Santasalo has been awarded the contract to supply a design upgrade D-Series gear unit for an underground conveyor application at Agnico Eagles’ LaRonde gold mine in Canada.  The order, which was placed by Canadian Bearings of Val-d’Or Quebec, is the first order placed of this design specification, establishing a new power range for Santasalo’s three stage bevel-helical conveyor series gear drive.

LaRonde mine is located in the Abitibi region in northwestern Quebec and a recent expansion and upgrade project has taken place in order to increase the mine’s life expectancy to 2025.  This includes a new underground conveyor system to convey mined ore to the 2.2-km deep mine hoist which lifts ore to the surface for processing.

Santasalo’s gear unit was selected as the most reliable technology for the tough conditions of this application along with the operational experience of the business.  The Santasalo D-Series helical gear unit will be mounted on a swing base and directly connected to the conveyor pulley shaft via a Santasalo Zapalex ridged flange coupling.

“This project has helped us build a strong relationship with our partner, Canadian Bearings, and also assisted in promoting our brand image with a key mining/producing company like Agnico Eagle,” said Joe Sitta, Director of Capital Sales Americas.

Santasalo plans to showcase its XO conveyor drive at SME 2015 in Denver, February 15-18.

Designed for reliable operation in harsh or remote environments where cooling water is not available, the XO’s unique design provides high thermal capacity, eliminating the need for cooling water in extreme heat conditions. Robustly built, this conveyor drive offers improved efficiency, an optimised torque-to weight-ratio, high capacity utilisation, and reduced noise and vibration levels.