Planning of mine hoisting systems

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 83, No. 942, 1990

J.R. Morris, V.B. Cook Co. Limited, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A hoisting plant design should satisfy two basic requirements:1. to provide the necessary materials handling capacity, including ventilation where applicable, while meeting the requirements of good practice and, as a minimum, government regulation; and 2. to optimize the economics of the project. Selection of hoisting equipment to meet the first objective is a complex but logical engineering process. The necessary calculations of payloads, accelerations, speeds, rope strength, hoist size, and power requirements are very readily carried out on computers or programmable calculators. A variety of hoist options can be quickly examined to assess the effects of changes in design parameters. Meeting the second requirement involves balancing the costs of various hoist arrangements and shaft designs, together with the time cost effects of differing shaft sinking rates and potential advances to be gained by concurrent level development. The proposed mine layout is significant here, as is the possibility of future shaft deepening and/or production increase. The availability of used equipment may be significant, both as regards first cost and delivery time. The factors are interactive, with their relative effects varying from project to project. This paper sets out the primary factors to be considered.

Mots Clés: Hoisting systems, Safety, Equipment, Shaft design.