Electric Rope Shovels Speak – Are You Listening?

Electric rope shovels are the backbone of material excavation in opencast mining, responsible for the efficient and reliable movement of massive loads of minerals. These machines, integral to the mining process, represent a combination of engineering ingenuity and operational necessity.

With ingenuity, however, comes complexity. Rope shovels are typically large, expensive, and driven by an array of complex rotating machinery. As a result, even the largest mines typically only have a small number of shovels on site, all in continuous operation with no redundant spares. When a shovel is out of commission, so is that area of the mine. Accordingly, for any organisation striving to maintain peak performance, ensuring the health of their shovels is a top priority.

Fortunately, modern reliability tools and strategies make it easier than ever to ensure electric rope shovels continually operate at their best. Today’s most advanced vibration monitoring solutions help reliability teams continually and safely monitor the health of their rope shovels, leading to more effective operations and less unplanned downtime.

Rope shovels – the backbone of efficient mining

Electric rope shovels are highly specialised machines designed to withstand the rigours of mining operations. They use advanced systems – such as DC or AC motors, multi-stage reduction gearboxes, and rolling element bearings – to manage extremely heavy loads. With a lifespan of up to 15 years, electric rope shovels are built for durability.

Capable of handling over 120 t of material per scoop, the shovels require only three scoops to load the largest hauling trucks. However, due to their high operational costs and limited numbers in most mines, their availability is crucial. Downtimes – planned or unplanned – can result in production losses exceeding US$300 000.

Many functions mean many potential points of failure

The efficiency of electric rope shovels hinges on the precise coordination of their primary components:

• Crowd: The crowd system is an electric motor and gearbox driving a rack and pinion gear system to pull the bucket toward, and away from, the shovel.
• Hoist: The hoist system’s electric motors drive a gearbox to turn a drum that rolls up the cable to lift and lower the bucket.
• Swing: The swing system uses multiple electric motors to drive gearboxes that turn a bull gear, turning the cab and boom to the left or to the right.
• Propel: The electric rope shovel’s tracks use traction converters to turn the sprockets that drive the tracks. The left and right-side tracks are independently driven.

Each movement is controlled by a motor and gearbox set. Depending on the size of the shovel, there can be two to three sets of gearboxes just to swing, plus additional gearboxes for hoist and other functions.

These components work together through robust systems engineered for variable speeds, cyclic movements, and many directional changes in movement, ensuring the shovel can handle its immense loads.

Vibration monitoring drives lifecycle performance

Vibration monitoring is the best and most accurate technology to detect a mechanical issue in its early stages. The most successful mining operations employ technology to detect the most common mechanical issues quickly and definitively in their shovels’ rotating systems, including lubrication problems, bearing defects, gear misalignment or damage, and structural irregularities.

By identifying the most common rotating equipment issues as early as possible, mining operations can plan interventions that minimise disruptions, while reducing periodic maintenance outages and costly unplanned shutdowns. Moreover, the most accurate monitoring of vibration in rotating equipment can help teams pinpoint the cause of problems, allowing them to adjust operational strategies to better accommodate outage planning, or even to extend the lifespan of shovel components, further reducing the likelihood of unplanned shutdowns.

For example, if a gear on the swing function has a defect in one of the teeth when moving to the right but not the left, the most effective vibration monitoring technologies can differentiate that problem. In such a case, instead of shutting the shovel down immediately, the operator can change operating strategy – reducing loads or avoiding moving in one direction – to operate the shovel until a planned outage is convenient.

This is a preview of an article that was originally published in the May 2025 issue of Global Mining Review.

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