Mines all over the world are reducing the cost of sourcing third party critical parts by either looking at better quality non-OEM options but also in some cases making them in-house. Metallurgical coal major Mechel says that its Southern Kuzbass Coal Company in Russia has started output of high-pressure hoses for use in its own underground mines.

It was already producing hosing for surface equipment but the recent development has been made possible due to the recent acquired a facility for over RUB3 million for testing of high-pressure hosing used in hydraulic equipment.

High-pressure hosing is used in hydraulic excavators, bulldozers, underground mine development machines, longwall shearers, roof supports and heavy-duty mining trucks as a flexible conduit for oils, fuel, gases and emulsions.

A specialised department at Southern Kuzbass Coal Company has been producing high pressure hose for equipment used at the company’s open pits since 2018. Now, thanks to the option of testing them at the new facility, the company will be able to use the hosing underground on powered roof supports, as well as mining and tunnelling machines.

The hoses are tested for tightness, possible deformation and other specifics under pressure that is nearly double the maximum operating pressure. A special module records the data received during testing. The facility can work with pressures of 150 to 1,300 bar, is equipped with sensory controls and the company has also developed a system for quick installment of the tested products.

“Our V.I. Lenina Underground Mine’s new longwall face will require some 9,000 high-pressure hoses, and this time they will be produced by us, not bought from third-party suppliers. We are sure of our product’s reliability. Besides, Southern Kuzbass Coal Company supplies Korshunov Mining Plant (another Mechel company) with high-pressure hose for use on PC3000 and PC4000 excavators,” Southern Kuzbass Coal Company’s Managing Director Igor Ritikov said.