Sukha Balka puts a new mine skip into operation at Yuvileyna mine

Sukha Balka Mine, part of DCH Steel Group, has installed, tested and commissioned a new mine skip at Yuvileyna mine. This is stated in the company’s corporate newspaper.

The Yuvileyna mine skip has unique technical characteristics: a volume of 25 cubic meters and a lifting capacity of 53 tons from a depth of 1500 meters. The unit was custom-made by the mine’s repairmen at Dnipro Metallurgical Plant.

During the preparatory work, the surface of the skip was primed, anti-corrosion coating and wear-resistant lining material were applied. The main and balancing ropes were removed from the old unit, and then the dismantling and installation of the new one began. The skip was scheduled to be replaced in 9 days, and production at the mine was suspended for the time being.

«The mine skip, which moves ore along the mine shaft, is 15 meters long and weighs about 50 tons. It needs to be replaced in 5-7 years. Due to the martial law, there are few specialists left at the mine who have performed this operation before. For most of them, it was their first experience, which did not prevent the team from accomplishing an important task in a clear and coordinated manner. They worked around the clock in three shifts,» the statement said.

After completing the installation of the skip, the specialists replaced the rope attachments, hung the ropes and conducted comprehensive tests of the installation.

The skip was put into operation one day ahead of schedule. In the coming months, the mine plans to replace another mine skip.

As GMK Center reported earlier, the mine produced almost 931 thousand tons of commercial iron ore in 2023. Over the past year, the company operated in the mode of maximum resource conservation. In particular, the company repaired equipment at industrial sites on its own and continued to implement the equipment modernization program.

In 2024, the company plans to increase production of commercial iron ore by 20% compared to 2023, to 1.134 million tons.

Sukha Balka mine specializes in underground iron ore mining and has an annual capacity of about 3.1 million tons, and includes Yuvileyna and Frunze mines.