- Gearless drive technology enables the use of a conveyor belt system in Peru with a total installed power of 12,000 kilowatts
- Extreme availability due to low wear and reduced maintenance
- Three percent increase in efficiency over conventional drive systems
Siemens supplies the world’s biggest gearless conveyor drive system to the Cuajone Mine in Peru which is operated by the Mexican mining company Southern Copper Corporation (SCC). The modernization project will entail the installation of a new gyratory crushing and conveyor system by 2016. The belt conveyor will replace a railway system currently used to transport the ore out of the mine to the processing plant. The Integrated Drive System (IDS) used to power the world’s highest-powered gearless conveyor system with an output totaling 12,000 kilowatts is being supplied by Siemens. Not only does the gearless drive enable efficiency to be increased by three percent, it also cuts down the necessary maintenance work and associated costs, as wearing parts such as couplings, motor bearings and gearboxes are no longer required. In mid-2014, Siemens was chosen by ThyssenKrupp to supply the electrical package to the Cuajone Mine in Peru with a contract valued in the double-digit million Euro range.
Previously, the ore was transported out of the mine for further processing using a train over a distance of more than six kilometers to the processing plant. The existing railway is now being replaced by an efficient conveyor belt system and a gyratory crusher, for which Siemens is providing the automation system, the power distribution equipment, and the drive system. Alongside conventional drives, Siemens is deploying primarily Integrated Drive Systems (IDS) with gearless drives which offer a high level of availability by dispensing with many of the wear-prone components such as gearboxes, couplings and motor bearings.
SCC operates mines and metal processing factories in Peru, US and Mexico, including the Toquepala and the Cuajone copper mines in Southern Peru. The company mines and produces copper, molybdenum, selenium, gold and silver and also invests in the exploration and harnessing of mineral deposits in Peru, Mexico and Chile.