Headgear and Associated Equipment for Boulby Mine

Cleveland Potash Ltd

Headgear and Associated Equipment for Boulby Mine

Cleveland Potash Ltd commissioned Qualter Hall for extensive turnkey works involving the design, build and installation of:

  • A new 50m high Headgear structure.
  • Four 6.2m diameter Headgear pulleys.
  • Two 23 tonne capacity skips. The new design allows for future uprating of the system, to allow the 23 tonne capacity skips to be increased to two 30 tonne capacity skips.
  • Skip operating gear, receiving hopper, load out conveyor, gantry and shaft cover.
  • Safety systems and all associated pneumatic/ electrical equipment including shaft communications and interlocks. 
  • Qualter Hall were also responsible for the civil works and foundations, concrete outer tower, airlock arrangement and demolition of the old concrete Headgear structure.

How was the new headgear installed at Boulby Mine?

The Headgear and associated equipment were constructed by Qualter Hall on site, adjacent to the existing tower, with final installation taking place during the mine holiday shutdown in August/September, so as not to interrupt vital production time.

  • Qualter Hall used a highly specialised fast-build procedure, involving jacking and then sliding out the old structure, a 50m tall, 2,700 tonne concrete headgear, on polished stainless steel slide paths initially 25m south and then a further 50m east away from the shaft, where it was successfully demolished.
  • Prior to the demolition of the old structure the new 700 tonne steel Headgear, which was pre-built on slide paths about 20m from the shaft, was slid into its final position over the shaft, ready for completion and making fully operational during the remaining holiday shutdown period.
  • A new concrete tower shroud was built around the new steel Headgear, for aesthetic planning reasons and also to act as an airlock building for future mine plans.

About Boulby Mine

Boulby is still a worki​ng polyhalite mine. Operated by ICL-UK, it is the deepest mine in Great Britain, located in the stunning landscape of the North Yorkshire Moors on the northeast coast of England. The mine sinks to over 1,400m below ground at its deepest point, and as far as 12km out underneath the North Sea.

Port of Dover: MEICA Engineering Installations and Upgrades
A royal blue painted steel cradle sits at the top of a harbour slipway. A boat is held in the cradle's vertical bilge arms, which stand along the cradle on either side of the boat. The sky is cloudless and blue, and and we can see the grey, concrete slipway in the foreground of the image, a grey, pipework metal fence and cream-coloured buildings with dark rectangular windows at the slide of the slipway.
Slipway Hoist System, Portavogie Harbour, Ireland
Hull's Millennium Bridge photographed from the bank of the River Hull. The bridge is white and forms an 'L' shape with a striking yellow counter-weight on its elevated side. The skiy is blue and full of white/grey clouds. The river is light-brown and the Hull Tidal Barrier can be seen in the distance, behind the bridge.
Hull Tidal Barrier
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