SPECIALIST EQUIPMENT
a failure or changeover. Investing in durable solutions has saved mines in Australia and elsewhere around the world millions of pounds. Casar has long been an innovator in wire rope technology and was the fi rst manufacturer to produce eight-strand wire ropes when six-strand was the norm and later was a leader in developing plastic-fi lled wire ropes, compacting and swaging. T e addition of plastic impregnation to the
T
wire rope, in constructions such as the eight- strand Turboplast product, was highly innovative at the time and provided several benefi ts previously not available in wire rope technology. T e plastic core provided a cushion between the outer strands and the inner core of the wire rope. It also aided in retaining the lubrication in
the core and providing a structural stability not available previously. T ese factors along with specialised wire requirements and computer-aided design enabled the special mining ropes to achieve an extremely long service life. Western Mining Corporation (now BHP
Billiton) at Olympic Dam in South Australia had previously used a number of traditional triangular strand ropes from various manufacturers but still struggled to achieve an acceptable rope life. T e costly downtime during rope change-outs was a major interruption to production. Casar suggested Turboplast in a world-fi rst for Casar in the critical mine winding application. T e outright purchase price of the Turboplast was in excess of the ropes the company had been using but the promise of extended rope life and less costly downtime was worth the extra investment. T e ropes performed exceptionally well, achieving
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Casar wire ropes require less maintenance and a smaller number of rope changes than traditional rope solutions
a service life of nearly fi ve times the previous ropes. BHP Billiton is still using Casar ropes at Olympic Dam to this day. After this success, Mt Isa Mines and other
mines were next on the agenda. T e installation achieved a then world record number of cycles for a double drum winder, which was in excess of 5.5 times that achieved by previous ropes. Mt Isa has just removed the second set of ropes with another world record, achieving a further 25% rope life. Casar is a leader in winder rope applications
in Australia for metalliferous mines and boasts installations at all major metalliferous mines. All mines have excellent results in regards to cycles achieved, thus justifying the higher purchase price of these premium wire ropes. Add to this the need for less maintenance and the reduction in the number of rope changes required and the mine is still well and truly in front. T e rope change alone on a set of ropes can take up to 40 hours and if two or three rope
LONGER- LASTING
he lifespan of wire rope in mine winding is critically important, not just due to the high cost of materials but more importantly, the downtime in production during
ROPES
Christian Schorr-Golsong details a ‘quantum jump’ in wire rope life for drum and friction winders
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