FACULTY MECHANICAL, MARITIME AND MATERIALS ENGINEERING Delft University of Technology Department Maritime and Transport Technology Mekelweg 2 2628 CD Delft the Netherlands Phone +31 (0)15-2782889 Fax +31 (0)15-2781397 www.mtt.tudelft.nl Specialization: Transport Engineering and Logistics Report number: 2016.TEL.8042 Title: Application of Conveyors in Mining Industry Author: M.C. van Etten Title (in Dutch) De toepassing van transportbanden in de mijnbouw. Assignment: Literature assignment Confidential: no Supervisor: Dr.ir. Y. Pang Date: March 31, 2017 This report consists of 39 pages. It may only be reproduced literally and as a whole. For commercial purposes only with written authorization of Delft University of Technology. Requests for consult are only taken into consideration under the condition that the applicant denies all legal rights on liabilities concerning the contents of the advice. FACULTY OF MECHANICAL, MARITIME AND TUDelft MATERIALS ENGINEERING Delft University of Technology Department of Marine and Transport Teclinology Mel<elweg 2 2628 CD Delft the Netherlands Phone +31 (0)15-2782889 Fax +31 (0)15-2781397 www.mtt.tudelft.nl Student: M. C. van Etten Assignment type: Literature Assignment Supervisor: Dr. ir. Y. Pang Report number: 2016.TEL.8042 Specialization: TEL Confidential: No Creditpoints (EC): 10 Subject: Applications of Conveyors in Mining Industry In mining industry different types of conveying systems perform the transportation cf large volume of bulk solid material such as coal or iron ore. The applications of diverse conveying equipment and conveyors can be found in both underground mines and surface mining. This assignment is to provide an state of the art survey with respect to the applications and development of different conveyors in mining industry. Based on a fundamental understanding of the mining processes and the principles and functions of conveyors, for both underground and surface mining, the survey of this literature assignment should cover the following: • to describe the mining methods and conveying processes in mines « to survey the different types of conveyors applied in mining and material transport e to categorized the types of conveyors in different applications and to summarize the trend of the development of mining conveyors s to investigate the new solutions or technologies to improve the sustainability in mining industry with respect conveying systems. This report should be arranged in such a way that all data is structurally presented in graphs, tables, and lists with belonging descriptions and explanations in text. The report should comply with the guidelines of the section. Details can be found on the website. Dr. ir. Y. Pang Summary This literature assignment is the result of an investigation on the use, function and trend of conveyors in the mining industry. Conveyors using a drive pulley to be driven, are investigated for the underground and surface mining industry. The conveyors have a transportation function in the process of mining. In terms of bulk handling, this means a constant speed of moving the material. For handling raw material with a wide grading and high capacities, the chain conveyors is most often used in both industries. Also, the impact on the chain conveyors, especially the apron feeders, can be seen in both industries. In order to switch in conveyor type during the transportation process, to convey more efficiently, the material need to be prepared to work optimally for that type of conveyor. Therefore, equipment such as crushers are often installed at transfer points. The pouched, pipe, pocked and the most used troughed belt conveyor are applicable in both the underground and surface mining industries. These are examples of conveyors installed after such transfer point. During the assignment, it became clear that the capacity for lifting the material using different types of conveyors decreases. Pocket, sandwich, snake, cleated and other conveyors could be used for high angle conveying but with a decrease in capacity. These are most often found in open pit mines, due to high angle operations. Conveyors can vary in terms of for example maximum inclination, capacity, length, lump size, radius, weight and lump size. Each solution in the mining industry is a one of a kind. Lifting of the material can also be done in underground mines. Lifts of 1.2 km and 1.5 km using multiple flights, up to 500 vertical meters per flight, of conveyors are installed in both surface and underground mining. New solutions and research can be found in increasing the systems efficiency, especially the rolling friction of conveyor. CARIAT, cable, rope and rail conveyors use the low rolling resistance of wheels on rail instead of idlers. Using rail and creating a closed system is a trend that can be seen to improve the sustainability in term of power reduction, dust generation and noise generation. Unfortunately, these systems can not be found inside the mines yet and only in transportation systems outside the mine. Something to look forward to. i ii Contents Summary ................................................................................................................................................... i 1 Introduction........................................................................................................................................ 1 Background of mining ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 History of mining ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.2 Methods of mining ................................................................................................................ 2 1.1.3 History of conveyors ............................................................................................................. 3 1.1.4 Market ................................................................................................................................... 4 1.1.5 Use of conveyors in mining .................................................................................................. 4 1.1.6 Function of conveyors in mining ........................................................................................... 5 1.1.7 Principles of conveyors......................................................................................................... 5 Scope of this work .................................................................................................................... 5 Goal of this work ....................................................................................................................... 6 Outline of the report .................................................................................................................. 6 2 Underground mining methods ........................................................................................................... 7 Methods .................................................................................................................................... 8 Hauling underground ................................................................................................................ 8 3 Underground conveyors ..................................................................................................................11 Chain conveyors .....................................................................................................................11 3.1.1 Armoured Face Conveyor ..................................................................................................12 3.1.2 Continuous miners ..............................................................................................................13 3.1.3 Feeder breaker ...................................................................................................................14 3.1.4 Two parallel chain conveyor ...............................................................................................14 Belt conveyor ..........................................................................................................................15 Pouched conveyor ..................................................................................................................17 Pipe conveyor .........................................................................................................................18 3.4.1 Pipe conveyors ...................................................................................................................18 3.4.2 Coaxial pipe conveyor ........................................................................................................19 3.4.3 Extendable belt system ......................................................................................................19 Troughed belt conveyor ..........................................................................................................19 Pocket conveyor .....................................................................................................................20 Summary underground mining conveyors .............................................................................21 4 Surface mining methods .................................................................................................................23 Methods ..................................................................................................................................23