CONVEYORS
Delivering Aquila’s overland conveyor Last year, Fenner Dunlop ACE was contracted to deliver an overland conveyor system for Anglo American’s Aquila project. ABHR speaks to Brendon Harms, Regional Manager of ACE Queensland to find out how the project has progressed. THE BOWEN BASIN COALFIELD is home to dozens of coal projects, producing almost 100 per cent of Queensland’s coking coal and 60 per cent of its thermal coal. One such project is Anglo American’s Aquila – an underground hard coking coal mine near Middlemount. The company selected Fenner Dunlop ACE to design, supply and install the 2.6-kilometre-long ACV002 Overland Conveyor, along with four drives, a transformer, loop take-up, elevated gantry sections, overland
structure, and belting. The contract, awarded in 2020, also included the mechanical and electrical installation, belt installation and commissioning. Brendon Harms, Regional Manager of ACE QLD, says the team has completed the design and supply stages of the project and is now halfway through the installation. “The process has been a major success. We’ve been able to handle the complete project entirely in-house, which has given us both a lot of control and responsibility,” he says. Ongoing maintenance will be offered through the Mackay and Emerald branches, providing belt works and servicing over the life of the project.
The overland conveyor will run from the underground to the surface and then move up to the stockpile.
40 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: September/October 2021
“For example, between the design and supply stages, we’ve been able to complete works in parallel to expedite the process.” The overland conveyor will run from the underground to the surface and then move up to the stockpile. Often, the product will be put onto a stockpile outside the mine, but because the project will make use of an existing stockpile and wash plant, the conveyor will help connect the infrastructure together. Included within the design are several custom components, such as a horizontal curve in the conveyor and an elevated stacker to load onto the stockpile. The conveyor is a crucial piece of infrastructure for the mine, as it is the only means of extracting the coal. To ensure it operates effectively, Fenner Dunlop ACE has been through a series of stringent design reviews and quality assessments.
