As part of Aggregate Industries UK quarry restoration strategy, the RopeCon® system of Doppelmayr Transport Technology GmbH, Wolfurt/Austria, transports overburden for emplacement within the existing quarry. The design allows to control the drop height and, thus, to keep the discharge point close to the emplaced material from the beginning. This helps to minimise the impact from noise and dust during operation of the system. Recently, an assembly team retensioned the track ropes to raise the discharge height and enable the next backfilling phase (Figure 1).
Fig. 1. The design of the RopeCon® system in the Bardon Hill quarry allows to control the drop height. Photo: Doppelmayr
Like the first RopeCon® at the Lenzing plant, the second installation also impresses with high availability, wind stability and its ability to cross high-density plant infrastructure without any problem. As a consequence, the RopeCon® creates an optimal link between the raw materials storage facility and the digester house.
For the planned expansion of wood chip transport between the storage area and the digester house at their cellulose processing plant, LENZING AG, a leading company in the field of the production of fibres made from the raw material wood, contracted a second RopeCon® conveying system to ensure sustainable raw material supply. The system has to cover a length of roughly 630 m between wood storage area and digester house, passing right across the existing plant infrastructure. In addition, the system had to guarantee high availability in order to allow optimal integration into the production process and reliably deliver the 350 tons an hour to their destination.
The second RopeCon® installation has been built to run alongside the existing RopeCon®, which has been transporting beech wood chips since 2003. In the time since then, the system has proved to be a reliable and efficient solution for supplying the digester house. As the system is raised off the ground, it makes light work of crossing the existing infrastructure on the premises.
Doppelmayr Transport Technology GmbH is a 100% subsidiary of the international Doppelmayr Group with headquarters in Wolfurt, Austria. Within the group, Doppelmayr Transport Technology is the point of contact for the transport of goods and materials. Doppelmayr is the technology leader and pioneer in ropeway engineering and is also present in other lines of business. Apart from material transport systems the group also designs, plans, and manufactures passenger ropeways for winter and summer tourism as well as for the urban transit sector, rope propelled APMs (e.g., the systems currently operating at the airports of Toronto and Mexico City) or fully automatic high-rise warehouses.
Technical Details: Length: 630 m Vertical rise: 33 m Capacity: 350 t/h Speed: 2,65 m/s Motor rating, continuous: 60 kW
Further information: Doppelmayr Transport Technology GmbH doppelmayr-mts.com
A RopeCon® system has been transporting platinum ore in Booysendal since the end of 2018. In December 2021, the second installation, Booysendal North, was handed over to the customer. For this extension project at its Booysendal site, the South African mining company Booysendal Platinum (Pty) Limited, a subsidiary of Northam Platinum Limited, once again relied on technology from Doppelmayr. This second RopeCon® serves another mining area situated in the northern part of the site. It transports approximately 400t/h over a distance of 2.8km and a difference in elevation of -160m.
The space required on the ground is reduced to a minimum. Photo: Doppelmayr
The Booysendal North RopeCon® discharges the material into the same silo from which the material is loaded onto the Booysendal South system, which makes it a perfect link in a continuous conveying line. Since early 2022, the second loading point along the line has been in use, too. The option of an alternative loading point was provided at tower 2. A conventional feeder conveyor transports the material to the RopeCon® line where it is loaded directly onto the belt via a chute.
The axles are fitted with plastic running wheels which run on fixed anchored track ropes and guide the belt. Photo: Doppelmayr
RopeCon® is a technology developed by the ropeway manufacturer Doppelmayr. The system offers the advantages of a ropeway and combines them with the properties of a conventional belt conveyor. It essentially consists of a flat belt with corrugated side walls: Just as on conventional belt conveyors, the belt performs the haulage function. It is driven and deflected by a drum in the head or tail station and fixed to axles arranged at regular intervals to carry it. The axles are fitted with plastic running wheels which run on fixed anchored track ropes and guide the belt. The track ropes are elevated off the ground on tower structures.
The RopeCon® easily crosses this topographically challenging terrain. Photo: Doppelmayr
By using the RopeCon® system, the customer did not have to rely on trucks to transport the material, a definite advantage in this topographically challenging terrain with its sometimes very steep roads. Furthermore, using the roads only for the transport of people and supplies will have a positive effect on road maintenance costs.
Booysendal was also particularly careful to choose a transport system that would minimise the environmental footprint of the mine. By guiding the RopeCon® over towers, the space required on the ground is reduced to a minimum, or more precisely to the tower locations. At the same time, the system does not represent an insurmountable obstacle for wildlife or humans. The track crosses a number of roads, and even wildlife can roam freely underneath the RopeCon®.
Doppelmayr Transport Technology GmbH is a 100% subsidiary of the international Doppelmayr Group with headquarters in Wolfurt, Austria. Within the group, Doppelmayr Transport Technology is the point of contact for the transport of goods and materials. Doppelmayr is the technology leader and pioneer in ropeway engineering and is also present in other lines of business. Apart from material transport systems the group also designs, plans, and manufactures passenger ropeways for winter and summer tourism as well as for the urban transit sector, rope propelled APMs (e.g., the systems currently operating at the airports of Toronto and Mexico City) or fully automatic high rise warehouses.
The successful start-up of a RopeCon® system which will transport limestone from the quarry to the area where it will be processed has recently taken place in Guatemala, approximately 35 km from the capital. The installation, which requires no more than four tower structures to cross a wooded terrain, has a length of approximately 1.6 km and covers a vertical rise of almost 200 m (Figure 1). Thanks to the long rope spans it has been possible to minimise the amount of space required on the ground. The cement plant of Guatemalan Cementos Progreso, S. A. is due to take up operations in the first half of year 2017. From then on, RopeCon® will transport 2,100 t/h of material.
RopeCon® has been developed and designed by the Austrian ropeway manufacturer Doppelmayr and combines the features of a belt conveyor with those of a ropeway, thereby making use of the advantages of both technologies. It is currently in use for a variety of material transport applications all over the world.
Further information/Weitere Informationen: Doppelmayr Transport Technology GmbH www.doppelmayr-mts.com
The El Limón-Guajes gold ore pit of Minera Media Luna, S.A. de C.V. (MML), 100 % owned subsidiary of Torex Gold Resources Inc., is located approximately 180 km south-west of Mexico City in the state of Guerrero/Mexico. The ore mined at the two pits of El Limón and Guajes is processed in one central processing plant. The El Limón pit, however, is approximately 400 m higher up on a steep ridge. During the planning phase, one of the issues that had to be addressed was the transport of the material from the pit down into the valley. Along with the costs, operational safety and the impact on the environment had to be taken into account. In March 2013, MML decided to use the RopeCon® as a means of transport, a system which covers the vertical rise of approximately 400 m and the length of 1.3 km with just one tower structure before unloading the material onto a stockpile (Figure 1). Construction of the RopeCon® started in early 2014. Doppelmayr’s assembly team carried out the job in just six months – accident-free and on schedule. The RopeCon® took up operation as planned in March 2016. It now connects the pit with the processing plant.
Fig. 2. Cleats prevent the material from slipping. // Bild 2. Stollen verhindern ein Durchrutschen des Materials auf dem Gurt. Photo/Foto: Doppelmayr
RopeCon®, a product of the ropeway manufacturer Doppelmayr, essentially relies on a flat belt with corrugated side walls to transport materials of all kinds. The belt performs a haulage function and is driven by, and guided around, a drum at both ends. To account for the great vertical rise and consequently the steep incline between the El Limón pit and the valley, the belt has been fitted with cleats to prevent the material from slipping (Figure 2). Axles are mounted on the belt at regular intervals to support it. They have plastic running wheels attached to their ends. These wheels run on track ropes with fixed anchoring and guide the belt. The track ropes run over tower structures so that this conveyor system is lifted off the ground, leaving only a minimal footprint. The system features three track rope pairs in total, with the bottom pair supporting the empty belt and the pair in the middle carrying the loaded belt. An inspection vehicle travelling on the third track rope pair at the top serves to provide easy and safe access to any point along the line. Almost all moving parts are attached to the belt and therefore pass through the stations at regular intervals. Service and maintenance works can thus be performed at one central point.
The El Limón RopeCon® system generates approximately 1 MW of green energy from braking actions, which contributes to a reduction of the overall operating costs. This, and the fact that no fossil fuel (Diesel) is required to operate the system is one of the significant differences between RopeCon and trucks, the other means of transport under consideration for the transport of the ore.
Apart from the positive effects on operating costs, resulting from straight-forward maintenance and regenerative operation due to downhill transport, the avoidance of dust and noise emissions is another argument which strongly supports the use of the RopeCon®. The automatic transport system will also help to enhance operational safety and its controls can be integrated into the central control system of the mine.
