Ropeway system links mining areas
A system to transport platinum ore has recently been implemented by South African mining company Booysendal Platinum, a subsidiary of Northam Platinum Limited.
The system consists of a flat belt with corrugated side walls and combines the advantages of a ropeway with the properties of a conventional belt conveyor. The belt performs the haulage function and is driven and deflected by a drum in the head or tail station. It is fixed to axles, arranged at regular intervals, which guide the belt. The axles are fitted with plastic running wheels which run on fixed anchored track ropes, elevated off the ground on tower structures.
The RopeCon system, a technology developed by Austrian ropeway manufacturer Doppelmayr, was commissioned in December 2018 and transports at least 909 t of material every hour, over a distance of about 4.8 km through hilly terrain. The material mined at Booysendal South is loaded onto the RopeCon belt via a silo and two chutes. A switch chute allows for the material either to be transferred directly onto a feeder conveyor to take it to the processing plant, or to be discharged onto a stockpile through a second, smaller RopeCon thus creating a temporary buffer.
The use of towers to guide the system reduces the space required on the ground, allowing for free flow of humans and wildlife, while minimising the mine’s environmental impact.
As part of an additional expansion programme at the Booysendal mine, Doppelmayr will construct a second RopeCon, which will connect with the first system and enable transport from another mining area north of the concession. The second system is due to start operating in early 2021 and is designed to transport 400 t of material per hour over 2.8 km with a difference in elevation of 160 m.
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