MINERAL PORTS AND STOCKPILES
Handling with care
Automation, customisation and
new developments set to improve
operations for material handlers
ith the talk of selective mining, the end
of coal output and aligning mine
production in real time with customer
orders, one could be forgiven for thinking bulk
mining operations – and the infrastructure that
facilitates the transport and export of their
products – will soon be a thing of the past.
The reality is very different, with major mines
like Koodaideri, South Flank, Eliwana,
Carmichael, Oyu Tolgoi Underground and the
Grasberg Block Cave showing the future – at least
in the near term – remains bright.
W
Coal handling
A leader in the bulk material handling movement
sector, thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions
confirmed last year it would supply a new coal
handling system to the State Transport Leasing
Company as part of a new terminal for coal
exports in the Port of Lavna near Murmansk, on
the western shore of Kola Bay, Russia.
The system thyssenkrupp will supply is made
up of two ship loaders, stackers, reclaimers and
car dumpers, as well as one combined stacker-
reclaimer, several belt conveyors and auxiliary
equipment.
The contract also includes engineering and
procurement, as well as services for site erection
and commissioning, with thyssenkrupp’s partner,
Latvia’s LNK Industries, responsible for design
and construction of the conveyor system.
With a planned capacity of 18 Mt/y of coal, the
terminal will significantly increase the coal
64 International Mining | MARCH 2020
handling capacities of the region, thyssenkrupp
said. The project will augment regional coal
exports and release pressure on existing
terminals in the Baltic Sea and is closely
connected with the development of the
Murmansk Transport Hub, one of the biggest
ongoing infrastructure projects in Russia’s north,
the company said. The terminal is expected to be
fully operational in 2021.
The project is to be completed in two phases:
first out-shipments are expected to take place
this year, leading to a total of 9 Mt of coal being
handled on site. In 2021, the volume increases to
18 Mt.
thyssenkrupp says it has also built in
environmental considerations to its design: in
order to keep dust emissions to a minimum, all
coal transfer points, wagon unloading stations as
well as ship loaders will be outfitted with dust
suppression equipment.
Advanced stockyard automation
Modern process control systems have
contributed significantly to productivity increases
within the raw materials industry. Determining
stockpile volumes and positions requires multi-
dimensional measurements, with slope profiles
often scanned two-dimensionally using a
machine’s rotation and positioning information.
Later, the acquired 3D data can be condensed to
a one-dimensional process variable like cubic
metres or percentage filling.
But the machines and sensors used to carry
The scope of supply for Bedeschi’s contract at
EGA’s Guinea bauxite project included a stacker
with a capacity of 3,000 t/h and a 420 m long
storage belt conveyor
out these calculations need to be fit for the job at
hand. Carlo Rothschuh, indurad’s Senior Solution
Engineer, says ultrasonic sensors such as
acoustic solid scanners are slow to update, offer
low coverage and are affected by the noise that
comes with bulk handling operations.
“While mounted next to the ore stream and
water spray on stackers, reclaimers and
shiploaders, indurad 3D radar scanners
convinced the global iron ore industry of their
superior reliability while having an imaging
capability comparable to a high-end laser
scanner," he said.
Knowing these issues, Germany-based indurad
developed its 360° radar technologies, which
have been applied at over 20 iron ore mine sites
and ports in Australia, Brazil, Canada and South
Africa. Companies focused on other commodities
have also favoured indurad’s solutions with
installations in Canada’s oil sands, Chile’s copper
mines, Russian potash mines and European steel
plants.
They also allow for measurements of the
volume and volume flow on conveyors, apron
feeders, surge bins and silos, according to the
company. Furthermore, the technology can be
used for anti-collision eg on bucketwheel
excavators, stackers and reclaimers. iReclaimer,
for example, yields typically 5-10% extra