Hard coal is temporarily stored in stockpiles and then continuously fed to be processed, as needed. The design of the depositories must ensure constant filling and reliable emptying. The required capacity is determined based on the incoming and outgoing conveying flow. Different stacking and reclaiming options as well as various layouts for the stockpiles are also needed. The BEUMER Group, Beckum/Germany, provides the engineering for handling stockpiles and offers the required components to coal mine operators, such as stackers and reclaimers.
This most certainly includes Prairie Eagle Mine in Illinois, the largest coal mine of Knight Hawk Coal (Figure 1). This is one of the most efficient underground mining plants in the USA. They produce approximately 5 M t/a of coal, of which more than 80 % is processed and delivered in Prairie Eagle. Since spring 2019, a nearly 6.5 km long troughed belt conveyor from BEUMER has been transporting the coal from a new entrance to the mine to the main processing plant. This enabled the company to close part of its mine building. In addition, the new plant extracts the coal in the vicinity of the current mining operations after the surface.
Fig. 2. BEUMER Group provide the suitable stacker for stacking the coal. Photo: BEUMER
For BEUMER this was another project with curved overland troughed belt conveyors in North America. These systems are used worldwide. The system provider not only supplies customers in this industry with conveyor technology. He also supports, e. g., operators of coal mines with the engineering of heaps on which the coal is temporarily stored. BEUMER also supplies stackers (Figure 2) and portal scrapers.
Further information:
BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG
www.beumer.com
