No slowdowns for automated rope inspector.A question posed by an Inco maintenance superintendent in January 2003 launched a global research and development initiative that is revolutionizing hoist rope inspection and promising big returns. After decades of relying on the human eye to spot defects in hoist ropes, the mining industry is about to transition to an automated, computer-based vision system. Inco's Stobie Mine had a requirement for increased availability of the hoist, and the 20 minutes or so that it was out of service every day for government-required rope inspection represented a potential opportunity. "One of the possibilities was, not to eliminate the inspection, but to take it off-line," said Al Akerman, Inco's superintendent of mines automation. A research and development project to do just that was supported by the Sudbury-based Deep Mining Research Consortium and AMIRA AMIRA Australian Mineral Industry Research Association AMIRA Advanced Multi-Modal Intelligence for Remote Assistance (EU part funded research project) in Australia. Mining companies represented included Inco, Falconbridge, Barrick Gold Barrick Gold Corporation TSX: ABX NYSE: ABX is the largest pure gold mining company in the world, with its headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and four regional business units (RBU's) located in Australia, Africa, North America and South America. , Goldcorp, Placer Dome Placer Dome was a large mining company specializing in gold and other precious metals, with corporate headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Barrick has acquired 100% of the Placer Dome shares on January 20, 2006, and has integrated the company into its own. , Agnico-Eagle, Rio Tinto Rio Tinto may refer to:
"The computer vision system does what the human eye does, but it does it a whole lot better," said Andrew Young Andrew Jackson Young, Jr. (born March 12, 1932) is an American civil rights activist, former mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, and was the United States' first African-American ambassador to the United Nations. , who managed the Automation Visual Rope Inspection project. It performs a 360-degree inspection of the rope and detects broken wires with the hoist skipping ore at full speed. "We can capture data anywhere up to 4,000 feet per minute (20 metres per second), so it's as good as the fastest hoist in the world." There are three components to the system: a Rope Monitoring System with three high-speed cameras, a Rope Analysis System that uses software to detect anomalies and a Rope Reporting System that provides the inspector with a list of potential defects. The inspector can then review images of the rope sections flagged and visually inspect the rope itself when warranted. The system does not replace the need for periodic electromagnetic testing Electromagnetic Testing (ET), as a form of nondestructive testing, is the process of inducing electric currents or magnetic fields or both inside a test object and observing the electromagnetic response. , which is also required by law. The first prototype of the automated visual rope inspection system was installed at Inco's Garson Mine Garson Mine an underground nickel mine, located in the community of Garson, within the city of Greater Sudbury, Ontario. in March of last year. It proved that data could be captured at full speed. Lessons learned were then incorporated into a second prototype at BHP Billiton's Leinster Mine in Australia. The world's first commercial installation of the system occurred in April at Falconbridge's Kidd D Mine in Timmins. "It looked interesting, we did our homework, a business case was assembled and we thought we'd give it a try," said Chris Deschesnes, who looks after fixed plant maintenance for the mine. "Right now, we have a person who stands there and watches the rope for one hour a day and, while he's doing that, we can't be hoisting. The conveyance generally moves at 3,000 feet per minute and that's too fast for someone to actually watch the rope, so during rope inspection, we slow it down to 150 feet per minute, and that takes about one hour." The internal shaft in which the system will be installed extends 5,000 feet from the mine's 4,600-foot level. Automating hoist rope inspection will result in an extra 30 to 35 minutes a day for hoisting ore and that, said Deschesnes, "translates into big dollars." Improved productivity isn't the only benefit. Automation will also to do a better job, said Deschesnes. The software distinguishes between grease blobs and structural defects by keeping track of anomalies and the precise location at which they are detected. If an anomaly is detected on only one of a series of runs, it's probably a grease blob. If it keeps reappearing in the same location, the software flags it for review by the inspector. "The inspector has several options," said Young. "He can ask the drum operator to bring the defect to a point at the collar where he can inspect it, or he can choose to make note of it. One broken wire isn't cause for alarm. "The regulations," explained Young," require a mine to replace a rope if five per cent of the wires in a lay length are broken." Inco, the owner of the intellectual property, also plans to begin installing the system. "We have to go through a capital approval process and complete a cost-benefit analysis cost-benefit analysis In governmental planning and budgeting, the attempt to measure the social benefits of a proposed project in monetary terms and compare them with its costs. , but I have no doubt that it will be a viable project," said Akerman. It may not be for every mine, but if there is a requirement for extra hoisting capacity or more time to do maintenance, automated rope inspection will increase hoist availability, he noted. Strict hoist rope inspection regulations in Ontario date back to the Paymaster Mine disaster in 1945 when a defective wire rope wire rope n. Rope made of twisted strands of wire. sent 19 miners hurtling to their deaths in Timmins. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The automated visual hoist rope inspection system was developed by C-CORE, a non-profit research and development company in St. John's, Newfoundland, and is being commercialized under license from Inco by Young and C-CORE's Brian Delaney Brian Delaney, noted session drummer, was born in 1967 in St. Louis, Missouri. Brian attended Southwest Missouri State University, and the University of North Texas. Brian currently is the drummer in the newly-reunited New York Dolls. through Seer Technologies. www.deepminingresearch.org www.amira.com.au By NORM TOLLINSKY For Northern Ontario Business Northern Ontario Business is a Canadian magazine, which publishes monthly in Greater Sudbury, Ontario. The magazine covers business news and issues in Northern Ontario. |
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