Vesconite in Mining

Vesconite’s origins lie in the gold mining industry, a notoriously harsh working environment. The product was developed as a maintenance-free alternative to bronze bushings traditionally used in mining equipment. Unlike bronze, Vesconite eliminates three key issues: The need for regular lubrication; the effects of dirt and grit on costly components; the damage caused by water to traditional bushing materials. Vesconite offers up to 10 times the lifespan of traditional bushings in these harsh conditions and saves hours of downtime caused by machines requiring frequent lubrication.

Common Mining Applications

BENEFITS FOR MINING

  • Vesconite has been shown to offer up to 10 times the life of bronze in these harsh conditions.
  • Vesconite is hard wearing and eliminates time-consuming greasing of bushing parts.
  • Vesconite prevents damage to costly machine shafts.
  • Vesconite is unaffected by dirty, gritty and damp conditions.
  • Vesconite does not swell or distort when exposed to water.
  • Vesconite low friction co-efficient and high abrasion resistance is well suited to many mining applications.

MATERIAL COMPARISON

Bronze is the traditional material used for bushes in mines. Traditional because there were no viable alternatives until Vesconite fit and forget bushes. The problem with bronze is that it does not always perform well in the dirty, often wet conditions found in the mines. Also, bronze parts are often stolen for their scrap value. Bronze works well as a bushing material if regularly greased, if dirt is kept out and if there is no moisture or water about. But these are three big “Ifs” in the harsh conditions encountered in mines.

Nylon bushings have often been tried in mines. However, nylon absorbs moisture – up to 9% by mass in a humid atmosphere. This causes nylon to swell by up to 3%. Swelling means that clearances are lost and unexpected seizures occur. Humidity also causes nylon to soften. This leads to the wear rate speeding up, and bushings squeezing out because they cannot take the bearing load. Vesconite’s water absorption is so low that any swelling and softening effects are negligible.

Vesconite Mining Case Studies
Vesconite Bearings is pleased to announce its success at the South African Capital Equipment Export Council (SACEEC) Exporter of the Year Awards.…
The leading global copper producer has achieved exceptional results through the implementation of Vesconite Hilube wear-resistant bushings on load haul dump machines…
Vesconite wear rings should be considered for many of the horizontal split-case pumps operating in the harsh South African mining and metallurgical…
A nylon bearing-swell problem almost led to the abandonment of a project to develop a new percussion hammer drill until the drill…
When Vesconite Bearings’ team visited knife-gate valve manufacturer A.C.Valves to fully understand how its client was using low-friction wear-resistant Vesconite polymer guide…
An engineered polymer traditionally used for bearings has reduced fire risks on solvent extraction (SX) plants.   The polymer, Vesconite, has been installed…
A Southern African pump manufacturer has received its order for Vesconite low-swell hard-wearing water-flingers for four of its pump sizes.
Test-work on Vesconite polymer sliding wear plates has shown promising results on a crawler drill that is employed at a zinc project,…
The first batch of 60 Magnevane pneumatic chainsaws (The Swordfish M15) with Vesconite Hilube polymer vanes will arrive in South Africa in…
An order for a Spillminator with Vesconite bushings at the pivot points was dispatched by Lani Service Centre to a South African gold-mining company in September 2017.
Mineral processing equipment manufacturer and designer MechProTech has introduced hydrodynamic composite bearings made out of Vesconite thermopolymer plates that are bent into…
A company specialising in pumping equipment continues to use rock drill machinery fitted with bushings made from Hitemp 150, Vesconite's temperature and…
Flask doors are opening mechanisms allowing ore to pass through and into a skip situated below. Knuckle pin bushes, used on the…
A South Africa mining company using peripheral grinders to sharpen steel bits on rock drills contacted us for a replacement solution to…
A earth-boring company was looking for a durable material to create stabilisers for its borer machines. The machine bores between levels in…
South Africa - A mining company sought a harder-wearing alternative to white metal liners on filter rakearms. These rakearms are used to…
Want to know more?

    Name *
    Email *
    Tel *
    Country *
    Street Address *
    Street Line 2
    Post Code *
    Province/State *

    Other Industries