Our world-leading belt conveyor system transports crushed copper from underground storage bins to the surface along a 7 km underground tunnel that overcomes a non-insignificant 1 km of vertical elevation change. Once on the surface, ore is then fed onto an overland conveyor that transports it the final 6 km to the distribution silo.
The underground system (comprising two conveyors of about equal length) as well as the overland conveyor boast advanced gearless drive technology provided by our drive technology partner, ABB.
Gearless drives eliminate the need for a gearbox, hereby significantly reducing the number of main wear parts, which results in increased efficiency and reliability, as well as less maintenance being required. Further advantages include a considerable reduction in the drive system’s footprint and emissions – CO2 emissions are reduced by 66% as compared to diesel truck engines for the same copper production volume!
Total installed drive power for the entire system, including various feeder conveyors, totals an incredible 58 MW, of which there are 11 x 5 MW gearless synchronous motors. Another significant achievement is the installation of the newly developed steel cord belt, ST10000, on the uphill tunnel conveyors. This marks the world’s very first conveyor system to employ this premier steel cord belt technology.
Marc Hollinger, TAKRAF Project Manager, had this to say upon being asked for some comments on the project, “This mega project achieves a number of world firsts, from the system’s total installed drive power to the first global application of the ST 10,000 conveyor belt. With this project, we firmly entrench TAKRAF as one of the world’s only providers capable of delivering a mega project of this nature incorporating advanced technologies that really push the boundaries of what has previously been done. This project will go down in the record books as a defining moment for our client and we are very proud to be a part of this.”
Further information regarding our range of conveying solutions can be viewed here or alternatively, please send an e-mail to info@takraf.com.