As mines continue to expand and fuel prices climb, mining companies are increasingly looking to control costs and improve ways of getting the ore out of the mine and to the processing plant. Traditionally, shovels and trucks have always been used to transport the extracted rock to the crushing stations. Now, with In-Pit Crushing & Conveying (IPCC), the ore can be taken directly into a crusher and then fed to conveyors to be carried to the next section of processing equipment, bypassing the need for so many trucks to haul the material over large distances to a crushing station.
Conventional mobile/semi-mobile truck dump stations require massive geotechnical preparation and expensive retaining walls to allow trucks to drive to an elevation sufficient to dump material into the receiving hopper. In spite of a few new developments in current semi-mobile station design that have yielded some improvement in the cost of crusher relocation, the fact remains that these crushing stations can only be used in conjunction with a fixed conveyor system.
FLSmidth’s IPCC technologies and solutions have been uniquely engineered to offer many advantages over loading and driving trucks out of the pit to the crusher. By crushing the ore early with IPCC, many hurdles can be overcome that normally increase costs.
FLSmidth IPCC benefits include:
- Shorter haul distances – easily interfaces with less trucks, which means less manpower, lower energy consumption, and reduced CO2 emissions reduce truck cycle time
- Hinged, flat loading skips – eliminating foundation work and large earthen retaining walls
- Fully mobile sizing rigs – move under load and in any direction, even on small benches
- A reduction in overall capital and relocation costs – movement is measured in hours not weeks
- ABON® twin roll sizers – feed sizes up to 1500 mm (60”) and insensitive to clay and sticky materials with exceptionally low head room requirements
- FLSmidth trusted and tested RAHCO®, Conveyor Engineering, KOCH, and MVT material handling equipment – haul the crushed ore greater distances with low operational costs of conveyor systems without the need for so many trucks
For more information about our innovative IPCC equipment, including our DTMS and TTMS systems, please click on the individual product pages and see how you can save money, reduce emissions and enjoy more efficiency with FLSmidth IPCC solutions.