Solid Woven PVC 12,000 Series Providing Superior Performance for NSW Mine
The Challenge
An underground mine in NSW wanted to improve operational efficiencies and system output by increasing the strength rating of its conveyor belt. More product can be transported during operations through the use of a higher strength conveyor belt with appropriately sized drives, components, and transfer points.
The site operates with longwall mining blocks, extracting over 10 million tonnes per annum of thermal coal for export. Some longwall blocks are as long as 5kms, requiring 9km of belt to run both carry and return. The site had been discussing extending blocks even further to maximise output from the coal seam, so they needed a belt which would perform and survive the duration of the longwall block.
Over the years, the site had installed conveyor belt with 8,000, 10,000 and 12,000kN strength ratings from alternative suppliers, but had experienced issues with delamination of the conveyor belt, particularly on the trough line. Fenner Conveyors was engaged with the challenge of delivering a conveyor belt which could outperform previously installed belts.
The Solution
- Fenner Conveyors recommended its Solid Woven PVC 12,000 Series conveyor belting, which is engineered with a strength rating of 2100kN/m.
- At the beginning of the next longwall block 2x 200m rolls of Fenner Conveyors’ 12,000 Series conveyor belt were installed in-line with 2x 200m rolls of the incumbent’s equivalent conveyor belt as a trial.
- At approximately 6 million tonnes into the longwall block, both rolls of conveyor belt were removed so the condition of each could be compared and Fenner Conveyors’ 12,000 Series performance assessed.
- The rolls were sent for independent testing with site representatives present.
The Results
- Carry cover wear: Both trial belts faired minimal cover wear, only the usual chips, scratches, and cuts in the carry cover. No carcass damage or delamination was found on the carry side.
- Return cover wear: Fenner Conveyors’ 12,000 Series conveyor belt had no delamination on the return cover. The incumbent belt had started to show various levels of delamination, mostly along the centre line and some patches of cover delamination throughout.
- Carcass: The incumbent belt had carcass fatigue/cracking on the return side, which lined up with the strips of delamination. This carcass fatigue/cracking seemed wider across the belt, whereas on the Fenner Conveyors 12,000 Series belt the minimal carcass fatigue was localised and had not progressed to delamination.
Based upon these results the customer decided to proceed with Fenner Conveyors’ 12,000 Series conveyor belt for the remainder of the longwall block.
