Siemens’ gearless drive technology powers high-capacity overland conveyor
Powered by Siemens’ new gearless drive technology, thyssenkrupp’s high-capacity overland conveyor will access one of the world’s largest copper reserves in Quellaveco. The Quellaveco mine in Peru contains approximately 7.5 million tons of copper in ore reserves. By employing Siemens’ technology on this project, thyssenkrupp’s new conveyor system will transport 127 500 tons of primary crushed ore per day from the pit to the stockpile adjacent to the copper concentrator. Vast sections of the overland conveyor must traverse from one valley to another through a 3.2 km long tunnel. After exiting the tunnel, the conveyor will pass over hilly terrain before feeding the stockpile.
The gearless drive solution offers a range of benefits. The size of the motor is not limited anymore by the size of gearbox, thus eliminating the necessity to install multi-motor drives. The required belt driving power can be provided with one drive per drive pulley. This means that the number of switchgear enclosure could also be scaled down, saving space and weight within the e-house. The elimination of a whole series of mechanical and electrical components increases the reliability and efficiency of the overall system by between 3 – 4 %. Another important factor is that the maintenance requirements of the drive system have been significantly reduced. This is important as gear maintenance work alone can account for up to 5 % per year of the original investment volume for the gears.
thyssenkrupp’s overland conveyor is 4700 m long, 1830 mm wide featuring Siemens’ dual 5.5 MW gearless drives operating at a design tonnage of nearly 11 000 t/h. Siemens also provides the e-house with MV and LV power distribution and the cooling system for motors and e-house. The automation of the conveyor system as well as for the complete mine will be realized with the process control system Simatic PCS-7.
