Dumas Mines Contracting, a Timmins-based global mining consulting company, displayed innovative technology at an open-house Thursday showing why the company is one of the leading mining contracting companies in the world.
“We are having this open house to give clients an opportunity to drop by and see the new innovative equipment we have on hand working with our partners Walden Equipment out of Sudbury and Resemin from Peru," said Glenn Wilson, fleet manager with Dumas. “These new machines will make their operations more efficient, profitable and safer.”
For the first time ever, Dumas has imported a miniature drilling rig built by Resemin that can be used in gold and silver mines.
The rig uses narrow drift where vein chasing occurs to retrieve more ore and less rock.
“Our priorities are production and safety,” said Jim Laroche, Dumas’ director of fleet management. “We are always looking for new innovative mining equipment that we can provide our clients to improve their efficiency and increase safety.”
All these new machines are smaller and designed to get into narrow quarters for more accurately drilling and scooping out ore and less rock.
“This is the first Muki in Canada,” said Larouche. “We purchased it from Resemin which has been manufacturing them in Peru for the Latin America mining industry successfully."
The Muki is three metres wide and can pursue more accurately a narrow vein that most other drilling equipment which is typically up to eight metres wide.
Smaller veins increase the danger to men working on a rock face.
These machines are replacing traditional jackleg and stope drilling.
“Safety is a major concern in mining and our first priority is to get the man away from the rock face,” Laroche said.
There currently is only one Muki in Canada – the one that was on display at Dumas’ open house in Timmins Thursday.
Over the next six months, it will be put through its paces at Goldcorp’s Dome Mine to make sure it meets all the Ontario safety standards before importing additional units.
“We have plans to bring in additional units to meet the demands of a mining company in Sudbury who is interested in five of these units,” said Larouche.
The Muki, like most of today’s new mining equipment, is an electronic and hydraulic hybrid that can be adapted to remote control.
Another machine on display was a scoop tram built and designed by Walden Equipment out of Sudbury, Ontario.
It too is relatively small and can enter tighter quarters than most other equipment.
Linked directly to worker safety is a piece of equipment which Dumas has on hand to respond to mining emergencies.
It is called an Alicab.
“The Alimak has all the emergency equipment required to respond to an incident,” said Norm Fleury, Dumas millwright.
“It has all the equipment in a box and includes a compartment to carry out injured workers if required,” he added.
Each mining district is mandated to have an Alicab on hand to respond to emergencies.
Dumas has approximately 10 that it employees on behalf of clients in North and South America.
(PHOTO: Jim Laroche, Dumas director of fleet management by the Resemin Muki mini-mine drilling equipment, the first of its kind in Canada. Frank Giorno for TimminsToday)
