That century-old scenario is lightyears away from the world of modern mining—which is often still physically challenging and geographically remote. However, today’s miners are supported by equipment and logistical arrangements that would have been unimaginable to 19th century workers and managers.

For example, at the Pogo underground gold mine 85 miles southeast of the Alaskan city of Fairbanks, cooking beans and bacon over a campfire has been replaced by hearty meals in a cafeteria— with the weekly steak night a favorite of all. For entertainment, workers have a complete gym, a computer room, and a big screen TV. And, although –40° outside temperatures are common in the dark winter months, once inside the office and living complex or underground in the mine, the temperature is comfortable… far from the harsh life of today’s miners’ forefathers.

Teck Cominco has a 40% interest in the mine and is the operator. The other partners are Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. (51%) and Sumitomo Corporation of Japan (9%). Despite the presence of modern amenities and the technical acumen of the operator, Pogo has been a challenging operation since it was initially commissioned in 2006, beginning with electrical-supply problems that occurred later in 2006 and continuing through to the present as mining encounters varying ore characteristics that have impacted gold recovery and lowered mill throughput rates.

At Pogo, an operator can manage all drilling functions from a digital panel using the screen as guide. Operators
also can switch from this screen to other parameters without changing current fundamental rig adjustments.
 

According to the company, Pogo’s operating costs are expected to improve slightly as the year progresses, but will remain high over 2008 and 2009 due to the large number of optimization projects and the need to develop and better define additional areas underground to sustain planned production levels. The mine’s target for gold production in 2008 is 340,000 oz.

High-Volume Haulage
Pogo moves 2,500 tons of material daily, making the availability and reliability of its high-volume mining equipment highly important. The mine currently operates a full lineup of Atlas Copco equipment, giving it commonality in parts and singlesource ordering and customer support.

In total, Pogo has 16 pieces of equipment that perform production drilling, material removal, rock reinforcement and stabilization. For face drilling, Pogo uses Atlas Copco’s Rocket Boomer M2C with telescopic feeds and Advanced Boom Control to aid in feed alignment of the selected boom. A Rocket Boomer RB104 handles the drilling in more confined spaces.

For loading and haulage, Pogo has three MT5010, 50-ton mine dump trucks, five ST1520, 15-ton Scooptrams equipped with EOD buckets and a 6.5-ton ST710.

Bolting is done using Boltec MCs placing 8- and 6-ft Swellex standard bolts, 12-and 20-ft Super Swellex bolts, and some friction bolts. To keep up with the production level, the mine has three Boltecs in operation.

According to Mine Superintendent Keith Malone, “It costs us money if we’re not moving material,” emphasizing the importance of keeping parts and supplies on hand. To support a fleet this size, Pogo has a complete service operation and manages a well-stocked parts department, and Construction Machinery Industrial (CMI), headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska, is Pogo’s distributor. “CMI really bridges the gap well with Atlas Copco,” says Malone.

Pogo stocks about 5,000 Atlas Copco parts and does weekly stock orders. If Pogo doesn’t have something in inventory, CMI will deliver it from their branch location in Fairbanks, which has approximately 12,500 Atlas Copco parts in stock. To give added support to Pogo, both CMI and Atlas Copco have maintenance staff dedicated to the mine. Malone says it’s like having additional members on his team.

When Pogo buys a new piece of equipment, it comes with operator and maintenance training as part of the package. “When we started up the Boltec,” says Malone, “we were getting good bolt count right away because the machine was so operator friendly, but having the training made a real difference.”

Pogo miner Neal Keithley screws on a new bit.
 
CMI owners Bob Gerondale (left) and Ken Gerondale pose with Atlas Copco Regional Sales Manager,
Gilles Rosamond. CMI covers a geographical area as big as half of the contiguous 48 U.S. states.

Because the Pogo mine—and practically every other mine in Alaska—is located in what can be considered remote locations, special attention has to be given to support. CMI has multiple branches located around Alaska, but with a territory half as large as the lower 48 states, at least half of all service calls need to be done by airplane.

“We have challenges I don’t think any other dealer would encounter,” says Bob Gerondale, operations manager. Ken Gerondale, president, says CMI’s philosophy is to take care of the customer first and worry about making money second. “If there’s a problem, we get people and parts to the mine as fast as possible.”

Sending a person 800 miles to make one service call requires a well-trained employee who can be trusted to handle the job. According to Gerondale, CMI’s number one challenge is finding qualified service technicians. They look for college-educated, mechanically inclined people willing to learn. “We will turn them into an Atlas Copco service technician if they have the aptitude,” he says. “To plug a computer into a machine and diagnose a problem, then fix the problem takes a certain type of person.

“The day of the wrench turner is over,” he says, describing the best techs as “well-rounded individuals he can send out in the field.” Quality of equipment is important. CMI claims an 80% market share for underground mining equipment in Alaska, largely because of the quality of Atlas Copco equipment. “A machine has to perform or it would cost too much money to support,” says Gerondale.

Logistics is another big challenge in supplying equipment in Alaska. Profit on a sale could come down to a few percentage points and if that is spent on miscalculated freight, CMI could lose money on the sale. Bob Gerondale says transportation costs and delivery time could make all the difference in getting an order too. “It’s an easy thing to let slip, but to the mining industry shipping time affects production, which is how they make money.”