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Revolutionary Dewatering Transfer Rockbox

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In 2018 Fenner Conveyors ACE redesigned a rockbox transfer system and ongoing conveyor modifications at a coal mine located in the Upper Hunter Valley region. The successful solution to the issue exceeded the customers’ expectations and led to another challenging project.

The Challenge

Water is a significant obstacle to the underground mine and was causing ongoing effects to the conveyor systems and components.

Due to the low height, typical dewatering systems were not practical with the amount of coal, sandstone and mudstone being mined. The challenge was to design a dewatering system to isolate the water utilising the existing rockboxes and to reduce the liner wear and chute damage.

The Solution

Fenner Conveyors ACE designed a low-height dewatering transfer rockbox utilising auger and cutter blade technology that efficiently separates water from the material flow and directs it to a sump.

This new technology extracts significantly more water than existing technologies while operating in heights of less than 4m.

The rock box design eliminates the requirement to maintain wear liners as the material impacts on itself rather than wear surfaces.

The Results

The equipment has significantly increased water separation performance compared to conventional dewatering designs based on the increase in the residence time of the material in the dewatering circuit all run by an ACE designed flexible but straightforward control system, integrating the dewatering process into the conveyor’s operation, maximising availability.