrude generation in Estonia. Recent pilot and demonstration size developments on oil-shale are taking place in the US (Colorado, Utah), in Russia, in China and Australia. In Jordan a number of international companies like Shell, BP, Total, Petrobras, Energia Estonia are pursuing projects in addition to JEML, which may be farthest advanced in project development.

Demonstrated Oilshale Resources

[Billion bbls]

Proven Oilshale Reserves [Billion bbls]

Heavy Oil & Tar Sands

USA 1539 560

China 500

Russia 147 2 800

Australia 145 12

Jordan 102 28

Marocco 100 10

Brazil 80 11

Canada 1700

Venezuela 1300

Tab. 1: Oil Price Outlook

Tab. 2: Major Oil-shale Resources/ Reserves and Oil-sand Resources by Countries

63Issue 03 | 2009



Environmental AspectsA major criterion for the development and the funding of

unconventional oil projects is environmental compliance with international and national regulations. While oil-sands are confronted with high water consumption for pipeline transportation of r.o.m. sands, for hot or cold water oil extraction and with discharge of water contaminated with hydrocarbons, oil-shale processing is mainly confronted with CO2 emissions.

Carbon EmissionsJJEML retained DMT/TÜV Nord for a study on carbon

emissions and benchmark operations. The independent consultant was ask to compare the CO2 footprint of “Al Lajjun net” with other potential oil sources for the supply of Jordan. Al Lajjun net was derived from “gross” by deducting offsets for the sale of spent shale to the cement industry, for mining of rock phosphate underlying the oilshale without further waste stripping, for the sale of sulphur to the phosphate industry in Jordan and for the sale of excess power to the grid.

As being demonstrated in the following graph, Al Lajjun produces a net carbon emission of 209 kg CO2/BOE and lies in a comparable range with alternative sources of supply for Jordan. Since oil-shale mining and processing emits

merely no other GHG (methane, etc.) a full GHG emission comparison shows even a more favourable picture for Al Lajjun.

Water Consumption In addition to carbon emissions the water consumption

of Al Lajjun was benchmarked with comparable sources of supply.

The retorting process selected for Al Lajjun is the Alberta-Taciuk-Process (ATP). The scheme of the process is shown in picture 8. The major component of the retort is a rotary kiln with an inner pipe. Water is used for quenching of spent shale for cooling and for the avoidance of dust emission when the spent shale is disposed on the dump side of the open pit. For the purpose of quenching, brackish water can be used which can be extracted from a water table with salty water.

The total water consumption including cooling water for oil up-grader and power plant cooling is 0.5 m³/bbl.

Pic. 2: Carbon Footprint JEML and Benchmark Operations

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Environmental GuidlinesEnvironmental design criteria for the project were

developed based on Jordanian standards, International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards and EHS Guidelines with:

air emissions that meet Jordanian regulatory requirements •and that has one of the lower emissions rates

zero water discharge from the site, maximizing water recycle •and reducing makeup water requirements

noise reduction and attenuation, as required•

set backs and methods of operation to minimize the impact •on local communities and historical sites

re-establishment of local olive groves that exist at the pro-•posed site

community interface planning, information sessions and •community information centre

establishment of a research chair at the university of Karak•

consideration and minimization of the impact on traffic in the •area

Jordan Energy & Mining LtdThe Company

JEML operates from offices in Tunbridge Wells and London in the United Kingdom and Amman, Jordan. The board and senior management of JEML consists of the following experienced staff:

Dr. Peter Klaus – non-ex. Chairman •

Mr. Christopher Morgan – Managing Director•

Mr. David Pedley – Finance Director•

Eng. Munter Akroush – Director Jordan Operations•

Mr. Chris Nurse – Legal Advisor/Government Relations•

Dr. Eike von der Linden – Technical Director •

Dr. Peter Cassidy – Non-Executive Director•

Ben McKeown – Alternate Non-Executive Director•

The shareholding of JEML subsequent to a private placement for funding of a full bankable FS is:

RAB Capital (London) – 28%•

The Sentient Group – 25%•

Founders – 25%%•

JP Morgan – 7%•

Others (each less than 5%) – 15%•

Milestone

A development plan put forward by JEML in its Proposal to the Jordan Government in April 2006 was divided into four phases as follows:

Phase 1:• complete conceptual / Pre-Feasibility stu-dies and framework commercial agreements allowing JEML to scope and budget a Bankable Feasibility Stu-dy (BFS) and raise additional funds either by listing JEML on the AIM market in London or seek additional funding through Private equity or other sources of Pre Initial Public Offering (Pre- IPO) funds.

Phase 2:• Complete a Bankable Feasibility Study (initi-ally July 07 to June 08 but now formally extended to July 09)

Phase 3:• Construct an initial Commercial Plant produ-cing ~15,000 BD shale oil (January 2010 to June 2012)

Phase 4:• Following successful operations of initial plant construct a full scale commercial plant producing 50-100,000 BD shale oil for +30 years

65Issue 03 | 2009



Projekt Al Lajjun

The Al Lajjun Project Feasibility Study

The Concept Study/ Pre-FS (amongst others with DMT and Lahmeyer) was prepared during 2007/08 resulting in encouraging results enabling JEML to raise some $ 32m by a private placement and initiating a full FS including infill drilling, trial mining and processing of a 500 t oilshale sample in the ATP pilot plant in Calgary.

The FS has been compiled by using not only in house JEML staff but also a range of internationally recognised consultants and contractors, namely:

Hatch Limited – overall study coordination (Canada)•

UMATAC / ATP Systems - oil shale processing and oil up-•grading (Canada)

Krupp Polysius - engineering and cost estimating of retorts •and support systems (Germany)

DMT Montan and Marston International – geology, oil shale •reserves and resources, mining and materials handling as-pects (Germany and Canada)

Lahmeyer International – power generation (Germany)•

Citrus Partners – environmental, health, safety and social / •community assessments (UK)

For the FS some 80,000 engineering hours have been consumed so far with ongoing activities for optimizations. The FS documentation consists of 11 volumes, 24 binders for drawings, all together containing some 7000 pages.

Pic. 3: The complete Al Lajjun project

66Issue 03 | 2009



Concession Area

Pic. 4: map of concession area with map section enlarged

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Resourcen und Reserves

The oil-shale resource and reserve assessment has been certified by an independent qualified person to be in compliance with the NI 43.101 of the TSX.

Out of these resources a tonnage of some 210 mt 2p reserves shall be mined at an average kerogene grade of 11.6%. The waste to shale ratio is 1.3:1.

It is noteworthy that the costs for generation of 2p oil-shale reserves were in the order of USD 0.3/bbl. For comparison reason the actual 2009 finding costs to establish new conventional 2p oil reserves are reported to be USD 23/bbl.

Pic. 5: detail map of concession area

68Issue 03 | 2009



Mining

Mining is a shallow flat lying open pit stripping operation with a r.o.m. production rate of some 7.5 m t of oil-shale. Both conventional truck and shovel operation and inpit crushing belt conveying have been investigated in dependence of the oil respectively Diesel price.

Processing

The following graphs present the principle process flow diagram and the plant layout.

Catergory Million t Drill hole spacing

Oil-shale gemessen 218 0 - 500 m

Oil-shale indiziert 11 500 - 1000 m

Total m + i 228

Overburden 300

Pic. 6: Process Flow Chart

Tab. 3: Oil-shale Resources

69Issue 03 | 2009



Retorting

The initial commercial capacity of the project is 2 x 500 t/h processed in two parallel trains with an ATP Processor each. The ATP Processor is a horizontal rotary kiln consisting of four internal zones as shown in the following picture.

Pic. 7: Plant schematic

Pic. 7: ATP Processor Flow Schematic

70Issue 03 | 2009



Oil Upgrading

JEML intends to start with a production rates with 2 ATP retorts of 500 TPH capacity each, producing approximately 15,800 BPSD of raw crude shale oil. The different fractions can be hydro-treated separately under different reactor conditions of temperature and pressures.

The initial intent of the hydro-processing unit is to develop a synthetic crude oil (SCO) blend that can be sent to refinery (Zarqa in Jordan) for processing to finished products. At some higher capital investment, it is also possible to go directly for the finished products.

The hydrogen will be produced on the basis of natural gas delivered by the Egypt-Amman pipeline.

Power Generation

Fuel gas with a calorific value of approx. 50% of NG and excess steam from processing will be used as energy for a 70 MW gas turbine. The internal power requirement is up to 60 MW. The excess power shall be sold to the grid.

Infrastructure

Al Lajjun is located in a favourable infrastructure close to the main highway Amman-Aqaba. A connection highway runs through the concession area to Karak, a city in 15 km distance with 37,000 inhabitants and a university.

Parallel to the highway Amman-Aqaba runs a high voltage power line and a gas pipeline importing gas from Egypt to Amman.

Capex

The initial capital cost is some US$ 1,500 million before financial costs. The major lump sum turnkey packages have a total value of up to US$ 775 million. Most of the supplies can and may be delivered from Germany.

Opex

Cash unit opex are in the order of USD 22/ bbl. Full opex are in the order of USD 55/bbl.

Key findingsThe key findings of the bankable FS are:

based on NI 43.101 certified 2p reserves 29year mine life in •the northern Al Lajjun concession field

Total oil-shale mined 210m t containing 140-150m extractable •barrels

Barrels per stream day approx 15,800•

Net carbon emission 210 kg CO2/bbl•

Water used (predominantly brackish water) about 0.5 m³/bbl•

70 MW power generated partly for power export•

Engineering and construction 42 months•

Total initial capex before financial costs USD 1,500 million•

Cash unit costs approx. USD 22/bbl, full costs approx. •USD 55/bbl

Sources of Information:Bankable FS and internal supporting documents•

DB Ressearch: Commodities Outlook, Jan. 2009•

Dr. Eike von der Linden:

Objective: Senior Executive with engineering and financial back-ground with board level functions in international ope-rating companies

Current positions: Managing Director of Linden Ad-visory; Director and Member of the Board of Zhaik-munai LP; Director Jordan Energy and Mining Ltd; Member of the Board GLR Resources, Canada; Mem-ber of the Board of Schüllermann AG; Independent financial advisor to national and international companies and financial institutions in the field of natural resources, utilities and extractive industries

Education:Technical University of Clausthal (Mining engineering); Technical University of Mu-nich (Economics)

Qualifications: Dipl.-Ing., Dr.-Ing. ; Bergassessor (Senior Government Mine Supervisor)

Work experience: 1985 – present: More than 35 years experience in senior management, more than 20 years experience in board functions, Project funding with particular focus on national (German) and international guarantee instruments and subsidies; Indepen-dent Advisor to financial institutions and companies in the fields of natural resour-ces, utilities and extractive industries for equity investment, mezzanine and debt funding (Project Finance), Feasibility Studies, independent auditing, market value and risk assessments; 1972 – 1984 Metallgesellschaft AG; 1982-84: Member of the supervisory board of Metallgesellschaft AG; 1980-84: Branch manager with Lurgi’s natural resources branch; 1972-80: Various appointments with Metallgesellschaft’s domestic and international mining division; 1970 – 1972 University of Clausthal Post-graduate Study and Scientific Fellow; 1968 – 1970 Bavarian Bureau of Mines Trainee (Senior Government Mine Supervisor)

71Issue 03 | 2009



>>THE MOST INTELLIGENT CHAPTER IN MINING HISTORY WAS WRITTEN BY GERMAN ENGINEERING<<The German Brown Coal industry is not only contributing heavily to the national energy supply,

on which our economic prosperity is based, but during the past one hundred years it has also lead to a globally unparalleled and valued place of expertisefor mining technologies, which also needs to be preserved.

We observe in all European industrial nations that the importance of raw material production, as the basis of the value chain and energy production is increasingly being repressed from the consciousness of all people. Although mineral material is indispensable for the production of almost all commodities, and access to raw material is geo-politically becoming increasingly important, they are seen as sources of irritation which impede access to goals of climate and landscape, even in industrial regions. However, the trend in global increase of requirements is irreversible and its political and economic waves have long reached us. The search for new deposits is in full swing, even in regions of Europe, where mining already was an attraction in museums. Investment in international mining companies, the establishment of new mining enterprises, as well as the obtaining of licenses for raw material are on the agenda of many companies.

In Germany the extraction of and the power generation by brown coal is particularly at the center of the conflict between secure and cost-effective energy supply and ecology. In no other country the question of the „right“ energy-mix is discussed as vehemently as in this country. Hereby the debates often carry a tone of rejection of energy

systems, which do not fit into the world view of the respective speaker. At the same time there are high expectations; The responsibility towards future generations need to be met, international law obligations need to be observed, and the living standards need to be kept. All these demands are justified, however, it should be noted that it is exactly our established energy mix, on which our economic prosperity is based, and on which such demands can be formulated in the first place.

In such debates the complementary meaning of energy and raw material production for the location of Germany

is very often disregarded. The innovation potential in our mining technology is unparalleled. As an example, the technology for continuous surface mining, which was developed at the beginning of the last century in the German brown coal districts, has lead to enormous efficiency increases in extraction, production and dumping processes, which again is also ecologically relevant. A mass movement of more than 30,000 m³ could be achieved already in the year 1930. Nowadays we have extraction and mining chains that allow for daily outputs of 240.000m³. This is the reason

>>THE GERMAN SURFACE MINING TECHNOLOGY HAS AN ENORMOUS INNOVATION POTENTIAL.<<

72Issue 03 | 2009



why the large open cast pits of the Rhenish, Lausitz and central German brown coal districts achieve the by far highest delivery rates and mass movements in the global brown coal mining.

The fact that open cast mining technology is no isolated application for the German brown coal districts only, but also has international market potential, has been proven by manufacturers having Innovation, flexibility and the ability to adapt to the various circumstances in mining. It was already in the sixties that the bucket wheel excavator and other solutions of the excavation technique was applied first in the US, and later in various open cast mining operations in almost all parts of the world. This development was made possible mainly because of the internationally strong relevant branches of German Universities. The engineering services of the numerous and renowned consulting firms are also much in demand. They have also contributed to the knowledge transfer for optimum application of the giant equipment technology.

Within the context of the often prognosed fast growth in the world‘s energy consumption, innovation impulses for an ecologically and economically and ecologically balanced energy supply, which is according to needs, are indispensable. In the future almost no political economy with coal deposits can and will do without this affordable energy feedstock. Some promising development projects

>>THE BROWN COAL INDUSTRY HAS LONG OUTGROWN ITS ROLE AS A SUPPLIER.<<

show that both the industry and science have actively taken up the challenges of energy supply - from energy efficient mining technology up to climate-friendly power generation through coal.

Hence, the importance of the brown coal industry has long

surpassed the role of a national energy supplier. In over 100 years, a globally acknowledged place of expertise, which combines practical and scientific know-how, has developed. The advancement of technological innovation on the basis of the achieved standards remains a national, European and international contribution to growth and prosperity.

73Ausgabe 03 | 2009

TECHNOLOGIETRANSFER


Puscherstr. 9 90411 Nuremberg, Germany

Tel.: +49 (0) 911 5 40 14 0 Fax: +49 (0) 911 5 40 14 99

Innovative and Efficient Solutionsfor challenging tasks in extraction, surface mining and surface forming.

T1255 Terrain Leveler

www.vermeer.de

Vermeer has transcribed its long-standing experience in the area of rock mills into its new surface mill.The T1255 is characterized by protected tech-nology, intelligent design, excellent produc-tion and system stability. Meanwhile the Terrain Leveler can process an area of up to 3.7 m width and 61 cm depth in one single run.

The machine has been designed to ablate all kinds of rocks, gypsum, coal and other ma-terial (e.g. concrete). This is done using a big, hydrostatically steered milling drum, which ablates the rock in a more efficient way and with a higher cutting depth.The result: More coarse material with a low proportion of fine fraction.

Deutschland GmbH

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http://www.vermeer.de

74Issue 03 | 2009

NEWS & REPORTS


HOT SUCCESS!Steelworks « Dillinger Hütte » & « Saarstahl »

DSince 1953, the company BACKES is doing the preparation of slag in order of the steelworks “Dillinger Hütte” in Dillingen (close to Saarbrücken). BACKES recycles the slag to gravel, which is used as material for street construction. Still, a converter lime is produced from the steelworks slag,

which is used for fertilizer for the agriculture. BACKES is a Customer’s of ESCO’s dealer Peter KESSLER GmbH &Co. During their visits ESCO District Manager and Kessler Dealer proposed that the company try to equipped their Machines with ESCO products solutions parts. BACKES uses several machines in the steelworks. For solving and loading of the hot slag the company BACKES use 3 LIEBHERR Excavators R984 Litronic.

Steelwork « Dillinger Hütte »The temperature of the hot slag is up to 1100°C. At this high temperature, bucketmust be well protected by products with optimum performance. SUPER V® is thebest choice to meet this challenge!Mr X, manager of the Subcontractor Backes needs the top Systems for Today’sperformance demands:

Reliability•Longer Wear life•Lower Maintenance •Costs (Faster and Easier change-out)Better Penetration•

Against this background, BACKES, ESCO and KESSLER agreed to use the esco wearparts on two LIEBHERR R984 Litronic to protect their buckets.

75Issue 03 | 2009

NEWS & REPORTS


The V71 ADHL is a specially designed point shape when digging Hot Slag operation. The ADHL has a heavier wear shoe, as well as beefier ears and box section to stand up to the most punishing applications. In addition, ESCO engineering with TSG designed a special V69/71HPNA pin, a little bit longer than the standard version which provides a very good locking.

SUPER V® V71ADHL points worn out after only 70-100 hours on average. Because of the self sharpening effect, the teeth keep a perfect penetration until the end. TOPLOK® & KWIK-LOK® Runners are ideally suited for fighting abrasion in hot slag so that buckets must be repaired after approximately 12 months instead of 3 months with previous Systems..

VIDAPLATE 17 on 10

KWIK®-LOK KLR02MB

TOPLOK 90x320-5TOPLOK 90x320-6LTOPLOK 90x320-6R

WING-SHROUDSES4410SA

SUPER V® pointsV71 ADHL

Steelwork « Saarstahl »The both steelworks SAARSTAHL and DILLINGER HÜTTE are

operating many telescope excavators in the two steel mills. These special machines removes the hot-slag from the ladles. The temperature of the ladles is between 600°C and 800°C. The excavators also remove the unusable refractory liners form the ladles.

This application is one of the most demanding metallurgical expertise on the market. ESCO alloy and SUPER V® System can meet that challenge. Together with the ESCO Dealer KESSLER in Völklingen, ESCO could convince the two steelworks to

76Issue 03 | 2009

NEWS & REPORTS


convert the shanks of the telescope excavators to SUPER V® system V51SD and V51SDX. The shanks of the telescope excavators are now equipped with SUPER V® weld-on noses as well as the both different tooth shapes V51SD and V51SDX. For this hot application, of course ESCO offers a special hot-slag locking device. The alloy and the design of the both tooth shapes maximize the heat dissipation capabilities of the SUPER V® system to minimize the affects of hot-slag material. This points are a very good alternative when impact is causing breakage in longer style points. With the SUPER V® tooth, the hot-slag can be removed from around 25 - 30 ladles. The wear time of the teeth is approx. 30 hrs. The refractory liners of the ladles can be used for approximately 45 - 50 cast fillings. The refractory liner is also removed with the telescope excavators afterwards.

The Operators likes the performance, the high wear time as well as the save and easy handling of the SUPER V® System. They have explained with V51SD and with V51SDX they have a better penetration and a better power transmission. Thanks to the long lasting experience of ESCO in the steel technology, Saarstahl and Dillinger Hütte can believe in SUPER V® tooth system. It has improved their profitability by extending wear protection products. Following this HOT successful story ESCO has offered this solution to many other German steelworks.

ESCO corporationTel.: +49 (0)2166 - 9684-0 Fax:+49 (0)2166 - 9684-22eMail: [email protected] Internet: www.escoeurope.com

V51SD(X)

http://www.escocorp.com

77Issue 03 | 2009

NEWS & REPORTS


What exactly are “interlinked plants“?“Interlinked mobile plants are crusher and screen plants, which are coordinated to work together in terms of output

and operation“. Two, three or several plants can be combined for use in both natural stone quarrying and recycling. The potential output of such plant combinations currently ranges from 100 t/h up to 500 t/h, whereby the upper limit has not yet been reached:

STATIONARY PLANTS NOW BECOME MOBILE THANKS TO INTERLINKED PLANTS!Kleemann demonstrates what is possible today with process know-how and high-performance plants:

Kleemann GmbH

500 t/h feed capacity, up to seven final fractions of which five comply with the strict standards for asphalt and concrete production - and all this is possible using mobile plants? Using the plant

combination at Kelly’s of Fantane in Ireland, Kleemann demonstrated what can be achieved today using mobile plants. Mobile crusher and screen plants are advancing more and more into output ranges that up to a few years ago were only possible using stationary plants. Examples such as the one quoted above are guiding the way for the future.

Kleemann Kelly´s of FantaneKelly’s of Fantane, Ireland: Three crushing and screening stages, up to seven final fractions, total capacity of over 500 t/h

78Issue 03 | 2009

NEWS & REPORTS


Why are interlinked mobile plants becoming more popular?

Experience shows that the licensing procedure for mobile plants is, for the most part, considerably shorter and less complicated than that for stationary plants. In addition, the flexible use of the plants in spacious areas and in technical applications reduces the investment risk. The plants can also be resold, thus further lowering the risk. An equally important contributory factor is the fact that manufacturers such as Kleemann have been able to offer plants for such large tonnage in various crushing and screening stages.

What are the potential areas of application?

Due to the development of these plants in recent years, the mobile plant is increasingly becoming a real alternative to the stationary version in a great number of projects. For this reason, it is now examined more often whether an original stationary concept with mobile units is more economical. This is of particular benefit to existing

operators of stationary plants who are about to make new investments in machinery. This is also a feasible concept for larger infrastructure projects as such projects are mostly limited in terms of time or in scope and are often located in sparsely populated areas. A suitable combination of mobile plants could also be used for newly opened quarries, as well as recycling projects which demand top-quality end products.

Requirements and expectationsOf course, the requirements are high: On the one hand,

there must be a guarantee that top-quality end products, with regard to cubicity and output, can be manufactured. On the other hand, the process must be reliable and economically worthwhile, which, of course, also applies largely to the machines used.

Kleemann LauchhammerReconstruction company Lauchhammer, Germany: Concrete and rubble processed in final fractions of 0 - 32 mm and 32 - 45 mm

79Issue 03 | 2009

NEWS & REPORTS


Kleemann LSR ZementLSR Zement, Russia: Two-stage crushing process for achieving four final fractions

Kleemann MaxwellMaxwell, England: Two crushing and three screening stages allowing up to seven final fractions

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There must be cost advantages, which are not necessarily noticed in the procurement stage, but mainly during the operation of the plant. For example, in quarries which cover a large geographical area, it is often possible to load the crusher directly at the wall. Thus the use of heavy duty vehicles is partially or completely avoided. This leads to considerable savings not only in vehicles and machines, but also personnel costs. In the example at Kelly’s of Fantane, Martin Flynn, Operation Manager, explains that all machines are linked through a computer-supported system. „The bottom line is we produce 500 tonnes per hour with only one man“, he added. He went on to say that since they have been using Kleemann plants, their costs have dropped significantly. „We now produce more during a single shift compared to the previous two-shift operation“, he explained.

What does Kleemann specifically offer?Kleemann not only offers the required plants but also

the relevant process know-how. Decade-long experience in the construction of stationary plants combined with over 25 years‘ experience in the construction of track-mounted crushing and screening plants means Kleemann can offer its customers a comprehensive service. Therefore, not only does Kleemann assess and design the required technical process safely and reliably, but it also ensures its successful implementation by providing support for the customer during the difficult transition stage from stationary to mobile plants.

The decisive factor is, however, the plants themselves. Kleemann plants offer, on the one hand, the relevant operations in the plant design, and, on the other, robust, sophisticated, high-performance machine technology. Jaw, impact or cone crushers have split feeding for optimal loading (no blockades), large primary screens for optimal final fraction quality, stable control voltage and separate monitoring of the individual machines. They also have ideal access, easy maintenance and, last but not least, diesel-electric drives with the option of external power supply (quarry machines) which also make feed capacities of up to 700 t/h possible. All these characteristics are

Kleemann corporationMark Hezinger

Hildebrandstr. 1873035 Göppingen | gERMANY

Tel.: +49 (0) 7161 20 62 09Fax: +49 (0) 7161 20 61 00

eMail: [email protected] Internet: www.kleemann.info

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND CONTACT:

Kleemann GmbH is a member company of the Wirtgen Group, an expanding and international group of companies doing business in the const-ruction equipment industry. This Group includes the four well-known brands, Wirtgen, Vögele, Hamm and Kleemann, with their headquarters in Germa-ny and local production sites in the United States of America, Brazil and China. Worldwide customer support is provided by its 55 own sales and service companies.

ideal for interlinked plant concepts. In addition, optimally coordinated mobile screening units, available in double or triple deck design, provide reliable end classification.



http://www.wirtgen-group.com

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The new 4200 SM is a high-performance machine for mine operators and customers in large-scale opencast mining whose goal is to achieve an annual mining capacity in soft rock of up to 12 million

tons with a single machine while wanting to make full use of the benefits offered by Wirtgen’s selective mining technology that enables cutting, crushing and loading in a single working pass. The surface miner is available to customers in two different designs: as a powerful mining expert for hard rock, such as iron ore, bauxite or phosphate, or for use in various types of soft rock including, for example, coal or lignite. The miner has a cutting width of 4.20 m and is capable of working at a maximum cutting depth of 83 cm in soft rock.

New 4200 SM SURFACE MINER from Wirtgen:

WirtGen GmbH

Maximum performance inlarge-scale opencast mining!

The 4200 SM is synonymous with tremendous power

The heavy-duty machine is equipped with a 16-cylinder diesel engine from Cummins, making it the ideal candidate for a wide range of applications as its power of 1,194 kW / 1,623 PS offers tremendous reserve capacity. Being the most powerful machine in the surface miner division, the 4200 SM complements Wirtgen’s product portfolio in the upper performance class. Generously dimensioned tanks

offering capacities of 2,900 l for diesel and 10,000 l for water additionally increase the miner’s uptime.

A two-stage conveyor system with 1,800 mm wide primary and discharge conveyors and a discharge conveyor length of 12,000 mm or 16,000 mm respectively, supports the miner’s impressive cutting performance of up to 3,000 tons per hour. The discharge conveyor’s large slewing angle of 180 degrees, flexible height adjustment and variable belt speed ensure smooth loading of large transport trucks even in space-restricted conditions.

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The right cutting technology – whether in hard rock or soft rock

Customized components manufactured to the high quality standards of Wirtgen’s cutting technology have been precisely adapted to the miner and the rock to be mined, enabling the 4200 SM to achieve maximum production rates at low cutting tool wear and tear. Depending on the operation and the material to be mined, the cutting drums are fitted with different numbers of cutting tools at different tool spacings.

For applications in soft rock with unconfined compressive strengths of up to 50 MPa, the 4200 SM is equipped with a 4.20 m wide cutting drum unit with larger cutting diameter, permitting cutting depths of up to 83 cm. In soft rock, the operation focuses on the throughput of large quantities of the material to be mined.

The largest Wirtgen miner can alternatively be equipped with a drum assembly offering a cutting width of 4.20 m and a cutting depth of 65 cm for applications in hard rock with unconfined compressive strengths ranging from 30 MPa to 80 MPa. It aims at achieving maximum cutting performance in hard materials at reduced cutting depths. Both cutting drums can optionally be equipped with the tried and tested HT14 quick-change toolholder system for the fast replacement of cutting tools.

Fully equipped for long and tough mining operations

Ergonomic design of the operator’s workplace was another major point in the machine’s development as long uptimes or even continuous operation are required in the deposits to increase productivity and to ensure maximum utilization for an economical operation of the large machines.

The 4200 SM’s cabin has undergone a complete redesign: It is located above the front, left-hand crawler track unit and is isolated from the vibrations and noise emissions of the engine and cutting drum by a parallelogram-type height adjustment system. The fully glazed operator’s platform offers the machine driver an exceptionally good view of all areas relevant for cutting and loading of the mined material. The cabin can additionally be swivelled about 45 degrees to either side, thus also permitting an optimum view of the loading operation and steering of the crawler tracks. The driver’s seat with all major controls installed in the armrests can be swivelled about 135 degrees to the left and right. The controls, which are integrated into both armrests in a clearly structured fashion, comprise all functions of the work process.

The operator’s cabin is soundproof and is supported on special anti-vibration buffers to protect the machine

Wirtgen 4200 SMThe cutting drum unit with a cutting diameter of 1,500 mm is ideally suited to the mining of medium-hard to hard rock, such as iron ore. The number of cutting tools depends on the operating conditions

Wirtgen 4200 SMHallmarks of the new 4200 SM include high cutting per-formance, unmatched economic efficiency and project-specific customization to on-site operating conditions and local safety regulations

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operator during the mining operation. To ensure pleasant working conditions, the cabin is equipped with a powerful air-conditioning unit for cooling or heating. These are all factors to improve the machine operator’s performance and power of concentration. The large machine’s user-friendliness is complemented by wide opening service panels offering excellent access to all points of maintenance.

Comprehensive safety package for country-specific requirements

Safety regulations are tightened in mineral deposits around the world. The new design of the 4200 SM takes account both of the stricter safety requirements and of new mining regulations. The miner’s comprehensive safety package includes, among other things, a FOPS roof to protect the operator from falling objects, a second emergency exit in addition to the hydraulically operated access ladders installed on both sides of the machine, fire extinguishers, and covers on all rotating parts. The access ladders and walkways are illuminated and consist of anti-skid grating. Several emergency stop switches can be actuated from the ground and are additionally installed in the engine compartment, at the electrical cabinet and

in the operator’s cabin. The cabin’s location on that side of the machine opposite the embankment wall is yet another safety criterion offering maximum protection to the machine operator.

Wirtgen corporationPress Relations

Reinhardt-Wirtgen-Str. 253578 Windhagen | Germany

Tel.: +49 (0) 2645 1 31 0Fax: +49 (0) 2645 1 31 4 99

eMail: [email protected] Internet: www.wirtgen.de

Wirtgen 4200 SMThe panorama cabin of the 4200 SM offers not only an excellent view for permanent monitoring of the work processes from the operator’s platform but also a high degree of comfort for the operator in 24-hour shifts

http://www.wirtgen-group.com

http://www.wirtgen.de

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Improved performance out in the open!Substitution of screen panels to help hard rock quarry achieve increased production

I n d u s t r i e (OHI) has been

producing railway ballast which

originally benefited the local railway between

Reinheim and Groß Bieberau. Today its range of

production is very much more widely spread: apart from ballast,

there are chippings, grit, crushed sand, filler, armourstone, mineral

mixtures, asphalt aggregates and many other products besides.

Hand in hand with the increased scope of the product range there are the more exacting

demands of an optimization of the output performance. The aims of the operators make it

clear that the technical principles for processing are once again under the microscope. Up to now it

was always assumed that the proven combination of crushing and screening equipment was able to deliver 250

t/h of material. Closer inspection has however shown that this target is seldom actually attained.

In Groß-Bieberau, the Odenwälder Hartstein-Industrie AG – a holding

subsidiary of the Mitteldeutsche Hartstein-Industrie AG – operates a gabbro quarry which is well known in particular to railway fans. For well over a century now, the Odenwälder Hartstein-

TrellexscreensRubber and plastic screening panels are much more resistant to wear than wire screening panels


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Karl-Heinz Rossmann, responsible for product support of screen media at Metso Minerals, summarizes the present situation in the following terms: „When crusher and screening machines

at least together fail to achieve the necessary productivity, closer examination is absolutely essential.“ Rossmann got the ball rolling by suggesting an impartial analysis of the technical situation at the site. The initial condition was not to consider exchanging the screening machines for the time being to restrict replacement investment costs to an absolute minimum.

New investments remain within reason

With the aim of achieving the throughput of 250 t/h originally quo-ted or to increase this in the short or medium term to 300 to 350 t/h, the first task was to take a look above all at the screening machines. It was very soon clear that optimization could only be carried out in the field of the screen panels, as no invest-ment provisions had been made for replacement of the screening machi-nes themselves.

An initial examination on sight brought to light the fact that all the screens were fitted with different panels to different designs in terms of length, breadth, thickness and perforations. „This in not necessarily a fault“, says Karl-Heinz Rossmann, „because the tasks for which the machines were specified were dif-ferent right from the start. What we have to do now is establish the ex-tent to which optimization is required in each individual case“.

The investigations started on the grit side – where the grains are al-ways broken twice, if not three times. Metso had to examine four scree-ning machines in this area to find out what the optimization requirement of the screening panels was. At the moment, there are 250 t/h scree-ning machines by Krupp in service. Upstream of these machines there are one conical crusher and one vertical impacter. Initially, the solution was con-sidered, to save a crushing stage, of replacing both crus-hers by the Metso HP 4 and to configure a new screening machine. For the sake of simplicity, the latter would have been fitted with wire screens to give a bigger screening surface and thus to increase the throughput. This first idea was however revised after further consideration.

After it became clear that investment in new machinery was not the operator‘s first priority,

Karl-Heinz Rossmann devoted his attention to a fully-detailed investigation of the effective screening areas ac-tually available.

The result was two slightly different pictures with one common denominator: partly, proper utilization of the open screening areas was just not possible with the screening

stucking grainClogging is often a problem where no rubber screening panels are used. Specially when wire screen panels are used, a supposedly open area may remain up to 80% unproductive

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media in use, partly right from the start there were insuffi-cient perforations in any case.

With the use of more effective screening media, the question of service life arises. Does an extended service life of the screens have priority, or is a heavier screen gau-ge with less holes more important? This inevitably means that that a larger number of „blind spots“ in the screens (areas without holes) mean a longer service life. But how is that then reconciled with demands for a higher through-put? „Here it wasn‘t a matter of choosing between service life and performance – both aspects are equally important in the final analysis“.

Wire screen panels under conditions of wear

The most important requirement was to reach a fun-damental decision regarding the basic material: whether synthetic screening panels or wire panels – at first glance, the observer would be inclined towards a screening medi-

um with a large open screening area, to meet the demand for a higher throughput. It would have been easy enough to solve the situation existing by replacing all screening panels by wire panels.

However, in the fundamental decision-making the appli-cation itself plays a critical role: gabbro, a hard, igneous rock, is capable of wearing out a wire screening panel within two to four weeks. „You can stand by and watch the steel wire getting thinner and thinner and finally dis-appearing altogether“, says Karl-Heinz Rossmann. In the fines area, where wear is not the decisive criterion, mois-ture frequently gets into the screen. In the case of wire screens, this leads to undesirable caking and can cause complete blockage. Clearing it with a hammer or some other tool is useless, because deformation of the screens would be unavoidable. There would be similar difficulties with wire rod screens too. A further disadvantage of the wire screening panels: An overlapping of wire meshs, such as Metso found in some places in Bieberau, also leads to slower material conveyance which can only be compen-sated by the screens being tilted by 2° more in comparison with synthetic screens.

Requirements for an increased throughput cannot ade-quately be met in this way. Since on site we want to ensure that the performance capacity of the screening machines

wide guide rail Large areas of the screen panels remain effectively unused due to excessively-wide edges and large blind spots

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keeps up with that of the crushers, in the final analysis there are further considerations mi-litating against the use of wire scree-ning panels: their comparatively short service lives lead to higher setting-up times, which in turn has the con-sequence of longer standstill times. Productivity of the plant as a whole would suffer con-siderably, and inc-reased personnel and material costs would be unavo-idable. The fact that immediately after installation a wire screening panel

can under certain circumstances temporarily provide up to about 20% more screening surface, even after allowing for the unused surfaces taken up by the traverses, is not really a great help.

There is no question that effective screening area can be increased, even with synthetic screening panels. In the con-text of the areas available, Karl-Heinz Rossmann took great pains to establish ex-actly how the ef-fective proportion of open surfaces can be increased to improve per-formance: screen by screen, he analyzed precis-ely where ma-terial should be changed and / or the number of holes should be increased, the holes enlarged, to make use of spars or to break up blind zones.

Screen areas which demonst-

blind areaHere there are possibilities for augmenting the rows of holes: Metso Minerals can optimize the design or the perforation individually for the respective application

wire screen cloth With wire screen panels, moisture can cause undesirable clogging which may even result in complete blockage in places

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rate a high rate of grain clogging are to be exchanged in the future for rubber screen panels. Rossmann is recko-ning that only by the elimination from plugging material, an increased throughput of around 20% can be achieved. In addition, he can demonstrate that by using rectangular mesh in blind zones a further 10% increase in performance is more than likely. The sum total of the examination in Bieberau works covered about 100 m² of screening area. The design of the screening media it will be necessary to replace can be carried out flexibly by Metso Minerals. Karl-Heinz Rossmann will be giving the manufacturer his individual recommendations.

A works analysis is planned to determine the increased proportion of correctly-sized grains at a later date and to give information on the quality and quantity of saleable gra-nulate in accordance with DIN and on the extent to which the situation has actually altered since the installation of the new screens.

Metso Minerals Germany corporationKantstrasse 22 – 24

44867 Bochum | GermanyTel.: +49 (0) 2327 54 44 43Fax: +49 (0) 2327 54 44 91

eMail: [email protected]: www.metso.com

Adservice, press relationsRalf GoffinAn der Wolfskaul 42 a41812 Erkelenz | GermanyTel.: +49 (0) 2423 89 08 09 0Fax: +49 (0) 2423 89 04 42 9eMail: [email protected]

If crusher technology by Metso looks after anything, then it’s your purse: the Barmac vertical impact crusher protects the rotor which controls the process in an autogenous layer of feed material in crushing. The mobile Lokotrack LT1415 protects the nerves, as its large intake opening prevents bridging.As a primary crusher, the LT140 saves time – in conjunction with the flexible Lokolink conveyor system it makes such progress in opencast quarrying that you can save a large proportion of your dumpers.Talk to us about the possibilities of staying successful even in difficult times.

Metso Lindemann GmbHBusiness sector ConstructionObere Riedstr. 111-115 68309 MannheimTel. ++49 (0) 621 72700 611 E-Mail: [email protected]

Best results lead to the breakthrough

ADVERTISEMENT


http://www.metso.com

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THE NEW BUCKET CRUSHER BF: MB ANSWER TO CUSTOMERS’ NEEDS! MB S.P.A. PRESENTED THE NEW VERSION OF THE BUCKET CRUSHER AT THE PARIS TRADE FAIR INTERMAT.


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MB S.P.A., a Vicenza company and worldwide leader in the production and sales of bucket crushers, was at the Intermat 2009 trade fair in Paris to present its latest product, – a new bucket crusher, the result of ongoing investments in technological research and the continuous attention to its customers’ needs. The company has decided to present this new product during one of the most important international trade fairs in the sector of construction, to highlight the importance of this event.

The historical model has been transformed to offer an even more revolutionary product on the market, thanks to the in-depth research of the MB team and technical engineers.

The company is committed to the constant satisfaction of customers’ requirements, ever attentive to their needs, carefully listening to all problems faced every day on construction sites, finding solutions most suited to the various international situations in which MB S.p.A. operates. It is also thanks to the long-lasting relationships and loyalty of clients that MB can produce bucket crushers that represent a valid work tool. The new version of the bucket crusher is in fact more resistant in work, featuring a more compact size and improved structural layout to facilitate operator manoeuvres on the excavator.

Despite the world crisis affecting all sectors, MB confirms its success and keeps on investing in research and development, giving priority to vertical specialisation in the production of a single product that enables the guarantee of high quality and top performing bucket

crushers. Also, company participation in major national and international events in this sector has enabled MB to establish and strengthen relationships and loyalty with clients, who always receive special attention.

At the Intermat fair, MB S.P.A. was presenting a historical product of the MB house, in a modernised version, once again demonstrating that the investments in research and technology offered to clients ensure that the company achieves the maximum levels of quality and satisfaction.

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MB S.p.A. set up in Breganze in 2001, now exports to 100 countries and is acclaimed for innovation and technology of its products and quality of its service. The ability to respond to market demands and technical assistance on offer to their numerous clients have contributed to the growth of the MB brand worldwide.

MB S.p.A.

eMail: [email protected] Internet: www.mbcrusher.com


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was to show machines in action. This led many visitors to the big booth, and evoked a lot of interest in the machines and their approach. With regard to the 40 (out of more than 100) accessory equipment, which could be tested, Sterkel balanced a good exhibition result.

Opening up New Areas of the IndustryMany enterprises in the industry take new directions and open up to new branches. In order to do this, there is a demand for multifunctionally applicable and compact machines that at the same time are very powerful. In such a case the multifunctional loaders of AVANT provide the right solution. With their five series and ten machines of an application weight of 0.6 to 1.75 t and more than 100 available accessories of best quality, they are efficient and profitable helpers. “Furthermore, our customers appreciate the quality of our area-wide network of dealers, which provides consulting, sales, renting and services. Besides the quality of the machines, this is also a guarantor for our leading position in the market in this year and beyond.” Sterkel says. You can verify these advantages locally with the relevant regional dealer (information can be obtained from www.avanttecno.de). Or visit at Agritechnica, 8. – 14. 11. 2009 in Hannover.

The AVANT TECNO Concept of Multi-Functional Loaders Wins Transporting sand from A to B is easy. For this, only the “one-dimensional” output of the loader is important. However, in GaLa Construction, demolition, commune, channel construction, industry, etc., very often various demands have to be met within very short timeframes and on narrow construction sites. Such demands can only be met by an efficient, high-performance, robust and multi-functional loader. In addition, the good quality of accessory equipment (AVANT is delivering over 100) is very important and of significant advantage. This fact is increasingly being acknowledged and used by the costumers. “We are very happy to note that up to now, the current business year has not brought us a total collapse; on the contrary, it has brought about a turnover, which is almost at the same level as last year. The reason for this fact can surely also be seen in the innovation of AVANT. At the beginning of this year, we created a new and expanded application horizon with our 700 Series (up to 1.75 t of usage weight; 36 kW/49 PS motor)”, said Thomas Sterkel, managing director of AVANT TECNO, Germany. The high interest of visitors of the industry exhibition in demopark in Eisenach in multifunctional loaders was clearly felt. AVANT had taken the exhibition concept seriously, which

AVANT multifunctional loader Manifold tasks can efficiently be tackled with the AVANT multifunctional loaders of 0.6 to 1.75 t application weight

AVANT TECNO Germany corporationMax-Planck-Straße 3

64859 Eppertshausen | GermanyTel.: +49 (0) 60 71 98 06 55Fax: +49 (0) 60 71 98 04 53

eMail: [email protected]: www.avanttecno.com

http://www.avanttecno.com

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The new ROC T35M combines the straightforward design concept of Atlas Copco’s former CM line with the well-tested features of the ROC family, in a new modular design developed for the next

generation of Atlas Copco‘s surface crawler drill rigs. All with focus on productivity, cost-efficiency and hole quality for our customers.

ROC T35M is a fuel efficient drill rig equipped with a highly productive rock drill. The well-proven COP 1840 rock drill with 18kW drilling power provides high penetration rate. It gives more drilling power for less input energy, resulting in less fuel consumption. The hydraulic based control system COP Logic adjusts the feed speed, feed pressure and impact pressure in realtime according to the rock condition.

Bo-Göran Johansson, Vice President, Marketing, at Atlas Copco SDE adds: “Every contractor dreams of higher penetration rates, straighter holes and better accessory life. The ROC T35M drill rig employs a cylinder-driven aluminum feed system that fulfills this dream by providing optimal penetration rates and drill steel life. Its rod handling system, with a streamlined number of parts, ensures easy adjustment and maintenance. The well proven aluminum feed profile is sturdy and highly resistant to bending.”

ATLAS COPCO launches ROC T35M -a robust surface drill rig!


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ROC T35M is built of modules and parts common to Atlas Copco Surface crawler portfolio. This makes training easy and parts stocking requirement reduced for contractors with different Atlas Copco rig models. Maintenance is simplified thanks to all around access to service points and good hose management with bulk heads. Maintenance-friendly design together with ROC Care and COP Care service agreements mean less breakdowns, increased availability and reduced service costs.

ROC T35M Maintenance on ROC T35M is simplified thanks to all around access to service points and good hose management with bulk heads

ROC T35M RROC T35M is equipped with the well-proven COP 1840 rock drill

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After having proven itself at LKAB, in Sweden, one of the world’s leading producers of iron ore products, Atlas Copco is now releasing the production drilling rig Simba W6 C to the market. Patrik Ericsson,

Product Manager Simba rigs, Atlas Copco, says:“Our commitment to the customer is to provide the best possible tool for their application. Working together with a leading mining company such as LKAB has proven that high demands create great solutions.”

Focusing on high productivity, reliability and hole accuracy, Atlas Copco and LKAB have a common history in developing production drilling rigs for successively longer holes with a minimum of hole deviation. This focus has paved the way for increasing the distance between the sub levels. The Simba W469 rigs, introduced in 1995, have been working successfully in both Kiruna and Malmberget. In 2006/2007 these rigs were complemented by the Simba W6 C rigs. The Simba W6 C rig is specially adapted to the Wassara water driven in-the-hole hammer and gives long, straight holes with a minimum hole deviation of less than 1 percent. Besides long hole drilling, the Simba W6 C can also be modified for slot hole drilling, a method that is used in LKAB’s Malmberget mine.

The Simba W6 C rigs have now been in production for more than two years in LKAB’s Kiruna and Malmberget mines and the results have so far lived up to the company’s high expectations.

The Simba W6 C rigs are equipped with a rig control system which optimizes the performance for in-the-hole hammer (ITH) applications. The Simba W6 C rigs offer unattended drilling in full fan automation, enabling the operator to supervise several drill rigs at the same time. In cases where manual operation is preferred, the rig’s cabin offers a good working environment with air conditioning, vibration dampening and noise insulation.

The Atlas Copco Simba W6 C rigavailable for new markets!


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An important feature is the water pump system which gives high efficiency, low water spillage and low overall cost. An air venting system ensures long pump life, and the pump pressure control optimizes hammer efficiency and life length.

Atlas Copco Underground Rock Excavation is a division within Atlas Copco’s Construction and Mining Technique business area. It develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of tunneling and mining equipment for various underground applications worldwide. The division focuses strongly on innovative product design and aftermarket support systems, which give added customer value. The divisional headquarters and main production center is in Örebro, Sweden.

Surface Drilling Equipment is a division of the Construction and Mining Technique business area of the Atlas Copco Group, with its main manufacturing center at Örebro, Sweden. The division develops, manufactures and globally markets rock drilling equipment for various applications in civil engineering, quarrying and open pit mining. A strong focus on innovative product design and aftermarket support systems provides added customer value.

More information can be found at http://www.atlascopco.comSurface Drilling EquipmentBo-Göran Johansson (VP Marketing)Tel.: +46 (0) 19 670 72 59Mobil: +46 (0) 70 321 21 11eMail: [email protected] Internet: www.atlascopco.com

Simba BohrgerätePatrik Ericsson (Product Manager)

Tel.: +46 (0) 19 670 74 10Mobil: +46 (0) 70 347 87 28

eMail: [email protected]: www.atlascopco.com

Surface Drilling EquipmentSandra Lagerqvist, (Com. Professional)Tel.: +46 (0) 19 503 1240Mobil: +46 (0) 73 337 8028 eMail: [email protected] Internet: www.atlascopco.com

Tunnelling & Mining EquipmentAnna Dahlman Herrgård, (Com. Professional)

Tel.: +46 (0) 19 670 73 82Mobil: +46 (0) 733 26 73 82

eMail: [email protected]: www.atlascopco.com

Simba W6 C The Simba W6 C rigs are equipped with a rig control system specially designed for in-the-hole hammer (ITH) applications


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Diamond scrap heap CAT-MACHINES PROCESS ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST SCRAP METAL STOCK PILES IN NAMIBIA!

First discovered by German prospectors during the early 1900s, major diamond finds along Namibia’s Skeleton Coast in regions like Lüderitz subsequently led to the rise of thriving mining communities at the turn of the 20th century. Attracting fortune hunters from around the world, many of these centres later became ghost towns as deposits were exhausted and have now subsequently been reclaimed by the mountainous sand dunes of the Namib.

Up until 1994, the largest player in this country was Consolidated Diamond Mines (CDM), which at the time was a wholly owned subsidiary of De Beers. In that year a new agreement was concluded with the Republic of Namibia, resulting in the formation of the Namdeb Diamond Corporation. The latter is jointly owned by the Namibian government and De Beers Centenary AG.

Given the high intrinsic value that diamonds hold, all Namdeb mining operations are governed by strict security protocols concerning how processed diamonds are transported to market. This means that all equipment going into any diamond mining area – whether it’s a dozer, a pick-up truck or an excavator - never comes out again.

However, given the scale of Namdeb’s operation (and CDM’s before it), this has meant that a large stockpile of redundant equipment has steadily gathered at Namdeb’s various mining sites. Recently, both for environmental and practical reasons, Namdeb took the decision to clear these waste dumps, with Cape Town, South Africa, based company SA Metal, securing the contract to systematically recycle and process the materials on site prior to their release from these secured areas.

http://www.cat.com

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The task of cutting up these redundant machines and other materials is being tackled by two Cat 330DL hydraulic excavators fitted with boom mounted S340 shears, sold and supported by Barloworld Equipment Namibia, the local Caterpillar® dealer. A Caterpillar Work Tools team flew out from the factory in Holland to help install the shears, as well as to provide training for SA Metal’s operators.

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Uubvlei According to SA Metal’s Xavier Fazakerley the contract, which commenced in July 2008, is open-ended and

expected to be ongoing for around three years. During this period, SA Metal expects to commercially process around 250 000t of saleable material.

“This is one of the world’s most corrosive regions and metal items don’t last long in this environment,” explains Fazakerley. “This means that any scrapped metal items prior to the mid-1960s will have in most instances turned to dust long ago.”

The largest sizeable scrap metal source is located at Namdeb’s Uubvlei operation, situated some 10km north of the Orange River and stretching approximately 1km inland.

“This represents one of the world’s largest scrap metal stockpiles,” says Fazakerley. “In fact the scale of the operation is so big that the footprint of the site is clearly visible from Space - a final resting place for worked out earthmoving machines, commercial vehicles and just about anything else no longer usable. During dumping operations, everything was mixed in together. This means we have to separate metal and non-metal materials in sourcing items such as copper, steel, lead and zinc. Currently we are processing around 5 000t per month.”

At Uubvlei, SA Metal expects to process around 100 000t of steel, with the balance sourced from an estimated 15 satellite mines spread over a distance of some 110km up and down the coastline.

CaterpillarFor more than 80 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been

building the world’s infrastructure and, in partnership with its worldwide dealer network, is driving positive and sustainable change on every continent. With 2008 sales and revenues of $51.324 billion, Caterpillar is a technology leader and the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. More information is available at www.cat.com.

Press Inquiries Europe, Africa and Middle EastMia Karlsson

Tel.: +41 (0) 22 849 46 62Fax: +41 (0) 22 849 99 93

eMail: [email protected]: www.cat.com

http://www.cat.com

100Issue 03 | 2009

EVENTS


THE AMS-EVENT CALENDER2009

October 2009

03 - 04 Oct 2009 2009 Toronto Resource Investment Conference Toronto ON, Canada www.cambridgehouse.ca

05 - 07 Oct 2009 International Conference on Non-linearities and Upscaling in Porous Media Stuttgartwww.nupus.uni-stuttgart.de/index.php?module=events&file=stuttgart

06 - 08 Oct 2009 MiningWorld Uzbekistan 2009 Tashkent, Uzbekistan www.miningworld-events.com

06 - 09 Oct 2009 2009 APCOM Symposium Vancouver BC, Canada www.cim.org/apcom2009

08 - 09 Oct 2009 Bergbau- und Steine- und Erden-Tag 2009 Neuburg a. d. Donau www.abbm-bayern.de

08 - 09 Oct 2009 Mining Magazine Congress Ontario, Canada www.miningcongress.com

12 - 14 Oct 2009 NEXT 2009 Shanghai, China www.next2009.com

12 - 14 Oct 2009 Tenth Mill Operators Conference Adelaide, Australienwww.ausimm.com/content/wsc.aspx?ID=17

13 - 15 Oct 2009 FILTECH 2009 Wiesbaden www.filtech.de

14 - 17 Oct 2009 Mining Indonesia 2009 Jakarta, Java, Indonesia www.pamerindo.com

15 - 16 Oct 2009GDMB-Arbeitskreis Tagebautechnik im Fachausschuss "Steine, Erden, Industrieminerale"

Walzbachtal-Wössingen www.gdmb.de

16 - 18 Oct 2009 Tag der Steine in der Stadt Berlinwww.geo.tu-berlin.de/steine-in-der-stadt/tag_der_steine_in_der_stadt

19 - 23 Oct 2009 IMWC — International Mine Water Conference Pretoria, Südafrikawww.wisa.org.za/minewater2009.htm

21 Oct 2009 MIRO-Ausschuss "Rohstoffsicherung, Umweltschutz, Folgenutzung" www.bv-miro.org

20 - 22 Oct 2009IFAC MMM 2009 IFAC Workshiop on Automation in Mining, Mineral and Metals Industry

Vina del Mar, Chile www.ifacmmm2009.com

20 - 22 Oct 2009 CHINA MINING Congress & Expo 2009 Tianjin, China www.china-mining.com

21 - 23 Oct 2009 TZMI Asia in Focus Congress 2009 Singapore, Singapur www.tzmi.com

21 - 23 Oct 2009 WCSB4 — The 4th World Conference on Sampling and Blending Kapstadt, Südafrika www.wcsb4.com

26 - 30 Oct 2009 World Gold 2009 — SAIMM World Gold 2009 Processing Workshop Kapstadt, Südafrika www.worldgold2009.com

27 - 29 Oct 2009 China Coal and Mining Expo 2009 Beijing, China www.chinaminingcoal.com/2009

27 - 29 Oct 2009 Mining & Energy SA Adelaide, South Australia, Australien www.miningandenergysa.com.au

28 - 29 Oct 2009 Forum MIRO 2009 Kolloquium und Ausstellung Würzburg, Maritim Hotel www.bv-miro.org

27 - 30 Oct 2009 ENTSORGA-ENTECO 2009 Köln www.entsorga-enteco.com

101Issue 03 | 2009

EVENTS


THE AMS-EVENT CALENDER2009

November 2009

02 - 04 Nov 2009 MINE-TECH InternationalJohannesburg, South Africa

www.MineTechExpo.com

04 - 06 Nov 2009 Valuation of Mineral Projects Vancouver BC, Canada www.edumine.com/pd/valuation

09 - 12 Nov 2009 Flotation 09 — 4th International Flotation Conference Kapstadt, Südafrika www.min-eng.com/flotation09

09 - 11 Nov 2009 Slope Stability 2009Los Andes, Santiago, Metropolitana, China

www.slopestability.cl

10 Nov 2009 Steinkohlentag 2009 Essen www.gvst.de

10 - 12 Nov 2009 Stainless Steel World Conference & Exhibition 2009 Maastricht (Netherlands) www.stainless-steel-world.net

10 - 13 Nov 2009 Metal-Expo 2009 Moscow (Russia) www.metal-expo.com

11 - 12 Nov 2009 Hochschul-Kupfersymposium 2009 Duisburg www.kupferinstitut.de/symposium

10 - 12 Nov 2009 China Mining 2009 Beijing, China www.china-mining.com

13 Nov 2009 Fachtagung Asphalt in Freiburg

15 - 19 Nov 2009Nano Petroleum, Gas and Petro-Chemical Industries Conference: “Providing Nano-Powered Solutions”

Kairo, Ägyptenwww.npg.sabrycorp.com/conf/npg/09

16 - 19 Nov 2009SWEMP 2009 — 11th International Symposium on Environmental Issues and Waste Management

Banff, Alberta, Kanada ww.mpes-cami-swemp.com

17 - 19 Nov 2009 Geothermiekongress 2009 Bochum www.geothermie.de

18 - 19 Nov 200916. Internationale IFF-Fachtagung: „Verfahren und Ausrüstungen für die Herstellung von Betonwaren und Betonfertigteilen“

Leonardo Hotel Weimar www.iff-weimar.de

21 - 22 Nov 2009 San Francisco Hard Assets Conference San Francisco CA, Australia

www.hardassetssf.com

23 - 24 Nov 2009 CoalMine Methane London, UK www.smi-online.co.uk

23 - 24 Nov 2009 Comparative Decision Analysis in Mining Vancouver BC, Canada www.edumine.com/pd/analysis

December 200901 - 03 Dec 2009 FEM 2009 — 7th Fennoscandian Exploration and Mining Rovaniemi, Finnland www.lapinliitto.fi/fem2009

01 - 03 Dec 2009 STUVA Tagung 2009 Hamburg www.stuva.de

02 - 04 Dec 2009 PROCEMIN 2009 VI International Mineral Precessing Seminar Santiago, Chile www.procemin2009.com

02 - 05 Dec 2009 EuroMold 2009 Frankfurt www.euromold.com

07 Dec 2009Nature's Treasures: Minerals and Gems (MSGBI Joint meeting with the Gem-mological Association of Great Britain and The Russell Society)

London, Großbritannien www.minsoc.ru

10 - 13 Dec 2009 ENERGY INDIA, MDA INDIA, CeMAT INDIA, Industrial Automation INDIA Mumbai (India) www.cemat-india.com

102Issue 03 | 2009

EVENTS


Organised by

IV International Conference on Mining Innovation

first announcement and call for papers

Planning for Sustainable Mining

participants

The Department of Mining Engineering of the Universidad de Chile and the Mining Centre of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, are pleased to invite executives, academics, professionals and technical experts to participate in the iv international conference on mining

innovation - minin 2010, to be held on 23 – 25 June 2010, in Santiago, Chile.

objectives

MININ 2010 is organised to provide an international forum where

experts may analyse and discuss innovations and recent developments

in mine planning, operations optimisation, equipment development

and management of the mining business. The Conference aims to:

Promote the exchange of best practices and •experiences applied to mining processes

Discuss emerging trends and developments and •identify best practices in the mining industry

Promote the development of an interdisciplinary •international network for technical collaboration and exchange among professionals engaged in the planning and development of mining processes

abstract submission

Prospective authors are invited to submit a 300 word abstract

in English, until 11 October 2009, to [email protected] The

abstract must be in MS Word, including a 100 character title,

full author’s name, position, company, business address, phone

number and email. If accepted, a full article up to 10 pages long

will be required by 23 November 2009. All final papers accepted

for publication will be included in the Conference Proceedings.

The technical program will be comprised of oral and poster

presentations; the form of presentation for each paper will be

decided upon the receipt of its final version. English–Spanish

simultaneous translation will be provided during the Conference,

thus, the oral presentation may be made in either language.

23 ---> 25 june 2010, Sheraton Santiago Hotel & Convention Center, Chile.

executive committee

Diego Hernández chairman minin 2010BHP Billiton, Chile

deadlines

abstract submission 11 october 2009

notification to authors 23 october 2009

full paper submission 23 november 2009

comments to authors 30 december 2009

final paper submission 29 january 2010

early registration 23 march 2010

Carlos Barahonaexecutive director minin 2010Gecamin, Chile

areas of interest

Mine Planning —

Sampling and Geostatistics —

Geomechanics and Geotechnics —

Mine Unit Operations —

Optimisation of Mining Processes —

Expansions and New Projects —

Integrated Mine Management —

Mineral Economics —

Innovation Management —

Romke Kuyvenhoven technical coordinator minin 2010 Gecamin, Chile

enquiries

Isis Galenominin 2010 event coordinator Gecamin, Chile

Telephone (+56-2) 652 1514 Fax: (+56-2) 652 1570 E-mail: [email protected]

www.minin2010.com

Issue 03 | 2009

IMPRINT

103www.advanced-mining.com

EDUCATION

THIS MAGAZINE IS SUPPORTED BY:

200903

EVENTSThe AMS Event Calendar 2009


Bell EquipmentContinental/ContiTechMetso Minerals

Sandvik Mining & ConstructionVermeerZeppelin

Tudeshki, H. ; Hertel, H. Surface Mining and International Mining | Clausthal University of Technology | Germany

ESCO GmbH

KLEEMANN GMBH

WIRTGEN GMBH

METSO MINERALS Germany GmbH

MB Crusher S.p.A

AVANT TECNO Germany GmbH

ATLAS COPCO Surface Drilling Equipment, Tunnelling & Mining Equipment

CATERPILLAR INC.

Kellner, M.Geotechnique, Mining, Petroleum Engineering | Surface Mining and International Mining | Clausthal University of Technology | Germany

ContiTech Conveyor Technology corporationNortheim | Germany

ThyssenKrupp Fördertechnik GmbHEssen | Germany

Volvo Construction Equipment Germany

Tudeshki, H. ; Xu, T.Surface Mining and International Mining | Clausthal University of Technology | Germany

von der Linden, E. Linden Advisory | Dreieich | Germany

Debriv; Tudeshki, H.

Hot Success! Steelworks « Dillinger Hütte » & « Saarstahl »

Stationary plants now become mobile thanks to interlinked plants! Kleemann demonstrates what is possible today with process know-how and high-performance plants

New SURFACE MINER 4200 SM from Wirtgen: Maximum performance in large-scale opencast mining!

Improved performance out in the open!

The new bucket crusher BF


Atlas Copco launches ROC T35M a robust surface drill rig! The Atlas Copco Simba W6 C rig available for new markets!

Diamond scrap heap - Cat-machines process one of the world’s largest scrap metal stock piles in Namibia!

TECHNOLOGIETRANSFER

NEUHEITEN & REPORTAGEN


Round Table at Hannover Messe 2009: Climate-Friendly and Energy-Efficient Raw Material Extraction

ThyssenKrupp Fördertechnik (conveyor technique): Fully Mobile Crawler-Mounted Crushing Plant for Large Open-Pit Mines

Volvo Fleet Under Ground - All Good Things Come From Above



The most intelligent chapter in mining history was written by German Engineering


20090303

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AMS-Online Issue 03/2009