Big Oil seizes lithium opportunities
Mining companies could benefit in cash and technology as major fossil fuel companies invest in lithium.
Ontario, Canada 03/12/2013 — The increased demand for production has forced the mining industry to go deeper in search of various minerals, the deeper they go the more dangerous and harder it is to bring minerals up from the depths of the Earth. Technological advancement is the way to make this process safer and much more effective. Conventionally, bulk material haulage has the domain of truck haulage, rail haulage or conveyors. These methods are no longer economical and either lack automation, have high labor costs, high equipment maintenance costs or require wider and taller areas for accessibility.
Rail-Veyor Technologies Global has built a revolutionary material haulage system that offers a greener and totally automated and unmanned system that combines all the best features of other bulk material haulage methods for underground or surface applications. Rail-Veyor is electrically powered and, remotely operated through a control center. The train is propelled by drive stations along light rail track with a series of rail cars that provides a highly efficient bulk material haulage solution for underground and surface mining and for the aggregate industry. The trains are made up of a series of two wheeled low profile rail cars. These trains can travel up to 8 m/sec (18 mph) per second moreover the Rail-veyer system is capable of multiple speeds on the same circuits. The Rail-Veyor system can climb inclines up to 20 percent, with a turning radius of 30 m (98 feet) and takes up a very small environmental footprint which means it has greater maneuverability, flexibility and adaptibility in different terrains and tight spaces decreasing the need to put industrial personnel in danger. An important feature of the Rail-Veyor is the minimal environmental impact compared to the other methods that run on diesel fuel.
Mining companies like Vale’s Copper Cliff mine in Sudbury have already installed the Rail-Veyor bulk material haulage system and expect to significantly boost production with the Rail-Veyor technology. Vale executives confirm that Rail-Veyor has greatly reduced the time it takes to develop their mine at the 114 Ore Body in Sudbury. The easy maintenance of Rail-Veyor is due to the off- the- shelf components that are easily available and can be replaced quickly due to the simplicity of the drive system. There is no onboard operator required. The system can be remotely and controlled by a mobile tablet or a remote control panel. The bulk material haulage system is operated by pair of remote drive stations, GPS and motion sensors. They have the capability of accelerating train from dead stop to 8 m/sec (18 mph) in a matter of seconds.
For more information visit www.rail-veyor.com, where information about the Rail-Veyor System can be viewed along with articles and informative videos on Vale’s Rail-Veyor installation at their 114 Ore Body mine are available on the website. View how Rail-Veyor compares to conventional conveyor, truck haulage and, rail haulage at: http://www.railveyor.com/competitive-advantage/. Furthermore to get information on Rail-Veyor specifications, visit: http://www.railveyor.com/general-specifications/. Downloadable Electronic Brochures are also available on the website.
