Designing Today's Conveyor Systems for Tomorrow's Needs

Conveyors are consistently absent from inclusion in the "Ten technologies that will disrupt the mining industry" forecasts that consulting and market-survey companies seem to publish with increasing frequency. However, the fact that at least one mine's bulk material transportation sys...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Engineering and mining journal (1926) 2023-10, Vol.224 (10), p.24-30
Main Author: Carter, Russell A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronauts
Belt conveyors
Chain conveyors
Conveying machinery
Conveyor lines
Cost control
Dust
Dust control
Energy consumption
Hardware
Infrastructure
Light rail transportation
Mineral industry
Mining
Mining industry
Product development
Topography
Transportation systems
Trucks
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Summary:Conveyors are consistently absent from inclusion in the "Ten technologies that will disrupt the mining industry" forecasts that consulting and market-survey companies seem to publish with increasing frequency. However, the fact that at least one mine's bulk material transportation system can be seen from space -- the conveyor from the inland Bou Craa phosphate mine in Morocco to a Mediterranean sea port 61 miles away, considered to be the world's longest -- confirms that conveyor technology remains a large and important link in the typical mine-to-market operational chain. A lesser-known fact associated with that West Saharan conveyor system is that it's not actually the conveyor hardware that can be seen from space; it's the drifting residual dust released from the carried material that makes it visible to astronauts -- a reminder that high-capacity conveyors can generate big problems involving dust control, proper belt loading and the need for monitoring and maintenance of vast stretches of conveyor hardware in often difficult-to-access areas.
ISSN:0095-8948