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SIEMAG TECBERG kicks off hoist construction at Benxi Longxin’s Sishanling iron ore mine

Bulk handling, Mine shafts and equipment, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , ,

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.

Reference photo: SIEMAG TECBERG 6-rope Koepe hoisting machine installed on tower. Copyright 2022 Tianjin SIEMAG TECBERG

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.

RUC Cementation, GR Engineering plan to collaborate on Tanami Expansion work

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RUC Cementation Mining Contractors and GR Engineering Services have agreed to team up as part of a plan to construct surface infrastructure, as well as complete the shaft lining and equipping for a proposed hoisting shaft at the Newmont-owned Tanami Expansion 2 project in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Today, Barry Upton (right), Managing Director of RUC Cementation Mining Contractors, and Geoff Jones (left, next to Rod Schier, Engineering Manager for GR Engineering), Managing Director of GR Engineering Services, signed this “Teaming Agreement”.

The surface infrastructure component the two plan to work on includes winders, headframe and surface conveyors.

The companies said: “Both companies have worked together to submit a competitive and technically strong offer for the works and look forward hopefully to an award in the near future.”

RUC added: “Whilst a departure from the traditional GR Engineering work scope of treatment plant construction, RUC Mining is very pleased to have GR on board as a key construction partner and values the excellence in construction that GRES bring.”

The Tanami Expansion 2 project is expected to increase the annual capacity of the processing site to 3.5 Mt/y, from 2.6 Mt/y, and extend the life of the mine beyond 2040.

Petra Diamonds’ Project 2022 initiative provides bright spot in latest interims

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Late last week, Petra Diamonds confirmed that its “Project 2022” initiative was fully operational at both mine sites and the group level.

This milestone, coming in the face of recent output disruptions and the suspension of the company’s production guidance following the outbreak of COVID-19, is worth a mention.

When announcing Project 2022 in July 2019, Petra said the initiative was targeting an initial $150-200 million of free cashflow over a three-year period from the company’s 2019 financial year (year ending June 30, 2019) to its 2022 financial year (year ending June 30, 2022).

An internal project team, led by former Cullinan diamond mine General Manager, Juan Kemp, was established to identify and drive these efficiencies. Petra also appointed Partners in Performance, a global management consulting firm, to support Kemp and the project team.

The focus of Project 2022 is mainly on improving throughput at the company’s operations – which includes the Cullinan, Finsch and Koffiefontein mines in South Africa and the Williamson mine in Tanzania. Cost efficiencies, strategic sourcing and one-off initiatives are also included in its remit, all of which are likely to be handled at the group level.

In the interim update at the end of last week, Petra said the work to date had entailed a structured assessment of the value drivers at each mine site.

It said: “All ideas are evaluated and identified initiatives are systematically structured with timelines, enablers and project plans for each.

“The implementation of the identified initiatives was firmly on track but has been significantly interrupted by the COVID-19 lockdown. When operations return to full capacity, focused steps will be taken to continue the initiatives to ensure the delivery of the expected benefits.”

While revenue fell in the nine months to the end of March 2020, Petra said production rose 2% in this period to just over 3 Mct. This demonstrated “the delivery of significant throughput benefits realised through the implementation of Project 2022, offset by the disruptions to production relating to Eskom load shedding during Q2 FY 2020 (December quarter of 2019) and the COVID-19 lockdown measures towards the end of Q3 (March quarter of 2020)”, it said.

In a February 2020 update (reviewing the six months to the end of December 2019), the company said Project 2022 remained on track to deliver significant cash flow generation, reaching an annualised rate of $50-80 million.

It added: “However, the operational cash flow benefits are being eroded by a weaker diamond market, due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, which has served to significantly reduce activity across the pipeline.

“In light of this continued market weakness, coupled with the impact of adverse product mix, the delivery of Project 2022’s cumulative cash flow target is expected to be delayed, resulting in the $150-200 million being revised to $100-150 million by June 2022.”

Despite this setback, in the six-months to the end of December 2019, Petra achieved a record half year of run of mine production – 7 Mt treated and 2.07 Mct recovered – as part of the Project 2022 efforts.

Specific ideas considered under Project 2022 within its mining operations include the shrinking of shift changes to increase the number of productive hours on LHDs by changing the blasting time and ensuring shift handovers happen efficiently; appointing a contractor to load over the weekends; improving LHD cycle time by reducing delays from refuelling, operational delays (eg large boulders) and unplanned maintenance; and implementing a new shaft shift structure to increase winder operating time and reduce the amount of time the LHDs have to stop loading due to full underground silos.

These mining ideas are complemented by a set of ideas in the plant, the company said.

This includes the optimisation and redesign of high-pressure grinding roll crushers; refurbishing and redesigning the rolls so they crush recycled material more effectively and reduce the recycle load of the milling circuit. This would allow a higher proportion of run of mine ore to be fed into the mills, it said.

The company also wants to develop best practices for operation of the mills; improving automated control and standardising operating procedures to allow for a more consistent operating performance and a higher overall feed rate.

On top of this, Petra is looking into accelerating its processing of historical high value “red tailings” to fill plant capacity.