The mining industry presents some of the most demanding operating conditions for industrial machinery. Heavy loads, abrasive materials, extreme temperatures, and remote locations put incredible stress on the components and lubricants that keep the equipment running. To withstand these challenges and minimize downtime, mines need specialty lubricants engineered specifically for these extreme environments.

The Extreme Conditions of Mining Operations

Mining operations span a wide range of environments, each bringing their own set of challenges. Surface mining may contend with temperature extremes, constant abrasive dust, and a lack of maintenance facilities. Underground mines deal with high heat, humidity, tightly confined spaces, and remote access. Mineral processing exposes lubricants to finely ground ores, solvents, and aggressive chemicals.

No matter the specific conditions, all aspects of mining require components and lubricants that can continue operating reliably despite contamination, high loads, shock loading, and vibration. If the lubricant fails, it can lead to unplanned downtime and costly repairs from premature wear, corrosion, or damage. This equipment downtime translates to significant revenue losses if production halts.

Key Lubrication Failure Points in Mining

While lubricants are vital across all mining operations, certain components face higher risks if lubrication fails:

• Bearings:      Shock loads from crushing and grinding wear down oil films in bearings,      leading to surface fatigue and premature failures. Contamination from dust      and fines also accelerates wear.

• Gears:      Enclosed gear drives endure vibration, cyclic loading, boundary      lubrication, and elevated temperatures which increase friction and surface      fatigue cracks.

• Hydraulics:      Hydraulic fluids withstand high pressures, contamination ingress,      moisture, and high temperatures which can degrade the fluid and lead to      valve sticking and pump cavitation.

• Open      Gears: Unprotected open gears on mills, kilns, shovels, and draglines      require stick lubricants. If these lubricant films fail, it enables      corrosive wear and pitting.

• Wire      Ropes: Lack of lubrication on the many moving parts of wire ropes leads to      binding, friction, heat buildup, strand fatigue, and catastrophic      failures.

Engineering Lubricants for Tough Mining Conditions

To overcome these failure points and challenging conditions, lubricant engineering has progressed to develop formulations capable of extreme temperature stability, resistance to contamination, corrosion protection, shock load cushioning, and increased service intervals.

Synthetic base oils offer vastly improved viscosity indexes over mineral oils, resisting the effects of high and low-temperature extremes. Specific additives combat oxidation, prevent deposit formation, and neutralize acids from contamination or degradation. Solid lubricant particles augment fluid films under high loads to prevent metal-to metal contact, smoothing surface peaks and valleys. The latest innovations even allow some gear oils and greases to endure temperatures over 300°C without smoking or deposit formation.

Superior lubricants maximize service intervals, minimizing downtime for oil analysis and changes. They cling tenaciously to metal surfaces, providing wear protection even after being exposed to dust, dirt, and moisture ingress. Moisture-displacing additives counteract the effects of humidity, preventing hydrolysis, additive separation, and part corrosion.

Sinopec noted that specialized mining lubricant formulations also balance tackiness and flow characteristics to stay in place on open gears while also circulating freely to covered parts. Fire-resistant hydraulic fluids and greases prevent combustion incidents in overheated components and resist solvent dilution. Specific solid lubricants withstand highly acidic processing fluids that would rapidly degrade traditional hydrocarbon-based lubricants.

Proper Lubrication Practices for Mining Sites

Engineering advanced lubricants to withstand extreme mining conditions solves only part of the equation. Proper re-lubrication intervals, filtration, contamination exclusion, and activation of solid lubricants are vital as well. A superior lubricant applied incorrectly will still fail prematurely.

Strategically placing filtration on reservoirs removes particulates on oil re-circulation paths. Streamlined lubricators and centralized lube rooms help overcome the logistical constraints of delivering lubricants across expansive facilities. Automated lubrication systems provide regular precise doses of greases and oils to high frequency lubrication points.

Overcoming Logistical Constraints

Delivering lubricants to proper application points represents a final key challenge in mining's extreme environments. Surface and underground sites span extensive acres. Transferring adequate lubricant quantities to remote fixed equipment and mobile machinery proves complex. Storage space constraints further complicate logistics.

Leveraging distribution partnerships streamlines the supply chain. Local suppliers with extensive product breadth and rapid delivery times enable mines to avoid overstocking. On-site consignment inventory and scheduled auto-replenishment keeps necessary lubricants on hand without capital commitment.

Custom on-site blending and repackaging adds flexibility for specialized lubricant formulations or unique equipment needs. Drums and totes allow bulk transport and dispensing across facilities. Strategically placed lube storage rooms and distribution loop layout optimization minimizes transfer distances. Compatible lubricants consolidated across equipment types simplifies inventories.

Portable offline filtration carts clean stored lubricants to remove ingresses contamination. Offline oil analysis helps forecast optimal change-outs. Lubricant transfer loss mitigations like spill containment spotter kits reduce environmental incidents. Ultimately, an integrated plan overcoming mining’s constraints allows optimal lubricants to circulate reliably to their necessary application points across expansive facilities.

Continuous Improvement Through Collaboration

While specialty lubricants now exist to meet practically any extreme mining application, opportunities remain to push performance even further. Continued collaboration between mining operations, equipment manufacturers, and lubricant engineers uncovers additional reliability challenges to target. Controlled testing validates effectiveness of innovations like nanomaterials, mineral esters, and biodegradability improvements.

Exerting lubricant expertise directly onsite identifies unseen friction points and waste. As capital investments shift mining toward more electricity-powered autonomous equipment, decarbonized lubricants will minimize environmental impacts without sacrificing performance. Digitizing fluid quality data and linking it to overall equipment effectiveness metrics will help better predict optimal change-out points unique to each machine's duty cycle.

Through cross-industry transparency, customer-focused solutions, and embracing a culture of constant evolution, miners continue to achieve step-changes in safety, productivity, and operational agility.

Final Words

Training programs demonstrate proper re-lubrication intervals, surface preparation, lubricant activation, sampling procedures, and root cause analysis. Reliable lubrication practices complement the performance of specialty lubricant formulations to deliver truly robust protection across mining operations, even in the most extreme environments. This optimal combination translates to improved safety, extended equipment lifetime, and maximized production.