Not long after installing a diesel particulate filter system at the Esperance Port in Western Australia, Mine Works has been given a contract to trial the filter system at the Newcrest Mining Cadia East Project in New South Wales.
Newcrest Mining will be the first underground miner to trial the diesel particulate filter on an Atlas Copco 5010 underground dump truck for a four to six-week period.
The filters’ technology is able to clean exhaust gas via a sintered metal element. The filters can be fitted to all diesel engines used in commercial vehicles, construction machines and stationary plants.
The system is specially designed for an underground environment and is suitable for OEM products and the retrofit markets.
“We have conducted extensive testing of diesel particulate levels on our mine and mining equipment to use as a reference point for before and after comparisons,” said Barry Hearn, maintenance superintendent for the Cadia East Project.
Installation
Based on the data obtained through the data logging process, Mineworks will proceed with the installation of dual 10.2 SMF-FBC diesel particulate filters on the Atlas Copco 5010 underground dump truck on 28 April.
They expect the machine to be back in operation and producing data within a few days of the installation.
Late last year, Mineworks completed the first full installation of the diesel particulate filters at Esperance Port Authority’s iron ore operations, where diesel vehicles are used for loading iron ore.
Mineworks Group director John Gallop said the independent analysis of the air quality following the installation at Esperance Port showed all air quality parameters were less than the exposure standards or recommended levels, and NO particulates were detected in or out of the operator’s cabin.
According to the World Health Organisation and the US Environmental Protection Agency, particulates from diesel engines are today responsible for 5% of all respiratory cancer.
“The mining industry in Australia uses a large number of diesel-powered vehicles, so it’s become increasingly important for mining companies to invest in filters that can safely remove diesel particulates from exhaust emissions,” Gallop said.
“The diesel particulate filters have set a new health and safety benchmark in the mining industry, and we expect a rapid rise in demand for their installation.”
Mineworks’ Technical Services and Electrical Services divisions provide a complete installation service of the filters, together with the sales and service of the data logger, designed exclusively for monitoring and controlling diesel particulate filter systems.
N John Gallop
Mineworks Group
(08) 9274 0016
j.gallop@mineworksgroup.com.au
www.mineworksgroup.com.au