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Conveyor rides out Hurricane Dean

Doppelmayr Transport Technology handed over 'Mt. Olyphant', its biggest RopeCon® system yet, to Jamalco/Alcoa in late summer 2007, very shortly after the Category 4 Hurricane Dean ravaged the Caribbean Island of Jamaica with winds of 210 to 249 km/h. The system stood its crucial test virtually unharmed and was back in operation as soon as the necessary safety checks had been carried out.

In December 2004, Hatch Consultants Australia contacted Doppelmayr on behalf of Jamalco/Alcoa who was looking for a material transport system to link its new South Manchester Mine with St. Jago. Alcoa required that design measures be taken to ensure a trouble-free transport of bauxite, a sticky material prone to caking when transported on conventional conveyor belts. The new system ought to prevent dust dispersion and be quiet in operation while offering reduced operational and maintenance costs and enhanced security.

In spring 2005, Jamalco/Alcoa visited the RopeCon® installations in Austria, and when Doppelmayr was awarded the contract in December 2005, its scope of delivery covered engineering, equipment supply, assembly and site training. The equipment was shipped to Jamaica from Europe in its entirety, and the special tools required for the pulling of the ropes and of the belt alone filled 14 containers, while the belt was dispatched in twenty-one 40' containers and vulcanized on site. The track ropes came on 6 reels, two of which weighed 85 tonnes each.

Doppelmayr set up a project development team at its headquarters in Wolfurt, Austria, as well as a project coordination team on site in Jamaica. The assembly team of 11 which was dispatched to Jamaica to install the system was assisted by local aids provided by a contractor of Jamalco/Alcoa who was also responsible for the exact survey of the line and for all civil works.

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Topographical situation at Mt. Olyphant permits regeneration of power

With a total length of 3.4 km and a vertical descent of 470 m, the Mt. Olyphant RopeCon® integrates the world's largest flat belt with corrugated side walls – in terms of length and tensile strength – and Hermann Frühstück, Managing Director of Doppelmayr Transport Technology GmbH, is pleased that "the occasional tropical thunderstorm and a couple of disruptions caused by power outages" were the only major obstacles he and his team encountered.

"We believe that our system represents the optimum solution for Jamalco/Alcoa's requirements, and in terms of environmental sustainability, we have been able to exceed our client's expectations: not only were we able to minimise space requirements and save 1,200 truck journeys a day along with the associated emissions of CO2 and fine dust, but due to the specific topographical situation at Mt. Olyphant, the RopeCon® generates approximately 1,300 kW of braking energy per hour which is fed back into the power network."

Says David Ritchey, Mine Project Manager of Alcoa, "We believe the quality and attention to detail of this total system is extremely good. The Doppelmayr employees on site have provided focus and determination through numerous power outages and Hurricane Dean disruptions to achieve this. It is really to their credit that we now see a world class, first of its kind system, of which we all can be very proud."

Small footprint on the environment, cost-efficient operation and maintenance

The RopeCon® is a bulk material and unit load handling conveyor which combines the benefits of well proven ropeway technology with those of a conventional conveyor belt (hence the brand name RopeCon®). It is quiet in operation and prevents dust dispersion while offering reduced operational and maintenance costs. But the RopeCon® has more to offer: Basically a belt with corrugated side walls and integrated wheel sets which run on fixed anchored track ropes guided over tower structures, the novel long distance conveyor operates off the ground, thus minimizing space requirements and easily crossing buildings, roads, rivers or other obstacles. The hauling function is performed by the belt, and with the wheel sets integrated in the belt, virtually all mechanical equipment 'returns' to the station where it can be easily and economically maintained.

Travelling on the track ropes on wheels, the belt is not subject to flexing, so wear on the belt is reduced to a minimum and the material is stationary on the belt, which has proven greatly beneficial with regard to the properties of the material. After the material has been discharged, the belt is turned soiled side up again to eliminate any dispersion of residual material and dust.

In Austria, Lenzing AG, the world leader in cellulose fibre technology, relies on RopeCon® technology to transport wood chips from the storage area to the processing plant. One of the main requirements was for the material transport system to cross existing plants and conveyor systems, a river and several roads with a minimum use of tower structures. In the case of Lenzing AG, the RopeCon® was designed to guarantee 100% availability at wind speeds of up to 130 km/h.

Hans Zöchling GesmbH who runs the quarry of Ramsau, Austria, on the other hand was the first RopeCon® operator to benefit from the topographical situation at the quarry: like in Jamaica, the RopeCon® system at Ramsau actually generates power from braking energy which is used to operate the crushers and other equipment. The quarry operator was awarded the Austrian 'Klima:aktiv' award for its active contribution to preserving the environment.

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RopeCon® systems also for Papua New Guinea and for Sudan

At a time when companies from all industries are increasingly embracing the principles of environmental sustainability, and with a growing demand for cost-efficient high-capacity material transport in sometimes difficult terrain, Doppelmayr's RopeCon® system has clearly occupied a niche in the material transport industry. Doppelmayr has recently been awarded contracts to build a RopeCon® system in Papua New Guinea and in Sudan: The system in Papua New Guinea is currently being assembled and will transport gold ore over a distance of 2.7 km. It requires just three support towers over the entire length and, besides its extremely small footprint, offered the best cost-benefit ratio.

The Sudan project serves the cement industry, transporting limestone over a distance of 3.5 km and crossing the River Nile with a rope span of 850 m.

Doppelmayr Transport Technology GmbH is a 100% subsidiary of the international Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group with headquarters in Wolfurt, Austria. The Doppelmayr/Garaventa group specialises in ropeway engineering. Apart from material transport systems, its product portfolio includes passenger ropeway systems, stacker cranes and automated people movers like the CABLE Liner shuttles at Las Vegas and Toronto Airport.

Jamalco is a company 55 percent owned by Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals and 45 percent owned by the Government of Jamaica. Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals is a global alliance between Alcoa and Alumina Ltd., with Alcoa, one of the world's leading aluminium producers, holding 60 percent.

RopeCon® Facts and Figures

Conveying lengths of 20 km or more

Conveying capacities of up to 20,000 tonnes/hour

Lump sizes of up to 600 mm

Small footprint due to large tower distances of up to 1,500 m

Technical details of Mt. Olyphant RopeCon®

Horizontal length3,377 m

Vertical rise-470 m

Conveying capacity1,200 tonnes/hour

Transported materialBauxite

Max. lump size75 mm

For more information, please visit:

href="https://edir.bulk-online.com/profile/9001-doppelmayr-transport-technology.htm" target="blank">https://edir.bulk-online.com/profile...technology.htm

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Dear Mr Woehlbier,

It is refreshing to see such developments. I take my hat off to the engineers who designed and commissioned it, no mean task for the latter.

I am very curious to learn how it will be maintained though. Inspection and maintenance of the wheels, axel fixings within the belt, flexible skirt and of course the turn over mechanism over a gorge is going to be tedious and difficult.

On a point of humour though. The efforts of the motor cyclist attempting to take up the slack (refer Picture 4) is noteworthy.

Regards,

Dave Morgan

Engicon Systems (Pty) Ltd. ■

What would be the unit cost (per kilometer) of such a system? ■