Construction sites and mining companies have a lot in common. Builders and mine operators know that when they need concrete – a lot has to go right. If a worksite runs into an unexpected event, big or small, that event can delay and even cancel the concrete altogether.
But what if there was a better approach? What if, instead of delivering concrete that had such a narrow pour window, you could simply deliver everything to site, and do it on demand?
Enter RufDiamond – a Coniston, Ontario based company that has manufactured a one-of-kind vehicle, the Agilis Mining and Tunneling Unit.
“We call it a mobile shotcrete/concrete batch plant,” said Daryl Adams, Co-Owner and Head of Sales. “There’s two ways of basically having shotcrete or concrete in a mine. One is, you can have a ready-mix truck show up from a batch plant, and it may be half an hour or 45-minute old material. And we all know concrete, it’s about set time, as soon as you add water, it’s starting to set.”
“Then it’s transferred into a trans-mixer and transported to its final worksite” he added.
“Many times, mining company’s loads are lost due to non-conformance, because the material is either too wet or too dry.”
“And the other one is dry shotcrete. Dry is where they bring it down in totes, they put it through a pump, as dry material (it’s all dehydrated) and then add water at the nozzle. Dry shotcrete results in a greater amount of rebound and more dust particulate than the wet process.
Adams says RufDiamond’s system changes the game in underground shotcrete/concrete. Pre-Blended totes from King (Sika) Shotcrete are loaded into our watertight hopper. At no time does water enter the dry hopper. When the process starts, material is conveyed into our patented mixing auger where a precise amount of water is then added per the mix design. The result is lab quality fresh shotcrete/concrete consistently, every time.
The Agilis has been three years in the making. RufDiamond partnered with Bay-Lynx, which manufactures volumetric mixers. “We’ve made this unit mine-compliant. Our machine is completely enclosed, and there’s no water that can access the dry hopper, no penetration, because if you had a full open top, in mining, it would absorb the water, the moisture, and humidity, and the material would start hardening.”
“We can replace trans-mixers with the Agilis and never have to worry about lost loads due to non conformity or unforeseen circumstances (mechanical breakdowns etc.)” said Adams.
The Agilis solves a number of problems and it’s a global exclusive to RufDiamond. “Nobody’s doing this in the world. We just finished the first one in March. And that’s our surface unit. We had a request for a large mining company in February, which made some requests for a static batch plant, so we’re in discussions with them, providing them a solution.”
Every time the Agilis mixes material all data related to the mix design is recorded and available for printout should a project manager require information such as time, date, work location, product used, water ratio and strength.
The Agilis carries 6 cubic metres of dry pre blended King (Sika) material, 1900 litres of water (that can be heated) and provides 30 cubic metres of shotcrete per hour.
Our system provides precise mixes, reliable mixes, extremely low dust mixes and high production capability due to our units being able to mix on demand whether a client requires 1 metre or 1000 metres of shotcrete/concrete.
RufDiamond has three options available to mix shotcrete/concrete on site.
1. The wheeled mine carrier unit capable of filling shotcrete sprayers in location or pouring concrete where needed as needed.
2. The stationary (with easy portability) mine unit capable of filling trans-mixers as required.
3. The tracked surface unit capable of travelling to areas inaccessible (extreme off-road conditions) to ready-mix trucks.
In addition to the Agilis, RufDiamond is the exclusive distributor of the Fat Truck in Ontario and Nunavut. The all-terrain exploration utility vehicle is unlike other amphibious competitors. It’s built in Canada and has a hydrostatic drive.
There are three main challenges for companies in the exploration business when it comes to reliable utility vehicles: unreliable equipment like pickup trucks, old buses and recreational ATV’s are often used; equipment often gets stuck or breaks down in wet, frozen or rough terrain; and lastly, workers are often being transported to remote areas and managers have to resort to expensive solutions such as helicopters.
The Fat Truck provides an innovative cost-effective, and reliable off-road vehicle. “It’s a robust utility vehicle that can operate for extended periods of time,” explains Adams. “It can safely transport multiple people along with sensitive equipment and instruments on land and through water or any inhospitable terrain.”
RufDiamond says the Fat Truck is perfect for inspections, transmission line work, emergency repairs, tailing pond inspections and environmental units.
Some companies that already use the Fat Truck include Kirkland Lake Gold, Agnico Eagle, BC Hydro, and Hydro-Quebec, HydroOne and others.
The Fat Trucks include heaters, air conditioning, automatic safety brakes, seats with 3-point safety belts, cameras, a bilge pump, ROPS and telematics.
For this article and more read Northern Ontario’s exclusive mining magazine. The summer issue is packed with 100 pages of articles on today’s mining industry happenings. Enjoy.
Construction sites and mining companies have a lot in common. Builders and mine operators know that when they need concrete – a lot has to go right. If a worksite runs into an unexpected event, big or small, that event can delay and even cancel the concrete altogether.
But what if there was a better approach? What if, instead of delivering concrete that had such a narrow pour window, you could simply deliver everything to site, and do it on demand?
Enter RufDiamond – a Coniston, Ontario based company that has manufactured a one-of-kind vehicle, the Agilis Mining and Tunneling Unit.
“We call it a mobile shotcrete/concrete batch plant,” said Daryl Adams, Co-Owner and Head of Sales. “There’s two ways of basically having shotcrete or concrete in a mine. One is, you can have a ready-mix truck show up from a batch plant, and it may be half an hour or 45-minute old material. And we all know concrete, it’s about set time, as soon as you add water, it’s starting to set.”
“Then it’s transferred into a trans-mixer and transported to its final worksite” he added.
“Many times, mining company’s loads are lost due to non-conformance, because the material is either too wet or too dry.”
“And the other one is dry shotcrete. Dry is where they bring it down in totes, they put it through a pump, as dry material (it’s all dehydrated) and then add water at the nozzle. Dry shotcrete results in a greater amount of rebound and more dust particulate than the wet process.
Adams says RufDiamond’s system changes the game in underground shotcrete/concrete. Pre-Blended totes from King (Sika) Shotcrete are loaded into our watertight hopper. At no time does water enter the dry hopper. When the process starts, material is conveyed into our patented mixing auger where a precise amount of water is then added per the mix design. The result is lab quality fresh shotcrete/concrete consistently, every time.
The Agilis has been three years in the making. RufDiamond partnered with Bay-Lynx, which manufactures volumetric mixers. “We’ve made this unit mine-compliant. Our machine is completely enclosed, and there’s no water that can access the dry hopper, no penetration, because if you had a full open top, in mining, it would absorb the water, the moisture, and humidity, and the material would start hardening.”
“We can replace trans-mixers with the Agilis and never have to worry about lost loads due to non conformity or unforeseen circumstances (mechanical breakdowns etc.)” said Adams.
The Agilis solves a number of problems and it’s a global exclusive to RufDiamond. “Nobody’s doing this in the world. We just finished the first one in March. And that’s our surface unit. We had a request for a large mining company in February, which made some requests for a static batch plant, so we’re in discussions with them, providing them a solution.”
Every time the Agilis mixes material all data related to the mix design is recorded and available for printout should a project manager require information such as time, date, work location, product used, water ratio and strength.
The Agilis carries 6 cubic metres of dry pre blended King (Sika) material, 1900 litres of water (that can be heated) and provides 30 cubic metres of shotcrete per hour.
Our system provides precise mixes, reliable mixes, extremely low dust mixes and high production capability due to our units being able to mix on demand whether a client requires 1 metre or 1000 metres of shotcrete/concrete.
RufDiamond has three options available to mix shotcrete/concrete on site.
1. The wheeled mine carrier unit capable of filling shotcrete sprayers in location or pouring concrete where needed as needed.
2. The stationary (with easy portability) mine unit capable of filling trans-mixers as required.
3. The tracked surface unit capable of travelling to areas inaccessible (extreme off-road conditions) to ready-mix trucks.
In addition to the Agilis, RufDiamond is the exclusive distributor of the Fat Truck in Ontario and Nunavut. The all-terrain exploration utility vehicle is unlike other amphibious competitors. It’s built in Canada and has a hydrostatic drive.
There are three main challenges for companies in the exploration business when it comes to reliable utility vehicles: unreliable equipment like pickup trucks, old buses and recreational ATV’s are often used; equipment often gets stuck or breaks down in wet, frozen or rough terrain; and lastly, workers are often being transported to remote areas and managers have to resort to expensive solutions such as helicopters.
The Fat Truck provides an innovative cost-effective, and reliable off-road vehicle. “It’s a robust utility vehicle that can operate for extended periods of time,” explains Adams. “It can safely transport multiple people along with sensitive equipment and instruments on land and through water or any inhospitable terrain.”
RufDiamond says the Fat Truck is perfect for inspections, transmission line work, emergency repairs, tailing pond inspections and environmental units.
Some companies that already use the Fat Truck include Kirkland Lake Gold, Agnico Eagle, BC Hydro, and Hydro-Quebec, HydroOne and others.
The Fat Trucks include heaters, air conditioning, automatic safety brakes, seats with 3-point safety belts, cameras, a bilge pump, ROPS and telematics.
For this article and more read Northern Ontario’s exclusive mining magazine. The summer issue is packed with 100 pages of articles on today’s mining industry happenings. Enjoy.
This week a brave man from Huron County, ON was recognized by his community with a commendation for saving a woman’s life. Just two months ago, Jake Johnson, of McCann Redi-Mix put out a raging car fire in the nick of time using his Bay-Lynx equipment.
Upon arriving at the scene on Mount Carmel Road, Johnson noticed smoke rising from a wooded area and he, along with another passerby, quickly tried to put out the fire. It wasn’t until they heard a scream coming from the inside of the car that they realized they were not alone. The fire continued to blaze and after 3 fire extinguishers exhausted, Johnson had to think fast for what to do next.
“It was scary at a couple of points there, but failure was not an option at this point, I did not care. We were going to do everything possible to stop it!”
Johnson then proceeded to quickly move his Multicat Spreader closer, extend the throw conveyor arm, and spray sand directly on the engine compartment. Within minutes the fire was extinguished, and emergency crews arrived to free the woman from the car. She was taken to the hospital via air ambulance but is now up and walking much to everyone’s relief.
See CTV’s report here:
This week a brave man from Huron County, ON was recognized by his community with a commendation for saving a woman’s life. Just two months ago, Jake Johnson, of McCann Redi-Mix put out a raging car fire in the nick of time using his Bay-Lynx equipment.
Upon arriving at the scene on Mount Carmel Road, Johnson noticed smoke rising from a wooded area and he, along with another passerby, quickly tried to put out the fire. It wasn’t until they heard a scream coming from the inside of the car that they realized they were not alone. The fire continued to blaze and after 3 fire extinguishers exhausted, Johnson had to think fast for what to do next.
“It was scary at a couple of points there, but failure was not an option at this point, I did not care. We were going to do everything possible to stop it!”
Johnson then proceeded to quickly move his Multicat Spreader closer, extend the throw conveyor arm, and spray sand directly on the engine compartment. Within minutes the fire was extinguished, and emergency crews arrived to free the woman from the car. She was taken to the hospital via air ambulance but is now up and walking much to everyone’s relief.
See CTV’s report here:
We recently visited Kyle Van Gaalen from Bilger Slinger Services to watch him work the Ultralite Spreader. We then asked him what he thought about Bay-Lynx products and service. Watch the video here:
We recently visited Kyle Van Gaalen from Bilger Slinger Services to watch him work the Ultralite Spreader. We then asked him what he thought about Bay-Lynx products and service. Watch the video here:
Bay-Lynx was featured in Deals on Wheels Magazine after Canterbury Slinger Trucks was catching the attention of many in New Zealand. Cameron Officer writes about it here:
Have you ever seen a machine in a busy city work site cause almost everyone to down tools and take photos on their phones? Cameron Officer had that experience when he rode in Ewan Baron’s slinger truck.
Ewan Baron is a man on a mission. He might give himself the tongue-in-cheek title of Chief Stone Spreader on his business card, but Ewan has imported a rather unique piece of kit; one that he is finding to be in constant demand around Christchurch, especially as the rebuild continues apace in the CBD.
Manufactured by Canadian company Bay-Lynx Manufacturing, Ewan’s slinger truck is a relatively common sight in that part of the world. It was during his time as a Quantity Surveyor in British Columbia a few years back, that Ewan first came upon the simple but rather ingenious machine.
Bay-Lynx has been manufacturing slinger and volumetric truck equipment since the 1990s. And with Christchurch undergoing massive transformation in the wake of the 2010/11 ‘quakes, Ewan decided that bringing the hardware home could prove a big win. More than that, he soon discovered he had a Kiwi on the inside.
“I guess it’s like many parts of the world; sooner or later you’ll meet a Kiwi working locally,” he says.
“When touring Bay-Lynx’s facilities I met a guy from New Zealand who even knew my brother, as it turned out. This was great in more ways than one; all of a sudden I had a Kiwi on the shop floor who could complete all the pre-wiring on the Bay-Lynx-engineered bin specifically for New Zealand.”
Ewan decided to bring a unit back to New Zealand to start contracting; forming Canterbury Slinger Trucks last year. There has been such interest in the machine though, that he finds himself showcasing the technology just as much as getting the job itself done.
The bin, hopper and conveyor mechanism can be built on any six- or eight-wheeler truck. Ewan reckons his Isuzu FYH350M 8×4 is perfect for the job, allowing for a good mix of on-site manoeuvrability and load capacity. The bin has a 12-ton payload, although Bay-Lynx build bins capable of hauling 20-ton worth of material in the Canadian market. The machine comes into its own when the variety of material it will spread is considered.
“I can place a variety of material with the truck; soil, sand, mulch and aggregates up to AP65,” continues Ewan.
“For the most part since landing the unit, I’ve been subcontracting to Fulton Hogan, as well as working pretty intensively on an ongoing mulch-spreading project for the city council. It works very well in this application because I can get the conveyor into harder-to-reach areas of parkland.
“Shooting material onto the flower beds with the slinger arm is really efficient; 10 to 12 12-cubic metre truckloads of mulch a day works out to about 120-cubic metres with this machine. If I was to use a tipper truck – which would need to be relatively small to get into some of the areas the slinger arm can reach – I might only achieve 20- to 30-cubic metres of material laid during the course of a day. And then of course, there might be some areas that would need the mulch to be wheelbarrowed into.”
Reach is vital, as demonstrated the day I rode shotgun with Ewan in his Isuzu to a busy – and rather cramped – worksite in downtown Christchurch. A load of sand needed to be delivered to form the bedding material for a bio-swale pit.
Using a radio control unit, Ewan can free himself from the truck cab to stand alongside the end of the conveyor itself and place material accurately; as material shoots out the end of the slinger arm, he continually adjusts the throw to ensure an even spread throughout the pit.
The machine works at variable speeds, but today Ewan manages to shift almost 12 ton of material in 20 minutes with the slinger arm. The sand would have taken much longer to be placed in the required spots with the more conventional method of an excavator spreading from a dumped stockpile.
“This way, I can get in, place the material exactly where it needs to go, and get out again; all in a relatively short time frame, and without the need for secondary plant brought in to move the material on once it has been delivered,” Ewan says.
The Bay-Lynx unit can be adapted to a tracked machine platform, for mining and quarrying applications, or even ordered as a static unit. A lift hook at the top of the frame means it can be craned into position if need be. The hopper can also be fabricated from aluminium, rather than Ewan’s steel unit, if saving a metric ton on overall weight is deemed crucial.
The slinger arm can throw material up to 20m, as demonstrated on-site today when the foreman points out a second bio-swale pit, further back from the road, that also needs filling with a sand base. Ewan simply backs his Isuzu up another few feet, extends the conveyor arm out and ups the speed; the sand is laid out accurately while several contractors stop what they’re doing in order to shoot a few frames of this interesting beast at work on their camera phones.
“This is a bit of a show pony for us,” concludes Ewan. “But it has generated a lot of interest. I think it’s a really good example of efficient design. On the surface it’s perfect for the sort of confined environment we’ve been working in on this particular job. But it’s actually so much more flexible than that.
“These days civil construction entities need to work smarter to gain more from the bottom line; I think this is the sort of technology that can help achieve that.”
Source:
https://www.dealsonwheels.co.nz/trucks/features/1801/canterbury-slinger-trucks
Bay-Lynx was featured in Deals on Wheels Magazine after Canterbury Slinger Trucks was catching the attention of many in New Zealand. Cameron Officer writes about it here:
Have you ever seen a machine in a busy city work site cause almost everyone to down tools and take photos on their phones? Cameron Officer had that experience when he rode in Ewan Baron’s slinger truck.
Ewan Baron is a man on a mission. He might give himself the tongue-in-cheek title of Chief Stone Spreader on his business card, but Ewan has imported a rather unique piece of kit; one that he is finding to be in constant demand around Christchurch, especially as the rebuild continues apace in the CBD.
Manufactured by Canadian company Bay-Lynx Manufacturing, Ewan’s slinger truck is a relatively common sight in that part of the world. It was during his time as a Quantity Surveyor in British Columbia a few years back, that Ewan first came upon the simple but rather ingenious machine.
Bay-Lynx has been manufacturing slinger and volumetric truck equipment since the 1990s. And with Christchurch undergoing massive transformation in the wake of the 2010/11 ‘quakes, Ewan decided that bringing the hardware home could prove a big win. More than that, he soon discovered he had a Kiwi on the inside.
“I guess it’s like many parts of the world; sooner or later you’ll meet a Kiwi working locally,” he says.
“When touring Bay-Lynx’s facilities I met a guy from New Zealand who even knew my brother, as it turned out. This was great in more ways than one; all of a sudden I had a Kiwi on the shop floor who could complete all the pre-wiring on the Bay-Lynx-engineered bin specifically for New Zealand.”
Ewan decided to bring a unit back to New Zealand to start contracting; forming Canterbury Slinger Trucks last year. There has been such interest in the machine though, that he finds himself showcasing the technology just as much as getting the job itself done.
The bin, hopper and conveyor mechanism can be built on any six- or eight-wheeler truck. Ewan reckons his Isuzu FYH350M 8×4 is perfect for the job, allowing for a good mix of on-site manoeuvrability and load capacity. The bin has a 12-ton payload, although Bay-Lynx build bins capable of hauling 20-ton worth of material in the Canadian market. The machine comes into its own when the variety of material it will spread is considered.
“I can place a variety of material with the truck; soil, sand, mulch and aggregates up to AP65,” continues Ewan.
“For the most part since landing the unit, I’ve been subcontracting to Fulton Hogan, as well as working pretty intensively on an ongoing mulch-spreading project for the city council. It works very well in this application because I can get the conveyor into harder-to-reach areas of parkland.
“Shooting material onto the flower beds with the slinger arm is really efficient; 10 to 12 12-cubic metre truckloads of mulch a day works out to about 120-cubic metres with this machine. If I was to use a tipper truck – which would need to be relatively small to get into some of the areas the slinger arm can reach – I might only achieve 20- to 30-cubic metres of material laid during the course of a day. And then of course, there might be some areas that would need the mulch to be wheelbarrowed into.”
Reach is vital, as demonstrated the day I rode shotgun with Ewan in his Isuzu to a busy – and rather cramped – worksite in downtown Christchurch. A load of sand needed to be delivered to form the bedding material for a bio-swale pit.
Using a radio control unit, Ewan can free himself from the truck cab to stand alongside the end of the conveyor itself and place material accurately; as material shoots out the end of the slinger arm, he continually adjusts the throw to ensure an even spread throughout the pit.
The machine works at variable speeds, but today Ewan manages to shift almost 12 ton of material in 20 minutes with the slinger arm. The sand would have taken much longer to be placed in the required spots with the more conventional method of an excavator spreading from a dumped stockpile.
“This way, I can get in, place the material exactly where it needs to go, and get out again; all in a relatively short time frame, and without the need for secondary plant brought in to move the material on once it has been delivered,” Ewan says.
The Bay-Lynx unit can be adapted to a tracked machine platform, for mining and quarrying applications, or even ordered as a static unit. A lift hook at the top of the frame means it can be craned into position if need be. The hopper can also be fabricated from aluminium, rather than Ewan’s steel unit, if saving a metric ton on overall weight is deemed crucial.
The slinger arm can throw material up to 20m, as demonstrated on-site today when the foreman points out a second bio-swale pit, further back from the road, that also needs filling with a sand base. Ewan simply backs his Isuzu up another few feet, extends the conveyor arm out and ups the speed; the sand is laid out accurately while several contractors stop what they’re doing in order to shoot a few frames of this interesting beast at work on their camera phones.
“This is a bit of a show pony for us,” concludes Ewan. “But it has generated a lot of interest. I think it’s a really good example of efficient design. On the surface it’s perfect for the sort of confined environment we’ve been working in on this particular job. But it’s actually so much more flexible than that.
“These days civil construction entities need to work smarter to gain more from the bottom line; I think this is the sort of technology that can help achieve that.”
Source:
https://www.dealsonwheels.co.nz/trucks/features/1801/canterbury-slinger-trucks
We were honoured to have Equipment Journal write a story about the evolution of our business in honour of our 25th year in business.
Check out the story here: Set in concrete, but flexible in business: Bay-Lynx celebrate 25 years
We were honoured to have Equipment Journal write a story about the evolution of our business in honour of our 25th year in business.
Check out the story here: Set in concrete, but flexible in business: Bay-Lynx celebrate 25 years