Coal Age

NOV 2012

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suppliers news Teck Selects BMT's Payload Monitoring System and where further operator training is required. ABB to Help New Coal Terminal in Australia Operate at Peak Efficiency ABB was awarded a $29 million order to provide complete electrical and automation systems for the conveyors at a new coal export terminal currently under construc- tion in northeastern Australia. The order was booked in the second quarter. The Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal (WICET), located in Gladstone, is owned and being developed by existing and poten- tial coal exporters in Queensland to provide increased long term export coal capacity. The initial stage of the project will provide 27 million metric tons per year (mtpy) in export capacity, with first coal shipments planned for 2014. Once fully commissioned, the mul- ti-billion dollar terminal will provide more than 80 million mtpy of capacity through the Port of Gladstone. The Pulse TerraMetrix RS system employs a loadcell based device to measure inertial and dynamic loads. One of the largest mining companies, Teck Resources, recently purchased a Pulse TerraMetrix RS system from BMT WBM. This system will manage the machine health and production and measure the payloads for a P&H4100; (Shovel 30) at Teck's Greenhills Operation, near Elkford, B.C. BMT WBM worked closely with the Greenhills staff to develop and refine the Pulse TerraMetrix RS system to help address the accuracy issues commonly associated with shovel based payload monitoring sys- tems. "Unlike other payload monitoring systems that apply electrical parameter esti- mation techniques to approximate the pay- load, the TerraMetrix system employs a loadcell based device and directly measures the inertial and dynamic loads applied to the dipper," said Charles Constancon, director of BMT WBM Canada. "As a result, more accurate payload measurement is maintained, even under severe dynamic loading conditions." Configured to communicate with any third party truck dispatch system, the system 52 www.coalage.com can be applied to different models of electric shovels. Recent developments of the system have included a comprehensive machine health monitoring capability using strain sensing transducers placed on the A-frame and boom structures. These transducers allow the system to track boom jacking and adverse swing events, identify alarm events and quantify the mechanical damage per swing cycle. Productivity indicators provide meaningful online feedback to the operator including average bucket/truck payload, overall shift production, swing cycle time and operating and delay times. The Greenhills system is configured to communicate through the mine's wireless mesh to a server located in the administra- tive offices. Data is saved in a SQL database and is accessible through an advanced serv- er analysis program located on the mine's intranet. This enables maintenance, training and production staff to easily access, process and analyze the data on a shift basis and to identify where production shortfalls arise ABB's innovative conveyor control sys- tem will optimize the overall performance, reliability and energy efficiency of the con- veyor systems over their expected lifetime. "We are pleased that our integrated power and automation solution for convey- ors was selected for this project, as it offers superior performance over traditional con- veyor drive control systems," said Veli-Matti Reinikkala, head of ABB's Process Automation division. The speed and effi- ciency of these conveyors will help the coal leave the export terminals in Australia for their markets in Asia more quickly; this can positively impact mine profitability and expansion plans in the region. ABB is responsible for the design, engi- neering and supply of an integrated electrical and control solution for the terminal s 5.5 km long overland conveyor and the 2 km long jetty conveyor systems. The scope of supply includes 13 modular switchrooms and five control rooms, complete with structural and electrical ancillary equipment. ABB will also provide distribution trans- formers, 22 kilovolt switchgear, low voltage single and multidrives, and a mine conveyor control program (MCCP) to manage ABB's ACS 1000 medium voltage drives and motors. Project delivery is scheduled for late 2013. November 2012

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