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Presswork, stamping, fabrication Subcontracting Services
News Release from: DavyMarkham
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 03 December 2004
$25m Contract for Canadian nickel mine
AK Heavy Engineering has secured a major $25 million order for the supply of hoisting equipment for two new shafts at the Nickel Rim South underground deposit definition project, at Sudbury, Ontario.
AK Heavy Engineering has secured a major $25 million order for the supply of hoisting equipment for two new shafts at the Nickel Rim South underground deposit definition project, at Sudbury, Ontario The customer, Falconbridge of Toronto, is the third largest producer of refined nickel in the world and earlier this year announced a $550 million exploration programme at Nickel Rim South, with production expected to start in 2008
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 8 Aug 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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This represents one of the highest grade deposits found in Canadas Sudbury Basin, with inferred resources estimated at 13.7 million tonnes.
Part of the Kvaerner Group, Sheffield-based AK Heavy Engineering is one of the worlds leading suppliers of mine hoists and associated equipment, with a strong track record of work in Canada.
The latest contract entails the supply of a new 5500mm (18ft) diameter, main shaft production hoist, a 4600mm (15ft) multi-rope service hoist, two new 3100mm (10ft) auxiliary hoists, one for the main shaft and the other for the adjacent egress shaft, and the refurbishment and testing of an existing 4600mm (15ft) hoist for shaft sinking duties.
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The proposed mine depth is 1800 metres (5900ft), with the future option of increasing this to 2300 metres (7500ft), and the hoists will be sized accordingly and engineered for operating on a round-the-clock basis.
Significantly, this is a turnkey contract, with AK Heavy Engineering responsible for engineering design, computer modelling and finite element analysis, the manufacture and procurement of all components, on-site erection, installation, commissioning and handover, as well as ongoing support.
The main fabrication and assembly work for the new hoists will be undertaken at its Prince of Wales Road site, whilst the refurbishment and testing of the used hoist is being carried out locally in Canada.
The electrical engineering and complete drive and control system has been subcontracted to ABB Montreal, who in turn are sourcing equipment from Finland and Switzerland, as well as North America.
Canada has been at the forefront of nickel production for over a century, processing some 193,000 tonnes annually, which represents 15% of world output.
Some two-thirds of production comes from Sudbury mines, based around a large elliptical body of igneous rock known as the Sudbury Igneous Complex, which is rich in nickel-copper ore deposits.
In 2002, Falconbridge discovered fresh reserves at Nickel Rim South, some two kilometres north of Greater Sudbury airport, with particularly high grade nickel, copper and platinum-group metal deposits.
Part of Noranda Inc, Falconbridge is a leading low-cost producer of nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum, as well as one of the worlds largest recyclers and processors of metal-bearing materials, serving the needs of many industry sectors and employing some 6400 people worldwide.
Stainless steel is the primary application for nickel, consuming around two-thirds of the worlds annual supply, although it is vital to the production of a broad variety of industrial and consumer products, from rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles to specialist alloys for high efficiency gas turbines.
Global demand is growing fast, particularly as China is consuming an increasing share of the worlds nickel supply, and Falconbridge is well positioned to benefit from this trend.
Falconbridge has been mining nickel-copper ore in the Sudbury area since 1928.
Today, its operations consist of four underground mines, a mill that separates and collects the valuable minerals from these mines, with the capacity for three million tonnes of ore annually, and a smelter, which produces 130,000 tonnes of nickel-copper matte each year.
Operating at temperatures down to -30ºC and below, work has already commenced on the Nickel Rim South project, with initial blasting carried out in Spring 2004 and two shafts, the main one and a ventilation or second egress shaft, being sunk over the next few years.
The new hoists, being fabricated by AK Heavy Engineering, will first be subject to rigorous computer analysis, establishing the various modes of operation and calculating rope loads, then modelled using FEA tools, to determine predicted stress levels and optimum thickness of materials.
The hoists will also be designed to comply with latest safety codes and standards, notably the Ontario OHSA and SABS regulatory requirements, with regard to brake controls, emergency braking, spragging and dynamic rope forces.
The main shaft production hoist will be a double drum, direct drive unit, with the shaft made from a single, high quality forging, supported on generously-rated spherical roller bearings giving a minimum service life of 200,000 hours.
The drum barrel will be precision machined to provide parallel grooving, with anti-synchronous crossover sections, suitable for 54mm diameter hoist rope.
The slightly smaller service hoist, which will be used initially for sinking the main shaft, will be a similar double drum assembly, again fitted with spring applied, hydraulically reduced disc brake units and multi-tooth sliding type clutch assembly.
The two auxiliary hoists, which will transport personnel and material, will be similar in specification and are simplified versions of the main production hoist, with a single drum and no clutch mechanism.
These will incorporate an economical geared drive arrangement, featuring a triple-reduction helical gear unit and close-coupled drive motor.
The reconditioned, shaft sinking hoist is actually being removed from a mine in Arizona and shipped to Sudbury for engineering evaluation of the main components.
AK Heavy Engineering will then carry out non-destructive testing and certification, then modify and refurbish the existing equipment for sinking duties.
AK Heavy Engineering, through its subcontractor ABB, is also responsible for all electrical engineering work, including the drive and control system for the mechanical components, software simulations for demonstration and training purposes, and vibration analysis of the complete operating hoists.
The company will also supply PLC-based control systems, hoist control console and safety monitoring devices.
On site, AK Heavy Engineering will provide installation and commissioning crew, mobile cranes for initial heavy lift operations and full-time site management.
Contract completion is scheduled for May 2005.
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