Modern Mining September 2021

COVER STORY

operations, resulting in faster, safer and more accu- rate loading, while also facilitating the loading of a variety of truck types and capacities from a single shovel. This overcomes a long standing issue of truck/shovel incompatibility,” explains Peeters. Based on data simulations, explains Peeters, MMD proved that adding the FMSL to a truck and shovel system could typically increase shovel utilisa- tion to around 95%, while boosting production rates by up to 40%. “Simulations indicated that the surge loader could load a 350-tonne truck in 60 seconds, while achiev- ing a 98% fill factor,” says Peeters, adding that this is never achievable with a shovel/truck solution. “With conventional techniques, you either do the stated three to four passes, but it’s never perfect – you can either overfill the truck (which often leads to truck damage and dangers relating to roll back and spill- age on haul roads with associated safety concerns and clean-up costs) or underload it and incur higher material movement cost /tonne.” At a time when every mine is aiming for zero harm, the FMSL represents a major step forward; it eliminates the complicated reversing in the loading area, thus creating a safer, more secure environment. With the FMSL, trucks are spotted using the latest 3D camera and RFID technology or simple mechanical markers to assist with truck alignment. “The numerous sensors onboard the FMSL guide trucks into the optimal loading position and intelli- gently monitor the payload to deliver a consistently high fill rate of up to 98%,” says Peeters. “Traditionally, in a straight pass, for example, a truck approaches the shovel, has to stop and reverse to load,” explains Peeters. “The loading spot in most instances is never consistent with the shovel, so the shovel operator and truck driver have to find each

“The impact of irregular loading wreaks havoc on fleet cycle times with trucks getting either congested (leaving trucks queuing at the shovel) or too spread out (forcing the shovel to wait to load). These issues are repeated time and again, leaving the shovel hardly sustaining its capacity,” says Peeters. The solution Leveraging its experiences in the field, MMD Group designed a machine that harnesses the capability of the shovel and vastly improves the speed of loading trucks. The solution in question is the FMSL. The innovative solution draws on MMD Group’s proven experiences in Colombia and China. In Colombia, the company supplied a heavy duty apron feeder modules at a coal mine, which could receive material directly from the dragline. This new way of working saw trucks queueing under a controlled feeder unit, resulting in an improved fill factor and trucks getting filled three times faster than having to load directly using the dragline. Elsewhere in China, MMD supplied a fully mobile sizer which was partnered with a shovel, allowing for continuous loading at rates in excess of 10 000 tph. RoM material is loaded into the receiving hop- per by electric rope shovel before being sized and discharged onto a face conveyor. Again, this solution demonstrated a smoother and more consistent per- formance than conventional truck loading. Leveraging these experiences, MMD created the FMSL. At the heart of this technology is the apron feeder which accepts material dumped by the shovel and delivers a regulated flow of material to the truck fleet. Operating between the shovel and trucks, the solution decouples the truck and shovel loading operations. “The FMSL completely decouples the two

The FMSL acts as a mobile storage bunker between the shovel and a continuous flow of trucks.

September 2021  MODERN MINING  11