Global mining is changing rapidly: rising costs, environmental pressures and health and safety have called time on traditional truck and shovel methods.

Subhajit Chaudhuri, Vice President, MMD India

Subhajit Chaudhuri, Vice President, MMD India, speaks about the emerging mining technologies, the contribution of MMD India in the mining sector and on the participation of the company in the IMME 2016 event.

Emerging mining equipment technologies

“In-Pit Sizing and Conveying (IPSC) is the emerging mining technology and Twin Shaft Mineral Sizer is the emerging equipment to watch in 2017 and onwards,” says Chaudhuri. Explaining further, he says, “IPSC systems are a cost-effective and safer alternative to discontinuous material haulage by dump trucks; reducing operating costs, improving safety, and reducing CO2 emissions, dust, and noise pollution.” Employing either fully mobile, semi mobile or static Sizer units in conjunction with conveyors, IPSC efficiently processes and transports material out of the mine.

Chaudhuri feels that the Indian mining industry is gloomy in the present scenario, but there is a lot of scope in the Indian Mining Industry. He adds, “Many minerals are yet to be exploited and, I believe, the government of India is working actively on this part.” Explaining this, he states an example. Chaudhuri says, “One big example is the coal block allocation. Ministry of Coal has very aggressive plan to achieve 1 billion coal production by 2020 and thus new technologies such as IPSC solution need to be adapted to achieve higher throughput.”The implementation of fully mobile and semi-Mobile IPSC system certainly will help in reducing the greenhouse emissions, saving the high cost of the diesel, and maintaining safety during mining operations, all together. Mining can become more environmentally sustainable by developing and implementing the right technologies that reduce the environmental impact of mining operations.

Breakthrough technology

When asked about the breakthrough technology that the company offers in the mining sector, Chaudhuri says, “Global mining is changing rapidly: rising costs, environmental pressures and health and safety have called time on traditional truck and shovel methods. As the industry becomes increasingly aware of the need for ‘Sustainable Mining’, the ecological benefits derived from the elimination of dust and reduction of harmful greenhouse emissions caused by truck and shovel methods are self-evident.”

He further says, “MMD’s innovative technology is at the forefront of this revolution. For the ultimate in cost savings, environmental mining and portability, fully mobile sizer units (fully mobile IPSC) enable the use of efficient conveyor haulage directly from the mine face. They move frequently to work directly with the excavator, whilst sizing and delivering conveyable material onto the conveyor haulage system, eliminating trucks and their associated costs, safety risks and environmental impact. MMD has, throughout its existence, developed purpose designed mobile units to suit any mining method and material. The whole range of Sizers can be incorporated into a wide range of transport options available to suit the duties and throughput required.”

Chaudhuri further says, “Through the use of the well established components such as the twin shaft Sizer and heavy duty apron plate feeder, MMD Fully Mobile units deliver the reliability and robustness required for IPSC operations.”

Speaking about the semi- mobile units, Chaudhuri says, “MMD has been producing semi-mobile IPSC units since the early 1980’s. They are generally fed by a small fleet of trucks transporting material short distances from the mine face. The Sizer unit reduces material in preparation for efficient conveyor haulage out of the mine. As the mining face progresses these units are relocated occasionally to minimise the truck haulage distance. Semi mobile sizer units leverage the flexibility of truck haulage together with the efficiency of conveyor haulage. This provides the ideal efficient solution for many mining scenarios where mining flexibility is vital, such as selective mining (blending), heavily faulted seams or irregular shaped ore bodies. Semi-Mobile units are constructed in easy-to-assemble modules that can be relocated closer to the mine face by the MMD Atlas Transporter.”

About IMME 2016

When asked about the company’s participation in the IMME 2016, Chaudhuri said, “We shall display the patented MMD Twin Shaft MINERAL SIZER at outdoor stall. The MMD Twin Shaft MINERAL SIZER has the ability to process both wet sticky material and hard dry rock or a combination of both through the same machine. At our stall one can get close with MMD 625 Series Sizer designed to provide a regulated feed of material into the sizing plant.”
He concludes, “We shall be extremely happy to explain how MMD can solve mining challenges, with cost-effective and environmentally friendly solutions that meet your precise needs.”