Suppliers Roundup (December 19, 2005)

Fordia awards bursaries

Saint-Laurent, Que.-based mining supplier Fordia/Flexit has awarded bursaries to students enrolled in mining-related, post-secondary education programs throughout Quebec.

The awards were given to Guillaume Lesage at Laval University in Laval, Que.; Franois Lapierre at the Val d’Or, Que., campus of the University of Quebec; Joanie Bland, University of Quebec in Chicoutimi; and Jessica Salois-Rivard and Francis Lacoursireat at Cgep Abitibi-Temiscamingue.

Fordia created its bursaries to encourage students in geology, geological engineering, and diamond exploration, drilling and blasting.

The Fordia Group, mostly known for its diamond-drilling products, started in 1997. The company has Canadian offices in Val d’Or, Sudbury, Ont., and Vancouver, B.C., as well as in Chile, Peru and Australia.

Metallurgical testers SGS Minerals Services have formed an alliance with an Australian firm known for its QEMSCAN instrumentation.

SGS Minerals Services will use QEMSCAN instrumentation at a new mineralogy laboratory in Lakefield, Ont. QEMSCAN instrumentation is faster, more statistically robust and cheaper than existing optical mineralogy technology.

The comprehensive data that QEMSCAN equipment produces is used in bankable feasibility studies and ore characterization programs. The QEMSCAN equipment was developed by Australian-based Intellection.

In Australia, SGS Minerals Services will supply QEMSCAN services from a similar laboratory inside Intellection’s Brisbane facility. Each firm will learn from the other’s experience.

Intellection is known for its automated quantitative evaluation and the invention and refinement of QEMSCAN minerals analysis technology.

Founded in 1878, SGS has more than 43,000 employees around the world.

Shhh, drillers at work

Atlas Copco has silenced its drills — and that’s a good thing.

The drill rig maker is the first to add “silenced” surface drill rigs to its fleet.

Although not completely silent, Atlas Copco says the new ROC-series surface drill rigs are the quietest-running ones around. The drills operate at 10 decibels quieter than similar rigs, or contribute 10 times less noise. This means the drills can be used in restricted work sites and in urban areas where noise limits have been imposed.

Near-silence is achieved with an add-on “kit.”

Noise is generated by vibration in the drill steel, feed system, boom and body of the rig. The silencing kit consists of several components that reduce overall noise, but perhaps the most noticeable component is the hood that covers the mast. The hood is placed over the drill to dampen the noise.

“In the future, people who live near a quarry or construction site will have quieter surroundings,” says Anders Hedqvist, an executive with Atlas Copco Drilling Equipment.

The rig also features a more efficient hydraulic system, which, when combined with a more powerful Caterpillar engine, allows users to lower the idling speed and choose the best power setting needed for drilling in different conditions. These improvements reduce fuel consumption by up to 30%, when compared with similar rigs.

The ROC D7C has an automatic rod-adding and auto-feed alignment system. This helps boost productivity by as much as 10%.