M

IMOSA MINING COMPANY

CRUSHING PLANT MONTH END REPORT

NAME: ABIGAIL.Y. MAHACHI

MINE NUMBER: 3430

DISCIPLINE: MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

DISTRIBUTION LIST

Engineering Manager Mr Mavhaire (Mentor)

Plant Superintendent Mr P.Matutu (Coach)

MHL Engineer Mr N.Mukuri (Coach)

Plant Engineer Mr L.Munemo

Senior Training Officer Mrs V. Waniwa

HRD Officer Mr T. Bunu

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report gives the activities carried out and concepts learnt by the trainee in the Crushing
and Screening Plant for the period of September. The trainee familiarized with the operating
principles of the equipment in the crushing plant, challenges with the machines, daily plant
checks and maintenance of the equipment. This report covers the conveying system and
auxiliaries from the stockpile reclaim conveyor to the Silos feed conveyors.

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Contents
1.0 CONVEYOR BELTS..........................................................................................................2

1.1 BELT STRUCTURE.......................................................................................................2

1.2 BELT CONVEYORS IN THE CRUSHING PLANT.....................................................2

1.3 COMPONENTS OF A BELT CONVEYOR..................................................................3

1.3.1 HEAD/DRIVE PULLEY..........................................................................................3

1.3.2 SNUB PULLEY........................................................................................................3

1.3.3 BEND PULLEY........................................................................................................4

1.3.4 TAKE-UP PULLEY.................................................................................................4

1.3.5 TAIL PULLEY.........................................................................................................4

1.3.6 RETURN IDLER......................................................................................................4

1.3.7 TROUGHING ROLLERS........................................................................................4

1.3.8 TENSION UNITS.....................................................................................................4

1.3.9 COUPLINGS............................................................................................................5

1.3.10 GEARBOX.............................................................................................................5

1.3.11 ELECTRIC MOTOR..............................................................................................6

1.3.12 CLEANING DEVICES..........................................................................................6

1.4 CONVEYING SYSTEM ACCESSORIES......................................................................6

1.5 CRUSHING PLANT CONVEYING SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS.............................7

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1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Crushing and Screening plant is responsible for reclaiming ore from the stock pile,
crushing the ore, and conveying the required size of ore to the Silos. This process is achieved
through an interlocked circuit which consists of vibrating feeders, metal detector, self-
cleaning magnet, conveyor belts and auxiliaries that provide the drive, vibrating screens, fire
suppression system, dust suppression system and secondary and tertiary cone crushers.

The crushing plant engineering section carries out maintenance on the equipment to monitor
the effectiveness of the equipment and to ensure that functional failures of the equipment are
prevented. Any faults detected will be corrected quickly before the complete breakdown of
the machine to minimize loss of production. The trainee managed to work with both the
artisans, fitters and boilermakers to get a better understanding of the equipment and
maintenance process.

1.1 CONVEYOR BELTS

Belt conveyor is used to transport of ore from one location to the other. Belt conveyors have
high load carrying capacity, large length of the conveying path, they are simple in design,
easy to maintain and are reliable. Belts transmit power by means of pulleys which rotate at
the same speed or different speeds.

1.2 BELT STRUCTURE

The belt conveyor is made up of three layers:

 Bottom cover/ non-carrying side- the bottom cover is made of rubber and is excellent
in abrasion and flexibility. The bottom cover also provides surface friction to pulleys
and idlers.
 Carcass reinforcement- consists of fabric reinforcement which has good troughing
properties.
 Top cover/ carrying side- it is designed to protect the carcass from service conditions
like oil, heat, abrasion etc. which could also result in failure of the belt.

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1.3 BELT CONVEYORS IN THE CRUSHING PLANT
Table 1 gives the description of the belts found in the crushing and screening plant.

Table 1: Crushing and screening plant belt conveyors

Conveyor Conveyor description

number
200-CVF-02 Stockpile reclaim conveyor
200-CVF-03 Screen feed conveyor
200-CVF-04 Tertiary crusher 2 feed conveyor
200-CVF-05 Silo 1 feed conveyor
200-CVF-100 Sizing screen cross-over
200-CVF-103 Screen feed conveyor (screen 52)
200-CVF-104 Tertiary crusher 2 feed conveyor
200-CVF-105 Silo 2 feed conveyor

1.4 COMPONENTS OF A BELT CONVEYOR

Figure 1: Conveyor components

1.4.1 HEAD/DRIVE PULLEY

A pulley is a wheel on an axle or shaft that is designed to support movement and change
direction along its circumference. The drive/head pulley is the pulley at the discharge end of
the conveyor belt. This pulley provides the driving force for the conveyor. The head pulley
usually has a larger diameter than the other pulleys in the conveyor system to provide greater
torque and power. The pulleys are lagged to reduce belt slippage. Lagging increases the
traction, extends the pulley life, aids in gripping of the conveyor belt and provides good
abrasion resistance, thus transmitting the torque to carry the load. The lagging on the head
pulley is ceramic lagging. Ceramic pulley lagging incorporates square ceramic tiles with
circular nubs which are molded into a rubber material. This provides good grip of the belt
under wet conditions or any such difficult conditions. Bearings support the rotating shaft and
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hence the pulley. The bearings are housed in Plummer blocks which enable the mass of the
pulley assembly plus the belt tension forces to be transmitted to the pulley supporting
structure.

1.4.2 SNUB PULLEY

The primary purpose of the snub pulley is to increase the angle of contact or wrap of belt on
the drive, thereby increasing traction. The snub pulley is usually mounted close to the drive
pulley on the return side of the belt. The secondary purpose of the snub pulley is to reduce the
belt tension, which is important in maximizing conveyor component life. The snub pulleys in
the plant have diamond rubber lagging which improves the friction between the pulley and
the belt.

1.4.3 BEND PULLEY

The bend pulley is used for changing the direction of the belt running to the gravity take-up.
These pulleys have a diamond rubber lagging.

1.4.4 TAKE-UP PULLEY

Pulley which can be moved to keep the belt tight is called take-up pulley. The take-up pulley
is an adjustable idler pulley which accommodates changes in the length of the conveyor belt
and to maintain proper tension.

1.4.5 TAIL PULLEY

This pulley is at the opposite side of normal discharge end. The tail pulleys have diamond
grooved rubber lagging. The tail pulley is subject to failure when ore or other materials fall
on the return side of the conveyor belt. If these objects are not removed they can become
trapped between the pulley and the belt. If the object has sharp edges it will result in tearing
of the belt and pulley slippage.

1.4.6 RETURN IDLER

These are idlers or rollers on which the conveyor belt rides after the load which it was
carrying has been dumped. These rollers rotate freely under load

1.4.7 TROUGHING ROLLERS

These are found on the carrying side, along the length of the conveyor. Troughing idlers
consist of a center roller of a defined width and two wing rollers on either side of the center
roller. The troughing angle varies from 20˚ to 45˚ and this troughing angle ensures that the

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carrying capacity of the belt maintains the same cross-sectional area throughout the carrying
strand, so that the material loaded to the maximum capacity will not fall off the belt.

1.4.8 TENSION UNITS

The force necessary to maintain the belt contact to the drive pulley is provided by a tension
unit which may be a screw type unit, a counterweight or a motorized winch unit. The
counterweight provides a constant tensional force to the belt independent of the conditions.
Its weight designed according to the minimum limits necessary to guarantee the belt pull and
to avoid unnecessary belt stretch. The designed movement of the counterweight tension unit
is derived from the elasticity of the belt during its various phases of operation as a conveyor.

Belt tensioning in the crushing plant is achieved in three ways:

 Gravity take-up unit – found on conveyor belts CVF02, CVF04, CVF05, CVF104 and
CVF105. The gravity take-up tensioning unit consists of a counterweight on the return
side of the conveyor belt to achieve proper belt tension. This unit can be adjusted to
provide slack in the belt during maintenance on the belt and to tension the belt during
operation.
 Tension carriage- this system if found on the conveyor belts CVF03, CVF103 and
main dip belt
 Tensioning bolt- this is found on CVF100

1.4.9 COUPLINGS
1.4.9.1 FLUID COUPLINGS
Fluid couplings are hydro-dynamic devices used to transmit rotating mechanical power. The
fluid coupling consists of a driving impeller (pump) which is mounted over the input shaft
driven by the electric motor, the driven impeller (turbine) which drives the gearbox and fluid
which transmits rotational power. On CVF100, the motor is directly coupled to the gearbox.
There is no mechanical contact between the driving and the driven impeller. Mechanical
energy is transmitted to the oil due to the rotation of the pump. The centrifugal action created
will move the oil around the turbine blades creating kinetic energy which will produce torque
equals to the torque of the driving impeller. The output shaft will begin to rotate transmitting
power to the input shaft of the gearbox.

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1.4.9.2 FLANGE COUPLINGS
The output shaft of the gearbox is coupled to the pulley shaft by a flange coupling. The flange
coupling is a device that is used to connect two shafts together so that there is no motion
between them, for the purpose of power transmission. Each flange has either a male or female
coupler opening so that when the two ends are brought together, they are aligned without
causing resistance or drag in the material being passed through them.

1.4.10 GEARBOX
The gearbox increases torque whilst reducing the speed of the prime mover output shaft. This
means that the output shaft of the gearbox rotates at a slower rate than the input shaft and this
reduction in speed produces a mechanical advantage, increasing torque. The output shaft of
the gearbox is coupled to a flange coupling which provides motion to the pulley shaft. Oil
temperature and vibration analysis of the gearbox are constantly monitored to prevent
gearbox failure. Oil is used both as a lubricant and a coolant and, bearing and gear failure will
increase the temperature of the oil. Overheating in the gearbox can be caused by:

 Insufficient oil, losses through leaking oil seals.

 Too much oil, causing turbulence in the gearbox.
 Incorrect Grade of oil, check specifications for operating temperature, speed and
atmospheric conditions
 Blocked breather.
 Gears not meshing properly.
 Imposed duty on gearbox increased as opposed to initial installation specifications.
 Input shaft end float and Backlash in gears.
 Problems with the equipment being driven by the gearbox for example, conveyors
(check shaft alignment and bearings, idler condition and belt tracking), incorrectly
aligned couplings

1.4.11 ELECTRIC MOTOR

Electric motors convert electrical energy into mechanical energy which in turn drives the
belts. The electric motors have Direct Online Starters and the use 550V. Motors normally fail
through excessive temperature or bearing collapse.

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1.4.12 CLEANING DEVICES
The system of cleaning the belt must be considered with particular attention to reduce the
need for frequent maintenance especially when the belt is conveying wet or sticky materials.
Efficient cleaning allows the conveyor to obtain maximum productivity. The belt cleaners
include:

 V-ploughs- If material gets onto the inside of the belt and carried back to the tail drum,
it can get trapped between the belt and the drum and damage the belt. This system
improves belt alignment problems and thus reduces belt edge damage within the
conveyor system. The V-Plough takes the material off the back of the belt thereby
protecting the belt, tail drum and take-up pulleys. The v-ploughs are installed along the
length of the conveyor belts.
 Primary scraper blades- the primary scrapper is located on the head pulley and it
consists of plastic scrapper blades which remove sticky or coarse material that adheres to
the belt carrying side after unloading.
 Secondary scrapper- this is located between the head and snub pulley. It removes the
fine particles adhering to the belt. The secondary scrapper blades are made of tungsten
material.

1.5 CONVEYING SYSTEM ACCESSORIES

The Crushing and Screening plant conveying system has the following accessories to ensure
safety of the conveying system and for protection:

 Speed switch- this is in contact with the underside of the belt providing true belt speed
measurement where it is most likely to break first. The speed switch comprises of a
friction wheel which contacts the underside of the belt to impart rotary motion to the
monitor. The speed switch is designed for conveyor applications where sequence
interlocking is desirable. If faults occur which result in the slowing down or stopping of
the belt, the speed switch will automatically trip and thereby stop preceding operations to
prevent material build-up at the transfer point.
 Fire suppression system- the fire suppression system is installed on the conveying
system to protect the system in the event of a fire. The detection on conveyor belts uses
polythene linear cable which has insulation that melts at 65 oC hence creating a short
circuit between the two wires and, infrared thermal cameras. The thermal cameras have

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 the ability to detect and clearly visualize hot spots through smoke and dust. When this
system senses heat or detects flames, water flows from the sprinklers simultaneously
until the system is reset. All the conveying belts are equipped with the fire suppression
system.
 Electric pull wires- electric pull wires along the length of the conveyor allow the belt to
be stopped manually if any faults occur. The operators working on the conveyors can
stop the belt if they notice any unusual damages on the belt by pulling this wire. The
switches are actuated by pulling the steel wire rope which is along the length of the
conveyor or pressing the push button which will trip and automatically lock the switches,
de-energizing the conveyor starter contactor.
 Magnets: The crushing plant conveying system consists of a self-cleaning on 200CVF02
and a stationary magnet on 200-CVF-04 and 200-CVF-104. During operation of the self-
cleaning magnet, tramp iron contained inside the material being conveyed under the
magnet is magnetically attracted. Magnetic force lifts the metal to the face of the magnet.
The metal attracted by the self-cleaning magnet is automatically and continuously
removed from the magnet face by a belt that travels around the body of the magnet. If
these metals are not removed, they will damage the crushers hence, metal detectors are
also put in place to ensure that most tramp metals are removed before proceeding to the
crushers. The stationery magnets have no moving parts and are suspended over the
conveyor. When the magnet surface starts to fill up, swing the magnet away from the
conveyor and dislodge the attracted metal.
 Metal detectors- The Metasearch 111 is used as the metal detector on 200-CVF-02.
Metal detectors for conveyor systems are basically electronic devices designed for
detecting unwanted metals in the ore on a conveyor belt. Equipment damage caused by
tramp metals can result in loss of production time and high costs hence, it is important
that they be in good condition at all times. The metal detector consists of an under
search coil. The operation of the detector is based on the changing of the Q-factor in the
tuned circuit when a metallic object passes through the coil. The changing of the Q-
factor is detected by the system and this sends a signal to sound an alarm and stop the
conveyor belt so as to remove the metal.
 Belt tracking rollers- these are used to ensure that the belt does not off track as this can
result in belt damage.

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  Weightometer- this is a belt scale which enables ore to be weighed on a conveyor whilst
in motion. A belt scale system consists of three elements, the weigh frame which
measures the mass of ore, a tachometer which measures belt speed, and the belt weigher
electronics which integrates both these inputs to determine flow rate and total weight.
The Weigh frame weighs a specific length of the loaded conveyor to take a measurement
of the kilograms per meter belt. The weigh frame incorporates strain gauge load cells. A
load cell is a transducer that is used to create an electrical signal whose magnitude is
directly proportional to the force being measured. The weightometer is found on
200CVF05, 200CVF105 and 200CVF02.
 Tachometer- this is a wheel in contact with the belt which gives the distance that the
belt has travelled. The tachometer has an electro-mechanical system and a proximity
sensor which gives a set number of pulses per meter of belt travel.
 Dust suppression system- the dust suppression system is used to reduce the amount of
dust produced during crushing the ore. The old circuit consists of dust suppression
system which used both compressed air and water. In the new circuit, only water is used
to reduce the dust.

1.6 CRUSHING PLANT CONVEYING SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS

Table 2: Conveyor system specifications

Conveyor Belt Head Gearbox Bend pulley Motor Tail Take-

name speed pulley ratio diameter(mm) power pulley up
(ms-1) shell (kw) diam pulley
diameter
(mm) diam
(mm)
(mm)
200-CVF- 1.5 500 26.17:1 400 55 400 400
02
200-CVF- 1.7 500 23.9:1 75 400 -
03
200-CVF- 1.5 450 23.59:1 320 45 450 320
04
200-CVF- 1.5 560 29.17:1 405 55 560 405
05
200-CVF- 1.5 450 24.16:1 - 15 405 -
100
200-CVF- 1.25 450 35:1 - 450 -
103
200-CVF- 1.5 450 23.59:1 320 30 450 320
104
200-CVF- 1.5 560 29.17:1 405 55 560 405
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105

1.7 TASKS CARRIED OUT

 Weekly maintenance on tertiary crusher 1, secondary crusher, and Screen 22. This
involved checking for tightness of bolts, checking for any leakages on the crusher
components, replacement of worn out liners on Screen 22, replacement of the damaged
bowl and mantle liners, and checking for tightness of the V-belts guards.
 Checking crusher gap setting and re-setting the gap.
 Daily plant checks on Conveyors, dust suppressors and tertiary crusher to check if there
are no damages on the components.
 Replacement of return roller on CVF04 which had worn out.
 Replacement of troughing roller on CVF03. The bearings had collapsed and were
producing an unusual sound.
 Replacement of the primary and secondary scrapper on CVFO3 conveyor. The blades of
these scrappers had worn out and were replaced during the four hour maintenance.
 Housekeeping on CVF104, CVF03 AND CVF04.
 Vibration monitoring on the crushers, gearboxes, electric motors, bearings and mills.

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1.8 AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
1.8.1 CRUSHER AIR COOLERS
 Low cooling efficiency of air coolers due to very high ambient temperatures. Air coolers
are used to dissipate excess heat generated by energy losses in the system by forcing cold
air over the hot lubrication oil. Hydraulic oil should be maintained within the required
temperature range to ensure availability of the hydraulic system which increases the
crusher operating time and few shutdowns. When the ambient temperatures rise, the
cooling efficiency of these coolers is reduced since hot air will be drawn to cool hot fluid.
This results in the tripping of the lube pump thereby stopping the crusher and conveying
system.

SUGGESTION
 The fans which propel cooling air should be placed closer to the air cooler to increase
velocity of the air flow on the coolers and to reduce heat gain of the cooling air before it
achieves its cooling effect.

1.8.2 METAL BIN ON CVF02

 Tramp metal bin at CVF02 self-cleaning magnet spillage of metals when offloading into
the tractors near the stockpile. There are metals spilled on the ground during this process
and these metals will cause increased belt stoppages when detected by the metal detector.
There are many openings on the bin which spill the metals when the forklift lifts the bin.

SUGGESTIONS
 Tramp metal should be offloaded at the scrap yard directly from the bins. Two bins
should be put in place with one on standby.
 Re-design of the metal bin to prevent spillages near the stockpile area.

1.8.3 CVF106 SCREEN

 Metal screens on CVF106 vibrating feeder blinding with ore thereby restricting flow of
ore onto the conveyor belt. This is resulting in more time being used to remove the ore
blocking the apertures hence, reducing the efficiency of the process.

SUGGESTION
 Replace metal screens with rubber screens. Rubber screens will absorb and bounce back
from high impacts due to elasticity properties of rubber. Flexibility properties of rubber
will also reduce material build-up and blinding of screen apertures.

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ABIGAIL.Y.MAHACHI - CRUSHING AND SCREENING PLANT MONTH END 14
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