Modern Mining June 2018

PRODUCT News

Condra wins another order from Kamoto Copper

Condra has received an order for a fur- ther overhead crane from Kamoto Copper Company, the copper and cobalt mine in the south of the DRC. It is the eighth machine to be ordered by Kamoto Copper from Johannesburg- headquartered Condra in just over a year and, like its predecessors, is earmarked for workshop duty in the ongoing develop- ment and expansion of the mine being overseen by SENET. Kolwezi Lifting Solutions, Condra’s authorised agent for the DRC, is manag- ing crane installation and servicing, and Kamoto Copper has additionally ordered spares worth R1,5 million to facilitate this.

These spares will also be used to maintain the existing large installed base of Condra hoists. Kamoto Copper’s new crane will be a 3-ton, 9-m span, single-girder workshop crane with a 5-m lift. Its seven predecessors include a 10-ton double-girder overhead crusher mainte- nance crane with a 20‑m span and a very high lift of 19 m. The six remaining cranes comprise two 3-ton, 9-m span machines and four 3,2‑ton, 17-m span single-girder electric overhead travelling cranes, the lat- ter completed on schedule in April of this year despite a very short lead time of less than two months. Total value of the eight cranes together is some R6 million. Recognising the need for rapid and effective service at Kamoto Copper Company, Condra appointed Kolwezi Lifting Solutions at the beginning of 2017. According to Condra’s MD, Marc Kleiner, rival crane suppliers in Africa do not have agencies in the DRC. “Ours is the only one, so this gives us a competitive advantage in in combination – to ensure dependability and enhanced wear resistance in specific applications. An important feature of this series is that extended bushing barrier seals pre- vent abrasive materials from entering and attacking chain joints. The chain bushings are extended beyond the inside sidebars to minimise the clearance between the outside bars and the bushings. This in turn creates a solid barrier that inhibits abrasive material from entering the pin/bushing joint. The wide face seal, which is manufac- tured from a high temperature engineered polymer, encircles the extended bushing and provides an additional particulate resis- tant barrier to help protect the joint, thus minimising contamination. A patented stainless steel internal ring seal holds tight onto the pin and rotates within a groove in the bushing to create a labyrinth to prevent debris from getting into the pin/bushing area. Tsubaki standard backstops – designed for safety in normal low speed conveyor applications – offer a simple and cost effec-

terms of the best and most cost-effective service, and the quickest response times to Kamoto Copper and our other customers in that country,” said Kleiner. The eight cranes ordered by Kamoto Copper all feature motors and control panel enclosures built to IP65 standard to allow for periodic hosing down of the workshops. There are also solid brass rope guide nuts on the rope drums, travel warn- ing lights and sirens, and rail sweeps on all machines to counter the dusty environment. Condra fitted striker limit switches to the horizontal travels as well to the hoists and applied a special paint finish to cope with the demands of a generally aggres- sive working environment. Exposed galvanised iron parts were also entirely excluded from one of the machines because of the acidic environ- ment in which it has to work. Unpainted brake plates, nuts, bolts, C-track systems and other exposed parts on this crane were all made either from stainless steel or aluminium. Condra, tel (+27 11) 776-6000 tive means to protect capital equipment, including inclined conveyors and bucket elevators. These uniquely designed backstop cam clutches prevent reverse rotation of the head pulley of an incline conveyor, thus act- ing as critical safety equipment, as well as avoiding damage to machinery and expen- sive equipment. BS135 (135 mm shaft size) and smaller units are greased for life, with no mainte- nance required. Bigger units only require lubrication once every 4 000 to 8 000 hours, depending on the environment in which they work. Old grease can be flushed out and changed, while the unit is in operation – there is no need to remove the backstop from the shaft. BMG carries a complete range of up to 250 mm shaft size in stock, which is avail- able in short lead times. Tsubaki’s complete range of cam clutches is available from BMG in different capacities and styles designed to provide the best functional characteristics for three basic modes of operation – overrunning, indexing and backstopping. BMG, website: www.bmgworld.net

Three overhead cranes (finished in yellow) for Kamoto Copper Company nearing completion in Condra’s Johannesburg factory.

Tsubaki chain designed for aggressive environments BMG’s extensive range of Tsubaki high per- formance chain, which offers enhanced strength and reliability, a cleaner environ- ment and extended operating life, includes the robust Workhorse elevator series.

“Workhorse elevator chains, manufac- tured for greater strength and durability, are designed to resist the abrasive and demand- ing forces of aggregate elevators. This chain is particularly well suited for use in aggres- sive bulk material handling environments with harsh fine particulates like cement, lime, gypsum, coal, fertiliser, grain and sugar,” says Carlo Beukes, Business Unit Manager, Power Transmission, BMG. “Carefully selected high strength steels, advanced manufacturing processes and refined heat treatments, ensure maximum fatigue strength and protection against fail- ure, even when these chains are used in the most severe applications.” The Workhorse 5800 and 5900 series, with average tensile strength (ATS) rat- ings between 65 909 kg and 129 545 kg, can be upgraded with various plated pins, bushings and joint seals – individually or

52  MODERN MINING  June 2018