A Cut Above: Bigfoot Supplies Unique Man Basket to Diamond Mine

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When the Dominion Diamond Corporation needed a newer, safer, and more efficient solution for an ongoing challenge in their mining operations, they called Bigfoot Crane Company.

Dominion Diamond Corporation is a Canadian mining company that has become a major supplier of rough diamonds to the world market. Their operation at the Ekati Diamond Mine near the Arctic Circle often requires specialized equipment that can withstand challenging work environments and harsh climates.

In order to bring rough diamonds to the surface, the company utilizes a team of skilled workers known as High Wall Scalers. This specialized crew works in the open pits to remove hazards, like large rocks and boulders, from the sheer, vertical walls of the mine, which can be as high as thirty meters.

“The High Wall Scalers are there to protect other crew members,” said Chantal Lavoie, Chief Operating Officer for Dominion Diamond Corporation. “They’ll scale down from the walls of the mine using a scaling bar to push or pry the rocks off or an airbag to loosen them. If the rock is too big to move, they’ll anchor it in place by installing ground support.”

It’s this last activity that necessitated the need for a rock-scaling basket. Lavoie noted that if there was a large area where ground support was needed, the basket let the team go in and install ground support materials in a more efficient manner. The company had used a similar piece of equipment years before but wanted something bigger and better.

Enter Bigfoot.

Working with the engineering team at Dominion Diamond Corporation, Bigfoot designed and built a customized rock scaling basket according to the company’s specific requirements.

Lavoie noted: “We wanted to make sure this was going to work for the crew, so one of the first things we did was reach out to them to see what kind of improvements would help them do their job.”

Bigfoot delivered a completely customized finished product that turned out to be, according to Lavoie, better than expected.

The new man basket is ergonomically designed, with adjustable wall supports, covered sides and a solid bottom to cut down on wind. Best of all, according to Lavoie, the new basket significantly improved crew safety and allowed workers to use a different type of drill that was more efficient for them.

“The customized basket has doubled high-wall scaler productivity,” said Lavoie. “The team is pleased with how fast and how efficiently it works. It also allowed us to extend our operating season.”

“This was a good investment for us,” Lavoie concluded. “The equipment works well in our specific operating environment and given our specific and unique requirements.”

To read the full case study, click here.

For more information about Boscaro man baskets, click here.

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Boscaro Self-Dumping Bins Assist with Clean-up of Mine

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Built back in 1889, during Washington State’s short-lived mining boom, the Pride of the Woods mine was abandoned by the 1920s, leaving behind mine tailings laden with toxic metals like arsenic and lead. These tailings had been leaching into the soil and nearby groundwater, posing serious health and environmental threats to both man and nature.

It fell to the U.S. Forest Service to handle reclamation for this mine and other abandoned sites in the area. While other sites had access roads to allow for more conventional clean-up, the Pride of the Woods was unique. Located in the pristine Henry M. Jackson Wilderness Area, no road had ever been built and none would be permitted–not even for this project.

The challenge in getting Pride of the Woods mine cleaned up became two-fold: how to remove environmental waste without altering the existing environmental footprint in order to protect delicate eco-systems, endangered species, and cultural and historical artifacts.

It was decided that fly-in helicopters would be used. The Oregon-based company, Columbia Helicopters, was hired to bring in excavators and buckets. The plan was for the excavators to dig out the contaminated rocks and soil and dump them into the bins, which were then flown out and taken to a nearby repository for safe storage.

“It was definitely a challenge,” said Dave Horrax, Project Manager with Columbia Helicopters. While Columbia Helicopters could have used their own homemade bins or fill sacs, Horrax noted that they were difficult to load, and they had to be manually hooked up every time. He added, “We also needed to be sure that whatever product was used would be able to withstand heavy loads and extremely rough terrain.”

“I found the Boscaro self-dumping bins online through Bigfoot Crane Company,” Horrax said. “And since I knew up front what my weight limitations were, I was able to find the bin that I needed.”

Horrax ordered three A-200D Boscaro Self-Dumping Bins: two alternated between load and transit while one was kept in reserve.

About two thousand cubic yards of waste rock – 887 total bin loads – was removed during the site clean-up. The project took 12 days and actually required less time than originally planned, due in large part to the efficiency of the Boscaro bins. The mechanical arm on each bin allowed for easy hook-up and earned some serious respect from the helicopter pilots.

“The bins worked flawlessly from beginning to end,” said Horrax. “Plus, they’re so well-made. They stood up to pretty much everything we put them through.”

For Horrax and the whole crew, the best part was that the site clean-up was done with minimal environmental impact.

“I’ll definitely be using the Boscaro bins again,” he concluded, “and I’ll be recommending them to others.”

To read the full Self Dumping Bin Assist Mine Clean Up case study, click here.

For more information about Boscaro Self Dumping Bins, click here.

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Windy smartphone anemometer

Lights, Camera, NAVIS!

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Safety is paramount on any production set and in an industry where getting just the right shot can make all the difference, that safety is even more critical when people and equipment are being lifted high in the air.

To read the full case study, click here.

For more information about the NAVIS Anemometer systems, click here.

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Amtrak Utilizes Boscaro Spreader Bar

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Amtrak runs more than 300 trains on a daily basis. When the American passenger train company needed valuable train car components lifted for transport to the Midwest, a Delaware based company, Active Crane Rentals, Inc. was hired to perform the hoists. But Active Crane relied on the Boscaro EZ spreader bar system from Bigfoot Crane to perform the job.

In order to maximize on their lifting capacity, Active Crane planned to perform a straight-line pull. To protect the sides of the 70,000 lb and 100,000 lb components, they utilized the Boscaro EZ spreader bar system.

The EZ spreader bar system features a unique design of male and female interlocking sections. Each galvanized section can be used as an individual bar, as was done for the Amtrak lifts, or they can be combined to form an adjustable spreader bar with one-foot increments. By allowing easy adaptation with one system, the need for an assortment of bar lengths is eliminated, which improves efficiency and helps to manage project costs.

“Today my big thing is cutting down costs and in order to cut costs you have to cut down on time. The available capacity and the ease of adjustability offered by the EZ spreader bar system equals cost and time savings. We utilize the bars every day, they are constantly in use.”

Butch Garton, Crane & Rigging Specialist, Active Crane Rentals, Inc.

Amtrak Uses EZ Spread Bar System

Amtrak Uses Boscaro EZ Spreader Bar System

Active Crane Rental Hoists Train Car

Active Crane Rental Hoists Train Car

Spreader Bar Set Up

Spreader Bar Set-Up

Active Crane Rental base in Deleware

Active Crane Rental, based in Delaware

 

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