< Previous10 Follow us on Facebook for current mining news.www.canadianminingmagazine.com 11 FEA TURE AUTOMATION AND DIGITALIZATION are changing the face of mining. Mining companies are going deeper, producing longer, and delivering more ore thanks to advances in IoT and automation. Canada has seen a major rise in automation technology over the last few years, as every trend-monitoring media and thought leader will publicly declare. A traditionally risk-averse industry, mining has started to embrace IoT and automation as more than just a concept. In April of 2018, North American Palladium (NAP) tested Sandvik’s LH514 loader equipped with AutoMine®, Sandvik’s automation software. David Galea, Manager of Operational Excellence at NAP’s Lac des Iles mine, says, “Automation is the way the industry’s going, so this lets us test it in an environment where we can prove that it’s successful and plan for the expansion as we plan our life of mine around automation and improving the safety of the workforce and improving the productivity of our equipment as well.”1 On the other side of the globe, other miners are echoing that of Canadian mining companies. “We’re always looking for the next opportunity to implement state-of-the-art technology to improve our operations, either from a safety, productivity, or cost perspective,” says Byrnecut Australia’s Managing Director, Pat Boniwell, in an interview about automated underground drilling technology.2 While there have been major strides in automation and digitalization in recent years, some mining equipment manufacturers, such as Sandvik, are already developing beyond their current capabilities in the area and envisioning the future of the industry. When stripped down to its most basic form, potential advancements in both automation and digitalization depend on the same thing – connectivity. Increasing the speed, security, and payload of the signals that transfer information from the surface to the deepest depths of the mine and back is arguably the most crucial component for the future of mining automation. As mines go deeper, some connectivity technologies, such as fibre optics, will need to be protected by robust cables to avoid damage from tensile loading, bending, crushing, impact forces, and moisture. Wireless technology networks, such as 4G / LTE and Wi-Fi, which work by placing stations or access points at specific intervals, are more realistic to accomplishing data transfers at greater depths. In mid 2018, Agnico Eagle’s LaRonde mine in Quebec, which boasts the deepest single- lift shaft in the Western Hemisphere at 2.2 kilometres, became the first mine in the world to connect an LTE communication network to Sandvik’s AutoMine® system on a production scale. However, with the adoption of 5G technology on the near horizon, mines will soon have an even more robust option for quicker, larger, and more secure transfers of wireless data – 4G currently averages 1 GB of data per second, whereas 5G is capable of 10 GB per second. This increase in data transfer capability will allow for faster operator-to-machine reaction times due to lower latency, and the ability to control more machines using just one connection. The Digital Age of Mining What do advancements in automation and digitalization mean for the mining industry? By Edward Bilborough, Sandvik12 Follow us on Facebook for current mining news. With stronger and faster connectivity, the benefits of autonomous operations begin to compound. Today’s benchmark for autonomous loading and hauling is to place the operator a few hundred metres aboveground. But with a stronger connection, that same operator will be able to sit in a chair, autonomously maneuvering multiple pieces of equipment from hundreds of kilometres away. Removing the operator from inside the machine is an accomplishment unto itself but relocating the operator to a location off the mine site presents an entirely new way of conducting mining operations. As fewer workers need to be transported to and from a remote site there will be a reduced requirement for housing, fewer deliveries of consumable goods, reduced requirement for utilities to support camps, and overall, the operations can become more sustainable and leave a much smaller carbon footprint. Additionally, removing the operator from the underground environment allows the mining industry to become more accessible to non-traditional workforce pools. Hecla Mining’s Casa Berardi in Quebec, for example, has had great success after hiring an ex-automotive service shop manager with zero mining or automation experience to run its new automated haul truck. With the flexibility to locate machine operators off-site, the remoteness of the operation becomes a significantly smaller issue. The operational benefits that automation providers are already able to deliver are countless. Real-time fleet monitoring lets mines know what each machine is doing and exactly where it is operating; whereas previously, knowledge of a fleet’s current activities and location were an educated guess, at best. Data constantly flows back to the control room showing a live feed of current conditions, and www.canadianminingmagazine.com 13 improved connectivity will only improve the control room’s capabilities. North American Palladium’s Lac des Iles (LDI) mine in Ontario was able to quantify the value of real- time asset management. By measuring and tracking the complete mining cycle, including equipment and personnel performance, LDI was able to better understand its business and identify where the bottlenecks were, resulting in a production rate growth of approximately 20 per cent. Autonomous mining equipment can operate continuously without waiting for blasting, for gas to clear, for operators to reach the equipment from the surface or between shift changes. At Hecla Mining’s Casa Berardi mine in Quebec, the automated Sandvik TH540 haul truck delivered 20 per cent higher availability at 30 per cent lower maintenance costs than the average manual truck in the mine’s fleet in the first eight months alone. The theorized time for a cycle decreased by about 60 per cent with the automated haul truck and surpassed productivity expectations by 39 per cent to 50 per cent (depending on location of the chute). Simply by being able to work during formerly non-productive time, LDI went from 30 to 50 buckets every shift with its Sandvik LH514, a 60 per cent increase. Right after commissioning the loader, LDI estimated that it would pay for itself within a few months if they could add three truckloads between shifts. The return on investment for mines that have made the decision to automate is already turning cash-positive, but as mines become more remote, deeper, lower grade, and more complex, the decision to automate becomes even clearer. Automation, including fleet monitoring, autonomous drilling, and autonomous ore transportation, provide real solutions to many problems miners are collectively up against – maximizing productivity while keeping operational costs minimalized, creating a safer working environment, making the industry accessible to non-traditional labour pools, and creating environmentally sustainable operations. There have been major achievements and progress already in automation technology in the last decade, and the benefits realized with Real-time fleet monitoring lets mines know what each machine is doing and exactly where it is operating; whereas previously, knowledge of a fleet’s current activities and location were an educated guess, at best. References 1. David Galea, https://solidground.sandvik/ prideful-revival/, Solid Ground (December 13, 2018). 2. Pat Boniwell, https://solidground.sandvik/ byrnecut-australia-knows-drill/, Solid Ground (April 7, 2017). automation will exponentially increase with further advances in connective and IoT technologies. But even with the connective capabilities available today, the return generated from investing in automation is already speaking for itself. M EDWARD BILBOROUGH IS SANDVIK’S BUSINESS LINE MANAGER FOR AUTOMATION AND DIGITALIZATION IN CANADA. EDWARD HAS WORKED WITH SANDVIK FOR OVER 12 YEARS, ADVISING MINING COMPANIES, ENGINEERS, AND CONTRACTORS ON ALL STAGES OF MINE DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION. HE NOW ASSISTS MINERS TO ENABLE THEIR DIGITALIZATION ROADMAPS AND OPTIMIZE THEIR OPERATIONS TO BE AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE USING AUTOMATION.14 Follow us on Facebook for current mining news.www.canadianminingmagazine.com 15 MINING EQUIPMENT OPERATES AT THE intersection of material fatigue, impact, abrasive wear, and corrosion. To improve the wear life of components usually requires a trade-off between material choice, heat treatment, and surface coatings. Although operators demand increased uptime and lower maintenance, higher cost is frequently a barrier. The problem: abrasive wear Common solutions include weld overlays, high velocity thermal sprays, and hardfacing, but heat-affected zones (HAZ) often precipitate chromium carbides across grain boundaries or at the bond interface, causing intergranular corrosion, hydrogen embrittlement, and material separation. Overlay solutions are not chosen for gears, shafts, and internal components because of tight dimensional tolerances, required mechanical core strength, and needed uniform grain structure to resist strain hardening. Higher yield, increased tensile, and abrasion- resistant material for skip plates, mill liners, bucket teeth, and crusher cones are available but they’re costly, sometimes offer only limited improvement, and require a vender tie-back. A low-cost, permanent, and effective alternative is needed. The solution: deep cryogenics Deep cryogenics (DC) is a cold-temperature process that reduces corrosion, wear, fracture, and fatigue in metal items by 20 to 70 per cent. Thermo-kinetic exchange occurs during a prolonged time and temperature exposure to -190˚C dry-nitrogen vapor (Figure 1), imparting mechanical improvement. The process is attracting attention in several areas – from government R&D agencies and universities to OEM’s and end users of paste pumps, SAG mills, bucket teeth, crusher cones, bearings, shafts, nozzles, gears, and hauler vehicles. The benefits of deep cryogenics The primary metallurgical changes resulting from DC are a three to seven per cent reduction in retained austenite and a conversion to martensite, refinement in grain structure, and the emergence of primary and secondary eta carbides that provide wear protection. Both destructive and non-destructive testing show that DC: • Increases tensile and yield strength in carbon- and bearing-steel alloys by 10 to 20 per cent. • Reduces corrosion in high-carbon steel by 20 to 60 per cent (Figures 2 and 3). • Lowers wear effect on low and high carbon steels by 30 to 70 per cent. • Improves surface finish contact area by up to 50 per cent (Figure 4). Industrial applications include mining, oil and gas, power generation machining, and transportation. Deep cryogenics addresses the greatest challenge facing all manufactured items – extending operational life by making things last longer. Reducing Wear with A breakthrough cold thermal process that’s fast, low cost, scalable, and environmentally friendly. By Jack Cahn, Deep Cryogenics International Deep CryogenicsDeep Cryogenics www.canadianminingmagazine.com 15 FEA TURE16 Follow us on Facebook for current mining news. How it works Items are placed in a specially designed tank where they are slowly cooled from room temperature down to -190ºC, cold-soaked in a dry nitrogen atmosphere for 12 to 40 hours, and then slowly returned to room temperature. Then they undergo one to three annealing steps to eliminate hydrogen embrittlement and to add ductility. In steel, the process transforms the softer, retained austenite into more durable martensite and fine carbides precipitate throughout the microstructure. These carbides cement the metal matrix without reversal when the item returns to room temperature. Unlike surface treatments, such as welding, cladding, plating, or HV depositions, deep cryogenics is a through core diffusionless process. DC takes three days to complete, costs roughly 10 per cent of the original item, doesn’t change part size, and allows hundreds of parts to be treated simultaneously – with part weight up to thousands of pounds. DC is non-toxic, uses no chemicals, and generates no environmental waste. The process is scalable to large industrial use and is supported by over 25 years of scientific research. DC treated parts can be authenticated, tested, and certified using existing ASTM destructive and non-destructive test methods. The process generally follows heat treatment and does not substitute for it, although many parts too big to heat treat can be DC treated for a 40 to 120 per cent gain in wear life. Prior obstacles to technology adoption Despite multiple attempts using electron microscopy and nano-characterization, the science behind the deep cryogenic phenomena is still unknown, causing mixed reaction within the heat treat community, in spite of positive field results and test data. Although heat treatment has been around for over 10,000 years (since the first caveman fire- hardened a spear), DC launched in the 20th century when nitrogen gas was separated, chilled, and liquified. Like electric cars, the newness of this process may explain the recent adoption. Industry qualification Qualification agencies DNV-GL and Lloyd’s have both issued proposals charting the future application of this technology. Because use of DCT doesn’t change sources of supply, material type, manufacturing method, dimensional tolerance, or even end use, qualification time can be compressed in the traditionally conservative mining and energy industries. A key benefit is that DCT can be added to existing manufacturing processes without changing, modifying, or eliminating any of the prior steps. 4340 Steel Corrosion Test # 1 Uniform Surface Corrosion Corrosion-18 hrs in 3.5% NaCl Cryo treated coupon 100 ▫µm Corrosion-18 hrs in 3.5% NaCl Non- cryo treated coupon 100 ▫µm TEST RESULT: 64% REDUCTION IN GENERAL CORROSION (VOLUMETRIC) Figure 3. 4340 Steel Corrosion Test # 2 Potentiodynamic Test for Pitting Resistance Corrosion 36 hrs in 3.5% NaCl 3 Cryo treated coupon samples Corrosion 36 hrs in 3.5% NaCl 3 Non-cryo treated coupon samples TEST RESULT: 0% PITTING CORROSION DETECTED IN DEEP CRYO COUPONS Figure 2. THE DEEP CRYOGENIC TREATMENT PROCESS (SAMPLE TREATMENT RECIPE – EACH MATERIAL REQUIRES A DIFFERENT PROCEDURE) Figure 1.www.canadianminingmagazine.com 17 History and equipment DCT has evolved greatly since WWII, when Clarence Zener experimentally poured liquid nitrogen on aircraft forging dies in primitive attempts to increase wear life. These early experiments often initiated fatigue cracking and die fracture due to thermal shock, but some survived with double the wear life. Zener knew he was on to something, but the war ended and his project was mothballed. Forty years later, the process emerged again with technology advancements, including digital-controlled LN2 supply, use of dry-nitrogen vapor, PID optimization, and in-situ annealing capability. Current status The technology has shown that specific time and temperature formulas are required to optimize wear resistance and fracture toughness per alloy. To commercialize the process, an industrial customer should work with a DC provider that can offer both on-site R&D and test lab capability to accelerate development. There is currently a single company in Canada that provides on-site DC treatment, test and R&D, and certification capability – soon with scale- up treatment capacity up to 60,000 kg. Opportunities Numerous mining assemblies, such as crushers, grinding mills, hauling rigs, slurry pumps, and gearboxes, are an excellent match for improvement by deep cryogenics. But in many cases, DC will also allow the substitution of low- cost carbon steel for expensive superalloys and tungsten-carbide products – providing extended life at a significantly reduced cost. Summary Deep cryogenics allows end users to sharply reduce the wear and corrosion effect on mining equipment. The technology has come of age with the introduction of engineering-based acceptance standards, known destructive / non-destructive test methods, large-size tanks, and certification protocols. This step-change in thermal treatment of metals will reduce operational downtime, lower maintenance / capital-replacement cost, and increase net profitability. After many years on ice, it’s a technology that has finally arrived. M JACK CAHN IS THE FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER AT DEEP CRYOGENICS INTERNATIONAL. SINCE 1999, HE HAS USED DCT ON MACHINE SHOP TOOLING, DEVELOPED DC TEST PROCEDURES FOR USE ON JPL’S MARS EXPLORATION ROVER, WORKED WITH RESEARCHERS AT NIST’S CRYOGENIC PROCESSING LAB, AND SERVED AS THE LEAD INVESTIGATOR IN TWO US ARMY CRADAS. HE IS THE AUTHOR OF ONE USPTO-ISSUED PATENT AND FIVE PATENTS-PENDING. From: Jack Cahn jack@emergingtechsf.com Subject: t Date: August 1, 2019 at 11:37 AM To: Jack Cahn jack@deepcryogenics.com DC treated 316 stainless steel Untreated 316 stainless steel Figure 4.18 Follow us on Facebook for current mining news.www.canadianminingmagazine.com 19Next >