HydX has delivered a lubrication system to the Thunderbox Gold Mine in Australia. 
The 14-metre-long system designed to distribute oil to a grinding mill with hydrostatic bearings, which can handle a load of up to 25 meganewtons, was built in Ystad, Sweden, shipped across oceans and delivered to Australia’s outback in a 50-metre-long truck. 
“It’s such a thrill to be able to deliver systems that can compete on the global markets,” says Sales Engineer Viktor Johansson. 
 
The lubrication system is used for hydrostatic bearings in grinding mills and was developed collaboratively with one of HydX’s major, long-standing customers, Metso Outotec, whose head office is located in Finland. The system is available in several sizes, specifically designed for Metso Outotec’s mills, for loads of ca. 5MN to more than 40MN. The system delivered to the gold mine in Australia is one of the biggest systems, and was built and tested in Ystad before being shipped halfway round the world.  
“Size-wise it is the biggest type of aggregate we have worked with so far. The lubrication system took up our entire testing capacity,” explains Johansson. 
“It was an exciting challenge building something of this size in Ystad, and which was eventually installed on the other side of the globe and has the ability to stand up to the difficult conditions that the system will be subject to. It feels great knowing the customer has so much confidence in us.”  
 
Nine months from order to delivery 
 
The system travelled to Australia by ship, and upon arrival, was delivered mostly along gravel roads in a 50-metre-long truck, a “road train”. 
“This required a lot from us. We had to be sure that the lubrication system could stand up to all the stress resulting from transportation in a place where the roads are in bad shape or there are hardly any roads at all. We had to make the proper preparations to ensure the delivery could get to its destination free of damage,” says Johansson. 
 
Nine months after the order arrived in Ystad and less than four months after the system had been completed, the lubrication system was delivered to the Thunderbox Gold Mine in Western Australia. 
Once again, HydX from Ystad, Sweden, succeeded in delivering a world-class hydraulics system.