IM 2016 August 2016 | Page 86

INNOVATION INTELLIGENCE_proof 19/07/2016 13:44 Page 1 INNOVATION INTELLIGENCE Stefano Cattaneo – Sales and Marketing Manager Material Transportation Systems, Leitner, talks to John Chadwick about the successful commissioning of this 7.2 km system The Agudio Flyingbelt masterpiece he LafargeHolcim cement plant in Barroso came online in May and is the most modern and efficient in Brazil. Leitner was one of the main suppliers and made a significant and very innovative contribution to the success of the project. Leitner Group is well experienced in facing challenges: transporting people on top of the mountains, aerial connections over congested urban areas, moving millions of cubic metres of concrete in a fast and efficient way to build the biggest dams in the world, but the challenge recently achieved is certainly one of the biggest in the material transportation sector: the longest aerial conveyor belt suspended on ropes. The Flyingbelt, built in about two and a half years by a team of 200 people: engineers, technicians, and others that worked hard to T design and erect about 2,000 t of components, 60, 000 m of steel ropes, 25,000 idlers and 15,000 m of steelcord belt, was tested for six days before the hand over to LafargeHolcim. At the end of the performance test the system fully achieved the capacity of 1,500 t/h of limestone, with a maximum energy consumption of 1,700 kWh. During the tests several “extreme” operating conditions (accelerations, shut-down, +20% overcapacity, etc) were simulated and the result was the confirmation that the Flyingbelt technology is fully applicable on long distances without any problem of material stability on the belt. The Flyingbelt is part of a longer chain connecting the limestone mine to the cement plant, including traditional conveyor belts and equipment and the tests demonstrated that thanks to a comprehensive control system The performance tests of the Flyingbelt from Agudio, a brand of Leitner ropeways dedicated to material transportation system, have been completed and from May the system has been operating for the LafargeHolcim cement plant in Barroso, Brazil. managing signals from the Flyingbelt itself and from the other equipment, it is possible to transport the quantity of raw material required at the cement plant in fully automated mode. The Barroso cement plant has been designed to the highest standards in terms of environmental protection, energy efficiency, CO2 emissions and the choice of the method of raw material transportation has been crucial. LafargeHolcim engineers undertook detailed analysis in order to identify the best solution in terms of investment cost, operational costs, environmental impact, noise, energy CostMine Mine Cost Estimating Need Help with Your Cost Estimates? » » » » Mining Cost Service Coal Cost Guide Reclamation Cost Guide Gold Heap Leach Cost Estimating Guide www.CostMine.com » Mine & Mill Equipment Costs » Sherpa & Apex Software » Mining Compensation Reports info@costmine.com InfoMine 84 International Mining | AUGUST 2016