
According to a report from Mining Weekly, one of the biggest and most diverse natural resource companies in the world has extensively tested a product from Fuchs, and decided to use it for all its mobile heavy equipment.
Fuchs RENOLIT CSX ULTRA is a calcium sulphonate complex grease that offers various advantages over lithium equivalents, which can be useful in demanding applications like mining.
For example, the dropping point (the temperature at which grease goes from being semi-solid to a liquid) is higher for calcium sulphonate greases, so they can function at higher temperatures without experiencing excessive runout or leakage.
Fuchs Technical Expert Dave Gons said they also have other advantages over lithium greases. Calcium sulphonate, for instance, serves as a natural inhibitor of rust, so unlike lithium greases, rust-inhibiting additives are not required.
They also have superior mechanical stability and oxidisation resistance. Gons pointed to lithium greases as being more expensive to make due to an ongoing lithium shortage.
Gons also commented:
“In mining applications in particular, RENOLIT CSX ULTRA provides excellent pressure protection by forming a durable lubricating film. It reduces wear and extends the life of critical components such as pins, bushes, slew gears and slew bearings.”
He also cited a number of other applications in mining and construction where the grease is suitable, including plain and heavily loaded roller bearings in rotating, sliding and oscillating contact pins on various vehicles. This means a whole fleet can be served with just one grease product.