Do wire rope suppliers want to sell you what is in their best commercial interest?

This question does not imply that a reputable supplier will sell you a totally unsuitable wire rope but, in those cases where there are alternatives they will naturally ere on the side of their own best commercial interest.

An example of this situation is where they don’t make a particular type or construction of wire rope, for example a full locked coil; so they persuade you to buy an alternative that they say will do the job, just as well or better, and will eliminate the ‘inconveniences’ of working with locked coil ropes.

What they will not tell you is that, even though their rope is an excellent mine hoist rope, it is vulnerable to damage because of the working conditions in your shaft.

Maybe they don’t know about the working condition in your shaft and maybe you don’t recognise the implications of changing rope type or maybe, they conveniently forgot to tell you; that if you are ‘regularly’ dropping rocks down the shaft, their proposed wire rope construction is extremely vulnerable to being seriously damaged.

The likely result is that you will frequently be changing your hoist ropes.

Whereas rock-fall damage to a locked coil rope can, in most cases be repaired, such damage to a stranded rope can mean that it needs to be replaced immediately.