Modern Mining February 2021

COVER STORY

ArmCoil successfully remanufactures a substation for a major opencast mine ArmCoil Afrika, a manufacturer and repairer of transformers and electric motors, has punched above its weight with the successful remanufacture of a mobile skid substation for one of South Africa’s major opencast mines. All the functions of the project were carried out at the company’s 8 000 m² premises in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg, marking a new era in the local remanufacture of skid-mounted substations for opencast mines, writes Munesu Shoko .

A rmCoil Afrika was, in 2019, awarded a con- tract by a major mining house to completely remanufacture a mobile skid substation. Despite COVID-19 throwing a spanner in the works, the unit was delivered to site in December 2020 after a year and two months of hard work, in what Morne Bosch, GM sales & marketing refers to as “one of our flagship projects in the history of the company”. Mobile skid substations have generally gained popularity in open-pit mines in recent years, because of their ability to be moved around to wherever power is required within the pit. They can be used to power different types of equipment, including drill rigs, pumps and crushers, among others. Bosch tells Modern Mining that the company’s relationship with the mining giant dates back to 2017 when Armcoil was initially awarded a minor refurbishment job for a similar sized mobile skid substation. Leveraging its relationship with the mining giant, the company was then tasked to completely remanufacture a skid substation unit in 2019. What initially came as a “strip and quote” project

was eventually escalated to a complete remanufac- ture. “It was initially a minor service type of work,” explains Bosch. “When we gave the unit a thorough electric and mechanical inspection, we realised that there was a lot more to be done. The project then went from a strip and quote to a complete remanufacture.” Bosch explains one of the issues that necessi- tated a complete remanufacture of the unit: “Because this unit is carried on the back of the trailer moving around the mine pit, some of the sensitive parts are subjected to mechanical movement, for example, the active part inside the transformer. The mine tried to brace it, with no help. The evidence was carried in the mechanical assessment report that we did.” Collaborative effort Frank Flint, project manager; Andrew Flint, mechani- cal design specialist and MD Peter Flint, explain that the project was awarded in October 2019, before the completed unit was delivered to site in December 2020. The project was a collaborative effort between the mine, ArmCoil and Schneider Electric, which

The ArmCoil team standing in front of the completed mobile skid substation unit.

8  MODERN MINING  February 2021