ABB has been awarded a contract from Newcrest Mining to supply a complete electrical and automation system for six underground mine incline conveyors at the Cadia East underground gold and copper mine.
The company will deliver a conveyor control system comprising ACS 6000 multi-drives and motors.
To manage these units, the manufacturer will also design, engineer and supply a full electrical solution with modular switchrooms, transformers, 33 kV ring main units, water chiller systems, motor control centres and the Mining Conveyor Control Program (MCCP).
The order is worth a total of $20 million.
Tony Thompson, ABB’s business development manager for mining process automation, believes the system will improve the performance, reliability, energy efficiency and operational flexibility of the conveyors over their lifetime.
“By offering a total solution package, the amount of engineering is reduced and the commissioning is a lot simpler, meaning a lot of time is saved,” he told Australian Mining.
“The MCCP simplifies the operation of multiple motor conveyors and makes it easier to maintain the whole system.
“Traditional Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) operate on the master-follower principle, which can cause problems like belt stretching and slippage when used with multiple conveyor motors.
“By having a complete system integrating the MCCP with the drive units, the master-follower principle can be removed from the conveyor operation.”
Newcest, Australia’s largest gold producer, aims to complete the construction of the Cadia East mine by 2013.
The project, located near Orange in the central-west of NSW, will be the largest underground mine in Australia when it is completed.
The Cadia East orebody, is one of the world’s largest gold deposits, containing a total mineral resource of nearly 2.35 billion tonnes, including 33.2 million ounces of gold and 6.59 million tonnes of copper.
The mine is expected to be in operation for at least 30 years.