Pogo purchases hi-tech mining equipment

Alaska's newest large mines, such as Pogo, will benefit from some of the most advanced equipment on the market, including drill rigs with computer consoles and rock bolts that expand to the right strength whether they are in an ore body or waste rock. Much of this equipment is being provided by a distributor with branches across the state, Construction Machinery International. Ken and Chad Gerondale of CMI gave details at a presentation to the Alaska Miners Association in Anchorage Dec. 14.

CMI represents major manufacturers from all over the world, and particularly Volvo in Sweden. The manufacturers often don't realize how big Alaska is and how the challenging logistics of the state can add to costs. CMI demonstrates this graphically to them by overlaying a map of Sweden onto a map of Alaska. The Scandinavian nation fits comfortably into a narrow swathe in the middle of the state.

Knowledge of how machinery works in Arctic conditions gives CMI an edge in competitive tenders. When Fairbanks Gold Mining ordered a Hitachi EX3600 shovel for Fort Knox mine in 2003, it had to be transported from Georgia to Fairbanks on 11 cars. The convoy broke down in Kentucky and was stuck there for three weeks, which meant that in order for CMI to complete the delivery on time, the shovel had to be reassembled in Fairbanks at a temperature of around minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit in five days. CMI did this successfully and Fort Knox took delivery of a second EX3600 the following year.

Product support and service is another key aspect of CMI's work. "You don't send a mechanic out with today's equipment - you send a tech out," Ken Gerondale said. "When that tech goes out, he has a toolbox in one hand and a laptop in the other. Every piece of equipment manufactured today, whether it's a small Hitachi excavator or a small Volvo loader or a Caterpillar, they're managed by a computer on board, just like a new car."

Computer program installed in drill

A mining engineer can write a computer program indicating where he wants a portal to go and install it in a jumbo drill, so that when the miner turns the machine on it gives him his daily work. The miner monitors feed pressure and rotation pressure, but doesn't have to manually drill anything.

Teck Cominco's Pogo gold mine currently under construction is a two-and-a-half hour drive from Fairbanks on a good day, and can be up to a four-hour drive, depending on weather conditions, Chad Gerondale said. CMI has already supplied the mine with two scoops, a 50-ton truck and two drill rigs, as well as parts worth around $500,000 and personnel to maintain the equipment and train Teck-Pogo employees. The drill rigs are Atlas Copco's Rocket Boomer M2C, a two-boom jumbo, and the 104, a single-boom jumbo that can be used for smaller, narrower veins.

Atlas Copco, which acquired Ingersoll-Rand Drilling Solutions in 2004, also manufactures the Swellex expanding rock bolts that Pogo has purchased from CMI, used to reinforce the ceiling of the mine shaft. "It expands and creates a friction bond between the rock and the bolt itself, creating a much stronger adherence than some of the other resin rebars or the other bolts that are used," Chad Gerondale said.

"Resin or concrete bolts can dry in different lengths of time, providing a different consistency, so you won't get the same strength," he added.

The Swellex bolts are more expensive than less hi-tech products, but ultimately they save man-hours and money, according to CMI. The bolts don't have to be continually retested or removed as problems are much less likely.