Gauteng-based mining equipment manufacturer Tech Edge Group recently supplied winches, winders and a range of ancillary products and services for a new service shaft at a gold mine in East Asia.

This, the company notes, was carried out in collaboration with consultants from Australia and South Africa.

The company explains that the project started with scope formulation and upfront engineering in 2015, with the scope having been to sink and equip a new service shaft to relieve the existing L8 shaft from its men and materials duties.

“The transportation of mine personnel and material resulted in less production time for the L8 shaft, which necessitated the development of the new Co-O mine service shaft to return the main stream shaft back to full production capacity,” says Tech Edge Group MD Bannister Erasmus.

As project manager on the mine service shaft development, Tech Edge Group offered a full turnkey solution service that included high-level design, partnerships with industry leaders for detailed design and manufacturing, all quality assurance and control, and scheduling and progress reporting.

“The design and manufacture of the winders and related equipment were initiated during the second quarter of 2015,” Erasmus comments.

Tech Edge Group supplied all the relevant structural and civil designs and drawings during the design phase of the project.

The company’s scope of supply during the execution phase included single-drum service and stage winders, a complete headgear structure, jack catches, a winder house, winder ropes and attachments, guide ropes and cheese weights, aluminium cages/conveyances, sheave wheels, shaft communications systems and interlocking.

The winders and related equipment were commissioned in-house during the factory acceptance testing, which resulted in much more effective and efficient on-site commissioning.

Erasmus adds that Tech Edge Group is “ideally placed to offer a full turnkey service solution for small- and medium-sized mining operations, owing to the company’s vast experience”.

The standard of the company’s operational activities and the quality of its technologies, particularly with regard to safety, all complied with the international safety standards, such as IEC 61508, which this project demanded.

Tech Edge Group is proud of its accomplishment, Erasmus enthuses, and regards it as a huge feather in the company’s cap.

“We offer a fully customised service and solution, while working with most of the leading mining firms and consultants. We believe it is our flexibility and inventiveness that enables us to stand out from the crowd and further increase our international footprint,” Erasmus concludes.

Tech Edge Group provides winder engineering services for the purpose of determining the requirements, cost estimates, cash flows, project schedules and all other work associated with the project management of winders and shaft-related equipment.