CONVEYING TECHNOLOGY
Considering conveyance
Paul Moore looks at several major IPCC projects coming to fruition , some new ropeway conveying projects recently completed as well as some developments in conveyor maintenance & condition monitoring
With fixed sustainability and emissions targets now very much on the horizon , major mines are increasingly now implementing large scale in-pit crushing and conveying ( IPCC ) projects to reduce diesel usage and dependence , cut carbon emissions , establish greater electrical infrastructure and up efficiency .
It was back in 2017 that TAKRAF first received the EPCM contract for an IPCC system at the Lebedinsky iron ore mine of Metalloinvest , which is located near Gubkin in the Belgorod region , around 500 km south of Moscow . It has been operating since the 1970s and boasts iron ore reserves of close to 4 billion tonnes . The new IPCC system is in final construction and will replace the existing railroad ore transport system out of the pit . It consists of two semi-mobile designed primary crushing plants with apron feeders , two crusher discharge conveyors , two acceleration conveyors , and two pit ramps with overland conveyors bridging 280 m of topographical height . The contract also covers four plant conveyors , one stockyard feed and reclaim conveyor plus a bucket-wheel stacker reclaimer and mobile loading hopper with apron feeder at the stockyard .
The IPCC system , including a 2 x 130,000 t stockyard has to feed the processing plant with
55 Mt of iron ore per year . As a result , each of the primary crushing plants , as well as all of the conveyors were designed with a capacity of 5,500 t / h , except the stockyard feed and reclaim conveyor , which were designed with a capacity of 8,000 t / h . A special feature of the system is its high level of redundancy , which is realised through the twin arrangement of crushers and conveyors , continuously adjustable distribution chutes , at almost all transfer towers and two
Part of the 10,000 t / h , 9 km gearless driven conveyor recently installed and started up by thyssenkrupp Industrial Solution at the Julong Copper operation in Tibet , China
reversible conveyors to feed and reclaim the back-up stockyard .
The entire system was designed for the harsh winter conditions , as well as including various intelligent features to facilitate maintenance across all areas . The system also includes various elements catering to automated operation and control , including a self-propelled TAKRAF maintenance cart on the 14.5 ° inclined pit ramp conveyor for an efficient conveyor maintenance solution .
Over in India , a 19 km overland conveyor system , designed and installed by the TAKRAF India office , for the greenfield Utkal Alumina Project includes the longest single flight conveyor system to be installed within Indian territory to date . Utkal Alumina is a 100 % subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group company Hindalco . The project is in Tikri in the Rayagada district of Odisha and comprises a 1.5 Mt / y alumina refinery , the Baphlimali bauxite mines with reserves lasting for over 25 years , and a captive co-generation power plant of 90 MW .
The contract , from Utkal Alumina International Limited ( UAIL ), called for an overland conveyor system to transport 4.5 Mt / y of bauxite through challenging , undulating terrain from the the mines to the new alumina plant . In its final configuration , the system comprises two single flight conveyors of 14.5 km and 3.6 km in length , respectively . The 2,850 t / h conveyor system has a drop of 250 m and passes through some 45 crossings over its total span of travel from material loading to discharge .
The scope of the project covered design , engineering , procurement and fabrication , through to site erection , commissioning , performance guarantee testing and handover . All civil and structural work was included and an
A new TAKRAF IPCC system at the Pakri Barwadih coal mine in Jharkand includes a 6 km conveyor system
FEBRUARY 2022 | International Mining 53