Secondary Reduction
Auto Explosive Charger
MacLean has refined its Secondary Breaking rigs to perfect the art of safe drilling and charging. The new rig offers striking improvements for releasing trapped ore from both drawpoint hang-ups in block cave mines and fragments too large to muck with LHDs.
The Auto Explosive Charger, an innovative combination of loading carousel, control package, and Human-Machine Interface (HMI), facilitates the loading of multiple wireless explosive charges. This eliminates lead-lines or connecting wires, promoting communication through rock, air, and water to initiate blasts. All this to achieve what’s most important: providing a safe and efficient mining environment.
And to augment the benefits of the Auto Explosive Charger package , a new, value-packed feature, the MacLean IQ Series Tele-Remote control, can be customized to meet your unique underground mining needs. This cutting-edge technology offers your operators the best ‘no boots on ground’ mining experience possible. It reduces exposure to potential explosive hazards while loading and assures you safe and efficient operation. This innovative solution package is now available on MacLean BH3 Blockholers and medium-reach Secondary Breakers
- Superior ore flow leading to improved mill throughput and daily fleet utilization
- Substantial reduction in time to release a blocked drawpoint with a hang-up and conversion to an active drawpoint
- Designed for ‘No boots on ground’ application capability in the underground environment, enhancing health, safety, and ergonomics
BH2 & BH3 Blockholers
Rugged and reliable, the MacLean BH2 & BH3 Blockholers are designed to eliminate ore flow blockages and release trapped reserves in draw points and beyond draw point brows without endangering mine workers. Integrated Radio-Remote Control (RRC) allows tramming, drilling and blasting operations to be conducted from safe distances.
- Oversize is fragmented at source, minimizing draw point damage and ore flow
- Productivity improvements by elimination of non-productive boulder re-handling
- Boom configuration enables multiple boulders to be drilled from one set up
- With RRC system, can drill and charge hang ups and operator never exposed to the risks of rock fall
- Provides auxiliary drilling capability for service holes and rock bolting
RB3 Rock Breaker
Safe and efficient breaking of ore flow blockage is of prime importance for sustained underground production and profitability, particularly in block cave mines.
The MacLean mobile rock breaker is the latest addition to the MacLean fleet of ore flow equipment and, with it, companies now have a one-stop solution for all their block cave mine production needs.
Combining MacLean-quality ruggedness and performance with industry-leading ergonomics and all-round operator visibility, the RB3 is truly a groundbreaker.
- Oversize fragmented at source without damage to draw point infrastructure and minimizing blockages in the ore flow system downstream
- Eliminates non-productive boulder re-handling by LHDs
- Improvement in LHD Maintenance cost and their availability
- Increased Stope area productivity
- Provides real-time rockbreaking capability without need for explosives and associated negative effects of blasting on mine infrastructure and ventilation
SB8 & SB12 Secondary Breakers
Designed to eliminate ore flow blockages and release trapped reserves above the draw point brow safely and effectively. Built for the tough underground environment.
Equipped with radio and video systems.
These machines provide the solution to attacking high boulder hang-ups without endangering the mine workers.
- Provides safe and effective procedure for the removal of “Hang Up” blockages in drawpoints
- Highly mobile to provide improved productivity
- Eliminates negative effect of concussion blasting on the drawpoint structure
- Maintenance costs of drawpoints reduced
- Reduced cost for air, water and electric services
- Reduced secondary blasting costs
- Ore pass and crusher blasting can be virtually eliminated
- Reduction in LHD maintenance costs. Better ore grade control
- Total recovery of ore increased
WC3 Water Cannon
The MacLean WC3 mining water cannon harnesses water power to increase ore recovery.
With ongoing commodity price pressures and a global push to increase existing mines’ productivity, leaving high-grade behind in ore bodies isn’t an option for operators.
That was the situation facing the underground portion of Newcrest’s Telfer mine in Western Australia, where long hole stoping was implemented to recover high-grade ore in reefs running on a 45 degree dip. Metal scrapers (slushers) were the tool of choice to clear these narrow stopes, but lengthy set-up and the problem of cable breakage due to scraper jamming meant that it was taking almost two days to clear the 1.2-metre by 12-metre wide stope.
Cue the MacLean Engineering branch in Wangara, Australia, the OEM that Newcrest turned to for a hard rock solution to their ore flow challenge at Telfer. A technology development partnership between Newcrest and MacLean resulted in a modified version of the MacLean WC5 Water Cannon, one with a boom and nozzle geometry that could blast water downwards (at up to 2,800 litres per minute) while also providing wide coverage to facilitate the flow of ore down the stope.
Since its introduction, the use of high pressure water as an ore flow tool at Telfer has significantly increased productivity and operator safety. A single stope cleaning that used to take a full day to set up and a full day to complete has been reduced to a four-hour set-up, with crews then being able to clean two stopes during the remainder of the shift. Just as importantly, operators are now able perform this work at a safe distance.
With the unit expected to reach payback on the initial capital investment within just nine months, the world’s first-ever sub level water cannon is delivering returns on multiple fronts simultaneously – increased ore production, increased operator safety, and increased profitability. The Aqua Blasta, as it is known in the Australian market, is proving that local partnerships and local solutions are the key to building for life Down Underground
- Release Drawpoints Hang-ups with complete safety and without explosives
- Stope wash-down application to work as Water Scaler for bringing down potential loose ground
- Dust suppressant for mucking stope or muck piles
- Ancillary water spraying application with 3 or 4 spray boom systems
- Increased productivity with a one-man operation
- Accelerates development cycle
EV Models
BH5 EV Blockholer
Rugged and reliable, the battery powered MacLean BH5 EV Blockholer is designed to eliminate ore flow blockages in drawpoints without endangering mine workers.
The integrated Radio Remote Control (RRC) allows tramming, drilling, and blasting operations to be conducted from safe distances.
- Oversize is fragmented at source, minimizing draw point damage and ore flow
- Regenerative braking down-ramp provides up to 35% energy recuperation, and acts as a retarder to reduce excessive wear on service brakes
- High energy density and cycle life (4,000-14,000 charges @ 80% DOD)
- Productivity improvements by elimination of non-productive boulder re-handling
- Boom configuration enables multiple boulders to be drilled from one set up
- The Radio Remote Control (RRC) system allows drilling and charging hang ups, without the operator getting exposed to the risks of rock fall
- Provides auxiliary drilling capability for service holes and rock bolting