Assessing the Truckless Conveying Option in Mines

Related Vendors

DÜPERTHAL Sicherheitstechnik GmbH & Co. KG

Glatt Ingenieurtechnik GmbH

Italvacuum, Srl

Sinclair Knight Merz

Main Differences Truckless Conveying to Truck and Shovel Designs

• Sizers and crushers cause large vibrations during both regular operation and large one-off impacts. The sizing rig that houses the unit must consider structural loads, robustness of electrical connections and vibration isolations and wear issues such as slew bearing damage.

• The product must be conveyed so top size must be controlled more strictly than with trucks. A crusher or sizer that can not guarante top size in all dimensions (due to roll releases for uncrushable material or due to inherent design features such as those in jaw crushers) causes problems for downstream materials handling.

• The sizer will be operating on mobile equipment on a bench so must handle some local grade. Grades experienced during relocation will be higher again.

• Maintenance and crane access on a mobile structure is typically more limited than in fixed plant. Detection and removal of tramp metal must be managed without room for major ancillary structures.

There is a noticeable trend in designs on the market to remove the superstructure slew bearing in sizing rigs due to concerns about operation vibrations. This in turn has impacts on achievable bench width.

Transfer off Face

Once excavated and sized, the material must be transferred away from the operating face and out of the pit. This area potentially creates the most confusion when attempting to select equipment. An IPCC system is often described as a process stream. This is correct but with the added complication that the environment the head of the process operates in is continuously changing as benches get created, extended or completed. All components of the ‘process stream’ must be suited to this change – not simply inserted from an existing design and expected to be compatible.

A sizing unit operating and face conveyor operating on the same face can be directly linked. However, this mode of operation will require the face conveyor to be moved along with the sizer once the bench is completed and a new bench is started, incurring significant operating cost and downtime during the ‘horizon’ relocation. It is not an efficient operating method.

(ID:37445760)