Zambian mines driving demand for German industrial braking solutions
Featured in: Mining Weekly / Edited by Donna Slater / January 2024
As mines gear up for increased output on the Copperbelt in response to greater global demand for the critical mineral, mining companies operating in Zambia are turning to the German industrial braking solutions distributed by South Africa-based Huebner Speed Monitoring.
The mining jurisdiction is driving demand for HSM’s product offering in Africa, says Huebner Speed Monitoring MD Derek Colyn.
Encoder and drive technology specialist Johannes Huebner Giessen (JHG) has designed encoders specifically for aggressive and difficult working environments to address the limitations of standard equipment, which failed to provide mines with the working life expected.
“Dellner Bubenzer brakes also carved their niche in the space where environments are difficult and corrosive. This expertise makes our equipment perfect for harsh African mining environments when reliability is key,” elaborates Colyn.
Huebner Speed Monitoring has been the African arm and distributor for JHG for more than 40 years and the local distributor of braking systems manufacturer Dellner Bubenzer for the past nine years.
Demand in Zambia has leaned towards Huebner DC Tacho generators, but mostly spares, required to enable braking on rock and personnel winders.
“Huebner DC Tacho generators are well known for their high build quality, reliability and also for their long life. The Tacho generator signals feedback directly to the brake safety systems and ensures that the mine winder cable drum is slowed down in a controlled, predictable and, most importantly, reliable manner,” explains Colyn.
Digitisation has also prompted mining companies to invest in more modern mine winders, increasing demand for Huebner Giessen Incremental and Absolute encoders for speed and distance feedback, which offer the heavy-duty build quality and reliability required in the mining space, he says, adding that Huebner’s Universal encoder (U-One) is also a market pioneer.
“The U-One provides speed, absolute position, overspeed protection and electronic cam limit switch feedback in one robust unit, with signals sent to a control system using a fibre optic cable.”
Huebner Speed Monitoring recently received an order destined for North America for a U-One and electronic modules through a local engineering firm.
“The customer required the U-One encoder with the electronic rotary cam limit switch and Absolute encoder Profibus output to give accurate and exact positional switching feedback for a copper converter. The engagement with the customer also led to very special brakes being procured,” highlights Colyn.
The brakes needed a failsafe operational design to compensate for the loss of electricity and were supplied with a special pneumatic thruster, as well as an electrohydraulic thruster, to allow for their operation even when grid power failed. An air motor was also specified to ensure that in such an event, the brakes can be remotely released and the copper converter turned to enable the raw material to be removed from the copper converter before it cooled and solidified inside the unit.
Huebner Speed Monitoring and Dellner Bubenzer also delivered storm brakes in July last year for mining machines, such as stacker reclaimers and ship loaders, to a mining operation in Richards Bay.
Colyn says the orders were received owing to the strong footprint Huebner Speed Monitoring has in the storm brake segment, as well as the simple design of the brakes themselves.
“The customer is also familiar with the reliable and robust design associated with Bubenzer products, having existing Bubenzer rail clamps that have been in use, and trouble free, for more than 20 years.
“Huebner Speed Monitoring has also received Tacho generator and industrial brakes for repair that have been in service, uninterrupted, for more than 40 years. In our opinion, total cost of ownership is unmatched.”
Mining equipment demands the safest and most reliable encoders, switches and brakes available on the market, emphasises Colyn.
“Huebner is known to manufacture the best and most reliable encoders and tacho generators available. The same applies to Dellner Bubenzer, which is now one of the world’s premium braking companies with extremely high standards when it comes to safety and reliability.”
Downtime in production and mining is a large loss for any mine. Ensuring that machines operate consistently and reliably is important to the operations team, but above all, the safety of the people on site.
“An unreliable overspeed switch could result in serious injury, or even the death, of operators. Overspeed switches ensure that rotating equipment, such as a rope drum, does not exceed the preset limits. If an operator is in front of the machine and the overspeed switch does not do its job, the boom on a ship loader or stacker reclaimer could fall. The faster the machine can be stopped, the less energy is built up in the hoist system, not only saving the equipment but, most importantly, lives.”
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