Mine Case Study
Background
This particular Latin American mine is one of the largest gold mines and silver mines in the world. This open-pit mine churns out 130,000 tons of gold, silver, zinc and lead per day.
The Problem
Recently the company that owned the mine was having trouble with their idlers. The brand they were using could not withstand the harsh conditions. The frames would shake which would cause cracks and breaks in those frames. The shaking also stirred up large amounts of dust and debris which would clog the idlers – slowing production.
The Solution
Van Gorp engineers designed idlers to combat these problems. The idlers were engineered to not shake or break against the 72” CU – 73 belt which traveled at 1,144 feet/minute (13mph) with 1,350 horse power. These idlers reduced dust along the over 7 mile long stretch of belt which carried over 12,000 tons per hour. To date, Van Gorp has not had an idler break or shake in this mine and dust has been kept to a minimum.
Reduce costs and downtime with