Two 1.2 m diameter Pulley Magnets have been manufactured by Master Magnets and supplied to a mining operation in Sweden. The Pulley Magnets are used to extract large tramp metal from iron ore prior to crushing and screening. Removing the tramp metal protects the other processing equipment and prevents damage to conveyors. The mining operation originally purchased three 1.2 m diameter Pulley Magnets in 2015. The latest two Pulley Magnets have been purchased as strategic spares.
“This is another great export order for a mining application,” said Adrian Coleman, Master Magnets General Manager. “This was not a straight forward installation and we had to work closely with the user and contractor to find the best solution.” Pulley Magnets replace standard pulleys at the head of a conveyor. As conveyed material moves into the magnetic field of the Pulley Magnet, tramp metal is attracted and removed from the stream. The captured metal is taken underneath and being moved out of the magnetic field, falling into a collection area. Non-magnetic material is unaffected. This design of magnetic separator is useful when there are difficulties in installing either Suspended Magnets or Drum Magnets. The shaft of the Pulley Magnet is often designed to act as the drive shaft on the conveyor motor.
In this iron ore application, the conveyors are 1.2 m wide and travelling at 2 m per second. The conveyor is carrying 650 t per hour of iron ore with a bulk density of 2.4 t per cubic metre. As the Pulley Magnets operate as the drive pulley, they are lagged with rubber to provide extra grip on the underside of the conveyor belt.
“The Pulley Magnets have a very deep magnetic field that projects up and through the deep burden. Even tramp metal on the top of the conveyed iron ore will be attracted and removed. Despite the magnetic properties of the iron ore, the magnetic field is designed to only attract strongly magnetic tramp metal such as iron bars, large fixing bolts, etc. The Pulley Magnets supplied in 2015 have proved very successful resulting in the latest purchase.”
