Maxwell Mine, operated by Malabar Resources, is the largest underground metallurgical coal mine in NSW. Linking the underground operation to its coal processing plant is a 9km overland conveyor.

The design, manufacture and installation of this conveyor was awarded to Fenner Conveyors for our unique capability to bring all aspects of the project in-house, with contributions to the project from:

• ACE - In-house engineering, 7 pulleys, project delivery and site installation
• CPS - 9km of composite rollers
• Fenner Conveyors - 18km of steel cord belting
• Fenner Service - Belt installation and on-site support

Across 97,672 hours of on-site construction with zero lost time injuries, the project was brought to fruition despite challenging terrain, constrained route access and complex overland conveyor geometry.

The design and construction of overland conveyor systems such as the one delivered for Malabar’s operation are never simple. The layout of these systems is dictated by several unique factors, including the constraints of the local topography, environmental impact considerations and the desire to minimise infrastructure across the conveyor’s length.

In the case of the Malabar overland conveyor system, ACE’s design team was faced with a range of site-specific constraints, including challenging terrain, constrained route access and complex overland conveyor geometry.

Principal Engineer, Taylor Jobson, said that this “constrained geometry”, which features vertical and horizontal curves over its length required careful planning and several design iterations to ensure optimal functionality, while keeping costs in check.

“The system is designed to have the full 2.8MW of drive power located at the head end of the conveyor. While this creates some challenges in managing tension distributions, by distributing power this way, the site can avoid placing excessive infrastructure along the conveyor route, reducing both capital expenditure and complexity,” explained Jobson.

When it comes to overland conveyor systems, the belt is typically one of the most significant components in terms of capital cost and operating efficiency. For this project, Fenner Conveyors worked closely with Malabar to optimise the conveyor design within the agreed project scope, balancing performance, reliability and whole-of-life value.

The system was designed with a focus on minimising frictional losses where practical, including the use of high-tolerance CPS rollers, high-tolerance roller frames and a tightly controlled installation methodology. A critical survey program was also undertaken to support precise installation tolerances across the conveyor alignment, with more than 11,000 survey points captured to help ensure the finished installation maintained the design intent.

All of this combined to a system which, despite the challenging topographical conditions has proven to run extremely efficiently with minimised total power consumption & reduced tension load through the overall system.

Redundancy is also a key consideration for critical infrastructure like overland conveyors. This system split the power load between two separate drives. If one of the two drives is taken offline for maintenance, it can still operate at reduced throughput.

Customised Engineering for Long-Term Benefit

Another important aspect of the belt design was the steel cord belt, providing a stronger carcass with less stretch than traditional fabric-ply or solid woven belting.

Business Development Manager, Dean Callaway, said the belt is a showcase of Fenner Conveyors’ in-house custom engineering capabilities, as it was optimised specifically for the system and application.

“The beauty of engineering is that there’s so many factors at play – curves, slopes, loads, speeds, capacities, safety requirements, etc – and accounting for these in our custom conveyor solutions is where the passion of our engineers lies,” said Jobson.

“While many sites are happy with an off-theshelf belt specification, we are able to truly demonstrate the benefit of this approach when customers like Malabar allow us to engineer a tailored solution.”

Fenner Conveyors’ ability to supply this level of customisation and is one of the factors which set Fenner apart in the market.

“What enhances this approach is we are delivering the entire system; we are managing the schedule, when equipment is delivered, how each component is being designed which means we can engineer aspects for ease of installation and future maintenance works. This is where we thrive because we are able to deliver the most value to a customer’s operation,” explained Jobson.

By working closely with Malabar Resources to identify and overcome the challenges posed by site constraints and system design, the Fenner Conveyors Group have designed a solution that offers both operational excellence and significant cost efficiencies, without compromising on performance.

Looking Ahead

The successful award of this 9km overland conveyor is a clear indication of Fenner Conveyors’ capacity to manage complex, large-scale systems from concept through to completion.

We look forward to working closely with Malabar Resources to ensure the long-term success of this project through ongoing support.