Ultra High Lift extends six to eight feet higher than existing equipmen
Marcotte Mining and Machinery has manufactured the world’s highest reaching scissor lift for mining contractor Cementation Canada Inc.
The Ultra High Lift platform extends to a height of 20 feet – approximately six to eight feet higher than other scissor lifts on the market.
“It’s a good example of what we offer at Marcotte as far as engineered solutions are concerned,” said business development manager Ben Mageau. “We listen to the needs of our customers and tailor the product to their specific application. Cementation needed something with that reach. We didn’t have anything, so we sat down with them and challenged our engineering department to come up with a solution.”
Cementation required the Ultra High Lift for a contract at Pretium Resources’ Brucejack Mine in northwestern British Columbia, a high-grade gold mine scheduled to go into production in mid-2017.
It will be used to install air, water and ground support in ultra high headings and excavations.
Sudbury-based Marcotte Mining was also challenged by Cementation’s need for a quick turnaround.
“We engineered, manufactured and delivered the scissor lift in 10 weeks,” noted capital sales manager Norm Woito. “It was a tall order, but we were given an ultimatum. It was either 10 weeks or your competition is getting the order.”
In the absence of a high lift, miners will often use backfill to build a pad and drive a scissor over it, or use alternative equipment such as a man basket on a boom, explained Mageau. Neither solution is as safe and efficient as a scissor lift with the required reach.
The Ultra High Lift has an 8-foot by 14-foot work platform and features side shift capability, which allows miners to move the platform two-feet either way. Without side shift capability, workers would have to interrupt their work and move the entire carrier.
Outrigger jacks extending two feet out on each side of the scissor lift provide the required stability.
“The unit is designed with all the features and components to allow Cementation to mobilize anywhere in the country because each province has different regulations,” said Mageau.
“That’s important,” added Woito, “because when a contractor gets the green light to proceed on a project, they typically need to start today. There’s no time to customize equipment for work in a different jurisdiction. They need to mobilize quickly and don’t have time to wait three or four weeks for an OEM to modify a unit. It’s a bit of an added expense for them because there’s a cost for every option, but it pays off because of the decreased downtime.”
Over the years, other customers have inquired about a high-reach scissor lift, but no one wanted to be the first to go out on a limb, added Woito.
“They’d say, ‘We want one, but we don’t want the first one.’” Neither were mining equipment manufacturers eager to step up to the plate.
“It’s not the first time we’ve worked with Cementation to tackle unique modifications to help them fulfill their commitments,” said Woito. “We have a great working relationship with them. They knew they were going to get a great product by partnering with us.”
Marcotte Mining manufactures a wide range of utility vehicles for underground mining, including crane trucks, flatbeds, fuel/lube vehicles, anfo and emulsion loaders, shotcrete systems and personnel carriers in narrow vein and wider configurations.
Another product in its portfolio, the Multi-Minejack, is an all-in-one utility vehicle that can do the job of a fan handler, a pipe handler, a tire changer, a crane truck, a flatbed, a scissor lift and a screen handler.
It takes six minutes to change the function of the Multi-Minejack using quick connect attachments, said Woito.
“Instead of parking a dedicated scissor lift for weeks until it’s needed, the unit can do all these other jobs, improving utilization.”
Marcotte Mining is planning to offer the option of battery power for its entire product line.
“As mines go deeper and require more ventilation, battery power is becoming more popular,” said Woito. “We’re aware that the majority of our competition is already working on battery power and that’s something we’re going to offer as well.”
Marcotte will be exhibiting at MINExpo with its parent company, the Timberland Group, in Booth 4004, Central Hall.
