Engineering & Mining Journal

APR 2013

Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr

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Since 1993, FAM has supplied equipment such as bucket-wheel excavators, spreaders, stackers, different types of reclaimers, shiploaders and unloaders, crushers and mills to customers in more than 75 countries. Recent orders have included the supply of two shiploaders for the Isla Riesco (Mina Invierno) coal-mine project in the far south of Chile. This is expected to produce around 6 million mt/y of thermal coal, supplying one-third of Chile's powergenerating requirements. With an outreach of 45 m, the shiploaders have a capacity of 3,000 mt/h of hard coal, FAM reports. FAM notes that it can offer a complete program of equipment for bulk materials-handling for coal and industrial minerals, from single machines to complete turn-key plants. It also says that it has the benefit of being a medium-sized company with all the flexibility that this provides. FAM has affiliated companies or subsidiaries on all continents, with its biggest affiliated company being in Chile. That commitment reflects its success in supplying Chile's mining sector and ports, and the recognition that its service provision is now increasingly the key to keeping its customers' business. A new FAM bucket-wheel excavator will be commissioned at BHP Billiton's Spence copper mine during 2013. Equipped with a 9.6 m-diameter wheel, the unit will be used to handle leached ore at a rate of up to 7,000 mt/h. Meanwhile, FAM also recently won major contracts for servicing materials-handling equipment at the Escondida mine, as well as the supply of a 3,500 t/h portal scraper reclaimer for a potash project in Saskatchewan, Canada, now under development. During 2012, FAM won orders for a 6,000 t/h conveyor system for the Vostochny-Ekibastus coal mine in Kazakhstan and an iron ore stockyard system for Angola Exploration Mining Resources, as well as delivering two semi-mobile roller crushers to the Tonkolili iron ore project in Sierra Leone. The company says its long tradition of engineering worldwide, and understanding of local markets and their cultures, gives it important flexibility and provide the basis for its long-standing success. FAM: 'Flexibility and More' New Technology for Conveyor-belt Splicing This year is especially important for FAM Magdeburger Förderanlagen und Baumaschinen GmbH, since it marks the 20th anniversary of its return to the private sector. VDMA goods. They can overcome long distances, steep gradients and tight curves, and can be individually matched to the particular task and topography of the terrain. Their impact on nature is minimal, while satisfying the greatest demands of nature conservation. Beumer's systems use tension-resistant, durable conveyor belts, with the company applying a range of design criteria to determine the optimum belt configuration. These enable tensile forces to be calculated, together with the forces that occur during drive acceleration and deceleration while taking the intrinsic weight of the belt and the transported material into account. Software is used to calculate possible curve radii and the required power of individual drives. The company also undertakes feasibility studies on conveyor systems so that the best match can be achieved between the belt line and the site environment. Belt systems can be used to move material over rough terrain and other obstacles such as rivers, roads, buildings and rail tracks, with both horizontal and vertical curves as necessary. Encroachment on the landscape is rarely necessary, Beumer says, apart from the support pillars and the steel structure. Companies can save considerable costs in terms of the earth-moving that would otherwise be needed, while installing these belt systems is relatively straight-forward, even where site access is difficult. Beumer reports that Taiwan-based Asia Cement Group relies on an efficient transport system that it provided to move 14,000 mt/d of raw limestone 12.5 km from one of its quarries to a new cement plant. Asia Cement had two options: to transport the material by truck, which would have involved vehicles having to drive mainly on public roads, or to use a belt-conveyor system. With the terrain consisting of mountains and bamboo forests, truck haulage would have meant detours that would have extended transport times and further increased transport costs. By choosing the belt system on a more direct route, transport times have been reduced while the conveyors can be operated with significantly fewer personnel. The system also uses less energy and so has lower CO2 emissions, Beumer says. Nilos GmbH & Co. KG is part of the Ziller Holding group, with its headquarters in Hilden. The company has been involved in conveyor belt technology since 1926, with a product range that encom- The shiploaders that FAM has supplied to the Isla Riesco coal project in southern Chile. VDMA 28 VDMA MINING SUPPLEMENT ¥ 2013

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