Overlooked but critical pieces of machinery

According to crane and hoist manufacturer Condra, while high-capacity overhead cranes often make headlines because of their impressive size and technical complexity, their smaller and simpler cousins should not be overlooked and are often the workhorses of the factory and beyond

This was the assessment of Marc Kleiner, managing director of Condra, as he commented on a slew of recent orders taken for Platreef Mine, ranging from a giant 40/5-ton double-girder headgear crane, through smaller single- and double-girder cranes, hoists and crawls, to no fewer than nineteen chain blocks, including a 2-ton explosion-proof chain hoist. These are all for installation at Platreef Mine’s Number Two Shaft, part of the Platreef PGM project near Mokopane, Limpopo Province in South Africa.

Often the go-to company for buyers seeking proven ability at the more complex end of the technical design spectrum, these orders highlight Condra’s capabilities in smaller and more standard lifting equipment. Nevertheless, the standout machine for Platreef remains the very large headgear crane: a 40/5-ton double-girder electric overhead travelling giant spanning 17 metres, which will itself weigh almost as much as its 40-ton maximum load.

Murray & Roberts Cementation supplied the procurement recommendation for this machine, which will install and maintain the shaft’s headgear-mounted winders and sheave wheels, raising and lowering component parts over a lifting height of 94 metres. The order was placed by Ivanplats itself.

Switching to a long list of other overhead cranes and hoists ordered from Condra for Platreef by consulting engineers Dowding Reynard and Associates, Kleiner emphasised their importance.

“These are all workhorses,” he remarked. “Even the smallest 2-ton explosion-proof chain hoist will play an important role.”

Essential equipment

Condra’s first deliveries to Platreef took place in late 2023, comprising a short-headroom hoist for the mine’s tailings filter, and a K-Series hoist for the mill feed conveyor. Both are being used for maintenance work.

A 5-ton single-girder overhead crane for the mine’s filter building followed soon afterward, with a 10-ton double-girder overhead crane for the plant workshop. One of these machines was dust-ignition-proof rated to ATEX Zone 21/22 standard. Control of both is by radio remote with manual pendant back-up.

“Compared with the headgear crane, these are simpler, more straightforward machines, but each one meets an important requirement,” Kleiner said.

Elaborating on the headgear crane itself, Kleiner explained that design challenges had included the delivery of above average lifting speeds over the very high lifting height of 94 metres. The 40-ton main hoist will travel at up to 8,4 metres per minute, and the 5-ton auxiliary hoist at up to 12,2 metres per minute. Both speeds are variable.

Kleiner explained that the modularity of Condra’s hoist range had made it possible to accommodate the Platreef specifications, with careful design of the crane’s end-carriages facilitating installation at lowest possible cost to the customer.

“We replaced the normal one-piece end-carriage with a double-bogey design,” he noted. “This will allow a 35-ton tower crane to lift the headgear crane into position one girder at a time. Without the doubled-bogey arrangement the entire crane would have had to be lifted into position as an assembled unit, a more difficult operation.”

Other features of the headgear crane include an automatic storm brake to counter wind loading, a full-length work platform, and radio control with mobile pendant back-up.

Click here to discover more information around Condra's deliveries to the mine