Contract
Newcrest Mining engaged FIELD Engineers to carry out third-party annual inspections on over 200 overhead cranes and monorails. Adding to this challenge were the heavy COVID-19 quarantine requirements for travelling to Papua New Guinea, all ably met by our experienced technician and support staff.
Image – Mark Fenech, FIELD Engineers Crane Technician, taking a quick break from a crane inspection at the Lihir gold mining operation.
Completed during planned shutdown
Completed on schedule
International project
Entire fleet compliance
All structural elements inspected
Client needs and considerations
With approximately 60 overhead cranes, varying from one ton to 50 ton in size, inspections required equipment shutdowns in order to examine weight, load testing of capacity including brakes, and operational ability to ensure structural soundness.
With over 120 monorails, which are primarily used for maintenance purposes, inspections investigated the extent of ongoing heavy usage as part of the equipment inspections.
Approach
Located in the southern Pacific Ocean, the mining operation’s equipment is exposed to salt air and together with the volcanic nature of the island this often causes heavy corrosion to equipment, particularly the monorails.
Cost savings
FIELD Engineers supplied a certified CraneSafe Australia crane assessor with over 20 years experience in the maintenance and inspections of overhead cranes in high risk mining plants.
SUCCESS:
The annual inspection program was completed with the minimum possible disruption to operations, amidst the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic. Any defects found were risk assessed and prioritised to allow the plant owners to more effectively target their maintenance spend.
Outcomes
Annual 3rd party inspections were conducted on over 200 items at Lihir Mine, including a fleet of overhead cranes and monorails.
The annual inspection program was completed with the minimum possible disruption to operations.
Any defects found were risk assessed and prioritised.
Recent case studies
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