KEW Foundries is the sheave wheel supplier for the largest joint sector hydroelectric project in India
KEW Foundries was awarded the contract to supply the Shaft Sinkers group with sheave wheels to be used on the largest joint sector hydroelectric project in India – the Teesta Hydroelectric Project for Teesta Urja Limited. The project marks an expansion of the Shaft Sinkers operations portfolio into arenas outside of commodity mining, and is the first Shaft Sinkers project to be conducted on Indian soil.
“KEW Foundries is our preferred supplier when it comes to sheave wheels,” says Petra Dippenaar, Group Procurement Manager, Shaft Sinkers. “With the success and safety of a project hinging on critical components such as sheave wheels, it makes nothing but perfect business sense to utilise a supplier which has consistently delivered the highest quality products, and has a proven record of excellence.”
KEW Foundries has worked together with METS, the mining and engineering technical services division of Shaft Sinkers, to design and develop the sheave wheels for the project. In total 43 sheave wheels have been supplied, with diameters ranging from 960mm to 2 555mm. Comprising the order are four Kibble sheave wheels, nine stage headgear sheave wheels, five sliding sheave wheels and 25 stage sheave wheels.
The project, located in India’s Sikkim province, involves the sinking of two pressure tunnels known as the Teesta – 1 200 MW Pressure Shafts, which will both have final diameters of 5.4 metres and total depths of 630 metres. The tunnels are expected to take two years to sink.
The diameters of the 43 sheave wheels supplied for this project range from 960mm to 2 555mm.
The sheave wheels will be used as part of the shaft sinking vertical transport infrastructure for Shaft 1 and Shaft 2. The main function of the sheave wheels is to bear the load carrying capacity of the winder and to guide the winders ropes in the shaft.
Shaft Sinkers currently has 70 percent of the global market share for sinking shafts deeper than 1 000 metres. The company, traditionally involved in commodity mining, has expanded its portfolio of operations to include non-commodity mining and projects such as the Teesta hydroelectric project. “We are currently expanding the scope of our operations to include undertakings in emerging markets. Our expertise is required in sinking endeavours which include hydroelectric initiatives, nuclear waste disposal and non-commodity mining,” says Dippenaar.
According to Dippenaar, KEW Foundries’ unrivalled product quality and service delivery has established a positive working relationship between the two companies which will continue to grow new business. “We view KEW Foundries as a strategic business partner and will continue to work with the company in our business endeavors around the globe.”