One of ABB's largest hoists to be installed at Australian mine

ABB has won an order for its highest payload Koepe production hoist, associated infrastructure, and safety systems from Australian mining company OZ Minerals. ABB says the contract will help to ensure efficient processing performance and a long service life as part of an ongoing $600 million expansion at the Prominent Hill mine in South Australia.

The hoist, which will be designed and supplied by ABB, has a capacity of 39,400 kg and the strongest drivetrain that ABB has ever installed in Australia. ABB specialists will also supervise installation and commissioning.

OZ Minerals’ gold, silver and copper mine began operations in 2009 as an open pit mine, but it is now an underground mine producing 4.5 million tonnes per annum, moving to between 4.5 and 5 million tonnes per annum from 2022 via a trucking operation. The hoisting shaft provides access to mineral resources outside the current trucking mine plan that would have been uneconomical via a trucking operation from around 2033.

Installing the Wira shaft will increase the annual underground mining rate, extend the mine life, reduce operating costs, lower emissions intensity, and reduce overall operational risk, according to OZ Minerals.

The last four mine hoists installed in Australia have been awarded to ABB. “The project is important for the country’s mining industry and metals security,” said Stuart Cowie, Head of Process Industries, ABB Australia. “The local supply chain and workforce also relies on the mine and at ABB we’re enabling it to continue for several more years with increased safety, higher production rates and lower emissions.”

Once operational, the installation at Prominent Hill will have ABB Ability Safety Plus for hoists, a suite of mine hoist safety products that ABB says brings the highest level of personnel and equipment safety available to the mining industry. It is a fully SIL 3 certified suite of solutions for hoists, examined and certified by an independent global functional safety certifying body, and developed in accordance with the International Safety of Machinery standard IEC62061. The products include Safety Plus Hoist Monitor (SPHM), Safety Plus Hoist Protector (SPHP) and Safety Plus Brake System (SPBS) including Safety Brake Hydraulics (SBH).

Image caption: Prominent Hill mine, ©OZ Minerals.