As it had done eight times before within the previous five years¸ Marthinusen & Coutts (M&C) late last year carried out on-site winding and sub-assembly of an 18MW gearless mill drive for a new ball mill at the Cobre Panama copper mine in Panama as part of expansion of its processing plant to cater to increased ore output.
M&C’s seven-man on-site team, led by Divisional CEO Richard Botton, performed the work in 40 days during October and November last year.
“We already knew from previous experience that the working conditions at the mine are extremely tough, due to frequent heavy rain, high humidity and excessive heat, but our familiarity with the procedures involved helped to ensure that the project went according to plan and was completed on time,” Richard commented, adding that due to their complexity the winding and sub-assembly have to be done on site.
“Our preparation is extensive and starts about six months prior to site establishment. The machine is transported to site from the OEM in Europe in four quadrants, each of which weighs 85 tonnes.”
“We are responsible for the connecting and continuity between the four segments, which have been pre-wound by the OEM,” he explained.
“About half of the tools we use for the on-site work are purchased and supplied by the mine itself, while we have to supply and bring with us the remaining more specialised tools, along with the test equipment that’s needed.”
As previously, M&C was contracted for the latest project by the Cobre Panama mine’s owners and operators, Minera Panama, the Panamanian subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals (FQM), an international mining company.
M&C has also executed four on-site winding and sub-assembly projects on gearless mill drives for FQM’s Sentenial copper mine in Zambia in recent years.
