Conveyors are an increasingly important gearless drive market. Powered by Siemens’ new gearless drive technology, thyssenkrupp’s high-capacity overland conveyor will access one of the world’s largest copper reserves in Quellaveco. The Quellaveco mine in Peru contains approximately 7.5 Mt of copper in ore reserves.

With the rugged landscape in Quellaveco, transporting the primary crushed ore requires durable and efficient technology systems. By employing Siemens’ technology on this project, thyssenkrupp’s new conveyor system will transport 127,500 t of primary crushed ore per day from the pit to the stockpile adjacent to the copper concentrator. Vast sections of the overland conveyor must traverse from one valley to another through a 3.2 km long tunnel. After exiting the tunnel, the conveyor will pass over hilly terrain before feeding the stockpile.

Compared with the combination of high-speed motor and gearboxes otherwise used in belt conveyor systems, the gearless drive solution offers a range of benefits. The size of the motor is not limited anymore by the size of gearbox, thus eliminating the necessity to install multi-motor drives. The required belt driving power can be provided with one drive per drive pulley. This means that the number of switchgear enclosure could also be scaled down, saving space and weight within the e-house. The elimination of a whole series of mechanical and electrical components increases the reliability and efficiency of the overall system by between 3-4%. Another important factor is that the maintenance requirements of the drive system have been significantly reduced. This is important as gear maintenance work alone can account for up to 5% per year of the original investment volume for the gears.

thyssenkrupp’s overland conveyor is 4,700 m long, 1,830 mm wide featuring Siemens’ dual 5.5 MW gearless drives operating at a design tonnage of nearly 11,000 t per hour. Siemens also provides the e-house with MV and LV power distribution and the cooling system for motors and e-house. The automation of the conveyor system as well as for the complete mine will be realised with the process control system Simatic PCS-7.

The two 5.5 MW motors for Quellaveco have been manufactured by Siemens in Berlin and are being delivered in Q4 2019. Quellaveco will be after Antapaccay, Las Bambas and Cuajone already the fourth gearless driven conveyor in Peru’s mining sector.

“This order again shows how gearless conveyor systems meet today’s demand for ever more efficient mining solutions and increased safety requirements,” Torsten Gerlach, CEO of thyssenkrupp’s Mining Technologies business unit explains. “It is the seventh overland conveyor project of this magnitude utilising gearless drives that have been awarded to us since 2010. Together with our partner Siemens, we have managed to become one of the world leaders in bringing this technology to the market.”