IPCC
Metso ' s new Foresight™ overland conveyor additions have created a new family of IPCC solutions building on the initial Foresight™ crushing station
of highly technical and lengthy studies .”
Everyone is coming up with decarbonisation plans and there is a clear push among many of the Tier 1 operators towards hybrid or battery mining trucks and the associated infrastructure . This includes trolley assist and charging solutions beginning with that as the least worst option . That said , it is at a very early stage so there is a lot of flux still on how haulage will look in the future . IPCC as there was nothing new being said was and is still being viewed as a secondary or add on option .
So Berndt says Metso set out to answer the question , how do we make IPCC easier , less complex and mysterious and easier to engage with ? “ We thought can we not break it down into something simpler and more useful with a much lower threshold of engagement . Plus , to make study analysis much faster and more streamlined . It is also the case that there has to
be a new ‘ meeting point ’ between mobile fleet and IPCC . Where this will be is to be figured out in the next three to five years when we know more about the battery or hybrid trucks and what they really need to be productive in terms of charging whether fixed or dynamic .”
Metso says it feels it now has the best solution after breaking IPCC down into its nuts and bolts . The result is a new Foresight™ family of solutions in IPCC . Metso estimates that about 40 % of the energy in a metal concentrate from mining is from diesel , the rest mainly from crushing and grinding plus downstream flotation , filtration etc . There are at least 28,000 mining trucks in the world to convert over to zero carbon power . “ Using conveyors reduces truck deadweight being carried around – with a conveyor , 85 % of the mass is ore on the move so it is more energy efficiency . But of course the trucks offer more flexibility . You need the right interface between the two .”
Berndt adds : “ Mining companies today want fast , available and affordable decarbonisation . For IPCC , we think we are able to do this by avoiding very detailed studies & ETO manufacturing and instead using modularised already available products instead of tailor-made systems including a pre-ordained , productised set of conveyor solutions . So we are launching the Foresight ™ overland conveyor which follows on from the Foresight ™ crushing station , for example the SMPG and apron feeder . Then within the overland conveyor solution we have ready to go modules for the tail station , main conveyor module , head station and coarse ore stacker . They cover a range from 1,400 to 2,400 mm width . We connect these modules as we go and have immediate impact in terms of pricing and OPEX that can quickly be fed into client study planning . We think this modular approach allows for 70 %+ faster feasibility .”
In partnership with this , Metso has created an innovative online tool – the Metso Crush and Convey Resource Centre – which is now available to the industry including miners and EPCMs . “ In this tool , you can enter your process data and then instantly see and assess multiple route options and the types of modules that you will need .” You can then download them and see up to 50 potential product combination iterations within days versus what Metso says has taken months with a tailor-made solution . It offers 3D modules and sizing visualisation plus design data is immediately available and you can having pricing within two days . “ On an ETO [ Engineered to Order ] station you might save five tonnes of equipment weight , but is that worth new engineering and six months of waiting time for the study to be completed . Plus the modules themselves are then not immediately available . Overall our modular Foresight system has a 15 % faster delivery and erection time . This is helped by off-site bolted assembly .”
The head station is an integrated design with transformers and a multidrive arrangement . It has the smallest footprint possible and is relocatable plus offers ease of maintenance access . The tail station has rock-box and transfer chute support plus easy service impact idlers and free alignment to the head station . The conveyor module uses standard steel profiles , with steel sleepers to eliminate civils . It uses bolted site assembly , has a lightweight structure and has protective covers and guards along with cable tray mounts .
What about applicability to different types of project and commodities ? “ Yes , it is already engineered but it covers a wide range of applications – we looked a lot of project types and it covered about 70 % of those with just a few outliers . You select the number of drives and the size of drives to customise the modules to your individual project needs . Delivery of the preassembled components can be done via flatbed truck without costly specialist logistics with assembly on a construction pad next to the
minesite with modules bolted together so you are minimising the amount of contractor access required in the working areas of the mine . The ConveyInsights™ construction concept involves pre-commissioning and testing has been done already off-site – more time saving . Overall time saving means faster delivery of decarbonisation targets .”
Productivity is boosted also by certain Metso components including its own Wearback™ Chutes and WearSense™ predictive liner wear monitoring system . Then the rollers are all Metso-manufactured as well – monitored by its own RollerSense™ system tracking vibration and temperature in the idlers . This allows ID of any problematic rollers early . Finally , there is the RockSense 3D™ laser-based monitoring system to ID any oversize or tramp material – Metso has already delivered over 330 RockSense units to the market . As well as its own idlers , Metso also supplies its own pulleys and Flexocord belting plus Trellex impact stations and cleaners . “ Again , this speeds up the pricing and the planning as you do not have to outsource these – its almost all there .”
Are there any elements Metso does not offer ? “ For sizers , if that is the chosen crusher , we have our collaboration with Komatsu .” The conveyors are relocatable using transport crawler or SPMT – they don ’ t require civils due to the use of pontoon base and sleepers that don ’ t require large foundations . Both transport vehicles are not part of the Metso product range but can easily be rented worldwide . You can also dismount modules and relocate using flatbed trucks .
How can Metso be sure it will work for different types of mines and ore types ? “ We have specified different belt widths and maximum powers . The defining part of the head station module for example is the power and torque plus the strength you can exert to tension the belt . Whether that is for ore with 1.8 t / m ³ density or 2.5 t / m ³, this dictates the amount of belt the head station can pull based on the required tonnes per hour capacity and metres per second speed and troughing angle but the head station itself stays the same . This is all covered by our William Conveyor Explorer , which can be found within the Crush and Convey Resource Center . Once you input all your parameters you can then add different conveyor flight sections with different lengths .”
For smaller capacity requirements , instead of combining the Foresight™ overland conveyor modules with a Foresight™ SMPG , for example , they can equally be used with a FIT™ station , which are more modular , lower tonnage stations for smaller mines and quarries often using sizers or jaw crushers . Between the head station and the coarse ore stacker , it is also possible to
34 International Mining | MAY 2024