MINING HOISTS during the design phase of the ropes . We have an amazing engineering team , as well as a top-notch quality control team . They are able to take apart a rope and dissect any issues that there might be within the design or after it has been designed . These are all things that make the customer happy with the final product and that are differentiators for WireCo .”
Then there are the next generation products – which include those using synthetics as well as steel . Casar Turbolite-M uses a combination of steel and synthetic components to offer a high breaking force , excellent fatigue as well as very good crushing and wear resistance . The idea is to bring in a next generation product for deep mining applications where the rope weight becomes a limitation factor for the hoisting capacity . It has a high strength fibre core in addition to the plastic layer between the core and the outer steel strands . Fibre is seen as the next level for cores as it will bear load just like the steel .
Bruzzone : “ We are all looking to go deeper and hoist as much as possible . The weight of the rope in very deep shafts starts to limit the payload . So , the idea was to develop a rope that could take away a greater portion of the steel . While shaft sinking ropes are not so weight sensitive and can be all steel , this is not necessarily the case with production hoists . With a lighter weight rope that has a fibre eg Dyneema core , you can potentially have a smaller diameter if you have a higher braking load . If you have a higher braking load and your mining rope can be smaller , then your hoist can be smaller , your head sheaves can be smaller and your attachments become smaller too , these are some of the benefits that the mine will see from such a rope .”
It ’ s not an easy proposition to the mines as all wire rope manufacturers are still in the infancy of this product . The difference is also that synthetic fibre in the core isn ’ t just there to reduce weight , it is also more beneficial once it ’ s load bearing . That means extensive testing is often specified – and this has limited its scope in certain markets like Canada . Unlike steel strands where you can tell if a wire is broken in that strand on the rope somewhere using electromagnetic testing , there is no standard test allowing you to ascertain any issues with the integrity of the fibre , and this is an issue for Canadian regulators but also other legislations .
This is something WireCo is working on – coming up with a suitable test for the legislation to approve such cores . In the US , Turbolite-M has been tested and is still being used in a real mine setting as a service hoist . However , there are far less restrictions in the US market allowing for a full test of the ropes . WireCo is not alone in developing these solutions and the same issue
has been at play for others as well .
As stated , WireCo aims to provide premium products and service , not to operate as a commodity rope supplier . “ The performance and consistency of our products speaks for itself . And it ’ s not just about the rope itself . When we spec out a job , we look at the full system . We look at the hoisting system , the sockets they are using , even evaluate the conditions of all of the grooves inside the drum and also the head sheave . Based on all of these observations we are able to calculate any issues or potential future issues and we can estimate the life of the rope . Customers really like this as for example if they know they are going to get say 16 months out of the rope , they can more exactly specify their planned maintenance – for example , it is preferable to schedule maintenance of hoists
during the summer to avoid the harsh winter low temperatures . This is just one small examples , but properly planned maintenance allows mining operations to save money and time .”
Bruzzone said that WireCo always takes into account the environment the ropes are working in . And that includes things like the pH of the mine water and the ambient humidity . " We can counter difficult conditions with coatings where there are several options – bright , which is just the raw steel and may be enough for a very dry shaft ; then you have galvanised ( zinc ) and then you have other specialised alloys like Galfan , Bezinal and others . Obviously the coated products have a higher price point . At WireCo we are also working on our own proprietary system internally which is based on innovation related to the wire itself .”
AUGUST 2024 | International Mining 83