Anglo American Platinum’s (Amplats’) Rustenburg Platinum Mines has placed an order for 20 side-discharge hopper wagons from DCD Rolling Stock.

The hopper wagons will transport plati- num ore from the mine’s various shafts to the processing plant. Manufacturing is under way at DCD Rolling Stock’s facility, in Boksburg, and delivery will take place from this month to June.

The company has a long-standing part- nership of about 20 years with Amplats’ Rustenburg Mines, during which it has supplied several hopper wagons to the mine.

DCD Rolling Stock technical manager Daryl Leggitt says: “The company has also worked with the mine’s engineers over the past decade to adjust the design of certain hoppers to suit changing mechanical and safety requirements and to refurbish existing hopper wagons.”

The design of the units for this order features a unique safety mechanism on the bottom discharge doors that prevents the doors from opening accidentally in transit and creating spillage, which presents a major safety risk.

“We call this a ‘central shaft over-top dead-centre locking device’ and it has been designed specifically for Rustenburg Platinum Mines and this is a significant order from the mining industry,” says Leggitt.

“The device comprises three offset levers that are connected to the doors, with three links per door. The levers have two end-stops to ensure that they rotate over the centre position, ensuring that the doors cannot open accidentally. “As an additional safety feature, a pneumatically operated interlock is included, featuring a cam and a hook that lock into place once the doors are fully closed.”

The discharge hopper wagons have a gross mass of 85 t, payload volumes of 26 m3, with 5 m3 volume reducers. The wagons’ body and underframe comprise an all-welded construction of S355JR steel, delivering an increase in strength of about 18%, compared with previous hopper wagons that were supplied. The body ends, centre gable and volume reducer are angled to avoid any blockage of ore during offloading operations.

The wagons will be fitted with high- impact and wear-resistant body liners manufactured from Tivar GR12 material, which are 20 mm thick on the body ends and volume reducer and 12 mm thick on the lower half of the centre gable. The braking system combines vacuum and air brakes, with each system capable of operating independently.

The wagons will also be equipped with two self-steer HS Mk VII bogies, manufactured from new components, to comply with the latest Transnet specifications.