New opportunities in the global mining sector are being eyed by British Steel while it continues to supply vital rail projects.
The Scunthorpe and Skinningrove operations have respectively rolled and produced the special profiles for Finland’s Kittila mine, the largest gold-producer in Europe.
Located in the Lapland region, a £160 million expansion is currently underway, with British Steel providing tophat shaft guides to project engineer .
David Waine, commercial director of special profiles, said: “Our tophat solutions have been predominantly used within the South African mining industry over the last decade, but this project has increased awareness of the massive benefits of our products outside of this region.
“As well as being 30 per cent cheaper than the traditional hoisting system for underground mining, our system is easy to install, offers enhanced corrosion resistance, durability and outstanding strength.
“It’s been a privilege to work with WSP and Agnico Eagle to provide a solution for their development, and to start to challenge developers to consider tophat profiles as the product of choice for safe, cost-effective and practical mining innovation.”
Properties, including close-dimensional control and straightness, mean less swing in the shaft and a smoother, faster lift. Tophat sections also generally last for the life of the mine.
Jack Dutil, construction manager at Agnico Eagle Finland, said: “These type of shaft guides were new to us, as none of our mining sites have used them before. Agnico Eagle Finland is fully satisfied with the British Steel tophat shaft guides and will evaluate the usage of tophats in future shaft installations.”
It comes as the company also supplies conductor rail as part of a £1 billion South Western Railway investment.
A £60 million state-of-the-art depot is being built at Feltham, London.
British Steel Ƶ supply chain account manager for rail, Darren Cole, said: “We’ve worked closely with VolkerRail to supply 3,500 metres of our 75kg to the site. This is a massive investment that will deliver a step-change in passenger experience and it’s great that our rail is playing a key part in this transformation.”
Conductor rails provide current to power rail vehicles. They are an alternative to overhead power lines and so are particularly useful where there are height restrictions above the track. Darren said: “The prime requirement for conductor rails is excellent electrical conductivity, so good performance goes right back to our steelmaking process where we carefully control the steel specification to meet these requirements.”
The investment will house a fleet of 90 Arterio trains - built by Bombardier in Derby - and 750 carriages.
John Pearson, VolkerRail general manager, said: “British Steel is a valued supplier, and their efforts to provide the 3,500 metres of conductor rail on this contract have helped us achieve this project’s milestones.”
On the contruction front, British Steel has also provided 450 tonnes of section steel from Lackenby to build Premier League-leading Leicester City's new training ground, and Bombardier's service centre for its air interests at Biggin Hill, London. With a 165m long central core supporting two 45m cantilever roofs, the service centre will be the Ƶ’s second largest after a 46.5m cantilever hangar was built at RAF Brize Norton in 1967.
