Think Green-Dig Deep: Smaller is Better
In future loading and hauling applications, less may simply mean less, as evidenced by the appearance of small-payload utility skips in European quarry operations. Thwaites Ltd., a British company, markets a line of 1- to 9-metric ton-capacity vehicles, which comprise a dumpable bin mounted on a four-wheel chassis with a rear-mounted engine and operator's seat. With diesel engines from 25 to 100 hp, narrow bodies and short wheelbases, the skips can carry out haul-and-dump tasks in cramped spaces, while minimizing the environmental impacts of dust, noise and fuel consumption.

Consume Less, Produce More
The cost of consumables-gas, oil, filters, tires, drill bits and rods, bucket teeth, conveyor belts, to name a few-is a significant expense. Consumption rate is closely linked to site conditions, operator habits and maintenance policies beyond the control of the manufacturer. Nevertheless, suppliers will continue to develop improved materials and features that offer potential savings.

Data Will Dominate
The confluence of expanding data bandwidth in mine communications, microprocessor-based equipment monitoring and control, and precise satellite-based location and tracking capabilities will ultimately affect the level of control individual operators have over their equipment, as well as the impact each operator can have on day-to-day implementation of the overall mining plan. In some cases, new technology will empower operators to make informed, on-the-spot decisions that benefit the overall mining effort. In others, technology will limit the damage that a careless or novice operator can cause.

Why Trends Suggest WAMCO’s Green Engineering & Technology will Succeed
GPS-based machine location, measurement and reporting systems, such as Caterpillar's CAES, provide real-time, graphical onboard displays. They show the operator the desired mine plan and updates to indicate how excavation has altered the area. This places more responsibility on the operator to accurately follow the plan-and removes an equivalent amount of responsibility from supervisors to constantly monitor operators' progress.

Other systems, such as Aquila Mining System's DM monitoring, control and positioning modules for rotary blast hole drills, can help precisely locate each blast hole in a drill pattern, and then drill the holes under automated control from the initial collaring to the required depth. Consistency offered by the system minimizes the effects of sloppy drilling practices and can provide better breakage, smoother bench levels, and higher loading efficiency of shot material.

Onboard electronics, wireless communication and GPS will greatly impact loading and hauling operations. For example, through an alliance with Aquila, Mincom and Trimble, Caterpillar is able to extend the capabilities of its VIMS onboard diagnostics and monitoring system. A VIMS wireless system provides real-time maintenance and production information, including payloads and cycles. The information can be made instantly available wherever it is needed, not just at the mine site.

Mining Green With Technology
Other mobile equipment manufacturers will likely integrate similar technology. Deere & Co. recently purchased NavCom Technology, which makes systems using GPS and wireless communications.

Rodi Power Systems, a new company that is field-testing a lightweight, 450-hp, two-stroke diesel engine, anticipates using GPS in conjunction with engine electronic controls to improve fuel efficiency. Rodi's V-4 engine can operate on two cylinders. On standardized routes-such as a haul truck in a quarry-where full engine power may only be needed half of the time, the GPS system can instruct the engine to cut out two cylinders, the company says. The same fuel-saving operation can be made using a microprocessor to sense engine load.

In the coming years, microprocessors will become even more essential elements in the overall operating and maintenance strategies. Electronic-over-hydraulic systems will allow excavators and even wheel loaders to automate portions of the dig and dump cycles. Caterpillar is developing what it calls Aggregate Auto-Dig to improve wheel loader bucket fill and cycle efficiency.

In addition, microprocessor technology has found its way into almost every aspect of conveyor-system monitoring and control. Users can oversee system status and solve problems involving everything from incoming power characteristics to conveyor-pulley operational parameters.
One of the major goals of system automation and control vendors is the continued improvement in predictive maintenance technology for conveyors. Conveyor component and system suppliers are working to give mine maintenance personnel the capability to look at short- and long-term system operational trend data and let them decide whether there may be a problem and then schedule downtime to fix it.

Condition-monitoring systems that record vibration and temperature will enable maintenance personnel to repair or replace most components before failure, saving downtime. But replacement won't occur before it is necessary, such as often happens in a strictly preventive-maintenance mode.

SKF's Machine Reliability Inspection System (Marlin) uses a handheld device to periodically collect plant-operating data. Reliance Automation's Dodge EZLINK mounts directly on equipment to provide continuous monitoring and trending of speed, temperature and vibration.

Conveyor-belt rip detection systems, such as Goodyear's Sensor Guard 2000, incorporate microprocessor control to monitor belt condition and shut down the system when damage is detected. These systems use closed-circuit sensor loops embedded in the belt and electromagnetic detectors placed at potential damage-causing points along the conveyor system. Signals generated by the embedded loops passing over the detectors are monitored by the system. If damage occurs and a loop is cut, the absence of a loop signal causes the system to stop the conveyor before further damage occurs.

Because of cost factors, many of the technologies will require years to find wide application in the aggregates industry. Others may never see the inside of a quarry. But second-generation technologies, based on today's developments, could become as common in the future as PLCs and computers are today.

Many advancements are based on integration of several core technologies. According to Caterpillar, there are four enabling technologies driving the evolution of mobile mining equipment:

• Global positioning system
• Wireless mobile communications
• Onboard computing/sensing
• System-management software

Sustained life on planet earth depends on individuals and companies contributing to environmental sustainability above and beyond what is legally required of them.

More and more mining companies are striving towards a more sustainable future for their mines and those communities affected by them. Western American Mining is positioning itself to be a global partner with green mining technology solutions that will become the standard for clean responsible mining in the future.