BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
The Deep Mining Research Consortium is on a mission to solve the problems of conducting mining operations below the 2000-metre level, which could mean an extension to the lifespan of numerous mines in Northern Ontario.
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The consortium, made up of numerous private, public and academic partners is administered by the Canadian Mining Industry Research Organization (CAMIRO).
Wthout innovative approaches to reaching new reserves deep in the ground, the mining industry could be a lot smaller in the future, and that would mean a loss of jobs and a huge drain on the economic landscape of the North.
Charles Graham, managing director with CAMIRO is convinced the research currently being executed can potentially make the differance in sustaining the mining industry for years to come.
The group has three major projects currently running in hopes to solve a few problems associated with below depth mining.
First, there's the gelfill at depth project.
Â?It's an attempt to get an adequate strength backfill that's easily handled over long transportation distances and vertical drops,Â? said Graham. Â?We are looking for a reliable and efficeint backfill process.Â?
The second project, and one that has garnered international attention is the hoist rope inspection automation.
Strict regulations insist on frequent inspections of hoist rope and in order to do that, the hoist must be taken out of service.
This means that a mining operation could be down for hours, sometimes days depending on the size of the hoist and as mines get deeper, there's more rope to inspect.
The group has cornered a two-fold solution to inspecting hoist rope while it's in use.
Â?The solution involves using cameras to visual inspect the rope from many different angles and utilizing elctromagnetic instrumentation to detect weaknesses,Â? said Graham. Â?It's critical to the mine operations to do the inspections while the hoist is in use to cut down on down time.Â?
The consortium has partnered with the Australian Mineral Industry Research Association to complete the hoist rope project.
Â?They have the same problems as us in Canada for deep mining,Â? said Graham. Â?They're behind Canada in deep ming and they see it coming, so they're getting ready also.Â?
The third project is diesels at depth. For mostly unkown reasons, diesel engines have had numerous problems operating efficiently at deep levels.
Â?We will be setting up a portable test dynamometer that measures horsepower and torque by an engine at depth levels to find out why they don't run well or as clean,Â? said Graham.
The three projects are on a strict timeline.
Â?The gelfill at depth will be completed by mid 2006, the hoist rope project will be done by mid 2005 and the diesels at depth will be done this year,Â? said Graham.
While there are numerous other issues challenging deep mining operations, Graham is satisfied with the work completed so far.
Â?We can't eliminate the risks involved with mining at depth, but with research we can control and understand the risks involved,Â? said Graham. Â?There's good indication Canada has resources at depth and the research is important to the future of mining in Canada.Â?
