ABB mine hoist system has increased productivity by 50 percent, secured grid stability from severe voltage flicker and improved energy efficiency by an estimated 5-8 percent at the world’s largest potash mine in Canada.

The new mine hoist system has enabled Mosaic, the world’s leading producer of potash and phosphate crop nutrients, to increase skip (buckets used to lift potash to the surface) capacity from 30 tons to 45 tons at K2, one of two shafts at the company’s Esterhazy potash mine in Saskatchewan, Canada.

As a result, annual production capacity at Esterhazy has increased by 1.1 million tons to 5.3 million tons a year, making it the most productive potash mine in the world.

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An estimated 80 percent of electrical powertrains for mine hoist systems worldwide are supplied by ABB
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The turnkey solution is the largest single motor and drive system on a friction hoist ever.

It consists of an 8,600 kW AC synchronous motor and ACS6000 variable speed drive, advanced hoist process control system, complete hoist electrical system and all mechanical components.

Not only has the ABB mine hoist system boosted production by 50 percent at the shaft, it has done so without the need for additional investment in power correcting equipment like static var compensators, Statcoms or harmonic filters to secure grid reliability.

With a payload of 45 tons, hoisted at 18.3 meters per second from a depth 1,000 meters, the new mine hoist system employs the largest single motor and drive system ever used on a friction hoist, including a 5.94 meter friction pulley, and a 8.6-megawatt liquid-cooled AC synchronous motor.

Equipped with ABB’s award-winning Direct Torque Control technology, the ACS6000 drive system has negligible impact on the surrounding power network and does not affect the power quality of other consumers. It has also significantly improved energy efficiency at K2 by an estimated 5-8 percent per ton of potash mined.

Of equal significance for Mosaic is the eradication of one-to-two hours of scheduled maintenance a week that the previous DC drive system required and which brought production at the hoist to a standstill.

ABB’s scope of supply includes the control and electrical systems and all mechanical components, as well as installation, commissioning and long-term service and support.

The new hoist has had an immense effect on the potash industry as a whole. As a result of the dramatic benefits in productivity at K2, two other potash mines in Saskatchewan have placed orders for ABB mine hoist systems as part of their efforts to capitalize on growing world demand for potash and crop fertilizer.

Courtesy of ABB