Conveyor belts enable safe coal transport

The ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group has produced and supplied several steel cord belts to the Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group (NCIG) in the coal export port of Newcastle, New South Wales.

NCIG operates one of the most important export terminals in the port of Newcastle, which incorporates a complex infrastructure required to ship the coal from the port to global destinations. After the completion of the third terminal at the end of this year, NCIG’s transport system will be capable of delivering approximately 66 million tpa of coal.

Conveyor belts

A total of 20 conveyor belts are used to handle the coal coming into and going out of the terminals, as well as for short term storage on the platform. Typically, the belts handle 8500 tph in the loading stations and storage areas, and as much as 10 500 tph in the wharf and ship loading area.

"Thanks to their robust and durable design, steel cord belts from ContiTech are up to meeting the challenges of transporting coal within a coal terminal," commented Eric Van Leeuwarden, National Sales Manager at ContiTech Australia. "In addition, our conveyor belts represent energy-saving solutions that significantly reduce transport costs and thus help to improve the cost efficiency of the system."

First platform

NCIG awarded ContiTech the order to set up the first platform in 2008. The company produced an approximate length of 10 000 m of ST 1400 steel cord belt with a width of 2500 mm. It is made of an energy saving rubber compound, which has made it possible to improve visco-elastic properties, which in turn minimises indentation rolling resistance on the conveyor belt. As a result, energy consumption during transport is reduced by up to 25%, resulting in a reduction in both energy costs and CO₂ emissions. ContiTech additionally produced 280 m of type ST 2500 steel cord belting for this stage of the project.

Additional platforms

A further 8000 m of steel cord belting was ordered in spring 2010 for the second platform. In 2012, thanks to the successful implementation of the first two platforms, ContiTech received an order for the third and final stage of the project, another 8000 m long steel cord belt, which was delivered in several stages by September 2012.

"Thanks to the close global cooperation with the experts from ContiTech, we have been able to perfectly monitor and accompany the construction of the transport terminal in Newcastle during the last four years," added Van Leeuwarden. "This project has further strengthened our position in Australia and is an important reference project on this market."

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/handling/31102013/conveyor_belts_enable_safe_coal_transport_210/