The pulley wheels of Shaft III's West compartment have handled miner traffic and material transport for 51 years, since the mine's inception. Now, after five decades of heavy use, they have been replaced with new ones. The decision to replace them was made together with the mine's operations expert following specialized tests.
A set of top upper pulley wheels with the diameter of 4,000 mm each and weighing a total of 10 tons first had to be dismantled and then safely lowered to the ground. A specialized crane then transported the new components to the shaft tower, which were subsequently mounted after many hours of precision work. All this took place at an altitude of 50 meters.
- In order to replace the set of upper pulley wheels, we had to relieve the entire system to loosen and remove two 40 mm diameter hoisting support ropes. Due to the weight of the set of wheels and the height to which they had to be lifted we hired a specialized crane for the work. The proper alignment of the wheels on the tower was determined and confirmed by the surveying services of our mine - explains Sebastian Berger, chief underground energy and mechanical engineer at the Pniówek mine.
The most important thing is that the whole thing was carried out by the mine's crew, i.e. experienced employees of the Pniówek mine's shaft crews. Instead of using third party companies, they relied on the knowledge and practice of the people who know the mine best.
- For all employees involved in this modernization, this was very challenging but also rewarding. The excellent skills of our employees made it possible to carry out this very difficult task efficiently - said Zbigniew Czarnecki, director of the Pniówek mine.
Thanks to the commitment of the shaft crews and the good organization of work under the guidance of experienced senior supervisors, all tasks were carried out efficiently, safely and according to plan.
