Without polluting the environment
BEUMER Group Pipe Conveyor ensures dust-free transportation of ore concentrates
Transportadora Callao S.A., the logistics operator of a special cargo terminal in the port of Callao/Peru, relies on a BEUMER Group Pipe Conveyor for the transportation of zinc, copper and lead concentrates of different mining companies from the warehouse to the terminal. With its ability to navigate curves in three dimensions, the conveyor can be optimally adapted to its routing course of 3000 metres. Even more important: the conveying system prevents the concentrates from coming in contact with the environment and ensures dust-free transport to the ship’s holds. BEUMER Group was responsible for engineering and supply, including the steel structure, supervision of the installation and putting the Pipe Conveyor into operation.
Due to its enclosed transport, the Pipe Conveyor not only protects the environment against harmful impacts during the transport of the lead concentrate, it also allows conveying over long distances and navigation through tight curve radii. Due to its ability to navigate curves, this belt conveyor requires a lot less or no transfer towers at all, depending on its length and the available curve radii. This results in substantial cost savings for the customer, and allows BEUMER Group to easily customise the system to the individual routing. Durable conveyor belts guaranteeing tensile strength are used. The engineers use different dimensioning programs to determine the ideal belt design. They use them to calculate tractive forces and forces that arise during acceleration and deceleration and also to determine possible curve radii. BEUMER Group provides tailor-made feasibility studies for each project. Another advantage is the reduced noise emission that the system provides. This is ensured by special idlers, as well as low-noise bearings and selecting the right conveying speed. This improves the quality of the employees’ day-to-day work environment. The noise measurements along the Pipe Conveyor resulted in values that are consistently far below the permitted limit values. BEUMER Group supplied and installed a Pipe Conveyor with a centre distance of 3,195 metres. Due to the system design and the required system capacity, BEUMER designed it with a diameter of 400 millimetres. The conveyor transports 2,300 tons per hour, at a speed of 4.5 m/s and is driven by 3 motors with a capacity of 650 kW each. BEUMER equipped the system with filters, strippers, a dedusting unit and a control system. BEUMER was responsible for engineering and automation too, and supplied the steel structure and the necessary components. The site managers supervised the installation and put the system into operation.
The process is practically free of faults and, above all, safe: trucks or trains transport the mining commodities from the mines to the ore storages, from where they are transported to the open access station. Here, the concentrates are received by a feeding 43-m belt conveyor that transfers it to the Pipe Conveyor at a height of 6 metres.