With the de-rating of Mali gold mine’s Potain MD830 crane due to its age, local distributor SA French is supplying its new MCT205 tower crane for general maintenance and repair duty on the remote mine site.
SA French sales manager, Louw Smit, says that technical and after-market support are considered critical for customers, and even more so for those who operate on remote sites in Africa. “Significantly, we have been recognised as an Elite Dealer by Potain of France, which means a guarantee of 80% availability of spare parts on first call. It is this level of customer centric focus that has ensured the success of Potain cranes in Africa,” he adds.
The crane will be erected in a configuration that includes a 65 metre jib, a 59,4 metre hook height, a 17,6 metre counter jib and reusable fixing angles. Its lifting capacity is over 6 tonnes at 25 metres, and 1.75 t metres at the full jib length.
“The crane will be erected to a hook height of about 40 metres and then telescoped to its final height,” Louw explains. “The standard erection will take three days and telescoping it to the final height will take another two days.”
Among the advanced features of this Potain model, adding to its versatility in areas where stable power supply is not always available, is the 60LVF25 hoist winch that includes a new power control function.
“While the normal starting power on this tower crane is 62 KVA, the advantage of this function is that the KVA requirements can be lowered to 38 KVA if there is insufficient power available on the mine,” he says.
Louw emphasises that this lower power supply has no effect on the slewing or trolley function of the tower crane, but only reduces the hoisting speed. The lifting capacity of the tower crane remains unaffected.
SA French, Louw Smit, Email: louw@safrench.co.za, www.safrench.co.za
