Aramine L350D fitted with AutoNav Tele to reach previously inaccessible ore

Epiroc’s AutoNav Tele is now operating at the Vertex-managed Reward Gold Mine site in Hill End, where the system has been installed on an Aramine L350D underground loader. The loader arrived from France and was fitted with the agnostic automation technology at Epiroc’s Orange Service Centre.

The Aramine L350D, which is specifically designed for narrow vein mining, will be used to access and extract gold from tight, hard-to-reach veins as the site resumes production. Hill End, a historic gold mining town, saw operations wind down around 2010 and is undergoing redevelopment that includes construction of a new plant tailored for small-scale mining.

“This is more than just a machine installation,” Owen Perrott, RCT’s East Coast branch manager, said. “We’re introducing technology that can access areas previously unreachable , in this narrow vein mine, unlocking gold reserves left behind for decades.”

RCT’s AutoNav Tele lets operators control the loader remotely from a safe location, enabling the machine to work in narrow openings that would otherwise be inaccessible. RCT installed the system on Vertex’s Aramine loader for the first time for this project.

“Design was completed in collaboration between our experienced Field Service Technician, Tim Halstead, based in Orange, and the Brisbane Branch team,” Perrott added. The installation team worked with Aramine to meet Australian Standards, and the restricted space around the machine made the fitment challenging.

RCT also designed and delivered a custom “mini” AutoNav hut for the site to suit the mine’s small portal and layout. The mini hut measures roughly half the size of a standard AutoNav Centre, which introduced additional hardware space constraints.

“Due to the demand, I have been receiving from other sites for smaller hut offerings, I thought it would be a good opportunity to design a layout for one, from the ground up,” Perrott said. “The client was extremely happy with the layout and quality of the finished product, and mentioned we should be making more of them, particularly with the previously less profitable small mines coming back to life with the current gold price,” Perrott concluded.

For more information, please visit www.Rct-global.com/about-epiroc/