Rockmore International has a new drill bit designed for hard rock drilling and blasting operations in drifting intended to increase drilling efficiency and to reduce operating costs. It says "the new B6 design promises to prolong bit life and increase drilling penetration rates. Designed to reduce operating costs in drilling blasthole patterns in tunneling operations, the B6 increases overall drilling productivity by incorporating enhancements in the bit face design and improvements in the configuration of cutting geometry.

Shell Lubricants Technology has announced a two-year research and development partnership with State Key Laboratory of Tribology in Tsinghua University, one of China’s most prestigious institutions. The partners...

Oyu Tolgoi, the gold and copper mine under development in the South Gobi desert of Mongolia, has underlined its commitment to training its workforce to world's best standards by investing in simulator-based operator training technology provided by Immersive Technologies. OT is amongst the first mines in the world to purchase Immersive's new PRO3 simulator. The PRO3 is specifically designed for surface mining and initially will support operator training of Komatsu haul trucks. Together with the PRO3 simulator, the sale included a comprehensive training package incorporating a five- year gold support program, Custom Mine Site, TrainerAdvantageTM certification and Training Systems Integration programs. As well as training its OT workforce, Oyu Tolgoi is running the largest vocational training program ever established in Mongolia. Many of the job skills are transferable - jobs will be created in IT, environmental management, and accountancy. Cameron McRae, CEO of Oyu Tolgoi, said that the purchase of the simulators and support from Immersive reflected the mine's continued commitment to ensuring its largely Mongolian operators are the best in the world. "This equipment will help to make our operators among the best and the safest anywhere", he said. "I look forward to seeing the equipment myself and talking to our operators in training." Immersive Technologies' Regional Vice President, Mark Eaton-Reid said: "This simulation investment will enable Oyu Tolgoi to maximise its heavy equipment operator training throughput without impacting on the skills and knowledge transfer to new operators. The investment underlines Oyu Tolgoi's unprecedented commitment to training, and Immersive's continuing contribution to Mongolia." Oyu Tolgoi LLC is Mongolia's largest copper and gold mining company and is a strategic partnership between the Government of Mongolia, Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto is the major shareholder in Ivanhoe Mines and the manager of the OT project. In addition to dividends from its stake in Oyu Tolgoi, the Government of Mongolia will receive taxes and royalties. Located in the Gobi desert in southern Mongolia, it will be one of the largest and highest-grade copper and gold mines in the world. It is the largest project ever developed in Mongolia, requiring a capital investment for phase 1 of more than $6 billion. At least 9 out of 10 employees will be Mongolian once the mine is in production and OT is investing $85 million dollars in training.

Intierra Resource Intelligence has acquired Swedish-based Raw Materials Group (RMG). All RMG shareholders have taken an equity position in the expanded company and all RMG staff will stay on with the new entity. This unification...

Redpath, one of the world’s leading mining contractors, has launched its dedicated Australian coal mining division as it aims to position itself as one of the country’s leading mining contractors. This coincides with Redpath Australia’s...

Outotec has agreed with LKAB on the delivery of a technology package for thickening the tailings in the Svappavaara iron ore mine in Sweden. Outotec's scope of delivery includes engineering of a tailings treatment process, Outotec Paste Thickener with related buildings, piping, electrification, instrumentation and control systems as well as installation and services for start-up and training.

Speciality resins company, Purolite has published an IPHONE/IPAD App containing useful resources related to water treatment , especially ion exchange. The free app can be downloaded from the App store, where it can be readily found by searching for "Purolite".

Caterpillar has announced that the Industrial Division of Sime Darby Berhad has acquired a portion of the former Bucyrus distribution business, which was included in Caterpillar's purchase of Bucyrus.

Thiess has been awarded an A$185 million, one year extension to its contract to operate the Meandu coal mine which supplies Stanwell Corporation's Tarong and Tarong North power stations in Queensland's South Burnett. Managing Director Bruce Munro said the contract extension until December 2012 reaffirms the strong relationship between Stanwell Corporation and Thiess.

In response to growing unease over supply of critical metals for high-tech manufacturing and green technologies, the British Geological Survey (BGS) and the University of Exeter have agreed to join forces in a new initiative to improve research capability in this vital area. The ‘Critical Metals Alliance' agreement signed on December 13, 2011 consolidates long-term links between the British Geological Survey and the University of Exeter/Camborne School of Mines (CSM).

Bridon International has invested £30m in a Tyneside factory that will produce multi-strand ropes in gross package weights of up to 650 t - which according to Bridon will make them by far the largest and most complex in the world. The facility will enable Bridon to offer unrivalled strength, safety and durability in mining applications such as dragline hoist and drag ropes and electric mining shovel ropes on the surface and deep mine hoists for underground mine shafts.

Immersive Technologies has announced a new release of their dozer operator training technology for use with their Advanced Equipment Simulators including the PRO3. The new tool includes extensive new training functionality and support for Caterpillar's D11T track dozer. Launched in November at the company's 2011 Asia-Pacific User Group Forum in Queensland Australia, Immersive states that the new Caterpillar dozer simulator was enthusiastically received by the group consisting of over 45 mining professionals who had the opportunity to thoroughly test-drive the unit over the two day conference.