CONVEYING
Continental’ s global leadership in belts
In October 2024, Continental expanded its plant in Brazil to manufacture very heavy duty steel cord conveyor belts for mining. IM caught up with Sven Hlywiak, Vice President, Customer Engineered Solutions, Industrial Solutions Americas to discuss its leadership in mining belts.
When people talk about high tension mining conveyor belts including the ST10000, these are the most challenging to manufacture – can you comment on your position in this part of the market and recent investments in it?
When it comes to the ST10000, we remain the only company with a steel cord belt of this ultra high strength actually in service – our Phoenix Phoenocord ST10000 belt was first put into service in 2020 at Codelco’ s Chuqicamata Underground copper mine on the TAKRAF 7 km inclined tunnel conveyor flight that brings copper ore to surface with an elevation gain of 950 m. This is something our team is rightly very proud of, as its development took a long time, working out how we could produce a belt of this strength and complexity efficiently. And today we have gone into serial production at our newly expanded Ponta Grossa, Brazil operation – the investment included production lines featuring advanced new rubber mixing, rubber blanket calendering, vulcanisation, and inspection technologies, with the aim of guaranteeing excellence at every stage of the process. We can produce the ST10000 in lengths weighing up to 60 metric tons.
What is technically special about the Phoenocord ST10000?
The special Sybercord cord design in combination with the highest manufacturing and quality standards and advanced splicing technology provides a unique, reliable and unmatched product. Splicing methods, which have been validated by Continental and on independent two-pulley splice testers, result in dynamic splice efficiencies that outperform any standard. Advanced cover compounds and the insulation gum’ s superior adhesion combine to provide the impact, tear and abuse resistance that make it unique. And we back all this up with our conveyor belt monitoring systems to generate an overall picture of conveyor belt health.
How significant is the expansion of the Brazil operation in terms of mining belts?
It is hugely important for us – we had the capability to make these ultra durable mining belts in Germany and Australia, but not in the Americas – with Ponta Grossa we have addressed that. This means we are closer to our customers in key mining markets like Chile, Peru and Brazil with these products – whereas before they had to be shipped much longer distances. South America is actually the largest global market for belts like the ST10000. We
Continental recently expanded its plant in Brazil to manufacture very heavy duty steel cord conveyor belts for mining
are happy with the technology investment we have made that is now paying off, and of the local team we have in place, both on the manufacturing and sales side but also R & D. Also I would like to say we are not just a belt supplier – we support our customer with the splicing and commissioning as well as ongoing service to ensure they can maximise uptime. We also have technology in pulleys such as our Eco Extreme pulley cover compounds that in some cases can reduce energy consumption by up to 30 %. Continental, we believe, is a true solution provider for mining, helping customers make their operations better. This is also where digitalisation and our monitoring solutions come into play.
Can you give some examples of your digital solutions in terms of mining belt preventative maintenance and monitoring?
Continental Conveyor Belt Monitoring Systems capture data about the conveyor belt health. These include magnetic systems like CONTI ® CordProtect to monitor magnetised steel cord reinforced conveyor belts for cord damages and tracks changes in the splice structure; and CONTI MultiProtect which monitors equally spaced embedded magnetised rip inserts. The flat array can additionally monitor for steel cord damage and splice integrity. These are often combined with other solutions like CONTI RipProtect, a permanent radio frequency system to detect and minimise longitudinal conveyor belt rips by monitoring the condition of a series of embedded inductive sensor loops; and CONTI SurfaceProtect, an online laser system that monitors the surface of the conveyor belt by evaluating the cover condition for cuts and gouges or large impact damage events. Other solutions include the CONTI ConveyorInspect dronebased inspection system to allow operators to easily know the condition of their belts and idlers, quickly locate the exact position of failing idlers, and track changes in rotating components over time. These are just some examples of the technologies we can combine into a solution for customers.
Which of these digital solutions has had the biggest market impact so far?
I would say the biggest impact has been from combined systems and strategies when it comes to belt monitoring. It is a combination of different detection methods that gives you an overall understanding. You combine visual and temperature inspection with radar and other sensor data – and with our latest digital hub solution, the Conti + 2.0 app, customers can see in real time both static and dynamic data from belt monitoring systems and other sensors on one centralised platform. It includes a module which uses the Internet of Things to process, analyse and visualise all important sensor data. I would say overall that Continental has the most comprehensive offering across the board for mining conveyors in terms of products, service, support and digital solutions – a truly holistic approach.
International Mining | FEBRUARY 2025