Mine projects galore for empowered group
18 February 2005
The industry division of Alstom South Africa, which is the electrical projects and systems arm of the group, continues to receive valuable contract work from gold-, platinum- and diamond-mines and industrial customers.
The mine-winder systems (MWS) department completed the installation, commissioning and automation of the South Deep angled BMR rock hoist last year. According to Mike Jenkins, MWS sales manager, the winder has a twin 6-MW induction motor/cycloconverter drive system controlled by a digital state-of-the-art control system. The shaft sinking was implemented using the adjacent angled BMR worker winder, which has a twin 4,2-MW Ward-Leonard drive system controlled by a digital regulating system, also supplied by Alstom. Both winders have now completed their shaft-sinking and equipping duties and are now performing respective rock and worker duties, as the mine comes into production.
“The company recently secured work for the upgrading of preowned winders (from the gold-mining industry) for use as the sinking kibble winders at Impala Platinum’s new No 16 and No 20 shafts,” says Jenkins. These are dc/12-pulse converter winders, with the existing dc motors (supplied by former founder company GEC in 1988), now being retrofitted with modern digital regulating, control and safety systems. Two of the three hoists must be operational by August and October respectively.
At De Beers’ Finsch mine, in the Northern Cape, a new armature converter will be installed over Easter to an existing twin 2,7-MW dc motor winder (supplied by AEG in 1979) to complement the digital regulating system supplied to that hoist last tear, comments Jenkins.
“The metals and industrial systems (MIS) department is currently installing two variable-speed drive (VSD) systems to the grinding mills at Siguiri opencast mine, in Guinea,” says Colin Tanner-Tremaine, MIS sales manager.
A similar VSD was commissioned recently at an opencast mine in Mexico.
“The company is commissioning three 1 300-kW pumps for a waterpumping station at Morgenstond, near Ermelo,” continues Tanner-Tremaine. The turnkey project involves the supply, installation and commissioning of pumps, motors, switchgear, power-factor correction, programmable logic controllers and telemetry.
“The strength of the MIS department lies in the automation and control of rolling mills and process lines in the metals industry,” comments Tanner-Tremaine. MIS has undertaken significant work for Ispat Iscor, Highveld Steel and Huletts Aluminium over recent years.
“The MWS department has the largest installed base of electrical hoists in Southern Africa,” says Jenkins. Alstrom Industry is part of the South African-owned black economic-empowerment (BEE) group, Alstom South Africa, in which the BEE equity currently stands at 38%. The group’s BEE shareholders are Tiso Private Equity, Kagiso Ventures Private Equity, Kgorong Investment Holdings, Sibilant Investments and Management.
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