IM 2016 August 2016 | Page 87

INNOVATION INTELLIGENCE_proof 19/07/2016 13:44 Page 2 INNOVATION INTELLIGENCE consumption and CO2 emissions. The Agudio Flyingbelt demonstrated it was the best choice from all the perspectives against traditional technologies such as trucks or conveyors. For example, comparing the Flyingbelt with trucks. To carry the 1,500 t/h would require loading, running and offloading more than 40 trucks, one every 90 seconds. In the mine, bigger trucks (more expensive) are used that require larger roads to always be in good condition (other costs), with significant fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. In Barroso, to transport 3.5 Mt/y of limestone over a driving distance of 25 km means about 8,000 t of CO2. With the Flyingbelt the connection between the quarry and the production plant is straight over 7,2 km, and the capacity is 1,500 t/h. The average energy consumption is 1,400 kWh, so taking into consideration the IEA composite electricity/heat factor for Brazil, this means 325 t of CO2 – a reduction of more than 95%! Also in terms of environmental impact the Flyingbelt has enormous advantages. The system is a suspended line with no need for deforestation, deviation of rivers and huge earthworks, whereas the use of haul trucks would have required the construction of a dedicated road (three times longer) with all the implications of safety, noise and dust. “It is clear why LafargeHolcim, seeking an innovative and low impacting transportation system, chose the Agudio Flyingbelt,” says Cattaneo. Agudio engineers faced several challenges during the design of such system: capacity, availability, reliability, need of a suspended system, easy and reduced maintenance, no spillage of material, and and low noise. The result is a hybrid between ropeway technology and belt conveyors, the longest Flyingbelt in the world, one single 15 km rubber belt , suspended by 18 towers and running at 4 m/s to bring the raw material to the cement plant. Cattaneo states: “the proof the Flyingbelt technology over long distances opens new perspectives and new ways of designing transportation systems from mines to the production plants with reduced costs and environmental impact.” supporting structures than a standard conveyor belt with earthworks and visual impact considerably reduced n Flexible route design – can adapt to the most problematic terrains: overcome obstacles with a reduced number of supports, only where necessary and at variable distances up to 1,000 m n Easy integration – can be integrated in a longer conveyor with traditional overland conveyors on the ground without material transfer points n Reduced capex – components are standard conveyor belt parts and modular parts specifically designed with simple and rapid assembly procedure, thanks to a special installation vehicle running on the tracking ropes n Reduced opex and maintenance costs – power consumption is reduced compared to other solutions and maintenance requirements negligible thanks to the use of long life components n Energy efficiency and CO2 emissions – compared with standard transportation by truck, Flyingbelt is much more efficient, power requirements are very low and in some cases even positive (for downhill transportation) n Low noise – the Flyingbelt is very silent thanks to low noise idlers. IM Flyingbelt advantages Flyingbelt is a patented raw material transportation system combining the advantages of a conveyor belt system with a material ropeway system such as: n Low environmental impact – has considerably less Cost-effective mining  Keep up-to-date with global mining developments  Establish targeted marketing lists using the intuitive IntelligenceMine search  Access technical documentation associated with thousands of mining assets  Identify key markets, utilizing the mapping engine IntelligenceMine www.IntelligenceMine.com AUGUST2016 | International Mining 85