Nordic Minesteel Technologies Inc. (NMT), experts in horizontal and vertical solutions for mining, has designed and manufactured two advanced pieces of equipment to increase safety and productivity in the mining industry.
SLT220 – Jack System
Conventional methods to lift and secure a haul truck are time consuming and dangerous. Mine sites often contain a variety of truck models and contend with changing site conditions. Maintenance employees need to manually place multiple support stands under a lifted 240-400 ton haulage truck creating a high risk safety situation.
The SLT220 jack system is designed to keep operators safe by using remote control to easily position the SLT220 under the chassis of a haul truck and using the OEM certified lifting points, elevate and stabilize a complete axle of a large haul truck. The SLT220 is a fast, safe, effective tool for tire technicians to perform their work. The latest hydraulic and electronic technology is used to transform the SLT220 into a certified safety stand eliminating the need for secondary supports. Tire maintenance time onsite is reduced, increasing truck availability.
Enhancements being made to these prototype machines include an electric model to be released in 2018.
Rapid Advance Shield
Advance rates of development headings in underground mines have declined steadily in the past 30 years. This decline was driven by two factors: the increased size of access drifts (tunnels) to accommodate larger production equipment; and the need for more support to ensure safety and stability. Both make the ground control component of the development cycle longer. Current drift development practice generally involves four sequential activities. This four-stage sequence of activities requires the re-entry of four pieces of equipment, and critical time is often lost between the re-entries. No face activity can be carried out until the ground control is complete and in some cases, support must be installed on the face of each heading after each blast.
The Rapid Advance Shield has been designed and manufactured by NMT along side the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) to safely speed up tunnel development by allowing ground support, drilling, and loading to happen concurrently instead of sequentially. It accelerates the time while providing protection for production drilling, drift rehab, brow protection/draw point mucking, emergency situations and more. The need to screen at rock-bolt at the face is eliminated reducing access tramp metal and downstream delays.
Field testing is ongoing with the Rapid Advance Shield, with anticipated completion date set for early 2018. Data simulations have shown advancement rate will be doubled with this implemented technology.
