Autoline is helping underground mining operators protect mobile assets from corrosion, increasing lifespan of critical parts by over 400 per cent.
A few years ago, one of Autoline’s clients came to it with a very specific problem they were experiencing with their fleet of underground light vehicles.
Their fleet – which spent most of the time underground – was being destroyed by the harsh environment. The salty, wet, muddy conditions were causing critical parts of the vehicle to corrode – threatening catastrophic failure.
The major issue was that original equipment manufacturer (OEM) components in the engine bay and surrounding areas were highly susceptible to corrosion.
Once rust set in, the clock started to tick, and it was only a matter of time before total engine failure if the parts weren’t replaced immediately. Simply replacing the parts more regularly wasn’t an option due to the time and effort this sort of task demanded.
The labour hours alone were incredibly expensive, not to mention the diminished output of an asset being out of the field. If they did nothing, engines would continue fail and costs would continue to rise.
The only feasible way to slow the damage was by coating the OEM parts with a compound that fought against the corrosion tooth and nail.
Autoline identified the engine sump and surrounding components as the place to start.
After vetting multiple compounds and specialist contractors, Autoline found one that ticked all the boxes. This coating had been used for projects spanning aerospace, marine and military cases, so it seemed only fitting to add underground mining to the list.
As expected, the client wasn’t eager to increase their unit costs on a whim, so Autoline worked with their reliability engineers to roll out a trial phase.
Working in tandem with the reliability engineers, Autoline could compare the lifespan of the coated versus non-coated parts, then calculate both the financial and operational impact this would have on a larger scale.
The results spoke for themselves.
According to the lead reliability engineer, the newly coated sumps showed a 400 per cent increase in life when compared to the non-coated OEM part.
Naturally, Autoline began scaling this program up, coating a range of components similarly susceptible to corrosion damage.
All said and done, the additional cost of the coating saves Autoline’s client hundreds of thousands of potential spend on new engines and assets.
Autoline continues to work with that client on improving its product and its range of corrosion resistant parts have since been fitted in over 30 mine sites across Australia.
Visit the Autoline website to learn more.
Subscribe to Australian Mining and receive the latest news on product announcements, industry developments, commodities and more.
