TL;DR: Mine-duty bulk material handling equipment ensures the safe, reliable and efficient transport of minerals at mining operations. This includes bucket elevators, conveyors and engineered systems designed for harsh environments, high tonnages, abrasive materials, and extreme weather. Proper guarding, sensors, abrasion-resistant materials, structural reinforcement and custom engineering all contribute to safety, uptime and longevity. Partnering with experienced OEMs ensures equipment is designed for site-specific challenges.
Bulk material handling equipment acts as the circulatory system behind mining and mineral processing operations, transferring material around and throughout the mine and processing plant.
Bucket elevators, conveyors, belt trippers, and more, ensure continuity in the process of extracting, beneficiating, storing, and loading out the minerals that society increasingly depends on.
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As critical minerals continue to gain importance and bolster investments in the mining industry, bulk handling equipment is in high demand, but not just any bulk handling equipment is suitable when it comes to mining.
The demands placed on equipment at mine sites are unmatched; many mines run continuously for months at a time in remote locations, processing heavy, abrasive materials in extreme weather. As a result, material handling equipment intended for the mining industry requires an especially robust build beyond what’s required of traditional handling applications.
Bulk Material Handling at Mine Sites
Bulk material handling equipment for mines is subject to some of the harshest operating conditions possible, with equipment expected to perform under the following conditions:
- Corrosive environments and materials
- Extreme weather
- Highly abrasive materials
- High tonnages
- Continuous extended operation
- Heavy loading
As with any facility, mine sites rely on various types of bulk material handling equipment to transport material around the site. The two most fundamental types are the troughed belt conveyor and the bucket elevator, with conveyors handling most horizontal or slightly inclined transportation and elevators lifting materials vertically.
At the most fundamental level, mine operators expect this equipment to meet two critical priorities above all else: safety and reliability.
Safety Priorities for Mining Equipment
With many potential hazards present, safety is the top priority for mine operators. This is true of all mine sites but is especially critical when sites are remote or lacking immediate access to comprehensive medical care.
The Mining Safety and Health Administration, or MSHA, sets forth a variety of regulations mines must comply with in order to continue operating, including regulations on bulk material handling equipment. Due to the heightened potential for danger at mine sites, MSHA regulations are generally more rigorous than those of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which oversees other industrial settings.
Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) must be familiar with MSHA requirements and capable of meeting them through guarding and component selection, protecting employees from pinch points, moving parts, falling components, and other safety hazards.
For example, MSHA sets parameters on optimum heights for pull cord switches and requires “reach protection” around pulleys (in contrast, OSHA requires pulleys only be guarded, not protected from personnel reaching around guarding). These regulations can differ by location as well, with Canada requiring full-length guards along the entire length of skirtboards in some settings.
Reliability and Mine-Duty Construction
Reliability holds equal importance.
While the mining industry does not have formal regulations on component sizing or equipment build, mine operators expect their equipment to be reliable under harsh operating conditions. This requires a heavy-duty build of all components, often recognised with the unofficial designation of “mine duty” to ensure the equipment can perform reliably long term.
Mine-Duty Bulk Handling Equipment
The safety and reliability requirements of mine-duty bucket elevators, conveyors, and other handling equipment are achieved through several key criteria:
Safety Features & Guarding
A safe operating environment starts by minimising human-machine interaction where possible. Machine health monitoring technologies have made significant advancements in improving safety through minimised human interaction.
Where once conditions such as oil or bearing temperature and vibration had to be observed by a person, these items can now be monitored via sensors. Sensor feedback can all be monitored from the control room and can even alert operators remotely when parameters fall out of specification.
Guarding must meet or exceed MSHA requirements to protect personnel from pinch points and moving parts around various areas, including:
- Pulleys
- Idlers
- Drive or power assembly components
- Skirtboards
- Sides of the conveyor (under certain conditions)
- Wheels on traveling equipment (shuttle conveyors and tripper cars)
- Gravity take-up assembly
- Walkways, platforms, and access ladders/stairs.
Beyond guarding, a variety of additional features can be incorporated to improve site safety as well.
Emergency-stop pull cords (e-stops) should be located at intervals along conveyor paths, as well as at both ends. Backstops or brakes should be incorporated on inclined belt conveyors to prevent rollback. Zero-speed switches, plugged-chute indicators, belt rip switches, belt alignment switches, and metal detectors, etc. can alert personnel of potential problems and can even be tied to shutdown logic to prevent escalation.
Explosion-risk features such as elevator explosion relief panels are also available for mines where combustion is a concern. Dust control measures such as pick-off points and proper sealing are also essential in these settings.
Materials of Construction & Structural Reinforcement
Robust build requirements play a role in both the safety and reliability of equipment in the mining industry, beginning with enhanced structural integrity and stronger materials of construction.
Structural reinforcements such as thicker steel plates, reinforcement ribs, gussets, and heavier weldments fortify frames, casings, chutes, and other components to withstand static and dynamic loads at high tonnages, as well as impact loading from large, coarse materials.
Mine sites will also often require Non-Destructive Weld Testing (NDT/NDE) to ensure welds are of the highest quality. This involves the use of a certified organisation to inspect welds during manufacturing to ensure a safe product.
Abrasion-resistant (AR) wear liners such as AR400 or AR500 steel, replaceable ceramic liners, and chromium carbide overlays are useful in reinforcing high-wear areas such as feed chutes and diverters. Likewise, stainless steel or carbon steel with a specialty coating is often employed to protect equipment in high-corrosion settings.
Component Sizing and Selection
The heavier build, high tonnages, and impact loading associated with mining and mineral processing also require mechanical components to be larger and more powerful.
Bearings, shafts, take-up assemblies, belts, chains, idlers, drive assemblies, and the like, will all need to be sized and selected accordingly. In elevators this often includes the use of large-diameter head shafts, hardened sprockets, and high-torque drives with safety factors beyond standard ratings.
For conveyors, engineered-class pulleys for high-tension applications, impact beds in lieu of impact idlers, as well as CEMA D- and E-rated carrying and return idlers are common upgrades.
Maintenance and Serviceability
Remote location and the high cost of downtime associated with mine sites make simplified maintenance and serviceability essential.
Depending on site requirements and the characteristics of the material, this might mean external lubrication systems and easy-access service points, replacement liners or modular components, dedicated service bays, platforms and walkways, gallery enclosures, the use of gravity take-ups, and other modifications or customisations to streamline maintenance.
Custom Engineering
High wind loads, uneven terrain, and a variety of other site- and material-specific challenges make each site’s needs unique. Thus, handling systems require an engineered solution for seamless integration and smooth, consistent material flow with minimal interruption.
This is most evident in conveyors, which often require extensive custom design and structural analysis to ensure they can withstand environmental conditions (snow, wind, ice, and seismic loads), long-distance support spans, and the incorporation of walkways and platforms, etc.
Self-supporting super-capacity bucket elevators, a highly engineered upgrade on traditional structural steel-supported elevators, are the equipment of choice in extreme-capacity settings for outdoor environments or where structural steel is not otherwise available.
Sealing and Containment
Belt conveyors and bucket elevators in the mining industry are most often operating outside, necessitating protection of the equipment and material from the elements. Even those operating inside often require sealing and dust containment measures to protect personnel from particulate exposure.
Sealing and contaminant systems vary considerably according to the level of containment required. In general, dust pick-offs, weather covers, skirtboards, and seal welding are sufficient in most settings, protecting material from the elements, mitigating personnel exposure, and preventing material loss. Full-length welds can also be used to ensure a proper seal between fabricated parts.
Concluding Remarks
The considerable demands of the mining industry require safety and reliability to be engineered into every component of material handling systems, no matter the type. From guarding and switches to oversized drive assemblies, each component contributes to uptime and worker protection in the most challenging operating conditions on earth.
As no two mine sites are identical, miners must partner with an experienced OEM to engineer and manufacture equipment suited for the specific challenges of the site and material(s) being handled. Through proper safety features, heavy-duty build, custom engineering, and more, OEMs can help miners ensure maximum safety, uptime, and equipment longevity at their site.
FAQs
What is bulk material handling equipment in mining?
It is equipment such as conveyors, bucket elevators, feeders and chutes designed to transport minerals efficiently and safely in mine operations.
Why is mine-duty bulk material handling equipment important?
Because mining involves abrasive materials, extreme weather, high tonnages and continuous operation, requiring robust and reliable equipment.
What safety features are included in bulk material handling equipment?
Safety features include guarding, emergency-stop pull cords, backstops, sensors, zero-speed switches, metal detectors and MSHA-compliant designs.
What materials are used for mining handling equipment?
Abrasion-resistant steel, replaceable liners, chromium carbide overlays, coated carbon steel or stainless steel are used to withstand wear, corrosion and impact.
How do custom engineering solutions improve bulk material handling?
Custom engineering ensures conveyors and elevators fit site-specific terrain, environmental conditions, capacity demands and safety requirements.
How can maintenance and serviceability be improved?
Designs often include modular components, external lubrication, service platforms, walkways and easy-access points to minimise downtime and facilitate repairs.
