MINE HOISTS
fully automatic mode and
shaft sinking operations
can also be controlled from
the same console.
The service hoist is a
Hepburn 94.5” diameter x
86” wide, single drum hoist
with a rope pull rating of
140 kN (31,500 lb), disc
brakes, one 1,500 hp, low-
voltage, AC electric motor
and drive with Hepburn
digital controls. The same
1,500 hp electric motor is
In February 2019 Hepburn Engineering Inc
announced it had acquired all of
DavyMarkham’s Intellectual Property assets
sheaves and other hoisting related equipment for
the global mining Industry. With this acquisition,
DavyMarkham joins Hepburn’s OEM parts and
service product portfolio that includes the
hoisting technology of the former Canadian
Ingersoll Rand (CIR), Fullerton, Hodgart &
common to both the service and the production
hoist.
Hepburn Engineering says it won this contract
based on the acknowledged performance and
reliability of previous Hepburn hoists and AC
drive system installations.
NMT gets key sheave contracts
Barclay (FH&B), Westinghouse and Ottumwa.”
John Hepburn, President of Hepburn
Engineering commented: “Hepburn is a global Nordic Minesteel Technologies Inc (NMT), an
expert company in horizontal and vertical
solutions for mining, has expanded its shaft
equipment portfolio to include industry leading
leader in the design, analysis, engineering,
manufacture and service of mine hoisting
technology and the acquisition of the
DavyMarkham Limited Intellectual Property
further strengthens our offerings to our compensating sheaves. Two recent contracts
awarded from Glencore – Onaping Depth and
Kirkland Lake Gold – shaft #4.
According to Gio Cortolezzis, Project Procurement
Manager: “Nordic Minesteel presented a very good
customers. Both Hepburn and DavyMarkham
have always had a strong reputation for
delivering robust mine hoisting equipment. We proposal to Glencore. We feel they bring the
expertise, organisation and experience necessary to
ensure success on a challenging project, such as
are encouraging any prior customers of
DavyMarkham Ltd to contact us directly to
seamlessly provide continued support for both ours at Onaping Depth.”
“We are very pleased to be working with
Glencore and Kirkland Lake Gold on these
significant and technically challenging projects.
spare parts and equipment servicing.”
Following a two year shaft sinking project,
Tahoe Canada (now Pan American Silver) is on
track to doubling production at the Bell Creek
Mine operation in Timmins, Ontario. The new
shaft has been in operation since December 2018
with a production hoist and service hoist
supplied and commissioned by Hepburn
Engineering Inc.
The current shaft bottom is at the 1,080 m
level but the hoist, the headframe and other
infrastructure has been designed to be capable
of operating down to the 2,000 m level if the
shaft is deepened.
The production hoist is a Hepburn 144”
diameter x 86” wide, double drum hoist with a
rope pull rating of 337 kN (75,600 lb) and a
payload of 9.5 t. The hoist has a sliding gear type
clutch, spring applied, hydraulically released disc
brakes, two 1500 hp, low-voltage, AC electric
motors and TMEIC AC drives. The Hepburn digital
controls include a Hepburn Hoist Manager HMI
and a Hepburn Digital Safety Monitor. The hoist
can be operated in manual, semi-automatic or
16 International Mining | AUGUST 2019
An expert Shaft Equipment Engineer, Jim
Brownlee joined our NMT team in 2016 to better
serve our customers in this competitive
industry,” said Richard DeRuiter, Vice President –
Business Development, Nordic Minesteel
Technologies Inc.
Compensating sheaves are most commonly
supplied for a “Blair” type hoist application. The
Blair arrangement uses two sheaves side by side,
for two connections to the skip or cage. This
safely allows conveyances to run on steel guides.
Becker Mining rope attachments for
SA diamond mine
Becker Mining Systems says it has recently
stepped up to the challenge of quick turn-around
time for the manufacture of rope attachments for
a diamond mine in South Africa.
“We received the order at the end of August
2018, with the requirement to deliver before the
end of December 2018,” says Tom Searle, Becker
Mining SA. “This large order would normally take
between six and eight months to complete,
A recent Becker
Mining project for
a South Africa
diamond mine
included the
manufacture of a
complete running
set and a spare
set of Koepe
attachments for
two rock winders
however, we
managed to finish
the work in three
and a half months.
The fully-machined
components - with a
total mass of 53 t -
were packed in 49
large wooden crates
and delivered for
long term storage,
ahead of our
deadline.”
This project included the manufacture of a
complete running set and a spare set of Koepe
attachments for two rock winders. Each set suits
four off 46 mm headropes and four off 48 mm tail
ropes. The order also comprised four sets of 30 t
rocket type safety detaching hook sets supplied
for the man winder and 10 t rocket type hooksets
for the service cage. Jack catch boxes, jack catch
lugs and posts were also supplied for each
conveyance. Becker Mining also supplied WRC
clamps that were used during installation and
will be utilised in future maintenance of ropes.
The completed job included all the statutory
testing requirements, to fully certify the
equipment in line with the necessary
specifications, including mine health and safety
acts and mining regulations.
Twiflex provides escape hoist brake
solution
A major mine hoist OEM recently needed a
custom braking solution for an emergency
escape hoist positioned in a mine ventilation
shaft. In an emergency, when the mine’s large
primary hoist is not accessible, the escape hoist
can be utilised to transport workers to the
surface quickly.
To meet the hoist’s emergency stopping and
parking application requirements,
Twiflex provided Series VKSD spring-applied,
hydraulically released, dual-spring caliper brakes
acting on a pair of discs shaft-mounted to the
hoist’s cable reel. The Twiflex model VKSD58 disc
brakes supplied feature a braking force of 58 kN.
The brakes were modified to meet the customer’s
mounting requirements and proximity switches
were mounted to the end covers.
A SOBO iQ hydraulic power unit and a SOBO
iQ control were supplied by Svendborg Brakes.