Cubex QXR Range Agreement with Sandvik Mining & Construction

Sandvik Mining and Construction and Canadian-based Cubex Limited are pleased to announce a global partnership for the distribution of the QXR Surface drills. In November 2009, the companies announced a Dealer Agreement for Sandvik to distribute Cubex’ underground mining products. Sandvik and Cubex are now expanding the Cubex arrangement, with Sandvik to distribute the entire range of QXR down-the-hole (DTH) Surface drills.

All global sales, customer service and aftermarket support for the QXR range will transfer to Sandvik. Sandvik and Cubex are developing the plans to ensure a seamless transition and expect a continuation in the high levels of existing support and service for the fleet of QXR drills already operating globally. Manfred Schaffer, President of Surface Mining at Sandvik Mining and Construction says: “The QXR series is a perfect addition to our range of dedicated surface mining drills. The QXR range compliments our existing offering and confirms our position as the productivity leader in mining. We are now able to offer a more broader offering to our customers to meet their Surface Mining drilling requirements. The integration of the QXR drills, combined with Sandvik’s global customer support, will represent huge benefits for our customers.

Cubex Limited is located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1972, it has become a leading developer of DTH drills for both the underground and surface mining industry. Cubex is actively involved in the sales and support of capital equipment to the mining industry around the world. Kitch Wilson, President of Cubex says: “On six continents, the QXR has already proved itself to be a productivity leader in down-the-hole drilling. Now, with the global support of the Sandvik organization, we are convinced these drills will be increasingly popular in all mining and large quarry operations for a wide variety of drilling applications.”

The QXR drills are fully self-contained, diesel-powered, high pressure DTH drills. They are crawler-mounted and have tilting booms and feeds for maximum flexibility. QXR’s are utilized across a broad range of mining drilling applications including blasthole production drilling, pre-split drilling as well as pioneering and pit dewatering. A growing field is Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling for sampling and grade control. The QXR is best known for it’s robust mining design, matched with powerful compressors giving the capability of drilling with 500psi (34,5 bar) air. A full range of engine and compressor configurations allow the machines to be optimized for 4″, 5″, 6″ and 8″ DTH hammers.

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URANIUM EXTRACTION TRIGGERS INNOVATION

Cubex recently launched the Scorpion drill, designed specifically for a freeze hole drilling application in a Canadian high grade uranium mine. Launching this product required Cubex to
invest significantly in its development. The drill was successfully commissioned in April 2010.

The Issue

• Radio‐active leaks and high ground water pressures in a high grade uranium were creating a dangerous working environment.
• Previous Cubex freeze hole drills were set up to effectively drill angled down– holes, but not able to complete the necessary upholes. As the mine progressed, the Cubex 6200’s did not have the flexibility to position the feed adequately to the changing drilling applications.
• Diamond drills used for these holes were slow. Mobilization/demobilization could take over 2 days for one hole.

The Solution

• Cubex began working with the Cameco McArthur River uranium mine to develop a system to safely and effectively drill freeze holes.
• A tracked boom drill was designed for improved feed positioning.
• Wassara^TM water hammer drilling allowed for hole ranges from 2.5 inches to 6 inches.
• To minimize the use of LHD’s, and for easier machine setup, the unit was designed with a high pressure on‐board water booster (95 gpm at 2600 psi), and on‐board diesel engine.

The Results

• The flexibility of the feed has eliminated the need to move the drill with each new hole. During commissioning, 24 holes were accurately drilled without moving the carrier.
• Due to the extendable boom and multi‐access pivot of the feed, more holes may be possible without moving the carrier.
• Utilizing WassaraTM water hammer technology, the Scorpion is more efficient over the previous diamond drilling method by a factor of 5 times.
• Safety is greatly improved, with the feed able to be well positioned for loading pipe.
• Hole setup is measured in minutes, instead of days.
• Cubex will be heavily involved in the next freeze drill program at Cameco, McArthur River.

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ON NOVEMBER 20, 2009, Sandvik Mining and Construction announced that it had entered into a dealer agreement with Winipeg, Canada-based Cubex to “market, distribute and support its underground mining product line, including all underground drills, booster/compressor packages, ancillary support components, and water-pump systems”. The company will primarily serve global markets, with the exception of Canada and the state of Nevada.

Founded in 1972, Cubex is a leading developer and manufacturer of ITH drilling products. The company has long been actively involved in the contracting of services, supplying of capital equipment, and in designing and manufacturing equipment for the mining industry.

“We look forward to working with Cubex within the Sandvik distributor network. With this new dealer agreement, Sandvik Mining and Construction has the opportunity to offer complete solutions to customers working with in-the-hole drilling applications,” said Kari Parvento, president of underground mining at Sandvik.

“Cubex is known for excellent product knowledge, and world-class customer service and support. Today’s announcement reaffirms our commitment to in-the-hole applications to meet the demand for longhole drilling with world-class products and services in the markets.”

He added: “This is a team effort with Cubex to meet the demand for the underground mining applications. A very important part of our business plan is to continue to add competent products to our portfolio.”

NGPR AND INTEGRATION
The dealer agreement is significant in that, up until now, Sandvik has not had a commercial ITH offering in its underground-mining suite of products. The exception is the so-called New Generation Production Rigs (NGPR) programme for LKAB, begun in 2006.

This NGPR project is ongoing, and involves an agreement between LKAB and Sandvik, whereby at least 10 Sandvik Solo 8 next-generation machines would be equipped for production drilling with the W100 Wassara hammer. These rigs are being used successfully at Kiruna and Malmberget.

With regard to any implications of this project and the Wassara relationship from the Cubex deal, a spokesperson at Sandvik told Mining Magazine: “The NGPR project must be seen as developing next-generation robotic rigs for the industry. Cubex will give additional dimension to our ability to offer a range of units with the Wassara application. Sandvik offers the concept LKAB needed – nextgeneration, long-hole drilling units that use Wassara water hammers with state-of-art robotics and a new, but proven, automation technology.

“Long-hole drilling is one of the most important processes for LKAB and we were issued with strict requirements by the customer… in addition to the production drill rigs, LKAB uses a large fleet of Sandvik LH625Es, electric and remote-controlled loaders.”

In terms of how it affects the future product line strategy, the company said: “Sandvik has some ITH rigs, but this is the opportunity to offer complete solutions to customers working with in-the-hole drilling applications. Cubex is known for excellent product knowledge, and world-class customer service and support. There are lots of things that should not be invented again. The dealer agreement with Cubex also reaffirms Sandvik’s commitment to in-the-hole applications to meet the demand for long-hole drilling with world-class products and services in the markets. We see Cubex as a potential partner to develop the ITH offering for the future.”

There are currently no plans to make Cubex rigs appear Sandvik-branded – they will remain under the Cubex name. In addition, both companies are running their respective websites in the spirit of the agreement.

Finally, there is the distributor issue. In much of North America and Australia, Terex Mining, through Reedrill, has acted as the distributor for Cubex rigs, while the same is true of P&H MinePro in parts of South America and southern Africa. Of course, the Terex distributorship is further complicated by Bucyrus’ agreement to acquire Terex Mining.

However, as Sandvik will become the exclusive dealer for everywhere outside Canada and Nevada, the transition should be relatively smooth. Sandvik told Mining Magazine: “While we acknowledge challenges related to all agreements with other companies, from our point of view the most pertinent is to help our customers run their business better and safer. Everything else comes after that.”

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CUBEX PIPE HANDLING SUCCESS

Innovation and industry firsts are the hallmark of Cubex ITH products. Cubex has recently launched an innovative pipe handler, contributing to overall mine safety and productivity at the Agnico‐Eagle Goldex Mine.

The Issue

• Inherent danger associated with manually lifting heavy drill pipe, in muddy conditions. (Manual lifting requires awkward twisting and lifting postures)
• Manual insertion – requires drillers to be in close proximity to rotating top drives and falling debris
• No carousel available to hold over 125 ft of 5” diameter drill pipe

The Solution

• Cubex began working with the Agnico‐Eagle Goldex mine to develop a system to transfer rods to ITH drills without any human handling.
• Subsequent design and implementation of the PT‐50

The Results

• Four PT‐50s, drills, and boosters have been delivered to the Goldex mine in 2007
• Up to 200,000 m annually of 6 ½ inch holes at lengths up to 130 m have been drilled, with no at work injury as a direct result.
• 100% of all drill rods handled at the mine are done with the PT‐50
• Only one operator is required to operate the drill and the PT‐50
• Men go into the mine with clean overalls, and come out of the mine with clean overalls since there is no manual handling of drill rods.

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CUBEX is an industry-leading drillmanufacturing corporation focused on the design and servicing of equipment worldwide. The company has expanded progressively, with leading-edge equipment located in each major mining centre worldwide. Cubex also recently signed a distributor agreement for its underground products with Sandvik, strengthening the global support commitment to its customers.

The company is pleased to announce that the Aries in-the-hole (ITH) drill has won the award for innovation in the Underground Mining – Hard Rock category of the 2009 Mining Magazine Awards. The Aries ITH rig is a highly-mobile and powerful drill with modular components, which has grown in popularity from initial customers in North America. When first introduced on the market, the Cubex Aries set an industry benchmark as the first drill with a high-pressure (400psi) on-board screw-booster mounted on an articulated carrier. Although this has since been replicated within the industry, the Aries continues to be the drill of choice for many customers due to its proven track record of accurate drilling with high machine availability and low cost of operation compared to competitor products. Paul Boileau, general maintenance foreman at the Hemlo Williams mine in Marathon, Ontario, states: “The Cubex Aries at the Williams Mine is successful at achieving a high penetration rate due to the high-pressure on-board booster compressor. Service and maintenance on the Aries is easy to manage since Cubex drills are built with common components. The drills’ accessible design and access to common parts has led to above average machine availability.”

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Founded in 1972, Cubex Limited is a leading developer and manufacturer of ITH/DTH drilling products. Cubex
Limited has been actively involved in the design and manufacturing of equipment, supply of capital equipment and
contracting of services for the mining industry around the world.

The dealer agreement represents a significant step in Cubex Limited’s continued business strategy in the
underground mining areas to provide complete customer solutions and better customer service. The combination
creates an industry-leading global underground drilling equipment partnership with best-in-class products and
superior distribution platform.

“With this new dealer agreement Cubex will now have the opportunity to fully reach the global underground
mining market and offer complete in-the-hole drilling solutions,’ said Kitch Wilson President of Cubex Limited.
Today’s announcement reaffirms our commitment to meet the demands for long-hole drilling applications with
world class products and services.

Cubex says its “QXR 1120 and QXR 1320 high performance drills maintain their status as a leader in boom arm production drilling, pre-split drilling, reverse circulation and horizontal drilling. A trend is emerging where companies are buying these high-output, high-performance drills regardless of the mine’s altitude due to their high onboard compressor capacity.”

The joint venture between Harmony Gold Mining and Newcrest Mining in Papua New Guinea has just completed its initial year of reverse circulation drilling and horizontal dewatering with the Cubex QXR 1120. This gold mine (Hidden Valley) is located at an altitude of over 2,700 m.

Stephen Broad, Mobile Maintenance Superintendent at the Morobe Mining Joint Ventures (MMJV), confirmed that “The Cubex QXR drill has plenty of spare capacity to operate at 2,700 m altitude without modification. The machine is utilised for undertaking reverse circulation grade control drilling, a critical part of the mining sequence
onsite.”

The Cubex QXR 1120 and QXR 1320 high performance drills operate with an industry leading on-board air output of up to 38.2 m3/min @ 34.5 bar or 44.6m3/min @ 24.1 bar.

Broad states: “Our drilling program sees us drilling 140 mm holes at up to 30 m deep, often through clayey, broken and wet ground. When drilling the rig performance is quite impressive operating at up to 350psi at altitude.” The remoteness of the MMJV site presents a challenge to adequately support onsite equipment. However Broad points out that the steps Cubex has taken to “having factory engineering staff in the region (located in Australia) and regular site visits from the factory technicians is evidence of their commitment to MMJV.”

Elsewhere, Rio Tinto has just purchased another QXR 1120 for the Brockman 4 mine (Pilbara region), situated at only 607 m above sea level, delivered in October 2009. It will be used for 165 mm pioneering, production and pre-split work.

Recent figures show that 90% of the QXR 1120s and QXR 1320s sold within the last two years have been used at altitudes of less than 2,000 m. Peter Corcoran, Director of Sales and Marketing for Cubex states that “mines which have random and complex geology create a situation in which long, straight holes are difficult to drill. By using the QXR high pressure drills, drilling in difficult ground conditions becomes much more feasible and economical”

The flexibility of the new Generation V QXR series has also been well received by some of the major drilling contractors in Australia. Brandrill, Rock (Australia), and Hughes Drilling have all recently purchased Generation V QXR drills. They are used for applications where high drilling performance and increased machine flexibility is required when using Down-The- Hole drilling tools.

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Cubex has reported that Morobe Mining Joint Ventures (MMJV), owned by Harmony Gold Mining Co. and Newcrest Mining, has successfully completed its first year of reverse circulation drilling and horizontal dewatering using the Cubex QXR 1120 drill at the Hidden Valley gold mine located in Morobe province, Papua New Guinea.

The Cubex QXR 1120 and QXR 1320 high performance drills remain a market leader for boom arm production drilling, pre-split drilling, reverse circulation and horizontal drilling. The machines operate using an on-board air output of 38.2 m3/min at 34.5bar of pressure, or 44.6m3/min at 24.1bar.

The mines’ remote location at 2700m altitude has presented a challenge for the supply of equipment, which lead Cubex to establish an agreement for regular site visits by factory technicians and engineering staff from its Australian operations.

Stephen Broad, mobile maintenance superintendent at MMJV commented: “The QXR drill is utilised for reverse circulation grade control drilling, a critical part of the mining sequence onsite, and has operated successfully at 2700m altitude without modification. Our drilling program requires us to create 140mm diameter holes up to 30m deep, often in clay, broken and wet ground. The rigs performance is quite impressive.”

Cubex QXR drill success article

MDU has been operating for 11 years, specializing in underground ITH drilling. MDU drilled their first V-30 hole in June 2004, and have completed nearly 11,500 ft (3,500m) of V-30 raises to date. Approximately 1,970 ft (600m) of these shafts have been down holes.

“The V-30 pushdown drilling performs very well. For example, all the downholes we have drilled so far have been in hard ground conditions and we have had few problems completing the holes using the V-30 method.” Brian Eaton, Principal Mining Engineer MDU. (Aug 2009)

For MDU, penetration rates are generally 6.5 ft (2m) to 16.5 ft (5m) per shift, depending on hardness and abrasiveness of the ground. The rod string is stabilized every 4 rods while drilling the V-30 raise, which minimizes whipping (bending) of the rod string.

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