ContiScanTM

By

Continuous Monitoring Wire Ropes for Mine Hoisting Operations.

Presentation Plan Hoist ropes

• Importance

• Mandatory and routine Inspections

Continuous monitoring of wire ropes for mine hoisting • Why a continuous monitoring of mine hoisting ropes.?

• Description of the ‘’Contiscan’’ monitoring system

• Information data gathering

Advantages of the ‘’Contiscan’’ monitoring system • Visual rope inspection on daily basis

• Monthly inspection

• Payload capacity flexibility and potential increase for deep mining operations.

• Periodical inspections by external experts

• Importance of the costs associated with hoisting production shutdowns.

Commercialization and availability

Importance of hoist ropes

• Hoist ropes are critical to underground mining operations; shafts are the main and often the unique access for personnel, services and ore + waste handling from underground to surface.

• The optimum ore (+ waste) production capacity of a mine operation is directly related hoisting system capacity that includes the ropes as one of the most critical component.

Hoist rope inspection and maintenance

The Regulation respecting OHS in mines requires:

• Daily examination of ropes (visually)

• Weekly inspection (lubrication, dead turn, attachments)

• Monthly inspection (clean, measure and inspect rope at crossover points and at least every 100 m (328.1 ft));

• Break tests (after 12 months, then every 6 months)

• Electromagnetic inspections (6 months, 3 months if loss of metallic section(LMA) exceeds 6%).

Purpose of the ‘’ContiscanTM’’ monitoring system • Real-time and normal speed detection of all the critical

parameters that ensure the analysis of the hoisting ropes’ integrity in conformance with current regulations

• Better follow-up on the evolving condition of the hoisting ropes (better maintenance planning and ropes retirement)

• Reduction of production shutdowns for inspection, which increases the productivity of the operation

• Optimization of the hoisting ropes effective life

• Provide the possibility to takes advantage of Quebec regulations, article 288.1, which in certain circumstances allows a safety factor at the conveyance attachment of less than 5.0 (minimum 4.0) , and thus allows the payload ore and/or waste material to be increased

Characteristics of the ‘’ContiscanTM’’ system • Installed under the head sheave

• Permanent magnets

• Height: 11 inches

• External diameter: 16.5 inches

• Internal diameter: 6.5 inches

• Weight: 280 lb

• Separable to allow installation around existing ropes

• Thick external protective covering (facilitates handling, reduces risks of injury)

• Produces a signal for local defects, metallic rope section and rope lay length

• Runs at full operation speed

System architecture • 1 or 2 heads per PLC

• Up to 4 PLC

• Ethernet communication

• 1 data server

• Raw data files backed up on a filestore

• Hyperlinks backed up in a MsAccess database

• Unlimited number of clients to access and display data

Measures local defects

• Allows to identify broken strands and other local problems.

Measures metallic rope section

• Allows to evaluate the capacity loss of a given rope section due to corrosion, wear, stretching and variation in lay length.

Measures lay length

• Evolution of lay length extension related to depth

• Evolution during the useful life of hoist rope

• Local disturbances due to local defects

• A variation in lay length causes variation in metallic rope section.

Section 305, Regulation respecting OHS in mines 305. Any hoisting rope or tail rope and their attachments shall be:

1. Examined visually at least once per day of use in order to detect any visible deterioration;

2. Examined at least once a week in order to ensure that the rope is lubricated, to detect any deterioration, including the part of the rope that normally rests on the drum and its attachment to the conveyance or the counterweight;

3. Examined at least once per month at intervals not exceeding 45 days; for this purpose, the rope shall be cleaned at cross-over points and at least every 100 m (328.1 ft); at all such points, the diameter of the rope shall be measured and its surface examined to detect broken wires or other defects.

Despite the foregoing, an electromagnetic monitoring system of the rope may replace the examination referred to in subparagraph 1 of the first paragraph and an electromagnetic examination may replace the examination referred to in subparagraph 3 of the first paragraph.

Daily visual inspection

Visual

• Production shutdown necessary

• Low speed

• Outer rope layer only

• One side of rope only

• Restricted by grease

• Inspector must remain fully attentive for a very long time

Electromagnetic

• Production shutdown not necessary

• High speed

• Entire rope (inner and outer layers)

• Not restricted by grease

• Possibility to compare with previous results to quickly identify new events

• Results are archived

Increase in load capacity of particular interest for deep mines

• Under Section 288.1 of the Regulation respecting OHS in mines, it is permitted to use a minimum safety factor (SF) provided that Codes of Practice SABS-0293 and SABS-0294 are applied:

• SF = (25000 / (4000+L) where L is expressed in meters;

• SABS-0294 defines minimum performance limits, testing and maintenance on drum miner machines required for application of minimum SF, and requires:

– Higher ratios of rope diameter/drum : rope / head sheave

– Measure of dynamic loads

– Continuous electromagnetic monitoring

• SABS-0293 defines inspection methods and rejection criteria for hoist ropes

• The application of two codes of practice allows load capacity to be increased substantially and safely.

Comparison of the payload according to depth

Inspection by external expert

• This monitoring system is not a substitute for the inspections conducted by external experts.

• Portable systems using an equivalent technology offer better contrast resolution (because of the opening diameter).

• System data are easily transmitted to an external expert, who can use them: – To closely follow the change in state of hoist ropes

at the end of their useful life;

– To determine whether another inspection is necessary.

Costs associated with production shutdowns Losses associated with production shutdowns typically amount to several hundreds of thousands of dollars per day.

Unplanned shutdowns typically last longer than planned shutdowns.

Commercialization and availability

• Meglab has acquired a license from Natural resources Canada in 2012

• The system will be commercialized in 2013.

Partners / Acknowledgements

Questions / Comments

We invite you to meet us at:

Booth #1402