Coal handling infrastructure for Klipspruit

The fast track lump-sum turnkey (LSTK) contract for the provision of coal handling infrastructure for Klipspruit Colliery in Mpumalanga, South Africa, covered the supply of a run-of-mine (ROM) ore tip, secondary screening / crushing facilities and interlinking conveyors.

Awarded to Bateman Engineered Technologies, part of the Bateman Engineering Group, by BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa Ltd (BECSA) in early 2008, the ZAR146 million contract was conducted in two phases. Phase One saw the commissioning of the ROM tip (which has a live capacity of 500 t), a 1,750 t/hr rotary breaker, and four of the six conveyors (the ROM feed, reject, tertiary crusher feed and splitter feed conveyors). In addition, equipment free issued by the client was installed and commissioned, including a chain feeder, and the primary and tertiary mineral sizers. The two bypass feed conveyors and Buffalo reclaim feeder comprised Phase 2.
The total length of the new conveyor system is 1,070 m, with the largest belt width being 2.1 m. The system is designed with conveying speeds varying from 0.7 m/sec to 3.5 m/sec and tonnages to be conveyed of up to 2,500 t/hr. A design feature of this conveyor system is the need, due to space constraints, for the tertiary crusher feed and splitter feed conveyors to be “piggybacked”, requiring a specially designed support structure.

Another design challenge was the high elevation of the screen and the need to ensure that such a large vibrating piece of equipment was stable at this height. In addition, the reject bin, with a capacity of 500 t, was conveyed piecemeal to the site due to its size, where it was welded together. A special steel grizzly located in the ROM tip concrete bin provides enhanced wear performance under the abrasive conditions of the product handled at Klipspruit. The grizzly was manufactured in three pieces, each weighing approximately 26 t.
An important consideration throughout the project was to comply with the stringent safety standards applied by BHP Billiton on its projects worldwide, and fully endorsed by Bateman Engineered Technologies.
In addition, in line with BHP Billiton’s environmental standards, dust suppression equipment was installed at all transfer points as well as at the ROM tip.

The Klipspruit contract is part of BECSA’s expansion to this opencast coal mine where capacity is increasing from 4.8 Mtpa to 8.0 Mtpa. The increased production supplies both Eskom (the South African national power utility), as well as export customers. The coal is processed through the Phola Coal Processing Plant, a joint venture between BECSA and Anglo Coal, which processes 16.0 Mtpa of coal, 8.0 Mtpa for each partner.

For further information, please contact Philip le Roux, Bateman Engineered Technologies, on
+27-11-201-2300, or email sales@bateman-bet.com.

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