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The mine is owned by the publicly-listed Yankuang Group, which has an estimated annual hoisting capacity of over 40 million tones, making it one of China's leading coal producers.
The increased demand in China has led Yankuang to develop two mines in the area, one at Zhaolou and another at Wanfu. Yankuang estimates coal reserves at the sites to be in excess of 200 million tonnes.
Yuankang expects the Zhalou mine to become operational by late 2006, with a projected 3 million tones of coking coal to be extracted in the first year of production until the planned expansion phase – which includes the new winders – is completed and operational in late 2007.
The project includes the supply and commissioning of three high-performance winders, using Siemens' synchronous drives with DC link converters to increase availability and reduce system interruptions.
Siemens I&S is supplying the electrical equipment for two high-performance production machines in the main shaft and for the double-cage winding machine of the service shaft.
Each winder will each be fitted with a 4000kW synchronous motor in addition to Siemens Simovert ML2 DC link converters. The configuration results in greater operational safety and availability in weak or unstable power supply networks compared to three-phase motors with direct converters.
Siemens says the motor/converter arrangement also removes the need for filter circuits or power corrections, reducing investment costs.
The cage machine will also be equipped with an identical 4000-kilowatt drive, making it possible to operate the machine in heavy-load mode without having to put ballast in the balancing cage.
Siemens I&S said they chose to use an identical system for the cage in order to simplify spare-parts shortage and simplify maintenance.
The scope of supply is rounded off by the low-voltage power distribution system and automation controls and safety systems, with Siemag supplying the mechanical components of the mine winder installations.
Siemens (I&S) estimates that its share of the contract is worth around $A11.3 million.
Siemens will also be responsible for engineering, supervision of the installation work and start-up of the new systems through Siemens China, co-managing the project with Siemag.
