Premron Engineering displayed its closed conveyor system that uses a rubber belt formed in the shape of a tear drop.
Instead of having a single drive at one end, the Premron-EBS has multiple controlled Toshiba 4kW drives placed along the belt, which “seals” the belt and results in very low belt tensions.
Premron business director Darren Whelan told Australian Mining that the lower belt tensions allows the belt to be lightweight, which in turn means support structures can also lightweight – the system can be configured as a monorail. Lightweight also translates into lower capital costs.
What is particularly striking with the system is the conveyor is very flexible; indeed it can go around 90º corners in a tight radius, and can move at 6m/sec fully loaded.
Whelan says the system has been used for many years in Europe, especially for conveying cement. Here as with material such as alumina and fly ash the benefit is that dust cannot get out and moisture cannot get inside.
There are also positive security implications inherent in the closed system, especially when conveying precious material for processing.
Whelan says the system could also be readily be used in underground gold operations, especially where mining is a greater depths. In this situation the conveyor can replace haul trucks, with the additional spin off of less ventilation problems. Another advantage is that because the system is so flexible it can follow drifts, and gold-bearing lodes and veins.
Coal is another possible application. The system can readily convey with smaller tonnages of coal and, Whelan says, it can handle larger volumes if a bigger belt is fitted.
The Gladstone, Queensland-based company has the Australian licence from Fenner-Dunlop to develop and construct the Premron-EBS.