Ghana Underground: Replacing Olex Type 241 1.1/1.1kV 3×35mm² on Sandvik Continuous MinersComplete Trailing Cable Replacement Guide
Ghana’s mechanized underground gold mines — Obuasi (AngloGold Ashanti), Tarkwa/Damang (Gold Fields), Akyem (Newmont), Bibiani (Asante Gold), Chirano (Kinross) — operate fleets of Sandvik continuous miners, bolters, and load-haul-dump (LHD) machines that were specified and commissioned by Australian contract mining companies. The OEM trailing cables on these machines are Olex (Nexans Olex) Type 241 — manufactured in Australia to AS/NZS 1802, the Australian standard for mining trailing cables. But Olex does not manufacture in Africa, has no West African distribution, and ships from Melbourne with a 18–26 week total procurement cycle. When a 200-meter trailing cable is crushed by a roof fall, sliced by a shuttle car, or degraded by months of dragging through acidic Birimian groundwater, the mine cannot wait half a year for a replacement. The mine needs an equivalent trailing cable that matches the AS/NZS 1802 Type 241 construction, meets Sandvik’s OEM specifications, satisfies Ghana Minerals Commission safety requirements, and can be delivered in 8–12 weeks. This guide provides the engineering framework for that replacement.
