CONVEYORS
different types of fasteners- the Mato U30 series, with a stainless steel plate and spring steel staple material for the strongest possible connection and longest service life; the Mato S30 series, for medium strength belts in coal mining, quarries and other industrial applications and the Mato E30 system, manufactured from special steel for a strong connection and good service life.
Belt maintenance
The Kiruna iron ore mine uses conveyor belts from ContiTech to ensure that the ore is conveyed from depths of up to 1,365 m safely to its destination. The company also uses ContiTech technology in the Port of Narvik, to where finished products are shipped as well as at LKAB’ s third-largest site, Gruvberget open-pit mine in the Svappavaara ore field. In Kiruna, there are around 350 individual conveyor systems making up a 21 km long conveyor system. These conveyor belts transport 90 Mt of material a year.
A special service agreement, which was signed between LKAB and the service provider Vertech AB in close collaboration with ContiTech, ensures that all the conveyor belts at the site are functional at all times. This requires the presence of experts at the site day and night, seven days a week, to rectify any damage as quickly as possible.“ Our conveyor belts are extremely hardwearing, but there are of course instances where a defective belt piece needs replacing, which is why we stock the relevant replacement parts in Kiruna. Every belt type is available in any required length, width, fabric and strength class. The longest belt sections in stock are 600 m long. It would take weeks for us to first produce the belt and then ship it to the far north,” explains Daniel Grimes from ContiTech.
Vertech supplies the fitters, ContiTech supplies the replacement belts and LKAB pays per tonne transported. The balance is settled at the end of the year. The three contracting parties then share any profits or losses. In this way, the service agreement benefits all sides and acts as an incentive for failure-free operations.
It was ContiTech that engineered this unusual service agreement which requires exceptional trust-based, transparent and close cooperation between all parties involved. ContiTech conveyor belts have been in use at LKAB plants since the early 1990s. The first service agreement was concluded in 2001 and has proven to be a worthwhile undertaking to this day. For LKAB, the agreement provides additional advantages as it gives the company a much better overview of the costs. A budget was created as of the agreement start date. This factored in the value of the belts, the installation costs, the site labour costs and the stockholding costs. The calculation also takes into account the theoretical average service life
of the belts. If a belt fails prematurely, absolute transparency is required.
Has the belt simply worn out before its time or were the pellets too hot and not cooled down properly? In cases of system failure, the contract partners do all in their power to get to the root of the problem. Is there room for improvement on the maintenance front or is the damage to the belt all part and parcel of the usual stresses of operation? Sometimes there are discussions. But so far an agreement has always been reached. This requires willingness to compromise, trust and the desire to find a solution. At the end of the day, the contract partners are all pursuing the same goal: smooth running of the belts. This is absolutely critical for cost efficiency. Accurate records are also kept. Once every six months, LKAB, ContiTech and Vertech go through all the data and review performance. Where do we stand? Where could we improve training for the service technicians further? How do we fare on issues such as industrial safety and environmental protection? The contracting parties discuss these and many more issues as a team.
Industrial safety is essential when it comes to mining. This was one more reason why LKAB opted for ContiTech conveyor belts. ContiTech supplies belts made of self-extinguishing material. This is absolutely critical underground because pit fires have always been one of the biggest risks for miners. Burning conveyor belts could result in a fire with devastating consequences. But this will not happen in Kiruna. In the event of a fire, the ContiTech belts are selfextinguishing, which means that the flames are unable to spread along the whole length of the conveyor belt.
ContiTech aims to provide solutions that are much more than just a conveyor belt that is specially designed to meet their needs:“ We provide our customers with everything from one source – from technical advice, extensive planning and engineer-driven development all the way through to manufacturing and delivery of conveyor belts and components. Installation, commissioning, maintenance and monitoring of the belt round off the whole package is all perfectly coordinated to achieve the best possible operation and highest level of customer benefit,” emphasises Grimes.
Benetech is focusing further on conveyor maintenance solutions. Without proper inspection and maintenance, a conveyor system with small problems can develop much bigger ones, leading to lost production and revenue. Curative repair costs also can double or even triple the investment in efficient preventive measures.
Benetech’ s state-of-the-art conveyor maintenance and repair include audits / inspections, adjustments, installation of equipment and replacement of parts. Benetech says that working with it“ to identify potential setbacks early and fix them results in moresteady production with less spillage, pluggage and carryback; less wear and airborne dust; improved material flow; and greater regulatory compliance for avoiding citations and fees. It helps bulk material handlers prevent fire and explosion hazards as well.”
Benetech conveyor belt maintenance further helps extend maintenance intervals while enhancing production. With Benetech, bulk material handlers can upgrade older, labourintensive equipment and systems to advanced solutions such as: n Engineered transfer systems that control material flow and lessen impact against belts, chute walls, stringers and idlers n Inspection doors that allow personnel to safely and easily access all areas to ensure proper conditions and functioning n Material flow enhancers that restrict build-up and pluggage n Proper impact beds and trackers that keep the conveyor belt centred and protected n Belt cleaners that prevent spillage and carryback.“ Our upgrades boost bulk material handlers’ capabilities and decrease the need for frequent conveyor inspections and maintenance,” said Benetech Vice President Paul Moran.“ Our components, technologies and processes help ensure companies move more material for longer periods with fewer delays through a safer, fully operative system. This supports premium service to their customers.”
Benetech provides complete, performancebased solutions for dust mitigation and bulk material-handling systems. Its products, services and technologies reduce dust, prevent spillage, improve material flow and reinforce compliance.
Going into production
Overland conveying, portable conveying and stacking equipment from Terra Nova Technologies( TNT) is now being installed on site at Nordgold ' s Gross all-season open-pit heap leach project, located in southwest Yakutia, Russia, 4 km east of the Neryungri mine. At full production, Gross is expected to mine and process 12 Mt of ore, producing over 200,000 oz / y of gold for 17 years.
TNT ' s contract was for the design and supply of five overland conveyors, two mobile trippers, an emergency bypass stacker, reclaim hoppers and three mobile stacking / reclaim systems. The mobile systems will support on-off heap leach stacking, reclaiming and tailings stacking, with a bypass stockpile and reclaim system.
The network of five 1,200 mm overland conveyors will feed the three mobile systems, which will comprise a total of 42 1,200 mm mobile conveyors. These include 32 38 m
56 International Mining | FEBRUARY 2018