IN-PIT CRUSHING & CONVEYING
He says beyond operational aspects, the project is also part of a broader sustainability context. The manufacturing and maintenance of large equipment, such as sizers, involve significant volumes of steel, the production of which is energy intensive.“ In this context, practices related to the recovery, reuse, and recycling of metallic components throughout the equipment life cycle have increasingly been incorporated into projects and maintenance routines, contributing to the reduction of environmental impact associated with both manufacturing and field interventions.”
Simandou successes for TAKRAF
The successful and ahead-of-schedule completion of TAKRAF Group’ s supply contract for the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea in late 2025 marked a major milestone in one of Africa’ s largest mining and infrastructure ventures. The project includes an integrated in-pit crushing and conveying system, as well as an extensive conveyor network consisting of eleven conveyors totaling 13 kilometres. There is also a stockyard system consisting of four balanced machines( stackers, reclaimers) and two train loading stations, which support the transport of up to 60 Mt of ore per year. Installation of the equipment supplied is well advanced and is being supported by
A TAKRAF sizer getting put in place as part of IPCC system supply at Rio Tinto SimFer’ s Simandou in Guinea
TAKRAF Group specialists. The state-of-theart design and engineering of the material handling systems enable high-capacity, reliable operations and contribute to significant reductions in OPEX. Advanced automation, robust safety features, and scalable infrastructure enhance operational stability, minimise downtime, and support long-term cost efficiency and safety.
The contract entails the design, fabrication and delivery of an advanced and integrated IPCC and material handling system. Highlights include two primary IPCC systems incorporating two TAKRAF X-TREME class sizers to crush extracted
74 ore received by truck; plus a secondary In Pit Secondary Crushing & Conveying( IPSCC) system incorporating four TAKRAF sizers for further ore processing. It also covered two rail mounted stackers for ore stockpiling and two rail mounted reclaimers for ore reclaiming plus two wagon loading stations with buffer silos. Then a complex conveyor system with transfer stations for the above equipment, including a technically sophisticated long downhill conveyor between the secondary IPSCC system and the stockyard; in addition to electrical and control equipment and stockyard auxiliaries. In order to achieve the desired annual production rate the crushing system has been sized with a design capacity of up to 13,200 t / h. Importantly, all stockyard equipment have also been designed with scalability in mind, laying the foundation for future expansions. A separate contract covers technical assistance for installation and commissioning of the system, as well as for assistance in longer-term maintenance and spare parts supply.
TNT’ s modular gyratory success at Spence and Centinela
Terra Nova Technologies( TNT) is an innovative supplier of Material Handling equipment and systems for the mining industry. One of TNT’ s key developments has been the advancement of their modular steel primary gyratory crusher stations for both conventional fixed and IPCC semimobile applications. Modular stations are designed for optimal constructions efficiency, having originated in support of TNT’ s own in-house EPC business group and can dramatically reduce site installation time and construction risk.
TNT’ s first modular steel gyratory crusher station was supplied to BHP as part of the Spence Growth Option( SGO) expansion project in Chile. The station was part of TNT’ s full EPC material handling scope for the primary crushing and overland conveying facilities connecting the mine to the new copper concentrator. Rated for 95,000 t / d, the system has been operating successfully since it was commissioned in 2020.
Building upon the success of the Spence SGO project, TNT is currently executing a similar EPC project in Chile for Antofagasta Minerals( AMSA). TNT’ s scope for the Nueva Centinela project includes the entire primary crushing and overland conveying facilities, rated to 95,000 t / d, as well as a high voltage mine loop electrical transmission system. With Early Contractor Involvement( ECI) awarded in early 2024 to TNT and its joint venture construction partner, Ingeniería y Construcción Sigdo Koppers SA, the project is on schedule to be commissioned later this year.
A key component of the project is TNT’ s modular steel primary gyratory crushing station which was designed in close cooperation with AMSA’ s project, operations, and maintenance teams to incorporate value-adding features and best practice design features while maximising the size and weight of the modules to the greatest extent possible from logistics and constructability perspectives. An example is the back wall of the crusher dump hopper weighing 116 tonnes and representing the largest module on the entire Nueva Centinela project. The high degree of modularisation across the entire project has lead to exceptional safety performance with more than 1.5 million LTI free person hours worked to-date.
BEUMER on advantages of earlystage haulage engineering
Gabriel Moniz, BEUMER Head of Application Engineering- Minerals & Mining told IM that for decades, the mining industry has treated haulage selection as a downstream decision- something to be refined once mine plans are mature and capital pathways are clearer. But he adds:“ BEUMER Group sees that era shifting. As ore grades decline, fuel costs increase, and ESG scrutiny intensifies, the most consequential haulage decisions are now made at the earliest stages of project definition and often long before OEMs are formally engaged.”
This shift is prompting BEUMER to further extend its involvement across earlier project phases. Building on its experience in bulk material handling, Moniz says the company is strengthening its mine planning and engineering support for mining companies and EPCMs during scoping and prefeasibility studies.“ The goal is simple: ensure that long-term mine plans fully account for the opportunities and constraints of conveying systems, rather than defaulting to truckcentric assumptions.”
A recent haulage trade-off study illustrates the impact of this approach. BEUMER supported a major gold project by developing an alternative IPCC mine plan( with a hybrid mining system combining trucks and conveyors for ore and waste) and benchmarking it against the NI 43-101 PFS mine plan, which relied on ultra-class autonomous trucks with trolley assist. Despite this strong baseline, that has one of the lowest-cost truck configurations available, the proposed IPCC mine plan has the potential to deliver 18 % reduction in haulage net present cost, a meaningful uplift of 5.8 % in project NPV, and 58 % reductions in fuel use, tyre consumption, and emissions relative to the PFS mine plan.
The methodology behind these results underscores a critical point:“ IPCC cannot simply be‘ bolted onto’ a truck-based
International Mining | APRIL 2026