According to Bridon International, for the first time in 90 years an international rope manufacturer will supply hoist ropes to a South African mine. Implats subsidiary Afplats has commissioned three 7,000 m sinking ropes from UK-based ropemaker Bridon, which will be used in the twin mine-shaft system at the multi-billion rand Leeuwkop development.
The three Tiger Dyform 24LS ropes, which were installed April 2012, will be used to sink the site’s 1,350 m shaft system. Once it reaches full capacity, the 1,500 m Leeuwkop mine is expected to produce 250,000 t of platinum ore per month – equating to roughly 160,000 oz of platinum every year. Bridon comments: “Whilst the South African mining market has historically looked to domestic providers for its rope requirements, Afplats broke with tradition in order to find a rope solution that could meet the demands of the massive Leeuwkop project. It found Bridon’s state-of-the-art 24 strand ropes to be the most technically advanced available, offering a more highly engineered solution than domestic competitors’ 18 strand offerings. Afplats confirmed that the extensive support Bridon offered for the installation and application of the ropes played a major role in its choice of supplier.”
Bridon’s specialist rope advisers provided on-site expertise and assistance as the ropes were installed, as well as detailed technical advice on the benefit of its Dyform products over more conventional ropes. Bridon was able to offer a far shorter delivery time than domestic competitors could offer – and showcased its manufacturing capacity by delivering the three massive ropes to the Leeuwkop site two weeks earlier than originally planned. The Leeuwkop mine is expected to employ around 800 people at full production, and has an estimated life expectancy of 22 years.
Jon Templeman, Chief Executive of Bridon International said: “Bridon International is the global technology leader in the supply of multi-strand mining ropes for the world’s most challenging applications. When seeking a supplier for the hugely impressive Leeuwkop development, Implats made clear they required the most technologically advanced rope solution available anywhere in the world. The Bridon team relished the challenge of developing and manufacturing these world-beating ropes, and our services team is looking forward to supporting their installation and application.”