When a greenfield project for a major copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo required 55 conveyor drive packages and 25 spare industrial gear units for its underground in-plant and above-ground conveyors, the mine turned to SEW-EURODRIVE to supply this equipment for the demanding environment.
Precision-engineered industrial gearboxes were customised to meet the particularly challenging requirements for this DRC mine.
Mining, underground or above ground, always presents a challenging operating environment for precision-engineered industrial gearboxes. In this project, SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa found its well established capabilities and extensive experience tested to the full with the need to ensure the equipment would be capable of operating in an extremely hot and humid environment where heavy downpours of rain are common.
Whereas in South Africa and many other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, dust is typically the main challenge, this project required the company’s engineers to develop bespoke solutions to cope with the particular needs of the location.
Andreas Meid, Head of Department - Engineering says, “One of the key considerations was to ensure cooling was sufficient. Fortunately, our upgraded X.e-Series gearbox, together with the different cooling fans that we have available, were up to the task.”
The X.e-Series was improved about two years ago, with the enhancements including better thermal characteristics and a longer operating life for the gearboxes. “In all, there were six aspects which SEW-EURODRIVE looked at on the gearbox and improved. We are finding that these upgrades are benefitting our clients, enabling them to get more out of the gearboxes,” Meid says.
The high humidity in the DRC also meant the standard breather used in the typical Southern African environment was unsuitable. “If we had used a standard breather – where the main consideration is keeping dust out of the gearbox – there would have been a risk of moisture getting inside the unit and reducing the life of the oil and components,” he says. “The solution was to use a Des-Case breather, which removes the moisture from the air and prevents it from entering the gearbox.”
SEW-EURODRIVE’S journey with this DRC mine began in 2018, when it was contracted to provide gearbox units for the underground conveyors bringing the ore out of the mine. There were subsequent orders for processing plant conveyors and above-ground conveyors.
The project was one of many large projects undertaken by SEW-EURODRIVE on the African continent. “We offered what we call a ‘power pack’, which comprises a gearbox, a motor and high-speed, low-speed couplings. These are then mounted on a common base plate,” explains Meid. “We imported the gearboxes from Germany and manufactured the base plates and everything else in South Africa to meet the customer’s requirements. We put all the elements together and shipped them to the DRC site.”
Prior to shipping, testing and special packaging was done at an independent facility with the client present. This offered the client peace of mind before the packs left South Africa for the journey to site.
Once the equipment arrived at the mine – in some cases a three- to four-week road trip, exacerbated by Covid-19 border regulations – SEW-EURODRIVE technicians were there to oversee installation and commissioning. The mine began operating in June 2021 and the next phase is being planned.
“It was not a simple project as the client’s requirements were stringent and there were a large number of units involved. But we delivered to specification,” says Meid.
For more information visit: www.sew-eurodrive.co.za
