Reliability of lubrication systems for mining and processing equipment

According to consolidated maintenance records of mining enterprises, malfunctions of lubricating systems in mining and processing equipment account for a significant share of rolling bearing and gear failures in drive units. The most vulnerable are centralised lubricating systems of quarry excavators, mobile mining machinery, screens and crushers, as well as circulating lubricating systems of gearboxes and trunnion bearings of drum mills, hoists and conveyors operating under dusty conditions, subjected to vibration and temperature variations.The aim of this study is to substantiate technical and organisational solutions that increase the reliability of lubricating systems for friction units of mining and processing equipment. The paper presents a classification of lubricating systems by type of lubricant (grease, lubricating oil) and supply scheme, summarises statistical data on lubrication-related failures of friction units for the main groups of mining machines, and identifies typical failure modes of centralised lubricating systems (lubricating pump units, metering devices and distributors). A selective assembly approach for lubricating metering devices is proposed to reduce non-uniform grease delivery to critical rolling bearings, and engineering requirements are formulated for the design of lubricating reservoirs (oil tanks) in circulating lubricating systems, taking into account oil residence time, degassing and contaminant settling processes, as well as thermal conditions. The results demonstrate that combining the proposed measures with condition monitoring of lubricating systems (flow and pressure control, temperature monitoring of bearing housings, oil analysis) reduces the share of lubrication-related failures and increases the overhaul intervals of bearing supports and gearboxes.

Ivanova E. S., Ivanov S. L., Korogodin A. S., Plaschinsky V. A. Reliability of lubrication systems for mining and processing equipment. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2026;(11):123-144. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2026_11_0_123.

The work was carried out within the framework of the state task 
FSRW-2026-0003 «Study of the processes of integrated development of the Earth's interior and deep processing of geological resources». During the preparation of this manuscript, an artificial intelligence-based assistant Perplexity AI was used for auxiliary linguistic editing and structuring of the text; the authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy of the results, the interpretation of the data, and the content of the publication.

E.S. Ivanova¹, Graduate Student, e-mail: s255079@stud.spmi.ru, ORCID ID: 0009-0001-9605-3662,
S.L. Ivanov¹, Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Professor, Professor, e-mail: Ivanov_SL@pers.spmi.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-7014-2464,
A.S. Korogodin¹, Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Assistant of Chair, e-mail: Korogodin_AS@pers.spmi.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3398-6342,
V.A. Plaschinsky¹, Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Assistant Professor, e-mail: Plaschinskiy_VA@pers.spmi.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0326-4514,
¹ Empress Catherine II Saint-Petersburg Mining University, 199106, Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

E.S. Ivanova, e-mail: s255079@stud.spmi.ru.

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