The Blair Multi-Rope (BMR) production hoist being supplied to Mopani Copper Mines new Synclinorium project in Zambia by global engineering company FLSmidth is a 5.5 m by 1.5 m BMR production hoist incorporating four drums. There are only about 50 BMR hoists of this type in the world, of which more than 80% have been supplied by FLSmidth. Manufacture is underway and the FLSmidth team will move on site in early 2013 to begin the installation, which is anticipated to take four to five months. Most of the smaller components will be sourced from South Africa, with the balance sourced globally.“FLSmidth has a proven history in the design, manufacture and supply of robust, reliable mine hoists and South Africa is the Group’s centre of excellence for hoisting technology,” says FLSmidth’s Wendy Naysmith.
The Vecor arm of the company has its origins in the late 1940s when Vanderbijlpark Engineering Corp began operations, designing and supplying mine hoisting systems for the booming gold mining industry. Fuller Co invested in the Vecor supply operation, then trading under Dorbyl Heavy Engineering, to form Fuller-Vecor in 1997.
In order to focus its activities in the mineral processing field, Fuller Co, based in the USA, and Fuller-Vecor have since been renamed FLSmidth as part of a global brand strategy. The present day company has, over the years, developed the international reputation of being a leader in the supply of heavy industrial mining equipment, particularly in the fields of mineral processing and hoisting.
FLSmidth has a hoist reference list that exceeds 500 installations worldwide over a period spanning more than 100 years. This includes machines from the previous mine hoisting business of GEC Alstom, South Africa, which was purchased by FLSmidth in October 1997.
“We have extensive experience in the supply of hoists in the three principle categories of friction/Koepe hoists, single and double drum hoists and BMR hoists,” says Naysmith. “The conventional double drum hoist underwent a major development in 1957, when Robert Blair introduced the concept of combining the load carrying capacity of multiple ropes in the friction hoist system with the simplicity and flexibility of drum hoists.
“Each drum of a BMR hoist is divided into two or more compartments, with a single rope per compartment and each rope on the drum being attached to the same conveyance. Systems are incorporated to ensure load sharing between ropes and protection against miscoiling.
“The BMR system significantly increases the hoisting capacity of a drum hoist. Hoists with end loads of 32 t at depths of 2,500 m are common. The Moab Khotsong BMR hoist, supplied by FLSmidth to AngloGold Vaal River Operations, was the first hoist to operate to a depth of 3,150 m in a single wind, with an end-load of 23 t.”