Distribution Solutions’ Business Division WireSolutions launched its new steel wire rope Klondike™ in September. This new rope offers numerous advantages for the mining industry and is already in operation in 2 mines in Poland and in China.
Tailor-made for each customer
Klondike™ was developed in Bourg-en-Bresse (France), where the R&D facilities (design and laboratory tests) are fully integrated to the production plant. This product is the result of team work, more than 100 years of wire rope expertise, and customers’ feedback and needs. Indeed as mining equipment is unique, the rope is tailor-made for each customer.
In total, Klondike™ is made of more than 300 wires. The complexity of the process is the drawing of the wires as well as the control of the assembly. The engineering team developed this rope by mastering the compaction process of strands. The linear mass of a rope is typically 11 kg/m for a diameter of 50 mm.
The perfect answer to challenging conditions
In a world where performances are more and more critical, Klondike™ is the perfect answer to challenging conditions. It is a steel wire rope composed of several strands, which individually are made of drawn steel wires grouped together. It has been developed for mining applications, to transport, up and down, ores from deep underground mines (e.g. 1,000 m depth shaft) at high speed (16 m/s). A set of 4 ropes can carry a load of over 100 tonnes.
Based on ArcelorMittal Bourg-en-Bresse’s know-how, Klondike™ can sustain up to 20% more load or increase its lifetime up to 40% with the same rope diameter. It is also a non-rotating rope which means that it is very stable under load. Officially released during the Mining exhibition in Katowice in Poland, Klondike™ is already installed in 2 mines in Poland and in China.