Mining

Applying corrosion resistant lubricant to every application in the mining industry from threads, sleeves, and bushes — to gears, chains, and sprockets—is good practice for extending the life expectancy of metal components, according to BSC’s Steve Keown.

A quarry or mining plant potentially has hundreds of different belt drives. How can a site or reliability manager ensure belts are achieving their life expectancy and that drives are working at optimal efficiency? According to Steve Hittmann, the Gates® Design Flex™ Pro™ free software tool is designed exactly for this purpose, providing real cost … Continue reading Driving longevity with Gates® software tool →

Rio Tinto has committed to using local suppliers to build iron ore railcars for its Pilbara mining operations, with the initial purchase of 50 iron ore railcars. 

Behind every great piece of equipment is a good belt. The humble belt is the understated essential worker of industry, says CBC’s power transmission expert Steve Hittmann. In a refinery or processing plant, failure of a belt can cause unnecessary downtime. This is precisely why manufacturers like Gates® invest their efforts into the research and … Continue reading Tightening the belt: Continuous improvement for the earth moving sector →

High load carrying capacity, robust design, and simplified installation are all features that describe the new plummer block and spherical roller bearing combination offered by the NTN-CBC division of Industrial Solutions Australia part of Motion Asia Pacific. Already a strong force in the domestic bearing market, the joint venture formed between the Japanese-founded bearing manufacturer and … Continue reading A new force: Introducing the NTN-CBC Housed Bearing Program →

A processing plant for rare earth minerals will be built near Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia. Lynas Corporation will build the site, subject to approval processes, and forecasts that 500 construction jobs and 200 ongoing jobs in the region will be created through the project. Minerals will be extracted from Lynas’s Mt Weld mine, which are … Continue reading Rare earth minerals to be processed in Kalgoorlie, WA →

Australian explosives manufacturer for mining and civil applications, Orica, has partnered with Swedish mining equipment company Epiroc to automate the delivery of blasting technology. The two companies will collaborate to create a semi-automated explosives delivery system. By automating the delivery of explosives, the companies hope to make mining safer and more productive, particularly in underground … Continue reading Partnership to automate drilling and blasting →

Coming to the stage for the last session of any summit is a hard task, and after a packed day of speeches and panels at the National Manufacturing Summit, the job of Jim Stanford, director of the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute, was no easier. His task? Wake Australia up to the … Continue reading More than luck: making the most of our lithium endowment →

A research partnership between the Innovative Manufacturing CRC (IMCRC), the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and Downer’s Mineral Technologies has reached its one-year anniversary. The project aims to develop custom 3D printed technologies for precision-engineered mineral separation and mining equipment. The idea of the project is to create mineral separation spirals, which can be produced … Continue reading IMCRC, UTS, 3D printing research partnership hits one year milestone →

Miner Northern Minerals hopes that the processing of rare earth minerals could spark a burst of investment in high-tech manufacturing – if their Browns Range project is successful. The Browns Range mine is currently in development, and the company hopes to separate dysprosium from surrounding ores. The rare earth mineral can be found in Western … Continue reading Local mining of rare earth minerals could grow high tech manufacturing →

The Women in Industry Awards were held at The Park, Albert Park, on June 6, in Melbourne. With nearly 200 attendees from a diverse range of industries, it was a great night that celebrated the achievements of individuals who have made valuable and significant change to the industries that they serve in. We congratulate the … Continue reading Women in Industry Awards 2019: All the winners →

Emesent, a drone autonomy spin-out from CSIRO, the technology arm of Australia’s national science agency, has raised $3.5 million in venture capital to commercialise its autonomous mine drone technology. Main Sequence Ventures, which manages the CSIRO Innovation Fund, led the funding round along with Andy Greig from ACAC Innovation for Emesent’s first product, Hovermap. The Hovermap technology … Continue reading Aussie startup receives 3.5m in funding for mine mapping drone →

DSI Underground Australia, a manufacturer of strata reinforcement and ground support products, has entered an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of privately owned  Fero Group steel manufacturing company. Employing 300 people, DSI Underground Australia supplies reinforcement and support products that are  essential to safety and efficiency in the underground mining, infrastructure and construction sectors. Fero Group is a … Continue reading DSI Underground Australia announces acquisition of Fero Group →

While the manufacture of electric vehicles overseas is predicted to increase the demand for lithium-ion production in Australia, CSIRO Manufacturing’s research director Dr Leon Prentice discusses the importance of closing a disconnect between the country’s manufacturing and mining sectors. The more advances in disruptive technologies continue to change the landscape of the global value chain … Continue reading Aligning Australia’s manufacturing and mining markets →

Atlas Copco, has issued a press statement late last week on a solid order intake growth and operating profit for the closing quarter of 2017. In the near term, the overall demand for the group is expected to remain at current high level. “Our winning teams ensured we had a strong end to a record … Continue reading Atlas Copco reports strong close to Q4 of 2017 →

A Climate Council report states who they see as leading the charge of Australia’s transition to clean, affordable and efficient renewable energy and storage technology. The Renewables Ready: States Leading the Charge report shows South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory are all leading the renewables race, while the Federal Government remains stuck at … Continue reading Climate Council: SA, TAS and ACT leading the renewables charge →

The WA state government will be increasing penalties for workplace safety offences to bring Western Australia into line with other States and ensure penalties better reflect the importance of a safe workplace. In a press report, the WA government stated that the amendments will increase penalties for businesses which commit safety offences under the Occupational Health … Continue reading McGowan Government to increase penalties for workplace safety offences →

Researchers from Edith Cowan University have developed a way to modify the atomic structure of iron to create a metal that can strip impurities from water in just a few minutes. The breakthrough, recently published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, offers new applications in the mining, textile and other industries where large amounts of … Continue reading Small technology promises to clean huge volumes of wastewater →

Australia’s manufacturing sector has experienced a tenth consecutive month of expansion – despite significant challenges. The Australian Industry (Ai) Group’s Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI) increased by 1.0 point in July to 56.0 points. According to the index, results above 50 indicate expansion with even higher results indicating a stronger expansion. In July, … Continue reading Construction, mining demand aiding continued manufacturing growth →

GE has announced that Clarke Energy, GE’s distributor and service partner, will provide 11 of GE’s Jenbacher J624 gas engines to Australian energy infrastructure business, APA Group, for its new 45-megawatt (MW) Yamarna Power Station in Western Australia, which is being constructed to supply power to the Gruyere Gold Project. Clarke Energy will engineer, procure and … Continue reading APA chooses Clarke Energy for Gruyere Gold Project →