The type of liner in a grinding mill for processing base and precious metals like copper, lead, zinc, nickel, gold and silver is dependent on a number of factors, such as the physical properties of the ore, the speed of the mill, pulp rheology inside the mill, size of the grinding media and the type of media motion required to ensure the target size reduction. So custom design and innovative material technology can speed production and reduce downtime and maintenance stoppages.
“Designing the right liner for the right application is what our forte is,” Tega Industries Ltd. General Manager Vinay Grover declares. “So what we do is to study the operating conditions of the equipment and tailor-make linings that are developed in close cooperation with our customers to meet their needs and solve their specific problems.
One hears origin stories of companies all the time where an entrepreneur sat in his garage, created a gadget or machine, and the success of that device became the foundation of a business that today is very strong. In a similar vein, TDS Transport Inc. also started small, but the work it was doing was very large – in size and importance.
TDS began in 2005, when founder Tom Schmidt was using his one truck to pull RVs and travel trailers for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). According to Tom’s brother, Jeff Schmidt, who is director of TDS Management Services, “a lot of blood, sweat and tears” were shed to get the operation from one truck to where it is today, but it has all been worth it.
Compressed air is used in so many places that Sullivan-Palatek Inc. President Steve Van Loan advises that it is the fourth utility. “We have gas, water and electricity, and the fourth utility is air,” he says. “Air is used in many, many places – it’s something that a lot of people just don’t think about. Most everything that we do, there’s an air compressor involved in it.”
In the mining industry, Sullivan-Palatek’s portable diesel-driven rotary screw air compressors are used to power the down-the-hole drill of a drilling rig, clean the hole and operate the lifting equipment, brakes and cable clutches. They also can pump air into an underground mine shaft or run a machine shop.
When people start new business ventures, they often have experience in that company’s field. But owner and President Kim R. Smith has proven it is possible to successfully create a company with no previous experience, as he has with Sierra Frac Sand.
Smith founded the Tatum, Texas-based frac sand company in 2008, after working in the timber business for 25 years. When the logging market experienced a decline, he sought a new venture. “He decided we needed to get into something energy related,” Plant Operations Manager Cody Baker recalls.
When Vancouver-based Riverstone Resources Inc. started exploring in Burkina Faso in West Africa in 2003, the country’s potential for gold development was evident. It had the same highly prospective geology of gold-producing countries such as Mali and Ghana, but was relatively unexplored.
Today, Riverstone is nearing that potential, advancing its flagship Karma property past PEA to the cusp of production. Senet (Pty) Ltd. is currently performing a definitive feasibility study focused on the mining and processing of an indicated in-pit resource of free-leaching material containing 1.03 million ounces of gold in five closely spaced deposits.
The Pinnacle family of companies offers a variety of services and products, but the values that guide each facet of the operation remain consistent. Serving North America’s oil and gas fields, each Pinnacle business is dedicated to delivering on its promises and being upfront with clients if it is not confident it can meet their needs in a timely fashion.
“We just offer results, no excuses,” CEO Matthew Hanna explains. “That is a key part of our service mentality – we don’t take orders if we know we can’t meet a customer’s production needs.”
PCL Construction has been helping its clients realize their goals since 1906 by fashioning the buildings where business gets done. In the last century, it has built a family of companies covering the commercial, civil and industrial sectors in the United States and Canada.
“[There has been] a tremendous amount of activity in the Alberta oil sands and we are very active in that area,” says Peter Stalenhoef, COO of PCL’s industrial group of companies. “We have some major contracts underway and there will be plenty more opportunities to come. Canada is a good place for energy developers because of the proven resources, stability and proximity to our neighbors to the south. A lot of the energy companies that operate in Canada are the same companies that operate in the U.S.”
Whenever a certain part of the world is found to have an abundance of needed natural resources, there is usually a rush of entrepreneurs all seeking the opportunity to be a part of it. That’s certainly been true of the Williston Basin and specifically the Bakken Shale area, as oil and gas companies have moved into the region to take advantage of the plentiful resources. Besides the opportunities for oil and gas operators, the region’s relative lack of infrastructure makes it a prime location for midstream companies, as well.
One of those companies looking to make a big splash in the Bakken is New Frontier Midstream, a wholly owned subsidiary of Texas-based energy firm Eckard Global. President Rodney Wren says the parent company’s owner and CEO, Troy Eckard, has a lot of experience in the energy arena and has drilled more than 450 wells in his career. After getting involved in some drilling in the Bakken, Eckard recognized the need for midstream infrastructure in the region and established New Frontier to fill that need.
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