Cradle to grave
Winding down
on the western
limb
Becker Mining South Africa’s winding rope
attachments at a mine on the western limb of
the Bushveld Complex.
Installation of Becker Mining South Africa’s winding
rope attachments at a mine on the western limb of the
Bushveld Complex is now complete and ready to be put
into full production.
“Four sets of head rope attachments and four sets of
tail rope attachments are required for the 4.5m-diameter
drum Koepe winder, which accommodates 38mm head
ropes and 40mm tail ropes,” says Tom Searle, senior
general manager at Becker Mining.
A Becker Thimble-type capel is fitted to the ropes, with
a hydraulic adjusting linkage fitted between it and the
conveyance. This linkage ensures there is equal sharing of
the load between the four head ropes.
Complete 30t Rocket-type safety detaching hook sets
were supplied for the man/material winder, which has a
4.88m drum and 51mm ropes. A set of 5t Rocket-type
safety detaching hooks was manufactured for the service
winder, which has a 26mm rope fitted.
Rocket safety detaching hooks are designed to detach
the winding rope from the conveyance in the event of an
overwind, and arrest and suspend the conveyance in the
headframe. This patented design caters for the prevention
of partial detachments whilst in service.
Becker Mining also supplied WRC clamps that were
used during installation and will be used in the future
maintenance of ropes. A complete spare set of rope
attachments was also supplied to the mine.
Hook sets, which were supplied complete with catch
plates and jack catch boxes, are mounted in the headgear
as a critical safety feature to prevent injury to personnel
and damage to the shaft infrastructure should an
overwind occur.
MAY 2018 MINING MIRROR
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