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product news Breakthrough Energy Technology Successfully Powers GE Mining Scoop The Durathon battery is lighter than conventional batteries and does not emit hydrogen gas when charging. GE recently announced that its Durathon battery has successfully powered GE Mining's Scoop at Coal River Energy in Alum Creek, W.Va. This trial is a major milestone for GE Mining and represents a long-term commitment to developing market-leading solutions featuring increased productivity, availability, reduced maintenance costs and improved performance, according to GE. GE Mining and GE's Energy Storage, two businesses within GE Transportation, collaborated to combine the Durathon battery, an ecomagination-qualified product, with GE's Invertex underground propulsion system to develop a more advanced and efficient mining scoop. "We're encouraged by the test at Coal River Energy and see GE's Durathon battery technology as a long-term solution for our mining customers," said Prescott Logan, general manager of GE Energy Storage. "With the Invertex underground propulsion system and our state-of-the-art energy storage solution, GE Mining will deliver higher efficiency and productivity to mining customers worldwide while lowering fuel use, emissions and life-cycle cost." GE's Durathon battery technology features a number of benefits that make the technology faster, cleaner and better than traditional batteries, including at least 40% more operating range. The battery is 25% smaller and 50% lighter than traditional batteries, enabling more energy to be stored in a smaller space, according to GE. The battery-powered scoop operates more effectively in extreme temperatures and requires no cooling and minimal maintenance. Additionally, the battery contains no lead acid materials. This eliminates the release of gases when charging, removes explosive fuel sources underground and reduces mineworker exposure to diesel particulate matter—three key safety priorities for the mining industry. "The Durathon battery-powered scoop further underscores GE Mining's progress towards bringing the next generation of 50 www.coalage.com superior underground mining equipment to the industry," said Geoff Knox, CEO of GE Mining. "We are encouraged by this rigorous testing and look forward to the future benefits this technology will bring to our customers." GE Mining acquired the Fairchild line of underground mining equipment in 2012. Following the acquisition, it initiated a program to combine the Fairchild underground mining scoop together with GE's Invertex underground propulsion system and Durathon battery technology into an underground mining solution. "The scoop performed well and we are eager to see the final product," said Carl Estep, maintenance manager at Coal River Energy LLC. "The lightweight, high-density battery's ability to reduce maintenance and charging time while allowing for easier maneuverability will provide advantages over today's lead-acid scoops." GE Mining will continue testing this technology to ensure it meets customer needs. The Durathon battery-powered scoop is expected to be available in 2014. www.ge.com/mining Hydraulic Cylinder Upgrade Kits Chesterton offers turnkey aftermarket cylinder upgrade kits, designed to fit off-road mobile mining equipment including excavators, haul trucks, dozers and loaders. These custom kits were specifically developed to extend hours of operation versus conventional OEM offerings when used during the repair and overhaul of equipment. Chesterton's proprietary polymer technologies are coupled with various seal geometries to offer superior products that have proven to extend hours of operation while helping to enhance mine productivity. www.chesterton.com Hoist Performance Monitoring Service ABB recently launched a new service product for hoist systems: Hoist Performance Monitoring Service. ABB experts can monitor and analyze the hoist system remotely. The new service links hardware monitoring with secure remote access options and expert software. It contains two solutions to maintain the hoist performance, quarterly updates and continuous monitoring. Hoist service experts provide a scheduled quarterly analysis of collected data against established key performance indicators (KPIs). By using remote sessions with ABB engineers corrective actions can be implemented. After every analysis the mine gets an associated report. ABB also offers continuous asset monitoring over extended periods of time. If the monitored hoist system shows abnormal conditions, pre-established triggers alert the customer immedi- September 2013