When it comes to solving problems and simplifying processes in the mining industry, Robert Lamond is on top of his game.
The Sudbury-based mining supplier, president of CTL Industries, a division of HLS Hard-Line Solutions Inc., has more than 30 years of mining experience and a reputation as a prolific developer of cost-saving solutions for the mining industry.
"It is about making work easier, safer and increasing the bottom line," he said.
A patent-pending fill containment system designed to replace shotcrete fences after a stope has been filled has attracted the interest of several large mining companies.
"The existing process we have right now is very labour and material intensive," Lamond explained, listing the amount of manpower, materials and machinery required to begin the 16 hour-long process of making a shotcrete-fill fence. It becomes a case of playing catch-up because too few construction crews are assigned to keep up with the demand for fence construction, which slows stope turn-around time.
Shotcrete
Once all the ore has been extracted from a stope, a slurry mix of 70 per cent fill fines to 30 per cent water is sent down to the area to fill the void. Normally, a shotcrete fence is constructed to hold the fill in place so mining can continue on the next cut after the stope is filled.
CTL's custom-made fill containment system is a high-strength geotextile bag weighted for 400 pounds per square inch (PSI) with puncture strength of 100 PSI. It hooks up to the ventilation system, causing the bag to inflate to fit the space. An access hatch allows a miner to feed the fill pipe through the hatch and into the stope. The bag can be as long as 20 feet and becomes part of the process of filling the stope.
This three-hour process involves filling the bag first, which becomes like a dam. Then the fill line is opened, allowing slurry to occupy the space. The use of bursting disks in the fill line, which explode at a certain PSI, permits the stope to gradually fill from the back face to where the bag is located without plugging the line.
"The biggest advantage to the customer is that it is a ready-made, ready-to-go product. There is no wait time for shotcrete teams to build fences. It is a quick, easy process that takes about three hours to set up, inflate and fill."
The bag remains in place once the stope is filled. The process can be used for undercut-and-fill, and long-stope processes. Testing occurred in July to be market-ready by the end of August.
Lamond's idea for this simple yet effective process came after seeing how a similar process was used in Winnipeg to keep the flood-waters at bay several years ago.
"They were called geotubes," he said. "Later research showed they were using them for erosion control around the oceans."
Currently, the product is being manufactured in Winnipeg, but a plant in Sudbury may be a future consideration.
Shaft guide profiling device
Another product Lamond created to complement his shaft guide laminating device is a shaft guide electronic profiling mechanism. It electronically measures shaft guides in mine shafts to determine how much wear has occurred on the timber.
"Ministry of Labour regulations require mines to take accurate measurements of their guides (in the shafts) face-to-face and side-to-side to determine if wear has occurred and replacement is required," Lamond said. "It will measure every two feet and provide an exact measurement."
The mechanism attaches to the conveyance cable. A PLC records the measurements as the conveyance system goes down the shaft. An accelerometer placed on the profiling system also measures any misalignments and deformities, producing an accurate report to one-thousandth of an inch.
"Before this system, you'd have to do it manually," said Lamond, who can attest to using measuring tapes or a manual measuring gauge that didn't have the same level of accuracy as the guide profiling system. It also saves on the time and labour previously required to send people down the shaft.
The system has been on the market for about five months.
Another quick-fix solution is a refuge station door sealant kit, a cabinet that contains items required to seal the refuge station door should an emergency occur. The cabinet contains a large 30-ounce caulking gun with nine 3-pound caulking tubes filled with refractory clay and 3/4-inch nozzles for application. This quick and easy system replaces the previous method in which clay slugs were soaked in a five-gallon pail of water and applied by hand.
