Detour Gold has executed a term sheet with Caterpillar Financial Services pursuant to which Cat Financial has agreed to underwrite an additional mining fleet lease facility of some $40 million to fund its acquisition of additional Caterpillar mobile fleet equipment including two rope shovels for the Detour Lake gold project in northeast Ontario.

Sweden-based Driconeq, a leading producer of mining drilling equipment, has acquired Anceriz Industries, a prominent South African developer and manufacturer of reverse circulation mining drilling products.

Eickhoff will give the Australian mining industry its first look at new developments it has incorporated into its SL shearer loader series for the country’s longwall market on Stand 3407-01/-02 during AIMEX in Sydney, September 6-9.

Weir Minerals Africa has received its biggest order from India to date - seven Linatex vibrating screens of various sizes for RBSSN, a mining and metals company based in Hospet, in northern Karnataka.

US coal exports increased 35% to 53.6 million short tons through June 2011, according to a recent edition of NMA’s (National Mining Association) International Coal Review. Strong demand from Asia and Europe for steam and metallurgical coal is expected to push coal exports above 100 million tons by the year’s end, the highest level in nearly 20 years. NMA’s economic forecast prepared in May predicted 2011 coal exports would reach 101.5 million tons (up 24%).

Mercator Minerals’ wholly-owned Mineral Park mine in Arizona has commenced commercial operation of its newly constructed natural gas turbine generator.  The General Electric LM6000PF generator has comfortably passed performance testing and has been generating power at a rate of 40 MW, 3 MW above its stated capacity.

Maptek has established two $2,500 scholarship awards for students at the Colorado School of Mines, in Golden, Colorado. Scholarships for Mining Engineering and Geology/Geological Engineering will be awarded to undergraduate students who maintain a minimum GPA and satisfactory academic progress. ‘Maptek is eager to support students,’ says Jon Larson, General Manager, North America.

img_3744.jpg International Mining’s September issue will include an article on this subject and we are currently accepting editorial contributions. VISTA Training has already had its input to the article and has just released its new Transporting Heavy Equipment web-based training program. A significant percentage of fatal accidents involving heavy equipment occur when loading and unloading from a [...]

Arizona-based Mintec will broaden the global reach of its MineSight software by opening a London office October 1. Five technical staff will support and train Mintec’s clients in Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia.

Bridon will display a new dragline rope for the mining industry on Stand B1047 during AIMEX, September 6-9. The company says the Tiger Big T Bristar will deliver an overall cost reduction for users by providing a longer service life and, as a result, fewer change outs.

Frédéric Flament and Donald Leroux of Algosys comment in the latest issue of QMASTOR’s Traction Newsletter that "computation of mass balances within metallurgical plants mainly aims at estimating non measured variables, typically the mass flow rates that are essential to determining plant performance."

ThoroughTec Simulation will offer hands-on experience of its new CYBERMINE4 mining and construction training simulation technology on Stand B1002-6 during AIMEX. The new simulators, which the company describes as incorporating its fourth generation technological advances, uniquely enables both surface and underground mining machines on the one simulator.