07.03.2023

QRC supports release of Lake Eyre Basin RIS

The Queensland Resources Council supports the release of the Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) for the management of the Lake Eyre Basin to provide certainty for all industry stakeholders and to move the process forward. The QRC maintains its position that the current regulatory framework is already sufficiently robust to assess all applications and mitigate risks to the Basin.  

07.03.2023

Normet acquires Remion, a specialist in industrial internet solutions and advisory services

Normet acquires Remion, a specialist in industrial internet solutions and advisory services  

07.03.2023

Flood protection on the Nzoia River secures supply and ecosystems in Kenya

A joint venture under the auspices of Tractebel is working on one of the largest irrigation projects on the Nzoia River in Kenya. Apart from the construction of irrigation infrastructure and flood protection, an agricultural training programme is also part of the project. The Kenyan government, World Bank and the German development bank KfW agreed to continue financing the ambitious project, the construction work of which began at the end of 2017 and will now continue until September 2023.  

06.03.2023

Atlas Copco’s portable air compressors: designed for toughness

Atlas Copco’s portable air compressors: designed for toughness - XAS 138 compressor in a mine in Chile (Credits: Atlas Copco)

The first of its kind in the company’s facilities in Antwerp, the new all-electric production line has cut lead times for deliveries of plug-in portable compressors by 50%, accelerating the wider sustainable transformation.

There are ordinary portable air compressors, and then there are really tough ones. The unsung heroes of many construction sites, these units quietly get on with their jobs despite some serious trials and tribulations while out on the field. Used on everything from water well drilling to explorational mining, tough compressors are required to endure extreme climates, altitudes and air conditions while maintaining optimal performance, no matter how demanding the conditions.

To ensure the compressed air units are fit to weather any storm or terrain, their endurance must be put to the test. Atlas Copco’s market-leading Portable Air division has created a range of rigorous testing processes for each of its portable compressors to undergo to guarantee the units worthy of their status as the toughest on the market. Their high quality, ultra-robust and durable design is pushed to their very limits to prove they are built to last, and can maintain reliable performance in any application, under any circumstances.

The war of the elements

Portable air compressors spend their lives in the great outdoors, where they come face-to-face with different common and age-old enemies like humidity, rainfall and dust. Exposure to each can wreak havoc on a portable compressor’s materials and impact the unit’s expected lifecycle. Atlas Copco’s portable compressors are designed and tested to withstand this war of the elements, explains Gill Dhooghe, VP of R&D at Atlas Copco’s Portable Air Division.

“One of the many trials our compressors must face before being proven fit for use occurs inside our rain test yard, where they are exposed to a true-to-life but machine-actioned ‘rainfall’. Here, the high-quality materials, durable components, protective features and smart design of Atlas Copco compressors are really put to the test. The units will remain corrosion, rust and salt resistant even in monsoon conditions, giving our customers total faith its performance for decades – while also giving the units an exceptional resale value.”

Once dust enters a compressed air stream, it can have detrimental – and costly – consequences for downstream equipment and end products. Atlas Copco’s units are designed for a long-lasting life, which is why all new units and their high quality filters are tested against dust to protect customer’s investments.

“All units are also put through gruelling road testing, where they are dragged through uneven terrain and their lifting beams tested to see what tensile forces they can withstand”. Dhooghe details. This guarantees their readiness to be transported to every location imaginable, and demonstrates the quality of the unit’s chassis and linear medium-density polyethylene (PE) material canopy – to name but a few components, further proving the portable compressors are built to last.

Extreme temperatures

Going to use your portable air compressor in Death Valley – or Antarctica? No problem. Working in conjunction to the rigorous rain, dust and road testing processes, Atlas Copco’s futuristic, high-tech climate chamber imitates the most challenging climate’s conditions that compressors may be exposed to, by bringing freezing and desert-like conditions to the chamber.

The climate testing method includes a portable air compressor being placed inside the chamber, where Atlas Copco’s experienced engineers can manually manipulate any climate conditions through a variety of mechanical processes. Temperatures can be tested at a searing 40°C to a glacial -25°C, ensuring that each unit always keeps its cool and at optimum performance, taking any tough challenge in its stride.

Reaching new heights

But some may argue that to truly test the durability and quality of new portable compressor models, you need to do so under actual working conditions. For those who pose this challenge, Atlas Copco Portable Air ‘rises’ to the occasion... by physically hoisting its machines up into the mountains and testing its performance at extreme, varied, and real-life altitudes. This is where the compressor’s robust design and high-quality materials prove the unit to be undoubtedly worthy of its ultra-tough status.

 “In the mountains the atmospheric pressure, oxygen levels and extreme cold can be best tested,” explains Dhooghe. “Our team has previously tested units up in the Kunlun Mountains in China, where we not only got the chance to successfully trial our compressors 4,500 metres above sea level, but also amid a hailstone sandstorm! It’s scenarios like this that undoubtedly prove that our portable compressors are cut out for even the toughest of challenges.”

Source: Atlas Copco

#compressor technology #high-pressure compressors #research and development #Chile (CL) #Belgium (BE) #China (CN) #Mining #Geotechnics #Energy #surface mining, quarrying #underground mining

                     

03.03.2023

Endomines reports 60 per cent increase in gold reserves at Pampalo

Endomines announces a 60 % increase in gold reserves at the Pampalo mine in Ilomantsi - compared to the reference period of 2021 - as of 31 December 2022. An update of the reserves and the resources at the mine and in other deposits along the Karelian gold line in Finland has been carried out, as well as updates of the gold and silver resources for the company’s gold projects in Idaho and Montana, USA.