After successfully completing its RopeCon® project in Jamaica,
Doppelmayr Transport Technology GmbH has now struck gold
on the tropical island of Simberi, Papua New Guinea: since the
beginning of May 2008, a new RopeCon® has been transporting
gold ore from Sorowar mine at the heart of the island to the
processing plant at the harbour. The line runs through
impenetrable rainforest and over rugged terrain, just two of the
reasons why Australia-based Allied Gold Limited opted for this
novel product which combines ropeway engineering with proven
conveyor belt technology and which has proven to be a safe and
reliable solution where conventional conveyor systems or other
means of transport turned out not to be viable. Other
RopeCon® projects which will make use of the numerous
advantages of this modern technology are currently under
construction and Doppelmayr is also constantly looking into
new transport solutions for offshore and long-distance projects.
Simberi Island, with an area of 80km², forms part of the Tabar
group of islands in the western Pacific approximately 250km
south of the equator. Allied Gold Limited, which develops
mining projects for gold, silver and non-ferrous metals in Mexico,
Australia and Oceania, was planning to explore for gold ore on
the island. However, transporting the precious metal to the
harbour turned out to be a big problem: impassable terrain
covered with dense tropical rainforest had to be overcome. The
construction and maintenance of roads to transport the ore on
trucks would have been too costly as landslides caused by heavy
tropical rains would have repeatedly made access impossible.
No previous infrastructure existed, and a conventional conveyor
belt would have required eleven separate sections with the
corresponding great number of transfer stations, a solution
which would have entailed massive earth moving and would have
had a disastrous impact on the environment.
In August 2006 Doppelmayr Transport Technology GmbH was
awarded the contract to build a material transport system that
would ensure a constant material flow as well as continuous
feed of the gold processing plant at the harbour despite the
difficult conditions. RopeCon® turned out to be the ideal
solution: it harmonizes well with the unspoiled landscape and
requires no more than three tower structures over a line length
of 2.7km. This means that the system crosses spans of up to
850m without touching ground, thus minimizing space
requirements.
A Doppelmayr team consisting of seven people assembled
the complete mechanical and electrical equipment in seven
months. A project manager and safety expert of Doppelmayr
Transport Technology GmbH was also permanently on site
during the assembly to supervise and coordinate the progress of
the work. Apart from the climatic conditions, the remote
location of Simberi Island, far off any established sea lane or
large harbour, represented a great challenge both in terms of
logistics and organization.
The tropical climate of the island with extreme humidity and
high temperatures puts a lot of strain not only on the assembly
team but also on the construction material. Solid workmanship
and the fact that all crucial components of the installation came
hot-dip galvanized proved to be of great benefit. Doppelmayr
can look back on many years of experience with treating
installation components to prevent corrosion and hot-dip
galvanizes them to protect them efficiently against humidity,
harmful environmental agents and aggressive substances. The
Simberi RopeCon® was designed and produced at the
headquarters of Doppelmayr in Wolfurt, Austria in its entirety.
 
SIMPLE MAINTENANCE, ECONOMICAL OPERATION
Not only does the installation itself require very little space, it is
also not necessary to provide maintenance roads or similar
along the line: the conveyor belt with the integrated wheel sets
keeps passing through the station where the components can be
easily inspected and maintained if necessary. To reach any
position along the line, e.g., to inspect the rope, the roof cover
which protects the transported material from the rain, or the
power lines integrated in the roof cover, a maintenance trolley
has been provided which travels on the two upper track ropes.
The installation also makes use of the topographic situation in
terms of energy consumption: the decline allows for the
generation of 221kW of braking energy which can be used in
the mine or to process the ore. Allied Gold Limited thus not
only benefits from the generally low operating costs of the
installation but also from lower overall costs.
 
TAILORED TO MEET THE CUSTOMER’S NEEDS
The RopeCon® installation links Sorowar mine with the
processing plant at the harbour, where the ore is processed and
smelted to form gold bars. The material reaches the RopeCon®
via a feeder. During project planning, the customer moved the
loading station several times: with the rising gold price, exploring
even for the relatively small gold deposits underneath the
original loading station had become lucrative. Allied Gold
Limited got an environmentally friendly, low-maintenance
transport system which perfectly complements the mining and
processing operations and easily meets the customer’s needs.
Mark V. Caruso, chairman of Allied Gold Limited, is
enthusiastic about the RopeCon® system, “It is an excellent piece
of Austrian technology and Doppelmayr can be very proud of
the installation,” he says.
 
ROPECON®— A FLEXIBLE SOLUTION FOR DIFFICULT REALITIES
With RopeCon®, Doppelmayr combines the benefits of ropeway
engineering with those of proven conveyor belt technology. The
outcome is a continuously operating conveyor for bulk materials
of all kinds, characterized by a high environmental sustainability,
low noise and dust emission as well as low operating and
maintenance costs, among others. The material is transported
on a conveyor belt with corrugated side walls and integrated
wheel sets which, like on a ropeway, travel on fixed anchored
track ropes guided over tower structures.
The design with the integrated wheel sets reduces stress on
the conveyor belt to an absolute minimum, thus greatly
enhancing the belt’s service life. With just a few tower
structures, RopeCon® allows for a straight and direct conveying
line even if obstacles like existing roads, buildings, rivers or
similar must be overcome. RopeCon® also leaves only a very
small footprint on the environment: with space requirements
reduced to a minimum, the system hardly interferes with the
habitat of flora and fauna.
The novel transport solution is also popular on factory
premises such as with Austrian Lenzing AG, a world leader in
cellulose fibre technology, which needs to transport wood chips.
At Lenzing AG, RopeCon® crosses numerous buildings and other
conveyor belts, public and private roads and even a river. The
system transports the light-weight material safely from the
storage area to the digester house even in wind speeds of up to
130km/h.
 
REMARKABLE TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS ALSO FOR PROJECTS IN
SUDAN AND GUATEMALA
Modern material transport solutions must be economical, suited
for difficult terrain, environmentally sustainable and quiet in
operation. RopeCon® from Doppelmayr satisfies these
requirements. Two other large projects are currently under way:
in Sudan, the RopeCon® system which is currently being
assembled will act as a feeder to transport limestone to a
cement mill. The installation is 3.5km long and will cross the
river Nile. Once completed, the installation in Guatemala will
link a quarry with a processing plant. The material will be
transported uphill over a length of 1.5km and a difference in
altitude of 200 metres.
Doppelmayr Transport Technology GmbH is a 100%
subsidiary of the international Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group
with headquarters in Wolfurt, Austria. Doppelmayr is a pioneer
in ropeway engineering.