Fiberglass rock bolts, Xore analyzers
Sudbury has a way of pulling its native sons and daughters back, even when they’ve decamped and settled halfway across the country. Such was the case with William White, who returned to his hometown with his wife and family after an absence of 20 years.It was the long drive home through often blustery weather to attend family reunions and celebrations that persuaded him to return home two and a half years ago.
Fortunately, Sudbury’s dynamic mining cluster can always use a go-getter with extensive business experience.
After a short spell as an employee for a mining supplier, White started his own business, White Industrial Products, with the goal of introducing new and innovative products to a mining industry that’s always looking to improve safety and productivity.
Co-located with Patrick Mechanical Group, a mechanical contractor and fabricator serving the Sudbury mining camp for 25 years, White Industrial Products is currently focusing its efforts in two areas: fiberglass rock bolts and the Xore onstream X-ray analyzer.
Fiberglass rock bolts have traditionally served as niche ground control products used by salt and potash mines where steel rock bolts would normally rust out. White sees a much wider application for them now that face bolting has become more common, and is currently testing them at NORCAT’s Underground Centre in Sudbury.
The problem with steel rock bolts is the scrap that ends up in the muckpile once the face is blasted, explained White.
Once in the ore stream, steel scrap can puncture tires, damage grizzlys, conveyors and crushers.
“A loader can be out of service waiting for a new tire, and the cost to replace or repair mill components can run into the millions,” said White.
Fiberglass rock bolts, he adds, have a higher tensile strength than their steel equivalents, meet the industry’s shear strength requirements, and won’t rust. They may not replace steel bolts for general ground control until perceptions change, but “they could at least revolutionize face bolting,” said White.
Magnetic pickers can be used to remove steel scrap from the ore stream, “but what happens when they grab a rock bolt with a 400 to 500 pound chunk of ore attached to it?” he asked.
“The lack of knowledge and engineering data behind fiberglass rock bolts is the current issue. With the tests we’re doing now, we hope to see the resins shatter and bolts go limp following a blast. In that case, the material can just be scooped up, sent to the crusher and the mill without affecting the process.”
Fiberglass rock bolts are manufactured in Edmonton, Alberta, by BP Composites and are available in a variety of sizes. White Industrial Products has secured North American rights to sell them to the mining industry and, long-term, hopes to secure a licence to manufacture them in Sudbury.
As of August 2016, White Industrial Products is also the exclusive North American representative for Xore’s Boxray line of onstream analyzers.
A Swedish company, Xore has been around for well over 25 years and has several dozen deployments in North America, but has never had local representation, said White.
“We met with the Swedish Business Council, explained to them how we could service them and explained how we operate as a sales channel. They were intrigued, and several meetings later, we concluded an agreement with Xore’s CEO to serve as their exclusive dealer in Canada and the U.S.”
Xore analyzers provide mineral processors, pulp plants and municipal water supply plants with real-time onstream analysis.
White Industrial Products looks after both sales and service for North America.
Never one to sit still for long, White has also teamed up with a supplier of online training courses and has acquired L. May Manufacturing, the Sudbury-based manufacturer of the iconic Miner’s Lunchbox.
Mining companies, contractors and suppliers can take advantage of more than 350 courses on everything from WHMIS and fall arrest safety to bear awareness and working in confined spaces.
Outsourced online learning is ideal for small and medium-sized companies that don’t have a tracking system because it automatically notifies employers about expired certifications and allows workers to quickly complete required training from home or even from their hotel room when they are out of town on a job, said White.
L. May Manufacturing will operate as a separate company carrying on a tradition that dates back to 1956 when Leo May, a miner working underground at Inco, fabricated a lunchbox in his basement workshop that was strong enough to sit on while waiting for the cage or having his lunch.
Through word of mouth, an assortment of retail channels and an appearance by May’s daughter on CBC-TV’s Dragon Den show, some 1.5 million Miner’s Lunchboxes have been sold around the world.
