MINE HOISTS
mechanical components, drive technology, control systems and automation systems.
With ten shaft hoisting projects awarded across India over the past five years, SIEMAG TECBERG has established a strong track record in supporting the country’ s underground mining sector.“ This continued success reflects our long-term commitment to the Indian market and to the development of modern, reliable and efficient underground mining infrastructure.”
Back in 2023, SIEMAG TECBERG provided OEM shaft hoisting technology for the Balaghat and Gumgaon manganese mines of major mining company MOIL, to replace existing equipment. This included an OEM hoisting system for the production shaft at the Balaghat mine. The first system, Set 1, consisted of a skip / counterweight system with a floor-mounted, four-rope Koepe winder with a diameter of 2.8 metres, including a hydraulic braking system, automation, and signalling technology. The Set 2 hoisting system consisted of a skip / counterweight system with a floor-mounted, four-rope Koepe winder with a diameter of 2.25 metres, including a hydraulic braking system, as well as automation and signalling technology.
For the service shaft at Balaghat mine the SIEMAG TECBERG hoisting system consisted of a cage / counterweight system with a floor-mounted 4-rope Koepe winder with a 2.8 m diameter, including a hydraulic braking system and automation and signalling technology.
The production shaft at the Gumgaon mine was equipped with a hoisting system comprising a skip / counterweight system featuring a floor-mounted, fourrope Koepe winder with a diameter of 2.25 m. This system included a hydraulic braking mechanism, as well as automation and signalling technology. The SIEAMG TECBERG hoisting system for the service shaft at Gumgaon mine consisted of a cage / counterweight system with a floor-mounted, 4-rope Koepe winder with a diameter of 2.8 m, including an SB 1 type hydraulic braking system, as well as automation and signalling technology.
SIEMAG TECBERG functionally safe‘ fail-operational’ braking systems for hoists
As in the automotive industry, the most important component in terms of safety for shaft hoisting systems is not the drive, but the brake. However, the operating principle is exactly the opposite: whilst in automotive engineering deceleration is achieved by applying pressure, in a hoisting machine the brake is re-leased by applying pressure and, in the event of an emergency braking manoeuvre, is usually decelerated by a spring-loaded mechanism.
Numerous national and international regulations take this fact into account and stipulate specific minimum deceleration rates and corresponding upper limits on deceleration to minimise the stresses on people, particularly in the event of safety braking, during man hoisting.
Modern hoist brake systems implement these requirements through deceleration-controlled braking. In doing so, the design of the hoisting machine, the direction of travel and the moving masses are all considered and thus incorporated into the control pro-cess. In the context of safety considerations, fault conditions during the deceleration phase are examined alongside normal operation. Conventional systems then switch either to a second con-trolled channel or to an uncontrolled channel with a fixed braking force.
As braking systems continue to evolve, the focus is increasingly on their reliability and, consequently, on the assessment of a braking system’ s functional safety. In accordance with IEC 61508 and IEC 62061, the probability of failure of such a system can be classified into a total of four discrete levels( from SIL 1 to SIL 3).
SIEMAG TECBERG told IM it has been offering 3rd party SILcertified braking systems since 2010. These systems operate on the fail-safe principle, meaning that in the event of a fault during the deceleration phase, the system is brought to a halt with a predefined and fixed braking force.
An individual, plant-specific risk assessment is always required to determine the necessary Safety Integrity Level( SIL). As part of this risk assessment, the question of a hazardous condition regularly arises. This is undoubtedly the case when a safety braking manoeuvre is requested, and the brake fails to engage.
Less obvious, but just as critical, is braking using the maximum available braking force While drum winders are raising a conveyance the maximum braking force that is applied is of particular interest. If the deceleration is too severe, the machine comes to a standstill, whilst the inertia of the mass continues to drive the conveyor material towards the surface until gravity causes a reversal of direction and the full load impulse is transmitted to the load-bearing components.
The challenge lies in providing sufficient braking force whilst reliably preventing excessive deceleration. The safe implementation of this requirement must be ensured for all types of conveyor machine design and operation modes and must be tested and certified by an independent body.
In 2026, SIEMAG TECBERG has introduced two new 3rd party SIL3-certified systems, the ST ELIGIUS III and ST ELIGIUS IV, which operate according to the fail-operational principle. This means that, in the event of a fault, the haulage system can still be fully controlled brought to a functionally safe standstill. The choice between the three-channel( ST ELIGIUS III) and the four-channel system( ST ELIGIUS IV) is based on a system-specific braking calculation.
In this patented system design, each braking channel consists of two essentially identical control paths, as well as its own programmable logic controller( PLC). The intelligent architecture distributes resources such that one channel of the respective dual-channel PLC controls the main path of the assigned braking channel, whilst the second channel supplies the auxiliary path of another braking channel. In the event of a fault( eg failure of a PLC), the main channel of the faulty PLC fails, as does the associated secondary path of another braking channel. As one of the other channels immediately takes over via the secondary channel assigned to the PLC, all brake channels remain fully controllable. This continues to apply with a failure probability aligned with SIL 3 requirements, as confirmed by an independent body.
SIEMAG TECBERG says it does not merely consider the electrical, electronic and programmable electronic( E / E / PE) components, as specified by the above-mentioned standards, but also takes mechanical and hydraulic components of the system into account as part of its holistic approach. As a system manufacturer, it also considers the interfaces with other components of the shaft hoisting system including those that support hoisting activity such as shaft data systems.
The measures taken to ensure the safe operation of the braking system must address all elements of the safety mechanism( the safety function). This not only requires that the PLCs used have suitably low probability of failure but also that the sensors and actuators are suitably reliable. SIEMAG-TECBERG’ s holistic approach provides assurance of the whole safety chain, including the mechanical and hydraulic components.
The new ST ELIGIUS braking systems from SIEMAG TECBERG combine functional safety with fail-operational technology. They meet all current requirements for modern, highly reliable braking systems whilst it says setting a new standard in shaft hoisting technology.
26 International Mining | AUGUST 2026