De Beers Gahcho Kue decided to have our Vertex-C Colour Differentiation Instrument installed on-site. It’s always great when an existing customer decides to expand their WipWare product line. So, our Technical Specialist, Andrew Palangio returned to De Beers Gahcho Kue to install and commission the Vertex C Instrument.
What is Vertex-C?
Vertex is a completely automated analysis instrument. It can detect oversize material (‘S’ model) or contamination on conveyor belts (‘C’ model) in real-time without disrupting production. This technology performs well in harsh industrial environments for process automation, historical referencing or direct control.
With its rugged design and high rate of data collection, Vertex can analyze material as it passes through key areas of your process. Vertex acquires data that operators use to warn them of incoming oversize material or contamination. Also, an automated response can be triggered such as closing a crusher gap or triggering a flop gate.
Detecting oversize material or contamination on a conveyor belt the moment it happens saves time and money where it counts.
Gahcho Kue Diamond Mine
Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine is a remote fly-in and fly-out location 280 km northeast of Yellowknife, and is De Beers’ third diamond mine in Canada. Specifically located at 63° 26’ 29.5” latitude and 109° 10’ 36” longitude in Canada’s Northwest Territories, the mine covers 1200 hectares and produces approximately 4.5 million carats of diamond per year. Situated on Kennady Lake, Gahcho Kué operates with the highest safety and environmental standards in mind, and deep respect for the land and its people and wildlife. Gahcho Kué is an open pit operation, mining three distinct kimberlite pipes in sequence.
Installation and Commissioning of Vertex-C and Momentum Review
During the visit, Andrew updated the software to the latest version, configured the Vertex settings and discussed the nature of granite material and the Vertex-C colour detection method. As well, he worked with the geologists to set the colour ID profiles.
The Vertex Instrument was very easy to set up and configure. The Gahcho Kue Team was pleased to see how simple it was to install and configure. After installation and calibration was complete, Andrew held a training session for the team.
While on-site, after completing the commissioning of the Vertex-C Instrument, Andrew took the opportunity to ensure that the Momentum system was running well and fully operational. The Momentum system was commissioned in January and therefore, historical data was being collected. He reviewed this historical data and made some minor adjustments to improve the data reporting.
After a week-long visit to De Beers Gahcho Kue Diamond Mine, the setup of the Vertex-C instrument and the review of the Momentum system and its concerns was successfully completed. There was great teamwork between De Beers Gahcho Kue personnel and WipWare technical specialist Andrew Palangio. All work was pre-planned effectively and implemented in a non-disruptive manner, finding opportune synergies for belt crashes, and other work so as not to interrupt the flow of the Gahcho Kue process.
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