product news
78
08.13
Index to advertisers
ACTOM
18
AEL Mining Services
43
AFROX
38
Air Liquide
72
AZ Hollink South Africa
13
Babcock
OFC
Babcock
48
Barloworld Metso
29
bauma Africa
22
Bell Equipment
11
Bidvest Prestige Group
46
Booyco Electronics
67
Brelko
39
Condra Cranes
4
Crossroads Distribution
26
ELB Equipment
52
Ernest Lowe
IBC
FLSmidth
IFC
Fly 88
66
Horne South Africa
23
Hytec Engineering
19
ifm Electronic SA
OBC
Indeco
54
Johnson Crane Hire
68
MDM Engineering
70
Metso Minerals
17
MMD Mineral Sizing
14
New Concept Mining
2
Normet Africa
57
Novatek
28
Outotec
60
Pilot Crushtec
Insert
Polysius
65
Southern Mapping Company
37
Surgetek
69
Tenova Bateman Technologies
63
Transcor Truck Hire
9
Tyco
33
Verder Pumps
61
Veyance Technologies
71
WorleyParsonsTWP
15
Polypipe, which claims to be one of Europe’s
largest and most innovative manufacturers of
plastic piping systems, is set to expand its
presence in the African market. The company
is focusing its drive on the mining industry,
having already secured contracts to supply
pipework systems to major mining projects in
Kenya and Sierra Leone.
Established in 1980, Polypipe is a global
organisation. Its British manufacturing op-
eration reportedly offers the broadest range
of plastic pipework systems available from a
single manufacturer.
Says Polypipe Export Manager Philip
Wood: “In territories where water is in short
supply, and with processes that place high
demands on water usage, effective water
management in large-scale mining opera-
tions is essential. Mining companies and their
contractors need to consider the environ-
mental impact of their operations, so efficient
re-cycling of water used in the various min-
eral extraction processes is vital. Similarly,
when considering the associated infrastruc-
The Polypipe Ridgidrain twin-walled pipe system.
Polypipe targets African mining market
ture, the effective re-use of water needs to be
an integral part of their pipework design.
“Our British-made products are designed
to meet today’s carbon and water challenges
and we provide solutions for the total wa-
ter management process, covering capture,
treatment, re-use, attenuation and soakaway,
along with drainage for buildings and infra-
structure.”
One of the key product systems for this
sector is Polypipe’s PE100, a high density
polyethylene pressure pipe system that has
been used in some of the toughest mining
environments in applications such as recircu-
lation pipelines for heap leaching operations,
solution mining, process slurry pipelines and
process water. Chemical and corrosion-re-
sistant, it can cope with harsh materials from
abrasive slurries to corrosive acids, bases
and salts. Pipes and fittings can be joined us-
ing electro fusion or butt-welding techniques
to form a continuous homogenous pipeline
which affords no chance of leakage.
Of equal importance in mining applications
is the Polypipe Ridgidrain twin-walled pipe
system, which is suitable for non-pressurised
storm water and sub-surface gravity drainage
and offers a number of advantages over tra-
ditional pipe systems.
In underground installations, Polypipe
twin-wall pipes will accommodate ground
movement and subsequent settlement after
installation without failure. Twin-wall pipes
are available from 100 mm to 2 100 mm.
Polypipe,
e-mail:
,
website:
MICROMINE has announced the completion
of stage one of the Pitram Automated Data
Collection project at the Diavik diamond mine
in Canada.
The primary objective of the project is to
accurately monitor the loading cycle of un-
derground haul trucks. The project will also
improve communication between haul truck
operators and the Pitram Control Room and
ensure that the load tonnage captured by
weight-cell system LoadMan
®
is accurately
reported in Pitram.
In stage one of the upgrade, Diavik has
added automated data capture capabilities
to its existing Pitram solution, and integrated
Pitram with LoadMan weightometers on se-
lected trucks. Stage two will see Pitram’s au-
tomated data capture capabilities extended
across the entire hauling fleet.
Pitram is a mine control and management
reporting solution which records, manages
and processes mine site data in real-time re-
Stage one of Pitram project at Diavik completed
lated to equipment, locations, personnel and
materials.
“As a scalable solution, Pitram has been
developed to ensure that every mine site has
access to an application that is relevant to
its specific requirements, stage of mine life
and budget,” says Pitram System Specialist –
North America, Josh Carroll. “As an operation
grows and becomes more complex, Pitram
can be configured and upgraded to meet the
mine’s evolving requirements.
“Pitram was first implemented at Diavik in
2007. Over the years, the solution has helped
the site to accurately record mine activities,
and has provided management greater con-
trol over the operation. Prior to the project’s
commencement, all underground information
was communicated by operators to the Pit-
ram Control Room over the radio. Although
effective, management recognised that com-
munication could be further improved.”
To better monitor and strengthen the con-
sistency of the loading and hauling process,
Diavik commissioned a weight-cell system
to be added to its hauling fleet. The system,
LoadMan, allows the weight of material on a
truck to be captured at the start and end of
the load-dump cycle.
“Pitram touch-screen computer units have
been installed in four truck cabins, and inte-
grated with LoadMan,” adds Carroll. “An ac-
curate tonnage measure of each truck dump
is now displayed on the Pitram computer unit
once the data has been captured by Load-
Man. The information is then made available
to key personnel through Pitram’s reports.”
Additionally, all common Pitram events
entered into the computer unit, including lo-
cation and loader assignments, status (time
model) changes, and cycle status changes,
are communicated to the Control Room when
trucks pass wireless access points.
MICROMINE Africa,
tel (+27 11) 514-0860
