Two Weba chutes installed on Palabora Mining’s 1.3 km long inclined conveyor have saved the company a substantial amount in belt costs alone. The system is fitted with a 1.05 m wide steel reinforced belt which is fed at a 90° angle by short conveyors from the four crusher storage bins. The belt, which transports approximately 1,900 t/h of primary crushed run of mine ore, is scanned by X-Ray three to four times per annum to determine its condition. An analysis of the severe damage experienced on the reinforcing cables indicated that the problem was probably caused by large lumps of ore falling onto the belt from the first or second of the cross conveyors.

In order to minimise any further damage, Palabora decided to test a Weba Chute system on the first transfer point in January 2008. The results were so impressive that it was then decided to install another Weba system on the second chute in December 2008, to cater for instances where the first cross conveyor is not operational. To determine the effectiveness of the Weba transfer points in protecting the belt, the annual average replacement costs for the belts from 2006 to 2008 were calculated at 2009 prices. Then a combination of the cost of belting from the date of installation up to the calculation date with an estimate for the remainder of that year was calculated. The results indicated a substantial saving on belting costs alone.

Then, considering the additional production gained through less downtime and the direct savings on fewer splices being made; and the cost of other materials and labour, that amount could quite readily be increased by at least a further 50%.

Interestingly, the belt is so much more durable that the deterioration of the splices has now become the main reason for stoppages, so action is being taken to improve the quality of the splices in future to alleviate this.