In April 2000 Mount Isa Mines installed hoist ropes of a new design on the double-drum winder at their P49 shaft. The ropes, CASAR Duroplast, were about three times as expensive as the previously used triangular strand ropes._x000D_
The P49 shaft is situated at Mount Isa Mines' George Fisher Mine, located some 30 km north of Mt Isa. This shaft used the tried and proven 6 x 33 triangular strand style ropes. The rope life attained by these ropes at the time was acceptable due to many years of satisfactory performance._x000D_
The following study indicates the improvement of service life using CASAR Duroplast rope in P 49 shaft, which depends on shaft and winder parameters of that particular shaft and cannot necessarily be generalised to other shafts.