Unit 19

Mine Hoisting
In the Beginning...
In the very early days of mining,
people carried ore and rock up
ladders on their backs. Mines at
this time were shallow and close
to surface. As mines went
deeper, more effective methods
of hoisting were needed.
Windlass
A simple hoisting device that was commonly used before electricity
and steam was the windlass. It consisted of a bucket and a pulley
system that was used to raise and lower the broken muck.
 Steam Hoist

With the coming of steam,

hoisting was commonly done
with steam-driven hoists.
These hoists allowed mines to
push deeper into the earth.
 Electric Hoist
The application of electricity to
mine hoisting design finally
allowed mining to be conducted
to almost any depth with safety
and efficiency. Daily tonnages
were increased dramatically.
 Hoists

Hoists are used transport to men,

materials, and supplies in and out
of a mine when large vertical or
near vertical distances are
involved. Hoists are the connecting link
between the mine plant and the
surface plant. Unless the mine is
accessed by a drift or adit, some form of
the hoisting system is necessary for
slopes or shaft.
 Hoisting Requirements:

 Hoists are used in deep, steep-sided mine configurations where rail or

truck inclines are prohibitively long, steep and difficult to maintain.
 A site free of mining activity for a considerable length of time is necessary.

 Slope stability is another consideration because the skipway, loading or

dumping structures must not move.
 The size of the material to be hauled is a factor to be considered.
 Excessively large boulders are destructive to skips and dumping facilities.
 The ore body has to lend itself to hauling to a central location.

 If haulage could be accomplished by some other means economically,

then it may not be feasible to use a hoist.
1) Surface Plant: Type A
Hoist room (head frame or ground mounted)

 Hoist drum or sheave (imparts motion to

the rope)
 Hoist electrical and mechanical equipment
(prime mover, brake, clutch, controls)
 Hoist ropes (steel wire strands, woven in a
pattern or lay)
 1) Surface Plant: Type B

Headframe (tower or A-frame, steel or reinforced concrete)

 Idler sheaves
 Storage bins (ore and waste)
 Skip dump mechanism
(overturning or bottom dump)
 2) Shaft Plan

 Skips (bulk transport)

 Cages, elevators
(personnel and
material)

 Shaft guides (tracks

for skips and cages)
 3) Underground Plant

 Dump and storage bin

 Crusher (if size reduction required
for hoisting)

 Loading pocket
 Personnel and materials
handling facilities
 Shaft Design

For a production shaft, design starts

with determining the cross section
or plan view of the shaft. The
production shaft is designed to the
minimum dimensions required to
contain and guide the shaft
conveyances, as well as provide
space to place and access the utility
lines. The design may include
provision for a man-way
compartment and ventilation
duct(s).
Shaft Design

The conveyances
may ride on rope
guides suspended in
the shaft or fixed
guides supported
with structural steel
members (the shaft
sets).
 Shaft Design
In the case of an open ventilation shaft,
these two considerations (quantity of
ventilation air and facility for shaft sinking)
are the only design considerations to
determine the shaft diameter.

For most hard rock mines, the circular

concrete lining is now designed to the
minimum practical thickness and is
poured in place without reinforcing steel.
If rigid guides and steel sets are to be
employed in a production shaft, they are
designed to take into account vertical and
lateral components of loads from
conveyance travel, guide friction, cage
dogging (if applicable), and resistance to
ventilation air flow. It is normal practice to
provide extra thickness in steel members
and to specify a minimum thickness to
account for corrosion. At one time, the
shaft was equipped by inserting the
horizontal members (buntons and dividers)
into recesses left Today, the most common
practice is to support the horizontal
members with saddle brackets bolted to
inserts left in the lining.
 Curb Rings

The first shafts sunk in hard rock mines

had no lining. When some were sunk
deep, problems developed during the
sinking and subsequent operations.
These problems were principally related
to ground control.
The way to overcome this problem was
to
do what others had already done in
mines that had to traverse soft ground
formations – sink them circular and line
them with masonry.
Because it is difficult to lay masonry
upside down, the procedure was to
pour concrete curb rings at intervals so
that the masonry could be laid up
between them as the shaft sinking
advanced.
 Continuous Lining

Following World War II, a

procedure was developed in
South Africa where the curb ring
pour was simply continued up to
the next ring. This procedure was
used in achieving extraordinary .
rates of advance and was soon
copied elsewhere In North
America, this procedure and the
circular shaft section were quickly
adopted in hard rock mines to
replace the concrete lined
rectangular shaft and, in many
cases, to replace the traditional
rectangular timber shaft.
Concrete Lining Advantages

The concrete lining has other

advantages.

Perhaps the
most important is to provide an
anchor for the shaft steel and utility
hangers. Another advantage is that
the concrete lining provides a
smooth surface for ventilation air.
The resistance of a concrete lined
ventilation shaft is about ¼ that of a
raw raise of the same diameter.
 Head Frames

Headframes are built with timber, steel,

concrete, and a combination of steel and
concrete.

Wood headframes are no longer built in

industrialized countries, but they still
have application in the developing
world. The question as to whether a
steel or concrete headframe will be best
for a particular project is a problem
often encountered.
The height of a headframe, for purposes
of engineering, is defined as the vertical
distance from the collar elevation to the
center-line of the highest head sheave
when ground mounted hoists are
employed. For tower mounts, it is the
distance from collar to the centerline of
the highest hoist wheel or drum. As a
general rule, steel headframes are
employed for drum hoists and ground
mounted friction hoists while concrete
headframes are employed for tower
mounted friction hoists, sometimes
including small drum hoists mounted in
the same tower. No standard designs
exist for steel or concrete headframes –
each one is custom built.
 Following are the advantages of a steel headframe:

 A steel headframe is usually less expensive than a concrete

headframe
 A steel headframe is more adaptable to modifications
 Construction errors and blunders are more readily remedied on a steel
headframe
 A steel headframe is considerably lighter and therefore, requires less
substantial foundations
 whose components were milled and fabricated under “shop
conditions” as opposed to a concrete headframe where quality control
is more concerned with “field
 Quality assurance is simpler with a steel headframe conditions.”
 A steel headframe is simpler to design
 At mine closure, a steel headframe is simpler to demolish and its
components may have scrap value.
 Following are the advantages of a concrete headframe:

 A concrete headframe requires less maintenance and is less susceptible to

corrosion.
 A concrete headframe provides an enclosure upon construction while a steel
headframe requires insulated cladding to be weather tight.
 A concrete headframe provides better opportunity for architectural aesthetics
in the opinion of most designers.
 A concrete headframe is less susceptible to vibration.
 A concrete headframe is less susceptible to sway during high winds.
 A concrete headframe designed to accommodate a ground -mounted hoist is
most often designed without backlegs, saving desirable real estate.
 A concrete headframe is less susceptible to damage from run-away vehicles,
wayward mobile crane booms, etc.
 Drum Hoists

The drum hoist stores the ropes on the

drum much like a line on a fishing reel.
Drum hoists are employed in mines on
tuggers, slushers, stage winches, cranes,
rope tensioners, and even for long plumb
line winches. These machines are the
most significant hoists in a mine, used for
hoisting the ore and waste rock as well as
moving personnel, equipment, and
. materials into and out of the mine
Drum Hoists

Single-drum mine hoists are satisfactory for limited application;

however, most are manufactured double drum to facilitate balanced
hoisting of two conveyances in the shaft. The double-drum mine
hoist is by far the most common type employed. All mine hoists
manufactured today are driven electrically by motors that have an
independent ventilation source. Having an independent source
reduces the horsepower requirements by more efficient cooling of
the windings especially during slow-speed operations and permits
filtering of the air that reaches the motor.
Small or very slow mine hoists may employ a gearbox for speed
reduction.
For mine applications, drum hoists compete with friction hoists.
Drum Hoists
Single cylindrical drums plus attached electricals is the simplest. For
multilevel hoisting a clutched double-drum hoist is used to allow one skip
or cage to stop while the other is in motion. With two skips single-level
hoisting is suitable.

Two skips or cages travel in balance.

Occasionally, a counter weight

replaces one conveyance e.g. with
single drum to permit multi-level
hoisting.

Other drum shapes used to improve

power characteristics are the conical
and cylindroconical.
Drum Hoists
Types of Drum Hoists
1) Single Drum Hoist

2) Double Drum Hoist - As the name implies, double drum hoists

hoist with two drums.

3) Multi Drum Hoist - Blair Type South African invention. No Blair type
hoists in North America

4) Split-Differential-Diameter Hoists - This hoist is also sometimes

called the divided drum hoist and combines features of both the
single drum hoist and the double drum hoist.

5) Multiple Drum Hoists for Deep Shaft (South African Invention)

 Drum Types

1. Single Cylinder - Used for

partly balanced hoisting where
but one level is to be served or
when a counterbalance is
used.

2. Double Cylindrical Drum -

Ordinarily installed in metal
mines. The two drums may be
disconnected by means of
clutch or clutches. This allows
adjustment to levels and
permits partly balanced
hoisting from all depths.
 Drum Types
3. Conical Drum - The two cones are
sometimes separated and a bearing placed
between them. It is adapted to one level.

4. Cylindroconical Drum - Similar to the

conical drum, the chief advantage of
the conical and cylindriconical drum is
the reduction of the starting torque
necessary. The two diameters are
chosen so that the moment of the
ascending load is practically balanced
by the descending load.
 Koepe/Friction Hoists

Friction hoist passes ropes over a

wheel, but does not store it. The
friction or Koepe hoist was
introduced in 1877 by Frederick
Koepe. The principle is that the
hoist rope passes over a friction
type pulley which has a tension
differential between the point where
the rope enters the wheel and the
point where it leaves the wheel.
Koepe/Friction Hoists
The friction (or Koepe) hoist is a
machine where one or more ropes
pass over the drum from one
conveyance to another, or from a
conveyance to a counterweight. In
either case, separate tail ropes are
looped in the shaft and connected
to the bottom of each conveyance
or counterweight.
Because they normally use several
hoisting ropes, the largest friction
hoists can handle heavier payloads
than the largest drum hoists. The
drum hoists are normally limited to
the capacity of a single rope.
Koepe/Friction Hoists
Koepe/Friction Hoists
Ground Mount Friction Hoist

Listed below are ground mount friction hoist advantages:

 Shorter headframe.
 Steel headframe
 An elevator is not required in the headframe.
 An overhead bridge crane may not be required.
 Easier access for maintenance.
 A heated headframe is not required.
 A water supply to the top of the headframe is not required.
 Shorter runs of power cables
 Less susceptible to damage from overwinds, mine
explosions, lightning, and earthquakes.
 Most efficient use of available space in the shaft for
conveyances.
Ground Mount
Friction Hoist
Tower Mount Friction Hoist

Listed below are tower mount friction hoist advantages:

 Zero or one deflection sheave is required.

 Installing and changing head ropes is less complicated.
 Less real estate is occupied.
 The hoist ropes are not subject to the elements – icing is less of
a concern.
 Rope vibration (whip) is less of a concern.
 The headframe tower may be more aesthetically pleasing.
 The headframe shell can be used for shaft sinking simultaneous
with Koepe hoist installation above the sinking sheave deck.
Tower Mount Friction Hoist
Hoist Cycle Time “T”
One of the important aspects of hoisting is determining the cycle time.
The cycle time must be determined to design and specify a proposed
hoist and, for this purpose, a simulated hoist cycle is calculated. The
simulated cycle enables prediction of the hoist production and the
capacity of the drive motor(s).

The hoist cycle time is the time taken for one complete trip.

The cycle is different for skipping, caging, or shaft sinking.

It is usually measured in seconds.

Hoist Cycle Time “T”
 Production Availability

“Availability” is defined as the percent of the time the piece of

equipment is available to work compared with the total time available.

This time not only maintenance downtime into account, but also
downtime due to shaft repairs, power outages, rope dressing, skip
change-out, etc.

It will usually be equivalent to approximately 16 hours of hoisting per

day (67%), for a seven day per week operation.

For a five or six day per week operation, it may be 18 hours per day
(75%) because some maintenance work can be performed on the
weekend.
Production Availability
 Wire Ropes

Wire ropes are fundamental to

hoisting practice and, therefore, of
great importance.

Hoist selection depends on having the

ropes determined in advance.

For a drum hoist, the ropes dictate

the drum diameter, drum width, rope
pull, and hoist inertia.

For a friction hoist, the ropes dictate

the wheel diameter, tread spacing,
tread pressure, and wheel inertia.
 Wire Ropes

In service, a wire rope is subjected to

tension, compression, torsion and
bending in addition to wear due to
abrasion and friction.

To withstand these conditions

the rope should possess lightness,
strength and flexibility.
 Wire Ropes
Materials used in the manufacture of wire ropes are iron and various
grades of steel.

The strand is the basic unit

in wire construction.

One wire is used at the center of

the strand and around this are built up
one or more layers of additional wire.
 The Cage

The cage is used to move men

and materials in and out of the
mine.

A bell or buzzer system is used

by cage tenders to move the
cage to different levels in the
mine.
Skips
Skips are usually automatically self-
dumping. A double drum hoist is
used for skips.

As one drum is wound the other

is unwound, so when one skip is
hoisted the other one is lowered
into the mine.

Once the ore is on surface, it

enters a mill, concentrator, or is
stockpiled.
Skips
 Shaft Pocket
The shaft/loading pocket prepares the ore for
loading on a skip. Oversize chunks are broken
before entering the skip.

Some mines use crushers to reduce the ore to

about 6 inches in size.

A measuring pocket is usually installed at the

lower end of the storage pass. This holds only one
skip full. There are protective devices to prevent
this pocket from over-filling and spilling ore down
the shaft. When the skip gets into position, the
measuring pocket dumps rapidly into the skip.
Shaft Pocket - Crusher

A crusher is usually installed in the

shaft pocket to reduce the ore to a
finer size.

This allows the skip to be filled

to capacity and makes hoisting
more efficient.
This Concludes Our Presentation On
Mine Hoisting