Study of Long-Distance Belt Conveying for Underground Copper Mines

Natalia Suchorab-Matuszewska, Witold Kawalec () and Robert Król
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Natalia Suchorab-Matuszewska: Department of Mining, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
Witold Kawalec: Department of Mining, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
Robert Król: Department of Mining, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 18, 1-14

Abstract: Efficient material handling is critical for mining productivity, safety energy and cost control. This paper analyzes the energy efficiency of five alternative designs for a 3 km inclined underground conveyor system for copper ore transport, considering route geometry, belt specifications, drive configurations, and operational parameters. Two main design approaches were examined: a single long conveyor and two shorter conveyors. Variants differed in belt tensile strength, the use of intermediate drives, and system layout. Calculations results achieved by using dedicated QNK-TT software (version 4.45.21.08.10.18.11) show differences in the specific energy consumption index between variants for both average and peak capacities and highlight that high-capacity performance requires non-standard solutions: either higher belt strength or an intermediate drive system. The study shows that conveyor energy efficiency depends strongly on load level, with near-maximum throughput yielding the best performance. The authors conclude that conveyor system component selection should be based on a multi-criteria evaluation—including the capacity margin, operational safety and maintenance complexity—rather than energy efficiency alone.

Keywords: long-distance belt conveyor; underground copper mine; specific energy consumption; energy consumption in mine transport; energy efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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