Regenerative Belt Conveyor versus Haul Truck-Based Transport: Polish Open-Pit Mines Facing Sustainable Development Challenges

Abstract

The mining industry is facing sustainable development challenges, among which the energy efficiency issues seem to be of major importance. As transport of the mined ore is considered as one of the most energy intensive operations, the improvement of its energy efficiency is a key indicator in terms of sustainable actions taken by mining companies. In open-pit mines, the material handling operations are mostly performed with trucks. Their electrified version—truck trolley systems—surpass diesel trucks’ efficiency while comparing the increased production capacity and the reduction of maintenance cost and fuel consumption. The paper analyzes the opportunities and benefits of the replacement of an ore transport system based on hauling trucks with a regenerative belt conveying in an open-pit mine. Presented case study has been analyzed from energy consumption and environmental impact reduction perspectives. Generally, conception of a regenerative conveyor is based on recuperation of energy or continuous braking needed while a conveyor is running downhill. Energy generated during the braking process (converted from the potential gravitational energy of the conveyed material) is fed back to the electrical grid. Then the regenerative conveyor can be considered as a machine that mines energy as an additional by-product of an exploited deposit. It was shown that difference in transportation cost between haul trucks and energy efficient regenerative conveyors is around 95%. The paper points the conditioning elements to allow the implementation of a regenerative belt conveyor system.