In the spring of 2008 Alimak Hek signed a contract to provide seven Alimak rack and pinion-driven lifts for Boliden’s Aitik copper mine, located near Gällivare in northern Sweden. The lifts are part of Boliden’s total investment of SEK6 billion in this open-pit mine, which will include a new modern concentrating plant that will double production capacity from today’s 18 million tonnes to 36 million tonnes of ore annually.
The Alimak lifts will be installed to facilitate the maintenance and inspection of different applications such as crushing, grinding, flotation and de-watering. The working environment in the mine creates high demands on the lifts’ durability and reliability. The Alimak lifts accommodate lifting heights between 13.5m and 48m and payload capacities between 400kg to 1800kg. They are equipped with the modern ALC-II microprocessor-based control system, emergency phone and overload sensing device. The first lift is currently being installed at the new grinding mill and the following will be installed later this year.