REALIZATIONS

Mining equipment that carries large loads mainly consists of shaft support structures: ladder compartments, girders, and guides that operate in particularly corrosive conditions (varying temperatures, humidity, influx of saline water). The new mixture also contributes to improving the durability and increasing the lifespan of shaft support elements, ensuring the safety of mining crews, as well as reducing their operating costs by decreasing the frequency of replacements for shaft support elements. The new NKG material is a blend of polyester resins, fiberglass, flame retardants, and antistatic graphene nanotubes that provide surface conductivity to dissipate electrostatic charges. It is produced using the pultrusion method, which is a continuous manufacturing process for thermoset profiles. The profiles are created by fully automated drawing of glass fibers soaked in resins according to the NKG formula through a shaping system that gives the desired shape, followed by their thermosetting.

The mixture meets the requirements set by mining law, including the Regulation of the Minister of Energy dated November 23, 2016, and the Regulation of the Council of Ministers dated April 30, 2004, regarding the approval of equipment for operation in mining establishments (Journal of Laws No. 99, Item 1003, with subsequent amendments).

This has resulted in products in the form of equivalents to metallurgical profiles: angles, I-beams, channels, trusses, from which the following have been produced:

• Composite mining ladder compartments and supporting meshes;
• Composite mining load-bearing girders;
• Composite working platforms;
•  Composite shaft guides.

In collaboration with the Projects, Innovation, and Development Department of PBSz S.A., research and development work is being conducted on other shaft equipment elements such as skip devices, cages for passenger transport, emergency tunnels, etc.