This conveyor system transports crushed copper from underground storage bins to the surface along a 7 km underground tunnel that overcomes a non-insignificant 1 km of vertical elevation change. Once on the surface, ore is then fed onto an overland conveyor that transports it the final 6 km to the distribution silo.
The underground system (comprising two conveyors of about equal length) as well as the overland conveyor boast advanced gearless drive technology provided by our drive technology partner, ABB.
Gearless drives eliminate the need for a gearbox, hereby significantly reducing the number of main wear parts, which results in increased efficiency and reliability, as well as less maintenance being required. Further advantages include a considerable reduction in the drive system’s footprint and emissions – CO2 emissions are reduced by 66% as compared to diesel truck engines for the same copper production volume!
Total installed drive power for the entire system, including various feeder conveyors, totals an incredible 58 MW, of which there are 11 x 5 MW gearless synchronous motors. Another significant achievement is the installation of the newly developed steel cord belt, ST10000, on the uphill tunnel conveyors. This marks the world’s very first conveyor system to employ this premier steel cord belt technology.
Author: TAKRAF
