INNOVATION NEWS

Mechanised narrow vein mining

Aramine is strong and developing a wide range of specialised narrow vein machines

arrow vein mining operations are an

important part of the international
mining industry. Their importance varies
geographically, with Latin America being a
particularly strong area, but narrow vein mines
are found the world over. For example, many
historical goldfields are now being reworked or
redeveloped. Increasingly, even these
operations are becoming mechanised and
Aramine is becoming a world leader in this
area. The equipment required to mine in these
conditions is highly specialised, and must be
able to cope with complex geology and
geometry. Machines also need to help the
mine reduce dilution and maintain high
selectivity, while perhaps contending with high
stress conditions and/or low tonnes per vertical
metre.
Unlike many mining equipment suppliers,
Aramine (IM, January 2009, pp48-49) achieved
good growth in 2009, at 9%, and is aiming for
15% growth this year. Keys to its success
include a very strong and innovative
engineering team, its close ties with Atlas
Copco and a rather unique position in the
world of narrow vein mining.
Aramines L130 miniLoader (empty weight
4,400 kg) is currently its best known product.
This is a 1,040 mm wide, 1,985 mm high LHD
equipped with a 0.6 m3 bucket. Other
specifications include a tramming capacity of
1,200 kg, static tipping load 5,500 kg,
breakout force 3,200 kg. This potent little
package, offered with diesel or electric drive
(380V 50Hz or 440V 60Hz), is designed for
recommended drift sizes of 2,200 mm wide by
2,300 mm high.
A number of improvements have been made
to the L130 for 2010. The engine
L110 overview

60 International Mining OCTOBER 2010

compartment is shorter, of more modern

design with a bevelled rear end. The results are
easier maintenance, better component access
and an improved centre of gravity. The engine
tub is less exposed to damage from hitting
drift walls. The chassis is less exposed to
collision damage, reduced by 50 mm
compared to older models, with easier
tramming on high grades and better ground
clearance. The potential for collision damage is
also reduced by the narrowing of the unit by
60 mm on each side.
There is a new dashboard that is simple,
easy to read and easy use. The new safe
operator compartment features better
ergonomics, new joystick controls for the
bucket and steering, a new pedal floor with
heel rest, large entry handles welded onto the
body and front/rear lights. Greater
manoeuvrability is just one result.
The new canopy offers better protection to

An L130D with the bucket raised

the back of the operator. It is ROPS/FOPS

certified and mounts the front and rear light
arrangements. It is demountable.
There is also a new safety interlock gate,
new bucket design, with EOD option and a
new central hinge lock system.
One of the developments for the future is
an L130 powered by a Li-Ion battery pack.
As of September this year, 71 miniLoader
units had been sold within three years of its
launch. The first machine, sold in 2007, is in
Morocco and now has over 7,000 operating
hours. The largest fleet (14 machines) is in
Australia, followed by nine in Morocco, five in
Macedonia and six each in Papua New Guinea
and Russia. Peru will soon be up there among
the leading countries, but with a fleet of an
even smaller machine of which, more later.
Aramine estimates the world population of
LHDs less than 1.4 m wide in operation to be
(except the Chinese market) 250 to 300 units.
Annual sales of all makes are 75 to 125 (again
not including those made in China). Aramine is
expecting to sell about 50 L130s this year.
Aramine is now developing a range of
narrow vein trackless machines, all powered by
the same two-engine choice of the Deutz
F4L912W or the Perkins 804D-33, delivering
43 kW. Electric drive versions are available. The
L130 miniDrill has just been launched. This can
be a dedicated drill jumbo or an L130 which
can be an LHD or a jumbo depending on
which equipment package is mounted. Marc

INNOVATION NEWS
Melkonian, one of Aramines Presidents,
points out that this is not a QDS system,
though it does not take too long to change
the front end. The main advantage is that all
the models are based on the same carrier and
power train and this gives narrow vein mines
the ability to load and drill with the same
basic machine.
The MiniDrill, equipped with stabilisers, is
offered with a choice of two drifters: an Atlas
Copco Lifton LHD 23 (1.4 kW) or Montabert
HC20 (4 kW). The feed length is 3,000 mm
and rod length 2,100 mm (H22, H25 or R32
rod diameters).
Aramine is working closely with Atlas Copco
in the development of this range of narrow
vein machines. It is advantageous to Atlas
Copco to have such a line of small machines
and it will be advantageous to Aramine to tap
into the global Atlas Copco marketing network
for this range.
Some of the principles involved in the design
are:
Simple design to obviate the need for high
technology knowledge and reduce
maintenance
Superior product compared to the current
market offering
Safe design to comply with todays
regulations

Narrow vein mines now

have the ability to load
and drill with the same
basic machine

Each year hundreds of projects go through the

prefeasibility, feasibility and development
decision stages. Hundreds more expand. All
these projects buy equipment and services.
How do you target these for your
marketing? The answer is International
Mining Project News, which every two
weeks collates and delivers to your desk
the latest news from projects around the
world. We have recently added a new
section on NEW PLAYERS giving
readers the latest merger and acquisition
new every fortnight.

Contact
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Mining recruitment consultant Carl Bosman,

Principal & Director of Thomas Mining Associates comments:

as phot
nal
ocopies, and the
or copie
s

in any

I read IM Project News every two weeks and on occasion the

quantity of information to assimilate is quite astounding. The
accuracy and detail that goes into each element of news is also
impressive. For one who uses the Project News as an element
of their market intelligence and for business development I
find it most suitable. I can only imagine what amount of time
it would take for me to collate a similar quantity of data for
my own purposes every two weeks!! I would recommend the
report and the method of delivery to anyone looking for a
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All this information is available at a very low cost: a one-year subscription
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OCTOBER 2010 International Mining 61

INNOVATION NEWS
Available with diesel or electric power and
of modular design to allow conversion from
diesel to electric, even at site
Large variety of options: remote control, GET
bucket, Lincoln Autolube, Ansul fire
suppression system, safety interlock gate,
To be introduced in mines at a first level of
mechanisation, by offering a very compact
and simple machine that will replace hand
tools without requiring highly skilled
maintenance teams and tools
Ability to offer the full range of
underground mining equipment with the
Atlas Copco range.
Two units of the L130 MiniUtilift have
already been sold. This is a utility lift vehicle
with a basket capacity of 1,200 kg. This can be
a machine on which the basket is installed in
place of the bucket. However, Aramine has
also come up with a very clever gear basket
(with a removable guard rail) that locks into
place in the bucket of an L130 LHD, offering
great versatility. The basket can be equipped
with Anfo loading equipment.
A mine truck just 1.48 m wide and 5.45 m
long with a capacity of 4 t is available and
Aramine is developing larger trucks for
capacities of 7 t, 12.5 t and 16 t. The T700 will
be 1,350 mm wide and the T1600, Minetruck
2,000 mm wide.
There is even an L130 MiniPersocarrier on
the drawing board, but it will only be built to
order. It is 1.4 m wide and 6 m long, capable
of carrying 10 people.
Beyond the L130 narrow vein line, there are
new loading machines also. The larger L130XC
has a standard 0.7 m3 bucket. It is slightly
wider at 1,200 mm, and is 2,300 mm high. It
can still operate in drift widths of 2,200 mm
and heights of 2,300 mm. Its tramming
capacity is 1,400 kg and the breakout force is
the same 3,200 kg.

Cutting Costerfield costs

In Australia, Mandalay Resources has taken
delivery of special L130s equipped with pushplate ejector buckets for its cut and fill (CAF)
operations in the Costerfield mine, which is
currently exploiting the steeply dipping
Augusta lodes at the south end of the main
Costerfield zone. Ore is accessed by a spiral 4
m x 4 m decline grading 1 in 8 from the
surface. Mining in the upper levels consists of
extraction of remnant ore and pillars left by
underground mining prior to 2009. Four new
levels have been accessed, where the CAF
mining was carried out at a 1.8 m minimum
width. The Aramine equipment has allowed
the minimum to reduced to 1.4 m, with an
almost 20% reduction in waste from the

62 International Mining OCTOBER 2010

stoping drive development. There has also

been a reduction in ventilation requirements
due to the use of the smaller Aramine
loaders.
Production is 5,000 t/month and a goldbearing stibnite concentrate is produced by
standard flotation methods. The Costerfield
project and associated tenements are centred
on the small settlement of Costerfield in
Central Victoria, located some 10 km northeast
of Heathcote, 50 km east of the city of
Bendigo and 100 km north of Melbourne.
Then there is the L110, which is just 880

mm wide, and 5,104 mm long, but has a true

1 t capacity, equipped with a 0.5m bucket.
One of the keys to this very small machine is
the axles, which are of Aramines own design.
The recommended drift size is 1,800 to 1,900
mm wide (2,300 mm high). Its inner turning
radius is 2,197 mm, and 3,514 mm outer.
Electric versions are equipped with a hydraulic
power cable reel with automatic tension for 85
m capacity of 4 x 10 cable.
For the future the company sees a niche in
the market for a larger LHD, the 2.6 t capacity
L270, 1,350 mm wide. IM