Shaft Hoisting System for the Mine Cabanasas of IBERPOTASH S.A., Spain

IBERPOTASH S.A. ordered SIEMAG Transplan GmbH and its consortium partner, DEILMANN-HANIEL GmbH, to reconstruct the Shafts No. 2 and 3 of the Cabanasas Mine and, furthermore, to equip Shaft No. 3 with a modern skip hoisting installation designed for an annual capacity of 3,2 million tons of potash salt.

Reconstruction of Shaft No. 3 is starting in March 2002; parallel to these works, Shaft No. 2 will be repaired at the weekends. The new hoisting equipment for Shaft No. 3 is scheduled to be installed from autumn 2002 on.

The hoisting installation to be supplied by SIEMAG has some specific technical features to meet the conditions prevailing in the mine. The existing shaft, with a clear diameter of 4,5 m and a rather problematic ground, only allows to install a single-compartment skip hoisting installation with rope guidance. The skip, sized for a payload of 30 t and moved at a speed of 16,5 m/s, is designed to hoist the required throughput of 570 t/h from a depth of -680 m. Special measures are provided to cope with the high volume of upcast air in the shaft.

The complete plant is designed for hoisting material, which is very susceptible to “caking”. For this reason, the loading station underground will be provided with a measuring belt conveyor to ensure calculated loading of the skip within the preset time. The swing-out-type skip with maximum cross section can easily be emptied completely.

The headframe will be a three-post structure with suspended guide frame. This type of construction allows minimizing the expenditure required for adapting the existing shaft collar to the new hoisting equipment. In accordance with the latest state of the art, the rope sheaves are fitted individually with roller bearings and thus need very little maintenance.

The core of the SIEMAG hoisting installation is the four-rope winder with integral motor. This type of construction has proven its top quality and exceptional reliability in our customers’ mines all over the world. The winder of 4,2 m diameter accommodates a 3100 kW motor; its highly compact and solid construction provides maximum security against motor air gap variations which in conventional hoisting installations have already caused shutdowns and considerable production losses.

IBERPOTASH S.A. has awarded the contract to SIEMAG to ensure in this way that the project of a complete turnkey shaft hoisting installation, including reconstruction of the existing shafts, is realised with minimum own expenditure.

A fact that contributed much to receiving the order was that at a very early stage of the project SIEMAG had been given the opportunity to support the customer’s team in planning and designing the installation.

The SIEMAG Project Management, which has proven its competence and reliability in many projects worldwide guarantees that the customer will receive an efficient hoisting installation within the agreed time schedule.

Contact:

Wolfgang Schubert, Phone No. +49-2738-21-461

Matthias Junge, Phone No. +49-2738-21-227