IPCC SOLUTIONS
transportation complexes . The project is well underway and is being mainly designed , developed and constructed by engineering group 3BTEC Mongolia LLC , which has the EPCM contract . EMC is approaching IPCC in two phases . An ERC22-20 Eccentric Roll Crusher was acquired from thyssenKrupp Mining ( now part of FLSmidth ) which completed factory acceptance testing in 2022 . The ERC will form the core part of a semi mobile crushing station which in phase 1 which be truck fed and positioned on the edge of the main Erdenet pit and will be capable of handling 2,400 t / h with any movements via SMPT . This will be connected to a stockpiling area via four conveyors of lengths 465 m , 931 m , 1,081 m and finally 336 m - feeding a stockpile via a radial stacker . Initially this will mainly be used for waste , which will be loaded onto trucks again for transport to the waste dump ; or in some cases for low grader ore which will be stockpiled , though in the future EMC is considering a 5th conveyor and spreader for more efficient transport to the waste area .
For Phase 1 the construction works for the retaining walls and foundations , and mass earthworks are expected to start in May 2023 and the erection and installation works for the semi mobile equipment and conveyors will be commenced this year . The semi mobile station was designed in-house by 3BTEC working with Koch Solutions . Some of the equipment such as the rock breaker and Haver & Boecker screen have acquired through thyssenKrupp but most of the steelwork , plus the housing for weather protection are being fabricated locally . This is the same for the conveyors , though they will use Siemens drives and SEW gearboxes .
Beumer ’ s holistic approach to conveyor design
As outlined by Gabriel Moniz , BEUMER Operations Manager – Conveying & Loading Systems in a presentation at the recent 2023 SME event in Denver , mining companies are requiring a higher degree of accuracy for cost estimates in early phases of project studies . He says it is worth remembering that long distance conveyors can involve a lot of complexity , from Right of Way ( ROW ) involving land acquisition , permitting and relocation to the equipment costs themselves mostly driven by belting , idlers , power / drives and steel . Added to this the earthworks & civil structures which can include cut and fill , river / road crossings , retaining walls
Next generation conveyor drives
The heavy industries including mining and minerals are facing numerous challenges in today ’ s markets with pressures for higher throughputs and increased demands on material handling applications like conveyors in use for these systems . The industry challenges include rising energy costs , space constraints for greenfield & brownfield expansion projects , carbon footprint pressures putting limitations on expanding power requirements and all with capital expenditure / operational expenditure ( CAPEX / OPEX ) budget constraints .
DB Santasalo argues that the next generation of gear technology with Permanent Magnet Motor / Planetary Gear ( PMSM / Gear ) as found in its innovative FD-Drive offers solutions addressing all issues in mining today including for conveyors but also comminution . Ruben Salinas , its Senior Business Development Manager , CAPITAL Division – Americas told IM : The integrated planetary gear and permanent magnet motor offers the most efficient power transmission solution in the world today with a motor technology and gear that offers the best power-density in the smallest footprint package , especially in larger high-power ranges from 1 MW up to 20 MW and above .”
He argues that this solution offers the best power-density and speed-torque control in the smallest package . “ It must be reiterated that conveying applications are constant torque applications and therefore the professed energy savings and less maintenance value propositions that are claimed by the proponents of gearless / direct drive synchronous motors are practically nullified when you consider all the advantages of the PMSM and gear . The PMSM and Planetary Gear package offers better air-cooling inside the motor , no need for external excitation , low cogging torque with the system controls with VFD / VSD , high torque density in the smallest footprint and theoretically full torque is achievable at zero speed . So , in comparison , this solution can offer better efficiencies than the other two prevailing technologies that are often used in the high power / high torque applications in the field over the past years .”
Beumer double stacked conveyor solution for Jiangsu JINFENG Cement in China
and equipment foundations , then the actual construction & management - steel erection , mech / elect install and management ; and finally shipping including re-assembly and shipping costs .
Conveyor equipment actually is a relatively small fraction of the overall project costs and understanding and demonstrating a trade off has more value than maximising one of the ‘ buckets ’ in detriment of another . Moniz : “ Total cost of ownership of conveying systems greatly depend on the selection of conveyor route , equipment layouts and associated civil works to create the required ground profiles . So it is important that the right routes are identified early before projects move into the detail engineering phase .”
BEUMER has developed a holistic engineering approach which utilises automated tools to evaluate conveyor route options considering conveyor design requirements and the environmental constraints . 3D visualisations , civil cut-and-full estimates of the conveyor route , CAPEX and OPEX estimates can now be developed in short time frames . Moniz says there was a need for a conveyor design process where the conveyor engineer drives a multi-disciplinary taskforce and that this holistic approach to conveyor design can unlock significant CAPEX savings .
BEUMER has already applied this approach in relation to conveyor projects with a number of customers including a major belt conveying solution for Jiangsu JINFENG Cement Group fed by three separate limestone mines and crushing stations , all feeding four overland conveyors covering almost 21.5 km . Following the application of the new design process it was determined that the most efficient and economic option was to have two pairs of stacked conveyors feeding the final crushed limestone storage bins .
IM
58 International Mining | MAY 2023