ContiTech successfully completes first ever replacement of a ST10000 conveyor belt at Chuquicamata
ContiTech has successfully completed the first replacement of the ST10000 conveyor belt at Codelco’s Chuquicamata copper mine in Chile, in one of the largest conveyor belt installations ever executed. The mine was already the first to deploy premium ST10000 steel cable belt technology for use on uphill tunnel conveyors in mining.
To put the scale into perspective, it is the strongest belt in the world with a weight of about 161 kg per metre, installed at an 8.5 degree angle, with a total length of about 13 km. Bret Hall, Head of Services – ContiTech Industrial Solutions Americas stated in an online post: “The ST10000 conveyor belt has been successfully pulled onto the conveyor system, marking a huge achievement for the entire team. While important work still remains – including permanent closing splices – this milestone demonstrates exceptional planning, coordination, and execution under challenging conditions.”
The project consisted of joining 42 rolls of belt in 11,450 mm joints, resulting in more than 13,000 m of belt prepared to carry out the subsequent change of the CP01 and CP02 belts of the underground area in Chuquicamata.
As outlined in a previous Beltcon presentation by TAKRAF, the original supplier of the conveyor system, in order to minimise the number of transfer points, the inclined conveyor section was successfully developed employing just two conveyors. In order to achieve this, it was necessary to use newly developed components that at the time redefined the performance limits of belt conveyor technology. The ST10000 operating belt safety ratings of S=5.0 required belt connections with a reference fatigue strength of minimum 50%. With the newly developed splice technology, a further increased splice fatigue level of 60 % of nominal breaking force was proven on a belt test rig at the University of Hanover in Germany.
The main transport system from underground to the surface utilises two principal conveyors, CP-01 and CP-02, and was first commissioned in 2019. Ore transportation system conveys crushed copper ore from underground storage bins to the surface along a nearly 7 km long underground tunnel that overcomes almost 1 km of vertical elevation change. Once on the surface, ore is fed onto an overland conveyor that transports it the final 6 km to the distribution silo.
The two underground conveyors together with the overland conveyor also boast advanced ABB gearless drive technology which eliminates the need for a gearbox, hereby significantly reducing the number of main wear parts resulting in less maintenance and more availability. Total installed drive power for the entire system, including various feeder conveyors, totals 58 MW, of which 11 x 5 MW are gearless synchronous motors.
ABB stated when the system was commissioned: “The three principal 11,000 t/h conveyors feature gearless conveyor drives (GCDs) equipped with large ABB AC synchronous motors with a rated power of 5 MW each, resulting in a motor shaft torque of about 900 kNm. With every line in constant use, high availability and low maintenance are essential. Designed with a minimum of transfer stations, just one was required underground, saving a significant project cost.”
Based on continuous conveying technology, the infrastructure is completely truckless, eliminating the need for 120 large haul trucks. This results in saving around 130 million litres of diesel consumption per year, bringing the carbon emissions from 340,000 t/y down to 100,000 t/y.
The post ContiTech successfully completes first ever replacement of a ST10000 conveyor belt at Chuquicamata appeared first on International Mining.