After more than five years of engagement with Benxi Longxin Mining Co in China, SIEMAG TECBERG GmbH’s Tianjin-based subsidiary has started installing the hoisting and conveying equipment at the Sishanling iron ore mine in the Province of Liaoning.

In early 2017, Tianjin SIEMAG TECBERG Machinery Co Ltd, a subsidiary of SIEMAG TECBERG GmbH, and Benxi Longxin Mining Co Ltd, which forms part of the Jianlong Group China, signed a supply agreement for three sets of hoisting and conveying systems to be divided between two shafts at Sishanling.

The Sishanling iron ore mine is one of the largest iron ore developments in China, boasting 2,500 Mt of proven iron ore reserves with an average content of about 31% Fe. It is one of the largest proven and registered iron ore deposit in China, having a long-term capacity of 30 Mt/y, with 15 Mt/y planned to be extracted in the next five years. Because of the concentrated orebody and its even distribution, these reserves are suitable for large-scale extraction, according to SIEMAG TECBERG.

The customer and the design institute initially planned a total of three production shafts to be able to extract a total of 15 Mt/y at the first stage, but after intense consultation with SIEMAG TECBERG the concept was optimised to two shafts, each yielding 7.5 Mt/y. A service shaft equipped with a total of two service winders for the transport of personnel and machinery will also be sunk.

The overall concept, thus, initially provides for a total of three hoisting systems: a double-skip production system in the production shaft in the form of a 6.75 m, six-rope machine and a cage counterweight system for personnel and machine transport in the form of a 6 m, six-rope machine and a smaller cage counterweight system for emergencies in the form of a 4 m, four-rope machine in the service shaft.

Early in 2017 orders for these systems were awarded in a public bidding procedure in which Tianjin SIEMAG TECBERG won out against international and local competitors for the supply of all three hoisting systems, not least because of the company’s capacity for system integration of very large, deep and complex shaft hoisting systems, the company said.
The current agreement requires SIEMAG TECBERG to undertake the engineering, production, delivery and supervision of the installation and initial start-up of the following equipment:

Shaft hoisting systems for raw material extraction (production shaft)

• System 1. Double-skip hoisting system. Tower-based six-rope Koepe hoisting machine, diameter 6.75 m, for skip hoisting (55 t payload per hoisting skip) at a depth of 1,500 m with an overall drive output of 16 MW (2 x 8 MW), which is designed for a hoisting performance of 7.5 Mt/y. Split plain bearings with bearing lubrication, one set of six-rope rope sheaves for rope deflection, an ST3-F (closed loop technology) hydraulic braking system with 12 pairs of BE 250 brake elements, four sets SM150 DC indirect converters (IGCT), automation equipment including machine control system, energy distribution system and a shaft signalling and loading and unloading control system complete this hoisting system package.

Shaft hoisting systems for personnel and equipment (service shaft)

• System 2. Large-cage hoisting system. Ground-based, six-rope Koepe hoisting machine, diameter 6 m, for large-cage hoisting with a drive output of 3 MW (2 x 8 MW). Rolling bearings, two sets of six-rope rope sheaves for rope deflection, an ST3-F (closed loop technology) hydraulic braking system with 14 pairs of BE125 brake elements, two sets of SM150 indirect converters (IGBT), automation equipment including machine control system, energy distribution system and a shaft signalling and loading and unloading control system complete this hoisting system package.
• • System 3. Cage hoisting system. Ground-based, four-rope Koepe hoisting machine, diameter 4.5 m, for cage hoisting with a drive output of 1 MW. Two sets of four-rope rope sheaves for rope deflection, an ST3-F (closed-loop technology) hydraulic braking system with six pairs of BE125 brake elements, one set of SM150 indirect converters (IGBT) and automation equipment including machine control system complete this hoisting system package.

The special feature of the three hoisting systems is the central control system, SIEMAG Tecberg says. The control room is in the hall of the hoisting machine of the service shaft. In normal operation the hoisting systems in the production and service shaft are all in automatic lifting operation. Furthermore, the two systems in the service shaft are fitted with wireless communication devices that enable the hoisting equipment to be controlled directly from the cage. This enables personnel to reach different levels direct.

SIEMAG TECBERG started on the installation of the equipment on site in Benxi earlier this year.

Benxi Longxin has, meanwhile, begun with preparations for production shaft no. 2 to achieve the expansion level of 2 x 7.5 Mt/y in the medium term. SIEMAG TECBERG says it is supporting the customer intensively with planning and because of the initial order has a very good chance of being successful with this bid too.