José Manuel Mustafá Flores | Intrafeca | Industria de Transformación Ferrosa

5 Benefits of Automated Mining

Mining businesses the world over are quickly adopting the latest innovations in the world of automated mining technology in order to modernize their operations. For example, in Rio Tinto, Australia, four iron mines make use of 73 driverless trucks in order to mobilize the minerals all 24 hours of the day. Employees supervise the vehicles from 1.200Kilometers away, at the Rio Tinto control center located in Perth.

On the other hand, almost 14.000 Kilometers west, Boliden, a Swedish mining business, is working with the Ericsson mobile phone company in order to build an autonomous gold mine. The 5G network that Ericsson installed on site allows the mine’s ventilation system to save up to 18 megawatts in its yearly use of energy, with represents a 54% improvement in efficiency.

In the United States, mining company Barrick Gold Corporation joined Cisco Systems in order to integrate Wi-Fi sensors to the mines near Elko, Nevada, in order to track production in each mining project. Barrick is making use of this and other automated technologies to reach its goal of diminishing the costs of production for each ounce of gold to 700USD.

Finally, in Africa, mining companies Randgold Resources and AngloGold Ashanti make use of robotic chargers located 800meters under the project’s surface, alongside Kibali Mine, in order to boost production and improve worker safety conditions.

Benefits of automated mining

Automated technologies offer certain benefits that simply cannot be overlooked. Companies that make use of automated mining technologies will notice an immediate, significate increase when it comes to production – as well as a less expenses. Some companies have seen production improve between 15% and 20% after adopting new technology.

The industry will also benefit from a noticeable increase in safety. Through the use of automated equipment that can be used in dangerous, remote areas, mining companies can send less workers underground, thus enjoying increased production while diminishing the risk to the life of employees. For example, after implementing automated technologies in several of its African mines, Randgold Resources saw an improvement of 29% when it comes to quarterly reports of injuries.

It is expected for this rapidly-changing scene to provide substantial value to the mining sector and its stakeholders. Reports suggest that the combination of increased production and safety alongside the diminished expenses can make the automated mining market grow almost 50% in the next six years, reaching 3.290 million dollars come 2023.

Hazards When Manipulating Metals

Working in the steel industry is an extremely complex chore; hence, it demands a great professionalism and, above all, lots of mindfulness and follow-up of safety standards, inasmuch as, there are many hazards to which you can be exposed. For this reason, today we want to introduce you some of the most commonly hazards in this work area:

Welding

Welding is one of the most common activities when working with metals, workers are exposed to toxicity and fever due to metal vapors; this depends on the composition of the material used, such as, electrodes, nickel rods or plasma. To minimize these hazards, it is necessary to have good ventilation in general also the use of personal protective equipment when necessary is recommended.

Noise and vibration

The casting and cleaning operations are the ones that register higher noise levels when working in a foundry, thus being even higher in the mechanized foundries than in the manual ones. Even, for those who work in small workshops, they also may notice that they are exposed to these types of elements. In order to minimize the risks of being affected by these, personal protective equipment should be employed and even though working on sound-deadening surfaces.

Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS)

Using portable vibrating tools can cause Raynaud’s phenomenon or hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). The frequency of occurrence of critical vibration for this problem is between 2000 and 3000 revolutions per minute and, in the range of 40 to 125 Hz. This disorder can be associated with carpal tunnel syndrome and degenerative changes in the joints.

In order to reduce the vibration transmitted to the hands of the workers, it is recommended to use designed tools to minimize the harmful ranges of frequency and amplitude, and moreover to wear overlapped gloves or an insulator and, also reducing the time exposure to this type of tools based on changes regarding to working operations, tools and resting periods.

Intrafeca Has Innovative Equipment for Ferrous Transformation

Intrafeca Chairman, José Manuel Mustafá Flores pointed out, that in order to accomplish the transformation of ferrous material into cut stones or fused material, it must have appropriated equipment which provides the best quality to the product.

For this reason, Intrafeca has:

Shredding Equipment Power Sreen Shieftain, model 600
Hydraulic Excavator Caterpillar, model 330 BL
Front Loader Caterpillar, model 380 C

These three mentioned models are somehow the most outstanding equipment. However, its stock is much larger, being Intrafeca the pioneer in this field in Venezuela.

Is Using Iron for Construction an Economically Sound Decision?

Iron is an important part of the history of humankind’s, maybe due to its abundance on the planet. Iron completely changed man’s life, made agriculture and commerce easier, and later did the same for both the industry and war.

Exploited since the first millennium A.D., iron allowed mankind to leave behind prehistoric technology, and start the age of great civilizations.

Resistant, versatile and abundant, iron can only offer advantages when it comes to the construction of iron structures, despite some disadvantages.

Iron is a strong and durable metal, which is why its use guarantees a structure’s durability, avoiding erecting bent or weak walls, which, in the long-run, allows for savings.

Besides being strong – and therefore lasting, as well as a potential source of savings – it offers no refuge for vermin, nor does it allow them access to a building, avoiding the damages these creatures usually bring with themselves.

Another advantage of iron structures is their resistance to harsh climates, earthquakes and hurricanes.

However, nothing is perfect, and among the disadvantages of this metal, a well-known one is its tendency to rust, as well as its high costs of production.

Iron oxidization is, basically, due to a lack of electrons in the present atoms when two or more substances interact; just losing a single electron is more than enough to cause damage.
Its high cost of production. Once it cannot be used in its pure form and is in need of alloys. Its tendency to rust make galvanizing it a necessity, which increases its price in a considerable manner.

In conclusion, structures made with iron infrastructures possess a number of advantages, ranging from resistance, malleability, as well as a durability that will ensure many future savings.

However, two of its disadvantages are very significant, such as its tendency to oxidize, which demands a costly process of galvanization, as well as its need of alloys, as it cannot be used in its pure estate. It may seem like an oxymoron, but it is a costly way of saving money.

Why Is Iron Universal?

Iron is one of the most abundant and desirable metals in the planet, found even in the human body itself, provides a number of important health benefits – which is why it can be found in particularly large quantities in cereals, dried fruits and meat.

It is essential for humans, and can be found in a substance called hemoglobin in our blood. It guarantees the transport of oxygen to all the tissues in our body, besides providing oxygen to our muscles and the insides of our cells.

It can be found both inside and outside our planet: it has been identified in the sun itself and many other Milky Way stars, in the bodies of all living creatures, the earth, and the universe itself. In short: Iron is universal.

Iron is present in everything, being one of the most used materials in the world, especially in construction.

To obtain it, it must be refined, melted and shaped. It is usually mixed with carbon, to make steel.

The process for the creation of alloys and the sale of iron is similar to that of steel, a multi-purpose material, but especially used in bases, columns and frames of contractions.

To create the rebar, columns, foundation, tubes, plaques, and sheets, iron is used due to its malleability, which allows for the creation of different objects or tools, all which can have different shapes and levels of strength.

There’s no doubt that, as a construction material, iron and the alloys that can be used with it to create steel are key for the construction of any building.

Iron is trusty, is something that can be combined with other metals, it is resistance, greatly used and appreciated. It is the key element for the construction of frames, usually added to the foundation as support.

Iron, a Metal Desired for Its Value

Through metallurgy, metals can be found and worked. This is the branch that science, technology and art use to obtain industrial metals and minerals, starting from the mines, to help human kind.

First came copper, beaten and melted in the oven, to later be emptied in molds, permitting for the manufacturing of higher quality tools, in greater amounts. This is how the Bronze Age from the Metal Age of humanity came to be.

Through experience, different alloys were created – that is to say, the combination of two or more metals with the appropriate properties. This is how steel came to be, and with it, a new way of life for humankind.

Steel is more malleable, hard and resistant than copper, but unlike the latter, it requires higher temperatures to melt, and greater resources to mold. For this reason, not all people could make use of this precious metal.

Metals, metals, metals. How important they are for the creation of all types of objects – especially those associated with prestige and glitz.

Metals that were able to substitute stone, bone and wood tools for some more resistant to heat and cold, like bronze and that ever-popular steel.

Steel helped create weapons, tools, pots, accessories – both for personal use, and of religious importance – helped improve agriculture, create specialized work, and increased metalworking techniques.

Once precious metal purification techniques were perfected, the minting of coins begin.

Coins, resistant and of uniform weight and composition, made from minted metal in the shape of a disc and with the pertinent details as chosen by the appropriate authorities, which later became the most important payment method.

In romance languages, they are called “moneta”, latin word that comes from the place in which they were minted in Rome, an annex to the temple of Juno Moneta, goddess of memory, and protector of the craft.

In conclusion, steel owes a lot to the metals that preceded it, copper and bronze. But quickly, and in time, became a desirable metal, due to its malleability, strength and resistance, but also due to its close relationship with prestige and glamour.

SOLIDARIDAD and GĚRENS Post-Graduate School Join Forces to Boost Small-Scale and Artisanal Mining in Perú

August 16 2018 saw the signing of a mutual cooperation agreement between Solidaridad and GĚRENS Post-Graduate School, with the aim of creating awareness of artisanal and small-scale mining (or MAPE, its Spanish acronym), as well as collaborating by providing relevant information and connecting different groups of interest.

Present during the act were Solidaridad’s Country Manager Ada Lis Rossel; Solidaridad’s Gold Program’s Program Manager Franco Arista; GĚRENS Post-Graduate School principal, Dr. Armando Gallegos, and GĚRENS General Manager Dr. Rodrigo Prialé.

This alliance hopes to join both institution’s available resources in order to generate and spread knowledge about MAPE’s managing processes in other countries, as well as the celebration of activities, projects and collaborative investigations.

Solidaridad is part of Solidaridad’s Latin America’s Regional Center (Stichting Interkerkelijke Aktie voor Latijns Amerika), which boasts of a long history of research into making small-scale mining more efficient, resilient and responsible. It has a specialized program called “Gold Program” which researches sustainable development of the MAPEs, and whose aim is for small gold producers to become part of “sustainable commerce” through certification programs.

On the other hand, GĚRENS Post-Graduate School, in an effort to offer its innovative and relevant educational services for the country’s development, has identified the formalization and improvement of artisanal mining’s competitiveness as one of Peru’s greatest mining challenges, reason why it decided to join this alliance with Solidaridad.

Along that line, the Solidaridad-GĚRENS alliance will try to boost capacitation programs that will allow for the study of profitable and sustainable business models for the MAPEs so that both public and private sector professionals will have the best tools available to support the formalization of the MAPEs.

José Manuel Mustafá: Metallurgy and Humankind, Two Old Friends

Metallurgy, the art of obtaining and treating metals for the creation of alloys. Without a doubt, it is one of the most documented industrial activities, with importance historical precedent dating back to old age. Who hasn’t heard of the bronze wars, or the iron revolution? When we talk about metallurgy, its uses go from the simplest to the most complex ones.

When we speak about metallurgy, we speak of a highly complex discipline in which there is an important number of variables to consider, requiring the support of sciences such as physics, chemistry and practices such as engineering. Metallurgy is an applied science, reason why it must be studied beyond the theories, as historic problems such as the solidification or re-crystallization of metals remain unsolved.

Still, technological advances have allowed for great strides in this field, offering promising solutions. Many experts consider that the art of metalworking started in the Near East, near the Nile; the belief is that it was during the “Age of Metals” that the main historical knowledge of metals and the way to work them into household items started to form. Historically, the Age of Metals was divided into three different stages depending on the most-used metal at the time:

Copper Age: One of the first metals man used in its natural state. Dating back to the Neolithic. At the beginning, it was mixed with arsenic but later started being mixed with tin, which led to the creation of bronze.
Bronze Age: Started by mixing copper and tin. It was divided into several ages, believed to predate Christ by at least 4.000 years.
Iron Age: Was first recorded in the twelfth century before Christ. At the time, it was the most advanced known form of metalwork. Its strength and abundance made it more desirable than bronze, which it ended up replacing.

About José Manuel Mustafá Flores

Benefits of automated mining

Welding

Noise and vibration

Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS)