Application of Conveyors for Underground Haulage

摘要

The selection of the ore haulage system is one of the most crucialrndecisions made in the development of an underground mining project.rnThe haulage system is,once selected,one of the components of minernthat defines its ability to respond to changes in mining inventory and thernmarket conditions for its products.Over the last decade,in Australia atrnleast,this selection process has largely centred on the debate over thernmerits of shaft and decline truck haulage.Little attention,if any,w srngiven to the application of inclined conveyor haulage as real alternativernto the shaft and truck haulage.This is despite well established precedentsrnfor its application in the underground coal industry and some limitedrnapplications in underground metalliferous mines.This paper seeks tornexplore the case for the application of inclined conveyors as legitimaternore haulage system for underground mines.rnThe case for conveyor haulage is illustrated by an overview of thernapplication of conveyors at some existing operations,and discussion ofrnwhat conveyors have to offer as mine haulage system and the issues thatrnare associated with them.Material drawn from the feasibility studies forrnNewcrest 's Ridgew y mine and Telfer Deeps Project is presented as casernstudies that considered selection of inclined conveyor haulage.Thernpurpose of these case studies is to highlight the value of impartiallyrnapproaching tasks of this type with robust plan.This plan should bernable to respond to issues identified as the task progresses towards thernobjective of finding the right solution for an ore haulage system.