20.02km Curragh conveyor back in operation

According to mining industry newsletter International Longwall News, a cable holding a 20-tonne counterweight for the conveyor belt snapped, “causing the counterweight to drop onto the cement footing, causing structural damage to the footing.”
 The 20.02km conveyor CV1103 connects a wash plant at Wesfarmers’ Curragh mine with more recently developed deposits at Curragh North. The conveyor formed part of a $130m materials handling project delivered by construction firm Laing O’Rourke for Wesfarmers; it came into operation in March 2007.
 The conveyor can haul coal at 2,500 tonnes per hour at a speed of 27kms per hour. It has a head end drive of two times 1,000kw on the return strand equipped with flywheels; a mid-station booster drive of two times 1,000kw on the carry strand and one times 250kw on the return strand.
 The conveyor was complex to design because of its remote location crossing an alluvial flood plain and the need for tight curves. Design was undertaken by Laing O’Rourke’s Sydney office along with Conveyor Dynamics Inc of the USA.
 The belt uses low rolling resistance rubber for belt fabrication and has rip sensors installed every 200 metres.
 An enclosed design was adopted for the conveyor for three reasons: to minimize dust, to protect the belt from the sun, and, most importantly, to keep rain off the belt.
 Wesfarmers announced in November 2009 that it would spend $286m in expanding Curragh’s sales of metallurgical coal from between 6.5 and 7mtpa to between 8 and 8.5mtpa. The deal was predicated on a deal Wesfarmers did with Stanwell Corp to access 46mt of the latter’s reserves held in the Curragh North area. The expansion will include a new coal handling and preparation plant.
Contact: www.curragh.com.au