MATERIALS HANDLING
TRANSFORMING MINING IN COLOMBIA AND CHINA In Colombia, MMD installed a heavy duty apron plate feeder in a coal mine, which could receive material directly from a dragline. Te mine was unable to invest in a shovel, as it would take too long to get the machinery onsite and into production. Te new working method saw trucks queuing under a controlled feeder unit; the result was that trucks were filled almost three times faster, taking just 75 seconds. Accuracy was also considerably increased, sometimes with a 98% fill factor, and the need for trucks to reverse into the loading position was eliminated. Meanwhile in China, MMD’s fully mobile sizer was directly partnered with the shovel, allowing material to be continuously loaded into the receiving hopper before being sized and discharged onto a face conveyer. Since the hopper capacity of the station exceeds the cycle time of the shovel, the shovel operator is unable to overwhelm the system, ensuring that it performs smoothly and consistently. Consequently, MMD regularly
observed the shovel operator loading the
hopper easily and continuously. When working optimally, the sizer achieved a throughput of between 9,000 and 12,000tph before the equipment had to be repositioned – a significant increase on conventional truck loading.
INTRODUCING A STEP CHANGE FOR TRUCK LOADING Drawing upon both these experiences, MMD created the FMSL – a turnkey system for loading trucks in mines where conveyors are impractical or costly to implement. Operating between the shovel and trucks, the FMSL decouples the truck and shovel loading operations, and given its manoeuvrability can easily be repositioned wherever the shovel goes. Tis new approach enables shovel utilisation to be increased to almost 95%, thus reducing the number of trucks needed and eliminating shovel waiting time. Automated start/stop delivery means that the truckload is constantly monitored and can signal to the feeder at optimum
payload, which not only eliminates the underfilling of trucks but also prevents overfilling and associated spillage and haulage road maintenance. Equally importantly, with a full hopper on the surge loader, the shovel can reposition without holding up the trucks. At the same time, the working
environment for truck drivers is considerably enhanced and made safer as they are physically separated from the swinging shovel bucket and direct loading impact of oversize lumps. Instead, the operator monitors the loader from the shovel’s control cabin, overseeing a system that is automated, repetitious and highly efficient.
Artist’s impression of the FMSL conducting operations
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