Assessing the Truckless Conveying Option in Mines

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DÜPERTHAL Sicherheitstechnik GmbH & Co. KG

Introducing a bench-to-bench transfer allows three benches (one with the face conveyor and one each above and below) to be completed without having to undertake a horizon relocation (Fig. 6). The additional capital expenditure is weighed against the reduced operating cost and significantly increased production time. Examples of such machines include mobile belt wagons with either single or twin luffing booms and mobile bridge conveyors.

Factors to Now be Considered for Truckless Mining Include:

How closely the crawler sets or supports of the additional equipment must operate to the bench edges (a bridge conveyor will typically be supported closer to the edge than a boom-type belt wagon as it must be supported at either end).

How the transfer equipment moves from bench to bench. What ramp width and grade, turning radii or box cut are required to achieve the three-bench operation in all conditions?

Particularly with bridge conveyors, does the equipment need to straddle the face conveyor in order to support itself and transfer material onto the conveyor? If so, how does it interact with the conveyor shifting operation when the same conveyor needs to be relocated?

Reaching the face conveyor from all positions on all benches is not always straightforward. Box cuts on the upper and lower benches in particular can be difficult if the transfer machine is too long/short or cannot manoeuvre sufficiently. Techniques such as transferring directly onto the next downstream conveyor (instead of the face conveyor) can help but are simpler with a belt wagon than a bridge conveyor for example.

An extra machine has now been added to the excavator, mobile sizing unit and conveying system. The design must consider standardisation and parts compatibility.

Machine selection can not be easily separate from site specific factors. A sizing unit or transfer system that works in one operation is not guaranteed to do so in another due to these factors. ‘Off-the-shelf’ systems need to be carefully analysed for the same reasons.

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