CONVEYORS
Enabling sustainable mining in Greenland with RopeCon
Austria ’ s Doppelmayr has had significant success with its RopeCon suspended ropeway based conveyor solution in recent years - a notable example being at Northam Platinum ' s Booysendal for transport of platinum ore . At Booysendal South , the installation covers a total difference in elevation of 530 m over a distance of 4.8 km . For Boosyendal North , the RopeCon has a distance of roughly 2.8 km and a difference in elevation of -160 m . And for Aggregate Industries ' Bardon Hill quarry in the UK , an 850 m span RopeCon now transports overburden for emplacement within the existing quarry as part of its restoration .
Moving ahead , the next big RopeCon project is set to be for Greenland Resources ’ Malmbjerg molybdenum project - this is already past definitive feasibility stage , completed in February 2022 by Tetra Tech . The planned open pit mine is in east central Greenland about 30 km from the coast . Greenland Resources says it has been diligently focusing on advancing capex financing and on re-permitting the project . Both activities it says are progressing favourably according to plan , on time and on budget .
Remarkably , approximately 50 % of the total power consumption and decarbonisation in the project is likely to be solved with the use of the aerial rope conveyor while the remaining power aims for solar and wind energy technologies . The conveyor would transport 35,000 t of ore per day from the mine site to the processing facilities using gravity that requires no energy input and therefore generates no carbon emissions and generates electricity from braking .
In more detail as outlined in the feasibility study , the primary crushing structure will be of concrete construction with multiple levels housing the gyratory ( primary ) crusher , the primary apron feeder , the sacrificial belt conveyor , rock breaker and overhead bridge crane . The apron feeder discharge will be conveyed using a sacrificial belt conveyor to the RopeCon conveyor and the RopeCon conveyor will convey the crushed ore from the mine site to the port site . A level operating surface for the crusher loading station and a ROM stockpile will be constructed above the RopeCon conveyor loading station .
The rock constructed access ramp structure will provide truck access on two sides of the primary crushing building . ROM ore will be discharged into the dump pocket from two sides at the top level . Interior steel platforms and roof will be provided to support equipment for ongoing operation and maintenance need .
Ore transportation from Malmbjerg mine site to the Mesters Vig port concentrator will be performed by a 26 km aerial RopeCon conveyor . No input energy is required to operate the conveyor as a result no CO2 will be generated . The elevation difference from ore conveyor loading and discharge will be approximately 930 m , as a result the conveyor will generate 1.3 MW electrical energy from conveyor braking operations . The electrical energy will be fed into the local mine grid . The RopeCon conveyor reclamation footprint will be negligible , as the reclamation plan will involve the removal of four towers and the cables and conveyor .
The RopeCon conveyor will be a Doppelmayr-supplied system and will include all structural support frames , cables , drives , etc to form a completely functional system . The RopeCon conveyor will consist of four sections : n Section 1 will have a length of 1,726 m and will cover a difference in elevation of 379 m . It will transport crushed ore uphill from the crushing system at the mine site to an intermediate transfer station to Section 2 , over the glacier . n Section 2 will have a length of 5,498 m and will cover a difference in elevation of -500 m . It will transport crushed ore downhill from the first intermediate transfer station ( from Section 1 ) to a second transfer station to Section 3 . n Section 3 will have a length of 2,984 m and will cover a difference in elevation of -598 m . It will transport crushed ore downhill from the second intermediate transfer station ( from Section 2 ) to a third transfer station to Section 4 . n Section 4 will have a length of 11,519 m and will cover a dif ference in elevation of -184 m . It will transport the crushed ore downhill from the third intermediate transfer station ( from Section 3 ) to the crushed ore stockpile at the port site . At the mine site loading station , the material will be fed onto the RopeCon conveyor via a chute which is fitted with lateral baffle plates . An impact table with absorbing rubber elements underneath the conveyor belt supports the conveyor belt at the loading point as required . The loading station will also be equipped with a return ( drive ) pulley , the compact drive unit , support structures and the belt turning device .
Greenland Resources told IM directly that it had weighed up several options and that opex was also a big factor . To transport 35,000 t / d of moly ore a distance of 26 km by conventional trucking in what is a mountainous area would cost roughly $ 5 / lb - with RopeCon that drops to about $ 0.50- $ 0.60 / lb . It had actually considered three transport options - one being a tunnel which was too time consuming , expensive and complicated in terms of engineering - this was to have been used with hydraulic transportation , ie a slurry pipeline . It worked in environmental terms and had high capex and low opex but with a very long construction time . Then there was conventional truck transport and third an aerial ropeway option . The truck option was good on timeframe and capex worked but of course it was going to use very large volumes of diesel so had a high opex and also fell down environmentally . So the ropeway in the form of RopeCon was settled on as the chosen route , as while the capex was relatively high , it ticked the opex and environmental boxes . Working with Doppelmayr also adds jobs and circularity in Europe while closing the extraction-processing-end product cycle . Europe is the second largest molybdenum user worldwide , has large processing and end products capacity , but has no molybdenum extraction . project in Mauritania .
The F ’ Derick iron ore deposit , known for its natural richness in haematite , is part of SNIM ’ s iron ore complex in Mauritania . With current production of approximately 12 Mt / y , SNIM aims to increase this to 18 Mt / y through the development of the F ’ Derick project , thereby contributing to the country ’ s iron ore production .
The contract , signed at the end of 2023 , marks a key milestone as SNIM begins development work on site . An inauguration ceremony was held in the presence of Mauritanian President of State Mohamed Ould Ghazouani , underscoring the importance of this collaboration .
Highlights of TAKRAF ’ s scope of supply include for Lot 1 a primary crushing plant ; apron feeder ; belt conveyor CV-1 ; secondary crushing plant with pre-screening ; belt conveyor CV-2 and transfer tower TT-1 and required auxiliary systems and accessories . Lot 2 includes belt conveyor CV-5 ; a train loading ( loadout ) station plus wequired auxiliary systems and accessories . TAKRAF designed the system in order to feed the train load-out station with an average loading rate of 100 wagons per hour . Delivery of the equipment to the port of Nouadhibou is
expected to be completed within approximately two years .
It is TAKRAF ’ s second major contract award in West Africa recently following the signing of a contract with Rio Tinto in November 2023 for an integrated in-pit crushing and conveying ( IPCC ) service for the Simandou iron ore complex .
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 ore received by truck . It also includes a secondary In
58 International Mining | FEBRUARY 2024