Mechanical Technology

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40 Mechanical Technology — August 2015
⎪ Nota bene ⎪
Index to advertisers
Altair Engineering..........................IBC
Atlas Copco.....................................2
Clyde Bergemann Africa .................17
Hansen Industrial Gearboxes............24
Instruweld ....................................34
Koike............................................13
M&J Engineering............................37
Martec..........................................15
Metso Minerals. .............................22
Powermite.......................... OFC, OBC
SASSDA........................................31
Verder Pumps................................32
Weir Minerals................................IFC
Industry diary
September 2015
Pump Efficiency & Reliability
Workshop (3 Day)
28-30 September
Durban, Protea Hotel
Phindi Mbedzi:+27 11 325 0686
October 2015
ALUEXPO, 2015, International
Trade Fair for Aluminium Technology
8-10 October
Istanbul Expo Center, Turkey
Süphan Ilker:
Monika Brandt,
Valves Selection, Installation &
Operation (4 Day)
12-15 October
Johannesburg, Cedar Park
Phindi Mbedzi:+27 11 325 0686
Condra has completed load tests
on two 25-ton headgear cranes
manufactured at the company’s
Germiston works for Mopani Copper
Mines’ Sinclinorium shaft.
The tests were witnessed by a rep-
resentative from Mopani Copper Mines
(MCM) during June ahead of delivery
during July to the Nkana Mine, near
Kitwe in Zambia, where the new shaft
is scheduled for commissioning toward
Bauma Conexpo Africa 2015
The first Bauma Africa event took place in 2013
at the Gallagher Estates and was supported by
754 exhibitors from 38 countries and attended
by 14 700 visitors from over 100 countries. At
that time, Messe München and AEM announced
their intention to set up a joint venture in Africa,
which has culminated in the upcoming Bauma
Conexpo Africa.
Dennis Slater, president of AEM, comments:
“Africa offers tremendous opportunities for
North American companies in particular. We
are pleased to be supporting our members as
they enter or expand in this market.”
This International Trade Fair for construc-
tion machinery, building material machines,
mining machines and construction vehicles
will be held from September 15 to 18, 2015,
at the Johannesburg (NASREC) Expo Centre in
Johannesburg.
Load testing on one of the two 25 t headgear cranes
manufactured by Condra for Mopani Copper Mines’
Sinclinorium shaft.
Condra delivers Sinclinorium headgear cranes
the end of this year.
The two headgear cranes are part of
a bigger order that includes two 70 t
maintenance cranes for the project’s
winderhouse. Condra will begin work on
these in August.
MCM’s headgear cranes were manu-
factured as identical machines with very
high lifts of over 80 m. They feature high
tensile ropes and incorporate materials
of the best possible quality on critical
components. Gearboxes, for example,
are made of 36B case-hardened stainless
steel. Live axle drives have been used
throughout.
Condra has manufactured several
cranes for Mopani Copper Mines over the
years, including overhead cranes, high lift
machines and hoists.
Managing director Marc Kleiner says
that this customer had named reliabil-
ity and rapid service response among
the reasons for awarding the order for
Synclinorium’s headgear and winder-
house cranes to Condra, which submitted
a tender price higher than those of two
rival bidders.
Rapid response is supplied by com-
pany agent EC Mining, which is based in
the Copperbelt and able to react quickly
to service calls using spare parts held
in stock. Kleiner adds that competitor
manufacturers in the northern hemi-
sphere generally found it difficult to
respond promptly to service requirements
in Zambia.
“Last year, we lost the order for
Synclinorium’s workshop cranes to a
European company, but there have ap-
parently been long waiting times for spare
parts for these cranes when they were
needed,” he says.
“Copper mining companies need
maximum production because of the
currently depressed copper price, but this
is dependent on the reliability of all ma-
chinery installed in the mines. There is no
margin for excessive machine downtime.
An interesting aspect of manufacture
of the MCM cranes was the flexing of
factory production schedules in order
to meet time-to-site requirements.
According to Kleiner, this is something
that Condra is accustomed to doing,
whereas most rival companies tend not
to be as accommodating.
Africa’s market for very high-lift cranes
such as those for MCM has for many
years been dominated by Condra, which
designs these machines around the com-
pany’s durable and robust K-Series hoist
range, proven to be dependable under
conditions of increased mechanical strain
associated with high-lift applications.
Condra uses silumin rotor cores to
enhance K-Series motor-starting torque
in the high-lift role, and has developed
variable speed control levels on the drives
to enable precise load positioning even on
lifts of 100 m and more. Hoist speeds of
between zero and 18 m/min and travel
speeds of between zero and 200 m/min
are possible.
Condra manufactures to ISO 9000
standards, and complies with the stan-
dards of ISO 14000 and ISO 18000.