World's largest ore chute created in Sudbury www.northernontariobusiness.com

A manufacturing shop in Greater Sudbury has created the largest ore chute in the world, which will soon be shipped out and installed in one of the largest copper and gold mining operations in the world, the Rio Tinto Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia.

The massive steel chute, as big as a house and with built-in safety features, was manufactured at Variant Mining Technologies in Lively. It is the prototype for several other chutes that will be installed at the mine in the coming months and years.

An ore chute is a device that allows chunks of rock (muck) to be transported by force of gravity from one level of the mine to another level. The chute is used to control the flow of muck, or waste rock, so that haulage equipment such as scooptrams, ore trucks or even underground rail cars can be loaded quickly and safely.

Variant’s website describes the company as a global leader in loading chute systems, which can explain why company designers decided to go so big.

“The size of the chute was driven by the size of the material they are actually processing and the tonnage that will be processed," said Variant general manager Paul Chamberland.

"(The throat) is 800 by 800 by 1,200 millimetres, which is the maximum dimension of rock we are working with, and the tonnage is an instantaneous rate of 10,000 tonnes per hour."

Despite its size, Chamberland said the entire chute can be broken down into individual modules, making it easier to be moved. He added that the dismantled components can be transported down a mine ramp or loaded onto the cage in the mine shaft. That way the chute can be bolted back together and installed deep in the mine.

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The project has been a few years in the making, according to Derek Meloche, Variant’s manager of business development and sales.

“So we started pursuing the client in 2016, which was our first trip to Mongolia,” said Meloche.

“Strategically, we believe that to conduct business in certain countries you need representation there to do it effectively. So we went over there with the intent of finding a partner, which we have found. We have a partner in Ulaanbaatar, which is Mongolia’s capital city.”

He said he was pleased that Ulaanbaatar is a large manufacturing hub with enough technical and industrial expertise to carry on the work.

“Our contract for Rio Tinto is to build five of these systems. We have four them being built in parallel to this one being built in Canada,” said Meloche.

He said Rio Tinto wanted the prototype put together in Sudbury so that all the functional testing could be carried out on such things as the electrical, mechanical and hydraulic engineering. He said that took place in February.

Meloche said there were challenges for Variant, not just in functionality, but also in safety designs.

“This will be the first of its kind," Meloche said. "It is a patent-pending chute with the arc gate on the end of the lip. That is a fallen object protection for operators coming through the loading zone.”

Meloche credited Rio Tinto for putting such a high priority on safety that Variant developed new technological solutions to meet that need.

Chamberland said it was something that Variant anticipated.

“The design of this chute is all oriented towards safety. This a design we worked on for some time and basically it was the biggest selling feature with the client. We already had a design that was control-reliable and functionally safe, developed by the time this project came out for tender,” said Chamberland.

“So that is a pretty big challenge in the mining environment. There are a lot of factors that are difficult to predict. We have quite a bit of experience working in that environment with this product. So we had a pretty good understanding of what we were up against."

Meloche said the project is a success for the Variant team and the hope is that the new chute will be adopted by other mines in Canada. Variant held an event in May to showcase the chute to a select group of mining professionals. He said mining insiders will be watching the project closely over the next few years to gauge the long-term success of the project.

“This is the early stages of this particular operation in Mongolia,” said Meloche. “By the end of the day, there will be 29 to 38 systems going into this particular mine over the next seven years. So we received the order for the first five, to develop the technologies and work out any kinks and find adjustments to make it technically perfect.”

From there he said Variant will continue to move forward on building the best mining chutes available.

Len Gillis is the editor of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal. This story will appear in the September edition of that publication.

Traffic accidents claim 185 lives in Mongolia in H1 www.foreignaffairs.co.nz

A total of 185 people have lost their lives in traffic accidents across Mongolia in the first half of this year, the country’s traffic police department said Monday.
“During the January-June period, around 500 serious traffic accidents occurred in Mongolia, killing 185 people,” the department said in a statement.
The report said that 57.8 percent of these accidents occurred on rural roads, noting that over-speeding, unpermitted overtaking, drunk driving and driver fatigue were the main causes of the accidents.
On June 15, the country launched a three-month national campaign called “No hurry” to reduce traffic accidents.
In 2018, a total of 562 people, including 45 children, died and 4,761 people were injured as a result of traffic accidents in Mongolia.

China gets more iron ore from Brazil as supply woes fade www.reuters.com

While iron ore has been hammered by the renewed escalation of the U.S.-China trade war, there are also signs the supply crunch that sent prices to a five-year high is easing.

Iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) fell by the 6% exchange limit during Monday’s trade, after China’s yuan fell to more than seven to the U.S. dollar, its weakest in more than a decade.

The United States responded to the yuan weakening by labelling China a currency manipulator, a move likely to stoke already inflamed trade tensions.

DCE iron ore ended Monday at 709 yuan ($100.71) a tonne, its weakest close in a month, while spot cargoes of benchmark 62% iron ore for delivery to China, as assessed by commodity price reporting agency Argus, finished at $99.80, the softest since June 6.

The spot price is still 32.2% above the level of Jan. 24, the day before a tailings dam collapsed at a mine operated by Brazil’s Vale and left more than 200 dead and dozens still missing.

THERE ARE SIGNS THAT BRAZIL’S EXPORTS ARE STARTING TO RECOVER, WITH CHINA, THE WORLD’S TOP BUYER, IMPORTING THE MOST FROM THE SOUTH AMERICAN NATION IN JULY SINCE MARCH

That disaster resulted in the shutdown of several of Vale’s operations for safety checks, cutting shipments from the world’s second-biggest exporter of the steel-making ingredient.

But there are signs that Brazil’s exports are starting to recover, with China, the world’s top buyer, importing the most from the South American nation in July since March.

China imported 17.7 million tonnes from Brazil in July, according to vessel-tracking and port data compiled by Refinitiv, more than double the 7.7 million recorded in June, and almost matching the 18.2 million taken in March.

It’s also likely that China’s imports of Brazilian ore will continue to rise in August, given that Brazil’s July exports rose 16.6% from the previous month to 34.3 million tonnes, according to official data released on Aug. 1.

The improved performance from Brazil comes as Vale was authorised in June to restart operations at its Brucutu mine, which has a capacity of 30 million tonnes a year.

China’s overall imports were also strong in July, coming in at 87.8 million tonnes, up from 76.8 million in June and the strongest month since March.

Supply coming back to normal
China’s imports in the April to June period were not only affected by the curtailing of shipments from Brazil, though, as a tropical cyclone in late March idled mines and ports in northwestern Australia, the main producing area in the world’s top exporter.

What the vessel-tracking numbers show is that supply is returning to normal, and therefore the premium prices should start to leave the market.

A further factor worth considering is the level of China’s port inventories, which climbed for a third week in the week to Aug. 2, reaching 121 million tonnes, according to consultancy Steelhome.

While this is still well below the 2019 peak of 148.9 million tonnes, reached in early April, inventories have reversed the downtrend in place for the past three months.

Overall, the iron ore market is experiencing a recovery in supply and inventories, and Chinese demand so far is holding up.

The main risk now is that the trade dispute between the world’s two major economies starts to bite global growth harder, leading to an extended downturn in manufacturing.

While Beijing has a fairly good track record in stimulating its economy out of trouble, there are always questions as to how much more infrastructure and construction can be financed in order to prop up heavy industries such as steel.

It’s worth noting that spot iron ore has dropped by 20.3% from its Aug. 3 peak of $125.20 a tonne, while benchmark Shanghai steel rebar futures have declined by only 8% since their July 1 peak of 4,108 yuan a tonne.

That means Chinese steel mill margins are likely improving, and the depreciation of the yuan isn’t large enough to offset the weaker iron ore price.

This may lend iron ore some support, but probably not enough to prevent prices from slipping back closer to the $75 a tonne seen just before the Vale dam disaster, with the risk of further weakness if the U.S.-China trade war escalates even further.

(By Clyde Russell; Editing by Tom Hogue)

The third Mongolia-China Expo under preparation www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Mongolia-China Expo will be held in Hohhot, Ulanqab, and Tongliao cities of Inner Mongolia, China between September 6 and 10. The expo’s organizing committee convened today at the Mongolia National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI).

Petro Matad spuds Red Deer-1 well in eastern Mongolia www.sharecast.com

Mongolian oil explorer Petro Matad announced on Monday that the Red Deer-1 exploration well in the Asgat Sag Basin of Block XX in eastern Mongolia was spudded on 4 August.

US, Mongolia Share Airfield, Emergency Medical Expertise www.pacom.mil

ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA -- The United States and Mongolian military leaders conducted airfield and emergency medical subject-matter expert exchanges to share cultural expertise, technical competency and vital training with Mongolian participants in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, July 22-26, 2019.

The air advisor and medical response exchanges were part of Pacific Angel (PAC ANGEL) 19-3, and combined humanitarian assistance engagement incorporating subject matter expert exchanges with medical outreach and civic engineering projects, led by U.S. Pacific Air Forces.

U.S. Air Force air advisors and Mongolian Air Force officers shared experiences and knowledge on an array of operational topics, to include humanitarian aid and disaster response procedures that incorporate the use of MI-17 helicopters, a transport helicopter often used by the Mongolian air force. Discussion topics also included runway and airfield maintenance, airspace classifications, ground-to-air signaling and flight notification procedures.

Lt. Col. D. Shatarragchaa, Mongolian air force State Division Department commander, coordinated and oversaw much of the exchange. He specifically noted some of the most valuable information the Mongolian officers gained from the week included learning to identify and select landing zones, and gaining more search and rescue methodology.

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Mark Hoover, 36th Contingency Response Support Squadron air advisor, explained U.S. Pacific Air Forces maintains contingency response forces ready to respond to emergency humanitarian assistance or disaster relief, "Air advisors go to our partner nations and we perform these exchanges and build partnerships, so when something like that happens, we already have those relationships established."

Simultaneously, in Bayongol Soum, Mongolia, community doctors, nurses and civilian volunteers took part in a trauma and mass casualty response training exercise.

Mongolian Armed Forces and U.S. Air Force medical personnel equipped the participants with vital knowledge and experience for first responders, ending the week with hands-on exercises to employ procedures learned throughout the week.

Initial injury assessment, burn treatment and tourniquet application were some of the first-responder skills demonstrated by the U.S.-Mongolian medical personnel before involving the participants for practice.

“We spent a lot of time teaching the volunteers how to handle a trauma in general and give basic care,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Joshua Cragun, 96th Medical Operations Squadron emergency medicine physician, noting the large number of volunteers who attended with minimal medical experience. "Since the region is so short staffed, our training was trying to provide an opportunity for the civilians and local volunteers to encounter a trauma and perform minimal care until they can be taken to a doctor or nurse."

For the rural areas surrounding Bayongol, equipping motivated citizens can be life-saving since formal medical care can sometimes be hours away.

Both the air operations and medical training, as part of Pacific Angel 2019, continue to deepen the long-standing partnership between Mongolian and U.S. forces, while building Mongolia’s capacity to respond to humanitarian need and natural disasters.

Pacific Angel 19-3 continues through August 5 with multilateral international Indo-Pacific participants working together to assist the local community and improve regional partner capabilities. PAC ANGELs have built positive relations through engagement such as these for the last decade in multiple countries throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

International coal trade, investment conference and exhibition for 9th year www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Mongolia’s biggest coal trade and investment conference and exhibition “Coal Mongolia-2019” is going to be held for the 9th year on September 5-6, 2019 in Shangri-La Hotel, Ulaanbaatar. This year’s conference motto will be “Lead the market”.

Mongolia's agreement with US will not affect relations with Moscow, Beijing — expert www.akipress.com

The declaration on strategic partneship between Ulaanbaatar and Washington signed during Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga's visit to the United States represents a political gesture aimed at demonstrating growing international support for Mongolia, chairman of the Valdai International Discussion Club Andrey Systritsky told TASS on Friday.

National database for trade to be established www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. An agreement to establish a national integrated database for foreign trade was signed by IFC Country Representative Rufat Alimardanov and Director General of the Customs General Administration B.Asralt on August 1.

Defense Minister checks construction progress www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ On August 2, Minister of Defense N.Enkhbold worked in Dornogobi aimag, getting acquainted with the construction progress of the 7780th and 7781st units.