Clamps aid refurbishment of smelter

Lindapter steelwork fixings were recently utilised on major elements of the smelter refurbishment at BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam mining operation. The fixings enabled new cooling panels for the smelter roof and a monorail transportation structure to be installed rapidly and without on-site drilling and welding, thereby minimising the plant downtime during a major scheduled maintenance operation.

BHP Billiton selected Lindapter fixings for the upgrade primarily because of their bolt-on assembly principle. This is because the drilling or welding that would otherwise be required to attach equipment can damage the protective coatings of the primary steelwork and therefore necessitate additional remedial work. Otherwise any such damage can quickly lead to rust in the desert environment, which also features corrosive industrial chemicals such as the sulphuric acid used in mineral separation processes.

The main type of fixing used is the Lindapter Girder Clamp. These four-bolt clamps have been employed to attach the monorail to the side of the existing furnace structure and the cooling panels to the roof girders. The clamps bolt together from one side only, so each fixing can be made in just a few minutes. This approach greatly simplified the installation speed of the new structures, both of which are at considerable heights.

Despite the simple nature of the fixings, the clamps handle extremely large loads. In the case of the monorail, clamps with M36 bolts safely accommodate cantilevered loads of up to 4 tonnes.

Scott Brook of Lindapter's Australian support centre in Mount Druitt comments: "Lindapter girder clamps helped to protect the existing primary steelwork at Olympic Dam. They eliminated a lot of expensive and time-consuming on-site drilling and welding, and, in many cases, avoided the need for scaffolding and platforms. The arrangement was delivered on site well before the shut-down commenced, and because of the adjustability offered by Lindapter fixings, the project would not be delayed due to hole alignment issues associated with a normal bolted connection."

About Olympic Dam

Located 560km north of Adelaide, South Australia, Olympic Dam is a multi-mineral ore body. It is the world's fourth-largest remaining copper deposit and the largest uranium deposit. It also contains significant quantities of gold and silver. Olympic Dam is Australia's largest underground mine and the complex includes a fully-integrated above-ground metallurgical complex.