Condra

CANADA, AUSTRALIA BET SOUTH AFRICAN

Designers — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 16:37:42 +0000

Consulting firms in Canada and Australia have placed multiple orders on a South African company to manufacture cranes, hoists and other lifting equipment for mine expansion projects in Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Namibia.

Condra, the company executing the orders at its Johannesburg factory, has revealed general details but declined to name either the customers or the mines because of non-disclosure agreements.

The cranes will work in general workshop and feeder-line maintenance applications, with capacities ranging from two to eighteen tons.

Sierra Leone’s order comprises one long-reach jib crane, three single-girder overhead cranes and a portal crane, while Tanzanian mines will receive two double-girder cranes, a single-girder machine, one portal crane and a long-reach jib crane.

Condra jib crane

Six Titan hoists, among them several fitted with articulated carriages to negotiate curved girder tracks, will go to Namibia along with two portal cranes, a long-reach jib crane, two single-girder cranes and a double-girder machine. Fifteen chain hoists and blocks will also be shipped to that country.

Condra’s Titan hoist range is versatile, comprising the Compact Series with capacities to 32 tons, and the SH (Short-Headroom) Series with capacities to 18 tons. All models are variants of the veteran K-Series hoists, but refined to offer a more compact profile with markedly reduced overall dimensions.

Among the cranes included in the international orders are several equipped with high-lift K-Series hoists, in one instance to a height of 40 metres. These hoists have a proven record in high-lift applications, with Condra widely recognised as Africa’s market leader in this specialised arena. The company’s installed base includes hoists with controlled lifts as high as 150 metres.

Hoist from Condra’s K-Series

A company spokesman said there had been close cooperation with the consultants to ensure that agreed prices could remain competitive without compromising the robust reliability required for harsh operating conditions.

Overall lifetime cost will remain lower than cranes offered by rival firms, said the spokesman, while inspection and testing will take place at defined stages during manufacture to ensure compliance with international quality control, safety, and lifting equipment standards.

Condra’s customers placed their orders in late August. Manufacturing is underway at the company’s Germiston factory, with delivery to be effected by road. A number of crane girders will be spliced to allow packing in standard 12 metre containers.

Shipping dates will be staggered to meet project timetables, with delivery scheduled for late 2025 through to mid-2026.

Technicians from Condra will manage installation and commissioning in Sierra Leone, while local agents will carry out these procedures in Tanzania and Namibia.

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PORTAL CRANES FOR GHANA & SAUDI ARABIA

Designers — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 12:30:08 +0000

Mining engineering company FL Smidth (FLS) has decommissioned a 10-ton Condra portal crane in Mozambique to use in a company workshop in Ghana. Two new machines of similar design and capacity, recently completed by Condra Johannesburg, are to join it.

Condra has additionally shipped two portal cranes of 15 ton capacity to FLS Saudi Arabia.

The four newly completed cranes were dispatched mid-August, fulfilling orders placed in March by FL Smidth’s Sub-Sahara and West Africa Procurement Service.

Cranes under manufacture at Condra’s Raceway Industrial Park factory, outside Johannesburg.

Condra has a long-standing relationship with FLS, enjoying a reputation for reliable, robust machines efficiently serviced by maintenance crews pre-cleared to enter destination countries throughout Africa and the Middle East.

All three Ghana cranes, including the machine from Mozambique, will be used for maintenance. They will run on end-carriages customised with spaced nylon-treaded wheels to meet an FLS stipulation that floor loading at the workshop not exceed 5000 kilogrammes.

The de-commissioned Mozambique crane will have these end-carriages fitted upon arrival in Accra, Ghana, matching it to the twin 10-ton portal machines.

At the tender stage, FL Smidth requested maximum floorspace and lifting height within the constraints of the Accra workshop building. To achieve this, Condra used SH (short headroom) hoists from its Titan range, then mounted geared drives vertically on the end-carriages to achieve a floorspace saving of about half that required by conventional mounts.

Other features include digital loadcell hoist readouts, variable-speed drives on the long-travels, and pendant backup for hand-held remote control units.

The two 15-ton portal cranes for Saudi Arabia have a general configuration similar to the Ghanaian cranes, but will run on conventional steel wheels and rails. They will be installed in the FLS workshop in Dammam, an industrialised port city in the east of the country on the Persian Gulf.

The tight constraints imposed by limited workshop space on crane installation at Dammam posed a challenge during the design phase: box girders,15-ton hoists, girder legs and end-carriages had all to be capable of assembly and installation within a vertical plane measuring just 8,3 metres across by 5,4 metres high.

Short-headroom SH hoists from the Titan range helped meet this challenge.

Features of the Saudi cranes are similar to those for Ghana, with the exception of two-speed drives throughout, there being no variable-speed drives on the Saudi cranes.

Condra used 3D modelling software to prepare all four cranes for packing, virtually presenting them on-screen to digitised standard containers. Just two containers were needed for actual dispatch to each country.

Condra’s Titan SH hoists are designed to make maximum use of expensive factory space – headroom as well as floor – reducing the size of many constituent parts to take height out of the final crane assembly. They incorporate refinements such as automatic rope tensioning, smoother travel, built-in load limiter, standardised direct drive and universal carriage.

An SH (short headroom) hoist from Condra’s Titan range.

Installation and commissioning of the FLS cranes in Accra and Dammam is expected to take place late September.

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CRANES SPEED UP GRAIN-PLANTER PRODUCTION

Designers — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 15:09:03 +0000

BB Cranes has completed the installation and commissioning of five overhead cranes at Rovic’s new agricultural machinery factory in Blackheath, Cape Town.

Rovic’s new factory in Blackheath, Cape Town, with the overhead cranes manufactured by BB Cranes installed and commissioned.

Manufactured by BB at the company’s works in Rivergate Industrial Park, Rovic ordered the cranes as an essential part of workflow re-engineering to achieve shorter assembly times and improved staff safety. These changes will increase production of the company’s large and small-grain planters.

BB manager Jan Nel explained that the design of the cranes for Rovic simplifies planter manufacture, allowing simultaneous assembly of individual machines at multiple points.

“We achieved this by fitting twelve independently operated hoists to each of two identical double-girder overhead cranes that we made for Rovic,” Nel said.

Jan Nel, manager at BB Cranes.

“There are six hoists on each crane. They work to assemble multiple planters without having to move the cranes themselves.”

Rovic’s improved assembly sequence replaces the use of forklifts, which in a separate factory used to move components on an as-and-when-required basis to individual planter assembly points serviced by fixed gantries.

In the new assembly sequence, operators position the cranes over planter assembly points arranged in rows across the factory floor. The hoists work independently to service these points, picking and delivering planter chassis components and up to 53 identical planting units for fitting to each machine. There are no fixed gantries to obstruct factory movement.

The six hoists fitted to each of the twin double-girder overhead cranes comprise two 3,2-ton crab-mounted units for the chassis components, and four underslung 1-ton hoists fitted two to each girder for the planting units. All hoists work independently, the girders themselves being spaced at a wider-than-normal 2,5 metres to allow the dedicated chassis hoists to adjust component positions, again without any need to move the cranes.

All hoists are fitted with Optidrive variable-speed drives supplied by iTek.

A third BB overhead crane, a 20-tonner, moves completed planters out of the factory for shipping.

There are two additional 2-ton single-girder BB cranes in the Rovic factory, bringing the total to five.

Rovic’s new factory in Blackheath, Cape Town, with the overhead cranes manufactured by BB Cranes installed and commissioned.

Rovic manufactures a range of agricultural machinery marketed to customers worldwide under the Syncro brand. Products include large and small-grain planters, mist blowers, spreaders and tillage equipment.

BB Cranes is a subsidiary of South African crane and hoist manufacturer Condra.

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OUT OF AFRICA

Designers — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 19:30:11 +0000

Authorised agents in sub-Saharan Africa are delivering a string of orders to overhead crane and hoist manufacturer Condra, among them an unpack-and-go machine whose shipping containers will become the crane’s gantry.

The design of this 5-ton double-girder crane, a one-off currently under manufacture for mine maintenance, makes use of the two 12 metre delivery containers as gantry supports. After hoist, crab, girders, end-carriages and other components have been unpacked for assembly, an installation team will position the containers exactly 9,8 metres apart, then bolt rails to their tops to form the gantry. A roof will weather-proof the resulting 120m² workshop.

The company behind this container crane is Lynx Supply and Services, Condra’s authorised agent in Tanzania.

Lynx recently placed additional orders on Condra for wheel blocks, miscellaneous spare parts and a separate 10-ton, 10-metre-span single-girder gantry crane for an unnamed mining house. Lynx will carry out installation and commissioning of both overhead cranes.

Other recent orders from sub-Saharan Africa include a 10-ton portal crane for a maintenance application in Ghana. The design of this crane overcomes floor loading limitations by spreading the machine mass across multiple nylon-treaded wheels at the base of the portal’s supporting legs.

The Ghanaian portal machine is linked to two further crane orders from the same customer, one of them for installation in Saudi Arabia. There are also enquiries from Chile and Peru, where Condra is reestablishing agency relationships adversely affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Besides Lynx Supply and Services, Condra’s sub-Saharan agent network includes Integrated Engineering Services in Zambia, Integrated Engineering Services in the DRC, Namcranes in Namibia and KL Cranes in Botswana. Management is identifying additional potential agents in Ghana, Mozambique and Kenya.

Condra hoists and overhead crane

A Condra spokesman claimed that, while many crane companies offer aggressive pricing into Africa, none can match Condra’s level of technical service and after-sales support.

The spokesman was emphatic that service support is vital to machine up-time.

“Service proximity and availability must be carefully considered alongside purchase price if losses due to downtime are not to negate and even exceed the initial savings of an attractive price,” said the spokesman.

“Condra has long and strong relationships with agents across sub-Saharan Africa to deliver the necessary rapid response time on service calls.

“Our Johannesburg spares division will deliver parts anywhere in Africa in five days or less, minimising production losses due to crane downtime.

“In South Africa we deliver in a maximum of 48 hours.”

The spokesman emphasised that it is production downtime that costs the customer money, not the crane’s purchase price.

“You can save money by buying a crane at a more competitive price, but the savings on the day of purchase will be lost many times over in downtime if a spare part has to come from overseas.”

The spokesman explained that a second factor related to costly downtime is the degree to which the crane may be described as robust, important because of the heavy-handed nature of many operators, and the harsh operating environments often found in Africa.

Condra claims a design philosophy focused on robust strength and durability, the success of which is reflected in a solid reputation for mechanical reliability under corrosive and abrasive environments, and under wide extremes of temperature, humidity and altitude.

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SINGLE CRANE SOLUTION FOR NGWADINI

Designers — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 12:55:12 +0000

A single, purpose-built Condra top gantry crane is to service Ngwadini Dam, currently under construction as part of the Lower uMkhomazi bulk water supply project, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

The design, proposed by Condra’s Johannesburg design office, was chosen ahead of competing tenders suggesting combinations of individual machines to operate the dam’s trash racks, sluice gates and stop blocks.

Condra proposed a single portal crane: one machine fitted with two hoists traversing the same platform. The crane will straddle the dam’s 52 metre high wall as an integral unit to deliver a much neater and simpler solution to the dam’s lifting requirements.

The crane’s physical appearance is dominated by cantilevers at both ends of the 31,5-metre girders. Supporting legs are spaced just 19,5 metres apart. The crane will stand 11,3 metres high.

Traversing the girders will be two hoists with capacities of 15 tons and 3 tons. Together they will manage sluice gate and trash rack installation, then execute all aspects of machinery operation and maintenance after the crane is commissioned.

Manufacture at Condra’s Germiston works is almost complete. Delivery is scheduled for May this year, with commissioning to take place in June.

Typical Condra portal crane

The main hoist is unusual in its orientation at an angle of 45 degrees to the girder platform. This is necessary to ensure that the rope will run clear of asymmetrically orientated slots accessing the wall’s guide shafts. Condra’s design engineers also increased the diameter of the rope drum and reduced its width to attain the required rope lead angle, adjusting the gear reduction and gearbox size to accommodate these changes.

Ngwadini Dam’s gantry crane will feature proximity sensors on the girder rails and ground rails, part of a positioning system with integrated display panel read-out to indicate when the crane is correctly and precisely positioned to execute its various lifting and lowering functions.

The crane will additionally feature flood lights, storm brakes, radio control with pendant back-up, and a full-length walkway.

All crane components, including the 31,5-metre girders, have a maximum length of 12 metres to allow delivery by vehicle along difficult access roads.

Each girder is spliced at two points in such a way that there will be a smooth path for the crab wheels, with each splice comprising a combination of bolts and steel plates welded eccentrically to all inside faces of the male section of the box girder. This provides a friction grip to reinforce girder strength and integrity beyond that delivered by the splice bolts alone. The end result is an almost seamless clamped joint with a projected girder life in excess of 20 years.

Condra’s top-gantry crane for Ngwadini Dam is the latest in this company’s long pedigree of machines designed and manufactured for dam walls across southern Africa, among them the reservoirs of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project where machines with extreme lift heights of 158 metres were commissioned in the late 1990s.

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CONDRA WINS NAMAKWA SANDS CRANE ORDER

Designers — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 15:46:47 +0000

Tronox Mineral Sands has ordered a 35/12,5-ton Condra crane for mill maintenance at the Namakwa Sands East OFS Project, Brand-se-Baai, 385 kilometres north of Cape Town.

The company has also ordered two Condra hoists with capacities of 5 and 7,5 tons for the mill discharge and run of-mine stockpile.

East OFS is being developed to allow extraction of orange feldspathic sand (OFS), a mineralised grit, from levels deeper than have been mined at Namakwa Sands before. Extraction will begin this year (2025).

Marc Kleiner, managing director at Condra, thinks a reputation for quality, durability and service helped secure the Tronox contract.

“Customer surveys have shown these characteristics to be the ‘big three’,” he said. “They are uppermost in the customer’s mind at the time of purchase.

“We’ve been working on them for many years now. I think it’s fair to say our ability to tailor lifting equipment to the specifics of a particular application is the key to many of our successful tenders.”

The drawing office at Condra’s Germiston headquarters designed the three Tronox machines, with manufacture taking place in the factory there.

The mill maintenance crane is a double-girder electric overhead travelling machine equipped with a 35 ton main hoist and 12,5 ton auxiliary on a single crab. Span is 23,3 metres, lifting height 30 metres. There is a storm brake to prevent unintended crane movement caused by excessive wind loading. Other features include a full-length walkway, radio control with pendant back-up, and audiovisual safety warnings of crane movement.

Checking the electrics on a Condra hoist at Condra’s Germiston factory

The hoists for Tronox are class 2m machines from Condra’s modular K Series range, assembled to application requirements. As with the overhead crane for the mill area, they feature remote radio control with plug-in pendant back-up, and audiovisual warning lights and sirens activated while working. Weather covers protect hoists and motors.

The 7,5-ton stockpile hoist has a lifting height of 9,5 metres, the 5-ton mill discharge machine 8,5 metres. This latter hoist also features articulated crawls to allow negotiation of a monorail with curves of 1,9-metre radius. Modified cross-head assemblies will facilitate hoist movement around the bends.

All machines – the overhead crane and both hoists – are fitted with load cells and digital read-outs, and finished with a special paint finish to protect against corrosion. Electrical panels are from stainless steel to IP65 standard.

Delivery of these machines took place late last year (2024) after professional engineering certification.

Blue Cranes of Cape Town, the company already servicing much of the lifting equipment at Namakwa Sands, is to carry out installation and commissioning. The same company will maintain the crane and hoists, in line with Condra’s policy of working with companies already possessing knowledge of local conditions.

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BOATBUILDING CRANE SETS NEW RECORD FOR CAPE COMPANY

Designers — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 17:11:34 +0000

BB Cranes is to manufacture its first 30-metre-span overhead crane, a record for this Cape Town-based company and the direct result of improved manufacturing capabilities and a recently expanded factory floor.

The wide-span double-girder electric overhead travelling crane is one of six ordered by boatbuilders Robertson and Caine, the largest manufacturer of catamarans in the Southern Hemisphere and the third largest globally. BB’s 30 metre span, 5-ton capacity crane is for the factory in Montague Gardens, Cape Town.

Robertson and Caine has also ordered two single-girder and two double-girder BB machines, all with 5-ton capacity. They will span 20 metres (two cranes), 19 metres and 18 metres. The sixth crane on order is a 10-ton double-girder machine with a span of 20 metres.

BB will assemble all six from standard components, and fit them with twinned short-headroom Condra hoists – two per crane. There will be variable-speed drives on the long- and cross-travels for precise boat positioning.

Asked to comment, a BB Cranes spokesman explained that three of the six cranes would be manufactured simultaneously with two other wide-span machines ordered by Rovic, an independent agricultural machinery manufacturer that commissioned three double-girder overhead cranes in the first half of 2024, two of them designed with 28-metre spans just two metres shy of BB’s new 30-metre record.

Condra overhead cranes in a factory environment.

“Our crane spans are usually anything between 18 and 25 metres, so we see the 28-metre-span machines for Rovic – and especially the 30-metre span crane for Robertson and Caine – as justifying our decision to expand BB’s capabilities and increase our factory floor space,” the spokesman said.

BB has steadily upgraded its capabilities and procedures at Rivergate Industrial Park since 2022, when BB Cranes became a member of the Condra group.

In June 2024, the company increased its factory floor area by 400 square metres.

“All of these cranes represent turnkey deliveries from design through to installation. For us, they are affirmation of BB’s decision to grow,” said the spokesman.

Robertson and Caine has been BB Cranes’ customer for twenty years. Current work for the boatbuilders includes partial on-site automation of a 16-ton crane used in repetitive applications, control of which will be reduced to the single push of one button to accelerate production and improve productivity.

The BB Cranes spokesman explained that the number of enquiries for automated cranes was increasing.

“We offer automation across our product range, working in collaboration with Condra’s design office,” he said.

“Condra is accumulating automation experience, and is currently automating a crane for use in wrap-and-protect operations in Gauteng. We hope to see more automated cranes among our customers here in Cape Town,” said the spokesman.

Currently equipped with eight BB cranes, Robertson and Caine’s new order will bring its total of BB machines to fourteen.

All six of the new cranes will be delivered during November and December 2024.

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POPULAR COMPONENTS

Designers — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 17:35:21 +0000

Component sales are up at crane company Condra.

Managing director Marc Kleiner says pre-assembled components sold to other manufacturers now account for 12% to 15% of annual revenue. Some 70% of these are sold into South Africa, the rest to export markets.

“We’ve sold end-carriages and other components into England and Spain where the big European crane brands dominate,” Kleiner said, explaining that customers use Condra components to lower input costs and simplify manufacturing processes.

“It saves them the time and trouble of transacting and liaising with many different suppliers, enabling a better focus. We see pre-assembled components as a major growth opportunity despite the high cost of electricity and raw materials here in South Africa,” he said.

Kleiner pointed to Condra’s factory in Bulgaria, which he said is actively pursuing additional opportunities across Europe as it drives component sales into that continent.

He said that there are also opportunities in the Americas. Last month, Condra took an order for a hoist unit from Santiago-based Mantex, a machinery company in Santiago, Chile. Sales through Canadian agents remain steady.

All Condra components are available on short lead times direct from the company’s main factory in Germiston, a 22 000 m2 site with an under-roof area of 8 000 m2. Some 200 different constituent parts are stocked there, ready for assembly into completed components ahead of rigorous testing and despatch.

Condra components packed for shipping abroad.

Local manufacture accounts for about 90 percent of these components, with Condra itself accounting for some 30 percent of the volume. Ropes and electric motors come from Germany, and hook forgings from Spain and Italy.

“We focus on adaptability and robust design,” said Kleiner. “Long production runs keep our prices competitive. Lead times are usually shorter than those of rival firms because of large inventories.”

The majority of Condra’s component sales comprise hoists, end-carriages and cable loop (festoon) systems. There are also crabs, bottom blocks and enclosed conductors. Drives come with single, dual or variable speeds. Bogies are available with wheel diameters from 125mm to 630mm. Hoists capacities go all the way up to 500 tons.

Component assemblies can be tailored to customer specification. All of them carry a 12-month guarantee.

Condra has a pedigree going back to 1966, when the company was founded as a consultancy and drawing office with general engineering capabilities. Crane manufacture began five years later in 1971.

Today, the company is an acknowledged leader throughout sub-Saharan Africa in robust and enduring overhead and high-lift cranes, portal cranes and jib cranes.

There are factories in Johannesburg and Cape Town, with a third facility in Dryanovo, Bulgaria.

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SPECIAL STEELS EXPANDS TO ROODEKOP

Designers — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 12:45:04 +0000

Special Steels, a leading national supplier of certified steel round bar, hollow bar and plate to South Africa’s engineering, mining and manufacturing sectors, is moving.

The move from Wadeville, Johannesburg, to larger premises in Roodekop, will provide much needed extra warehouse space to meet increased demand for the company’s alloy and low, medium and high-carbon steels. The company sources these directly from international mills for stock, and distributes countrywide.

Special Steels managing director Byron Ferguson said the new warehouse floor area of 22800 square metres would provide more than three times the space of the company’s current 7000 square metres in Wadeville.

Condra crab and hoist unit (new).

“At 23000 square metres, Roodekop will accommodate increased stockholdings as well as the specialised equipment we use to cut, bore and finish steel to exact customer requirements,” Ferguson said.

“It will also provide space to expand our precision-cutting and profiling capabilities, deep-hole drilling, facing and centring services.

“We will be moving in phases so that we can maintain uninterrupted steel deliveries to customers throughout,” said Ferguson.

Among the companies working closely with Special Steels to achieve a smooth transition is crane company Condra, which is to manufacture three new cranes and refurbish a further fourteen currently in use at the Wadeville warehouse.

Each of these seventeen machines will be delivered, installed and commissioned according to a specific timetable dovetailing with the phased move.

Special Steels ordered the new cranes in July, and the refurbishments in August.

The refurbishment order is the biggest for this service yet received by Condra. It includes not only comprehensive inspection and repair of the fourteen overhead cranes in use at the current warehouse, but also a substantial change to their dimensions.

Spans will be extended by 1,5 metres to fit Roodekop’s wider bays, and hoist lifting heights will be increased from 6 to 8,5 metres. This work will be executed simultaneously with the inspection and replacement of brakes and bearings, a check of all mechanicals and electricals, and careful realignment of crane girders and crabs to ensure true-running frames.

Of the fourteen cranes to be refurbished, seven are Condra machines covered by the company’s maintenance programme and expected to run reliably for many years to come. Condra will also assume responsibility for maintaining the other seven refurbished cranes.

The workflow and logistics of the Special Steels cranes are being carefully planned and coordinated.

In September, Condra will deliver, install and commission the three newly manufactured cranes as the first step in the programme. These are 2m-class workshop machines already at an advanced stage of production, featuring standard speeds, variable drives on all motions and remote control supported by pendant back-up. Two will be identical 10-ton units servicing the same bay and spanning 29,4 metres. The third, a 25-ton capacity crane spanning 18,3 metres, will replace a competitor’s crane which is to be scrapped.

Next on the schedule will be the first three refurbished cranes to be delivered in October, then three more in November, four in December and the final four in January 2025.

Another shot of the crane refurbished for a mine (not for Special Steels).

Each refurbished crane has its own timetable for removal from the Wadeville warehouse, transportation to Condra’s factory in Germiston, stripping, inspection, girder extension, refurbishment, reassembly and transportation to the new warehouse in Roodekop for installation and commissioning.

Condra will also move and reinstall three jib cranes, relatively new machines, as part of the contract.

Crane refurbishment is frequently undertaken by Condra, because of the advantages of an immediate realisation of cost savings over buying new, and the continued use of an as-new machine already familiar to the crane operators, avoiding any need for retraining. Production can continue with no change to established procedure.

Condra offers the options of changing crane span during refurbishment (as in the case of Special Steels) as well as crane capacity, and modifying the gear reduction and electrical input. Cranes 20 years or older can usually be improved by installing variable frequency drives to facilitate acceleration and deceleration. Enhancements such as a digital read-out on the load and remote control can also be fitted.

Refurbished Condra cranes are guaranteed for two years, those from rival firms for one year.

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PLATREEF SHOW-STEALER

Designers — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 13:25:09 +0000

High-capacity overhead cranes often make headline news because of impressive size and technical complexity. Their smaller and simpler cousins – workhorses of the factory and general engineering workshop – should not be overlooked.

This is according to Marc Kleiner, managing director of crane and hoist manufacturer Condra. He was commenting on a slew of recent orders taken for Platreef Mine, ranging from a giant 40/5-ton double-girder headgear crane, through smaller single- and double-girder cranes, hoists and crawls, to no fewer than nineteen chain blocks, including a 2-ton explosion-proof chain hoist.

Condra managing director Marc Kleiner.

All are for installation at Platreef Mine’s Number Two Shaft, part of the Platreef PGM project near Mokopane, Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Often the go-to company for buyers seeking proven ability at the more complex end of the technical design spectrum, these orders highlight Condra’s capabilities in smaller and more standard lifting equipment. Nevertheless, the standout machine for Platreef remains the very large headgear crane: a 40/5-ton double-girder electric overhead travelling giant spanning 17 metres, which will itself weigh almost as much as its 40-ton maximum load.

Murray & Roberts Cementation supplied the procurement recommendation for this machine, which will install and maintain the shaft’s headgear-mounted winders and sheave wheels, raising and lowering component parts over a lifting height of 94 metres. The order was placed by Ivanplats itself.

Switching to a long list of other overhead cranes and hoists ordered from Condra for Platreef by consulting engineers Dowding Reynard and Associates, Kleiner emphasised their importance.

“These are all workhorses,” he said. “Even the smallest 2-ton explosion-proof chain hoist will play an important role.”

Condra’s first deliveries to Platreef took place in late 2023, comprising a short-headroom hoist for the mine’s tailings filter, and a K-Series hoist for the mill feed conveyor. Both are being used for maintenance work.

A 5-ton single-girder overhead crane for the mine’s filter building followed soon afterward, with a 10-ton double-girder overhead crane for the plant workshop. One of these machines was dust-ignition-proof rated to ATEX Zone 21/22 standard. Control of both is by radio remote with manual pendant back-up.

“Compared with the headgear crane, these are simpler, more straightforward machines, but each one meets an important requirement,” Kleiner said.

Elaborating on the headgear crane itself, Kleiner explained that design challenges had included the delivery of above average lifting speeds over the very high lifting height of 94 metres. The 40-ton main hoist will travel at up to 8,4 metres per minute, and the 5-ton auxiliary hoist at up to 12,2 metres per minute. Both speeds are variable.

Road delivery of typical overhead crane.
(NB-This photo does not depict the cranes mentioned in this story)

Kleiner explained that the modularity of Condra’s hoist range had made it possible to accommodate the Platreef specifications, with careful design of the crane’s end-carriages facilitating installation at lowest possible cost to the customer.

“We replaced the normal one-piece end-carriage with a double-bogey design,” he explained.

“This will allow a 35-ton tower crane to lift the headgear crane into position one girder at a time. Without the doubled-bogey arrangement the entire crane would have had to be lifted into position as an assembled unit, a more difficult operation.”

Other features of the headgear crane include an automatic storm brake to counter wind loading, a full-length work platform, and radio control with mobile pendant back-up.

Platreef has been under development since 2020 by Ivanplats (Canada-based Ivanhoe Mines’ South African subsidiary), and comprises three vertical production shafts, two ventilation shafts, a concentrator and associated supporting infrastructure.

Beginning this year, mine production will tap a 26-metre-thick flat ore body extending over several kilometres to deliver 12 megatons per annum over a lifespan of three decades, positioning Platreef among the largest platinum group metals (PGM) mines in the world. Annual yield is expected to exceed one million troy ounces of palladium, platinum, rhodium and gold, plus useful quantities of nickel and copper.

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