RME kicks-off 40th anniversary celebration
25.07.2024Mill relining systems Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), RUSSELL MINERAL EQUIPMENT (RME), has launched a global campaign celebrating the company’s upcoming 40-year anniversary, highlighting its engineering and pioneering progress from the past four decades.
RME in 1990 consisted of a team of three: two mechanical engineers and a draftsperson. F.l.t.r.: Peter Rubie, John Russell, Doug Neild
© RME
RME Founder, Executive Chairman and Chief Engineer, Dr John Russell described the imminent anniversary as an opportunity to express his gratitude for the colleagues, Customers and suppliers who combined their skills and dedication to make RME the world's most trusted original equipment manufacturer of mill relining technologies.
“Since 1985, RME has innovated mill relining technologies and services with an unwavering commitment to improving the safety and productivity of our customers’ operations and the safety and development of our people,” said Dr Russell.
John Russell (left) and Peter Rubie (right) with the mineral processing industry’s first 'Liner Bolt Removal Tool' for knocking-in mill liner bolts – now known as the THUNDERBOLT Recoilless Hammer
© RME
“We are also proud of the local jobs we have created, our contribution to Australia’s sovereign industrial capabilities, and our efforts to better the communities in which we operate. It has taken 40 years of persistent innovation and enduring commitment from an exceptionally talented team at RME, forward-thinking customers and reliable suppliers.”
40 Years of Innovation | We are RME
Launching the “40 Years of Innovation | We are RME” year-long campaign will showcase RME’s ground-breaking engineering innovations, the stories of the people who have made them possible, and the impact they have had on safety and productivity.
The anniversary campaign will also explore how RME continues to shape the future of the industry with pioneering innovations that enhance its Customers' ability to produce minerals, like copper, necessary for the energy transition.
This includes RME’s recently announced world-first semi-automated mill relining system. It enables faster mill relining and unmatched safety with zero personnel required inside the mill during liner exchange.
To mark the launch of the campaign, RME is releasing a new “We are RME” film. Featuring RME team members and local suppliers, the film shines a light on the characteristics, achievements and aspiration that set RME apart.
RME’s first liner exchange machine, a RUSSELL 6-axis Mill Relining Machine, was commissioned in August 1990 for Mount Isa Mines
© RME
RME Non-Executive Director Dr Peter Rubie, who held the role of Chief Engineer at RME until 2019, has played a vital role in the company’s success.
“Whether it’s our 400 kg RUSSELL Mill Liner Handlers or 10 tonne capacity RUSSELL Mill Relining Machines, our durable technology solutions are built to last with 90 % of those we’ve manufactured in the past 40 years still in operation. In partnership with our customers, we have set new industry-wide safety standards. And with safety continuing to drive the evolution of our advanced technologies, we can now perform liner exchange with zero personnel inside the mill. RME was founded on the belief that we can make things better. Through ‘juntos’, meaning our togetherness, collaborating across RME teams and with industry, we continue to push the boundaries and pioneer new means to continually improve industry safety standards and productivity gains for mill relining.”
RME’s expanded and higher-performing range of RUSSELL 7-axis Mill Relining Machines are now available up to 10 tonne capacities, due to RME's unique and proprietary RUSSELL All Reach Grapple. This is one of 25 RUSSELL TWIN Mill Relining Machine sets, where two machines work side-by-side as a system to increase the speed of the relining process
© RME
For our industry. For our planet.
RME aspires to improve the human condition through responsible access to metals at lower cost.
Dr Russell added, “It’s an aspiration that sees us charged with the responsibility of our people and customers’ safety and wellbeing. And in the race to a carbon neutral future, it sees us charged with the responsibility of enhancing our customers' ability to meet the growing demand for the metals and minerals essential for the energy transition.”
RME’s Engineering Team with Simon Thompson, General Manager of Engineering, and Peter Rubie, Non-Executive Director and Former Chief Engineer
© RME
He continues: “Furthermore, RME’s liner exchange machines are electro-hydraulically powered, and unlike fossil fuel-driven mining equipment, are ready for sustainable energy sources without requiring power system modifications. RME believes that future development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability for the ongoing improvement of the human condition. That same belief underpins our inventions. Through collaboration with our customers and suppliers, we have made mill relining safer and faster, while also positively impacting local jobs, livelihoods and living standards in the regions where we operate. Forty years on, we remain steadfast in our aspiration as the world strives for a carbon neutral future.”
Deep local roots and global reach
John Russell founded RME in 1985 in Toowoomba, Queensland, setting out to mechanise the mill relining process to improve safety, shorten reline times and increase mine site profitability.
RME’s THUNDERBOLT SKYWAY roboticises the operation of THUNDERBOLT Hammers to vastly improve the speed and safety of the knock-in phase of mill relining
© RME
Through a dedicated and highly skilled team, loyal and forward-thinking Customers, and dependable suppliers who are integral to RME’s success, RME has grown to support Customers in 64 countries, with 13 International Sales and Service Centres, employing more than 450 people worldwide.
Today, there are more than 440 mine sites across the planet served by RME’s equipment and services, including more than 570 RUSSELL Mill Relining Machines.
From enabling the development of larger liners that reduced the total number of pieces requiring change out to the creation of larger semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mills, RME’s suite of mill relining technologies have changed grinding mill relining, globally.
To follow the stories in the “40 Years of Innovation | We are RME” campaign, visit RME’s website and LinkedIn. A new story will be shared each month culminating in May 2025 as RME officially marks its 40th anniversary.
