New product innovations unveiled at QME 2016

True to tradition, the second day of QME 2016 was the busiest so far, with over 1500 visitors from the mining, engineering and construction industries to Mackay Showgrounds.

Exhibitors on display included Endress+Hauser, The Bullion Group, Pferd, Nitto Kohki Australia and QuikPlastiClix, who also conducted informative live demonstrations to showcase their innovative technologies.

Highlights from the day included the Thought Leadership Panel, which examined the domestic and international outlook on coal, how to maximise productivity and reduce costs.

Panellist Charles Meintjes, the president of Peabody Energy Australia, said, “We need to focus on supporting the METS industry and combine our knowledge, ideas and technology and make sure we are competitive globally.”

Meintjes also emphasised the importance for next-generation mine sites to work efficiently with more technology.

Panellist Mick Buffier, the chairman of the World Coal Association and group executive Coal Assets, Glencore, said, “Remote technologies and real-time monitoring of air, dust, water and equipment are opportunities for the future of mine sites.”

The Queensland Government conducted an informative seminar on ‘Innovation and Mining, Continuing the Conversation’, which examined new advancements across the METS Supply chain and the existing opportunities for cross-industry collaboration, innovation and creative leadership.

The general manger of METS Ignited, Dr Ian Dover, facilitated the seminar and said, “Australia is in the centre of innovation along the value chain in the mining industry, and we have the technology, ideas and people to be competitive amongst countries such as the United States, Japan and Sweden.”

Redfox Corporations also conducted a seminar and showcased a live demonstration on the innovative use of Thermal Drones, where attendees were presented with alternative approaches to mine truck failure caused by pyrolysis.

Other highlights from the day included BHP Billiton’s state-of-the-art heavy-haul truck simulators. Attendees were invited to test their skills on two mobile equipment simulators, which are used to familiarise and train operators with equipment operating techniques.

Exhibitor Endress+Hauser also showcased its optimisation instruments, which included a retractable bed mass that measures viscosity for flocculent quality and a bed level which entails maintenance-free cleaning and ceramic sensor technology for abrasive slurries.

International guest speaker Brett DeVries, the chief BCP engineer at Flexco, presented a technique which measures lagging friction coefficients under typical conveyor belt pressures.

Byron Wooden, the business development manager at Pronto Software, has been thrilled with the number of visitors that have come to visit the stand during the event.

Wooden commented that many customers visited their stand especially interested in their seminar on digital disruption and said, “The mining industry has a key interest in utilising technology and data to improve their operations.”

QME presents industry professionals with innovative technologies, informative seminars and networking opportunities. It has been welcomed to Mackay for over two decades and attracts an overwhelming industry response.