ABB will showcase a number of its mining solutions at Bauma 2019

April 8-14, 2019 - Munich

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We look forward to seeing you in hall C2 booth 348

Highlights

ABB Ability™ MineOptimize encompasses optimized engineering, optimized electrification and automation solutions, digital applications and collaborative services to reduce cost, minimise risk and improve efficiency.


Planning & scheduling at stockyards, material flow modelled across all belt conveyors and transportation

The ABB Ability™ Stockyard Management System has been developed further and is now beside from terminal operations also available for blending processes in mines. It has been recently deployed in a continuous coal mining operation in Serbia where ABB manages online blending on the belt conveyor system with a material tracking & forecast monitor from the mine to the loading point.

This application integrates all relevant systems with dozens of features which enable proactive production planning, quality management, production controlling, fully automated yard machines and semi-automated mine operation.

Gearless Drives for Medium Power Conveyors: Benefits and operational data review from a commercial installation

On Gearless Conveyor Drives (GCDs), ABB has recently supplied large scale GCDs to Codelco's extension of its Chuquicamata copper mine, the Chuquicamata Underground project. Once up and running, this will be the world's largest conveyor system. Such installations of gearless conveyor drives with up to 6 MW single motor power ABB says have shown the promise of increased reliability, improved system efficiencies and reduced maintenance resulting in high profitability and increased safety.

While large conveyor installations as Chuquicamata are stationary, open-pit or IPCC conveyors have to be moveable as they shift with the bank. Such conveyors require a different approach to the gearless drive design. 

Ulf Richter, product manager, conveyor systems at ABB Process Industries, Mining stated: "ABB's new GCD for medium power with permanent magnet (PM) motor reduces the drive train's failure rate by 50% and improves energy efficiency. Different mounting variants enable application-optimised use in both, new or retrofit conveyors. A test project established the feasibility of installing GCDs on mobile mining machines and shows the suitability of permanent magnet torque motors to drive conveyors. The results reveal that GCDs are viable alternatives to conventional geared drives. So far, during one year of operation, ABB measured a 6% energy saving and 100% availability of the drive with just two hours inspection."

He adds: "The results from the first project reveal the solution's wide applicability. It is designed to work in all mines. The drive assembly has a relatively compact footprint which is smaller than a conventional gearless system with a synchronous motor. That allows a GCD system with less weight and footprint."

With fewer wear parts, less maintenance is required, and the lifespan is increased. The expected lifespan for the drive train increases by more than 10 years, when compared to traditional geared systems, to a projected in-service life of 25 years. While the upfront investment is typically higher (by as much as 30%) when compared to a conventional drive, the savings in maintenance, energy cost and downtime lead quickly to a return on investment of typically less than one or two years. No additional infrastructure is needed for installation, compared to a conventional gear motor assembly. The GCD reduces the noise emission of the drive drastically so that common noise cancelling housings around the drive are not needed.

Ulf Richter, GCD product manager
"ABB's new GCD for medium power with permanent magnet (PM) motor reduces the drive train's failure rate by 50% and improves energy efficiency. "
"During one year of operation, ABB measured a 6% energy saving and 100% availability of the drive with just two hours inspection."

Low voltage AC Drives for heavy mining conditions

ABB has continued the successful cooperation with Komatsu. The product platform for low voltage AC Drives for heavy mining conditions was updated to a new generation and extended to the entire portfolio of electric rope shovels. Meanwhile there are more than 100 electric rope shovels with ABB AC Drives in operation. Other key points to note when it comes to ABB's shovel drives offering include:
  • the successful implementation and operation of the next generation of mining drives on the global product platform ACS880 with a modified power semiconductor IGBT for the mining environment 
  • flawless operation of the first two units were confirmed by Komatsu
  • Eight different types of shovels are now available with the new generation of ABB AC drives (P&H type 4800XPC, 4x4100XPC, 1x2800XPC, 2300XPC, 1900XPC)

As first appeared in International Mining

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