The past couple years have been busy ones for Fortis.   As a mining subcontractor and contractor, we have successfully completed a number of projects for local potash mines in Saskatchewan.  We are particularly proud of the mine service work we have completed at PCS Rocanville.

As part of Rocanville West Expansion in December of 2015, Fortis was contracted to complete the following mine service work:

• Installation of mine hoist head ropes, balance ropes, guide ropes and rub ropes in the PCS Rocanville Scissor Creek new service shaft. 
• Installation and commissioning of the new mine shaft service cage and counterweight.  

In December 2016, Fortis completed work on the PCS Rocanville No. 2 shaft conversion project.  For this particular mining service job the scope of work included: 

• Removal of existing mine hoist ropes.
• Replacement of existing shaft bottom steel and tie in to new shaft tower structure, as part of the conversion from a mine service shaft to mine production shaft.
• Installation of the new production shaft hoist head ropes, balance ropes, guide ropes and rub ropes as part of the conversion from a mine service shaft to mine production shaft.
• Installation and commissioning of new 50 Ton production skips.

For both projects, Fortis was instrumental in the development of methodologies and safety procedures.  As an example, Fortis developed a unique methodology for installation of both skips in No.2 Shaft from the same side of the headframe, saving a considerable amount of time during installation.  Both jobs were successfully completed on time and without injury!

At the completion of both Rocanville jobs PCS was particularly happy with the training their employees received in the transition phase, which resulted in a smooth turnover and another happy Fortis customer!

For more information on Fortis mining services please email info@fortiscorporation.com call 306-242-4427 or toll free at 1-844-542-2247

Fortis Mining Engineering & Manufacturing is proudly Saskatoon, Saskatchewan owned and operated.  

"Fortis is your partner in providing mining solutions." 

This past weekend was the 48th Annual Emergency Response / Mine Rescue Skills Competition at Praireland Park in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  This competition brings Mine Rescue crews in from all across Saskatchewan.   18 teams take part in the skill competition.   All of the teams spend countless hours training for mine emergency scenarios.  At the skill competition, the teams compete in variety of events that mimic emergency situations that could occur in a mine.   

Fortis' Health and Safety Manager Terry Zerbin was a volunteer and coordinator at this years event.   Terry was lucky enough to be interviewed by Global News Saskatoon http://globalnews.ca/video/2742530/rescue-competition-tests-miners-emergency-response

Terry was not the only one to volunteer from Fortis.   A number of Fortis employees showed their support for the SMA and the skill competition by volunteering their time.  

 Our sister company Northern Strands' had one of their Trainers, Cassenna Parmeter, also judging this years Mine Rescue Skills Competition.  Cassenna Parmeter is a well known Safety Trainer in Saskatchewan and has judged numerous Mine Rescue Skills Competitions across Canada throughout her career.   

Did you know that Northern Strands offers numerous mine safety courses? http://www.northernstrands.com/training.aspx   

Not only was this event fun to watch, it showed the importance of having skilled emergency personnel ready in case of a mine emergency.   

Here are some great pictures of the Mine Rescue Skills Competition:

You start your day and everything seems to be as normal as it gets.  Operations are running perfectly, all projects are running smoothly and are meeting schedule requirements.  Out of left field comes a fly ball that hits you right between the eyes, a major upset that will has potential for a  production loss, or missed deadlines.  You have people you can rely on to help you through these situations, but everybody is busy so something has to move, or does it? 

Being straddled with situations like the ones above seems to be more normal than not in our hectic schedules.  How can you resolve the situation like the one above, do you panic? Or do you have a sound support team that can you get you through this?  This is where a Fortis Engineering can assist you on-site, off-site, or take over certain areas of the problem completely.  Fortis is an Engineering, Manufacturing and Mining service company based out of Saskatoon.  Fortis Engineering can assist with all your technical support requirements throughout your operational activities or projects.  

Fortis Engineering is skilled and ready to help in the following areas:

• Engineered Lift Plans and Rigging Studies.
• Engineered Lift plans for transportation through mine site shafts.
• Certified critical lift planning and staging requirements.
• Structural bearing beam supports for roping and de-roping of mine shafts.
• Skip, Cage, Lifting bale removal and install.
• Structural Design and Detailing.
• Custom design and drafting for jib cranes, monorails, and gantry cranes.
• Structural Galloway designs.
• Overhead protection and head covers for work in the shaft.
• Work decks and Inspection decks for working of the top of skips including head covers.
• Mechanical Design and Detailing
• Under the hook lifting devices including spreader bars and lifting beams
• Man baskets which are forklift-able or suspended from a crane
• Man baskets for shaft repair work meeting mine regulations requirements
• Concrete bucket and transportation systems
• Emergency egress shaft conveyance plans
• Engineering and drawings or electrical feeder cable installation for underground use
• Custom equipment designs
• Onsite engineering and design support available to handle complex mechanical and structural projects.
• Can provide project engineering and project design personnel onsite, to handle a project from start to finish.

Fortis Engineering can also take this one step further.  With every engineered design produced, Fortis has the capability to manufacture and install everything that we design through Fortis’ manufacturing and mining divisions.

Please contact engineering@fortiscorporation.com for all your engineering and design requirements.

Work Deck With Headcover designed by Fortis

Fortis is becoming well know as among the mining industry for designing and fabricating specialized equipment for mines across Saskatchewan, North America and the world. 

Fortis was commissioned to install power distribution cables down two 8” boreholes 500 + Meters deep. These cables feed an underground substation in a mine. We designed specialized equipment to accomplish this task. One of the items required was a sheave stand. The cable bending radius’s had to be carefully accommodated. Also a suspended load capability of 30,000 lbs had to be incorporated into the equipment design. As a result Fortis designed and built a wire rope sheave stand assembly to perform the task. See picture below. The job went very well, it was completed safely and ahead of schedule. 

Fortis continues to provide innovative solutions for technical challenges in the Mining industry.

Visit our Mining Projects Webpage for more examples great examples of recent projects Fortis has successfully completed in the Mining industry.

Fortis is proudly Saskatoon, Saskatchewan owned and operated.