I posted this on the wrong thread. I meant to provide the following bit:

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Russia had devised a system where the belt is attached to buckets. The application handled large ROM lumps (>500mm by memory).

The system was made a part of a USBM report on ROM transport about 20 years ago.

They took a steel cord belt, attached large buckets to them, ran the buckets and belt with wheels on rails. Rather than connect the buckets or cars in the fashion of a train, they placed the buckets atop the belt, used the belt as the tension and coupler, and added wheel under the belt and buckets. This method overcomes the problem with trains and tractive friction in that the belt can get a better purchase on the drive pulley. Obviousy, you cannot go to fast with the bucket centrifical force and must deal with the wheel wrap around the pulleys.

Dr. Olaf Klupfel wrote his doctoral thesis on the concept of using a steel cord belt and bucket elevator concept. This work then became the property of Beumer: http://www.beumer.com/htcms/en/prod...-elevators.html

The Ropecon conveyor method can meet your requirements. The side walls and baffles can negotiate the gradient. Steel cables act as the rails. Bucekts are formed as part of the belt. Wheels and axles are attached to the belt. The belt is a flat steel cord which can accomodate the necessary drive wrap angle and retard the regenerative downhill load. Here is an introduction to their product:

http://www.contitech.de/pages/produk...opeconen.html ■

I might add, we are experts in downhill conveying. Our largest downhill conveyor, was a joint venture with Krupp, Canada for the Los Pelambres tunnel conveyor. The conveyor drops ~9000 t/h down a 1300m drop in three flights. Contitech/Phoenix provided the high tension steel cord belt which is the supplier of the Ropecon belt. ■

Dos Santos Sandwich Belt High Angle Conveyors will be a very good solution. For the sake of economics a case may be made to further reduce the material size.

For material size 350 mm to 400 mm correct belt width will be 2300 mm to 2700 mm regardless of the capacity requirements. The well designed system for the requirements will easily handle the described material.

On the other hand a 1600 mm belt width sandwich conveyor can handle the required 2100 t/h at a modest speed of 2.39 m/sec. But in such a case lump size should be reduced to 200mm minus.

So, if the lump size remains then the over-sized belt width, as a tension element, will facilitate the high elevation difference. It may be that the total distance (700 to 800m, at 40 to 50 deg say 45 deg average) and total drop (495 to 566m) can be accomplished with only 2 flight of the DSI Snake Sandwich Conveyor system.

Joe Dos Santos ■

Mr. Irwin Wan,

We have your request and will provide the requested information at the first opportunity. Because of the very general definition you can expect widely varying estimates depending on assumptions made.

Have you considered a paid study?

Joseph A. Dos Santos ■

Strongly suggest you look at relatively Ropecon Technology from Doppelmayr; the technology can do steep angles and long spans and can definitively save on opex ■

similar mine in Peru is using a Pomagalski system.

Very safe and can be steeper.

But tonnage will be limited.

Give it a try googling Pomagalski.... ■