Longest VSD-driven conveyor in Africa

August 2010 News

Electrical equipment suppliers Zest and WEG have successfully commissioned the longest VSD-driven conveyor in Africa for Anglo Thermal at the Zibulo Coal Mine near Witbank in Mpumalanga. The conveyor transports coal from Zibulo mine to the Phola coal processing plant.

The 16 km length of the conveyor belt and its 1750 tph carrying capacity presented numerous challenges which the WEG design was successfully able to resolve. Drive pulleys had to be placed at both head and tail of the belt and relevant speed and torque of the drives had to be matched precisely. The drive pulleys were driven by WEG 560 kW VSDs and motors.

It is believed that investment in the conveyor will be recouped swiftly by the savings in energy expenditure. The new system will also help reduce the carbon footprint and dust emissions for the operation.

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