Iron ore mining main Vale in Brazil final yr accomplished set up of a big semi-mobile crushing station from FLSmidth at its S11D (Serra Sul) iron ore mining operation, in Space 5 of the mine. The station was added to assist open up new mining areas of the deposit.
The primary module is 26 m excessive and features a 250 t hopper and 205 t grizzly. This feeds the second 14 m excessive 390 t module which is a robust 11 m, 2 x 370 kW apron feeder that feeds the third 434 t module – with a big ABON® sizer with 2 x 800 kW drives able to 11,500 t/h, in flip feeding the fourth module, a 64 m, 2,400 mm huge 411 t hyperlink conveyor which feeds the principle pit conveyor. Development passed off in 2024 with commissioning in 2025. The sizer alone weighs greater than 270 t, and is an ABON® 16/400CHDTD-RA mannequin.
The modules had been constructed in a sophisticated pre-assembly space for discount of overlapping work and to offer a better work space for execution with higher visibility of the development web site. Together with the structural metal, the general weight of the station, generally known as undertaking 20BEBK010, is nearly 1,600 t. The pre-assembly of the metallic buildings was carried out by MIP Engenharia, which contracted Transdata Engenharia e Movimentação for the motion of the modules to their last positions utilizing SPMTs as proven within the connected photograph (courtesy Transdata).
Anderson Gomes, Capital Tasks Common Supervisor at Vale’s S11D advised IM Editorial Director Paul Moore: “The set up of the Semi-Cell Crushing Station (BSM/SMCS) in Space 5 of the S11D mine, situated in Canaã dos Carajás, Pará, represents one other strategic step within the partnership between Vale and FLSmidth in consolidating the working mannequin primarily based on In-Pit Crushing and Conveying (IPCC). The undertaking was designed to help the opening of latest mining areas by lowering haulage distances, growing operational flexibility, and reinforcing the effectivity, security, and sustainability good points that characterise the S11D complicated.”
Gomes says that from the engineering section onward, the undertaking was developed with a robust give attention to modularisation, an idea broadly adopted in large-scale tasks for enabling better execution predictability and threat discount throughout on-site meeting. The station was divided into 4 essential modules – hopper with grizzly, apron feeder, crusher, and sacrificial conveyor – permitting a excessive stage of pre-assembly, decreased on-site set up interfaces, decrease civil works necessities, and an accelerated implementation schedule. This strategy additionally facilitates future relocations of the station consistent with the development of the mining face, a key requirement for large-scale operations akin to S11D.
He added: “Collectively, Vale and FLSmidth show how superior engineering, innovation in comminution, and modular ideas could be utilized at an industrial scale to allow extra environment friendly, protected, and sustainable operations. The success of the S11D BSM reinforces the function of semi-mobile crushing stations and huge sizers as key components within the evolution of IPCC techniques and establishes one other technical benchmark for the worldwide mining trade. The undertaking symbolises the strong, long-term partnership between Vale and FLSmidth, constructed on collaborative engineering, customised options, and a give attention to efficiency all through the whole asset life cycle. Greater than tools provide, technical cooperation between the groups enabled the supply of an built-in answer aligned with the operational, environmental, and strategic goals of S11D.”
Why go for a big sizer as an alternative of a gyratory for this undertaking? Gomes: “On the core of the answer, a big ABON® sizer, mannequin 16/400CHDTD-RA, was chosen following a radical technical analysis. The choice thought of its suitability for the semi-mobile idea and the particular traits of the S11D ore. In comparison with standard gyratory crushers, the ABON® sizer combines advantages akin to low rotational velocity, excessive torque, and particular tooth profiles, which work collectively to provide the required product measurement with minimal fines era and prolonged put on lifetime of consumables. The low working velocity ends in decreased vibration and decrease dynamic hundreds, enabling an easier infrastructure appropriate for underground, floor, fastened, semi-mobile, and absolutely cell IPCC installations, in addition to retrofit purposes.”
He says these traits contribute to excessive mechanical robustness, prolonged put on part life, and excessive operational availability. Gomes additionally identified that this know-how has been utilized for many years throughout completely different mining segments, together with iron ore, copper, nickel, limestone, and alumina, in operations distributed worldwide.
An apron feeder, additionally included throughout the undertaking scope, enhances the system by offering managed and steady feed, designed to face up to excessive hundreds and extreme influence circumstances. Outfitted with hydraulic tensioning, centralised lubrication, and lined chutes, Gomes says the system contributes to operational stability and protects downstream tools, even underneath demanding working circumstances.
Since commissioning, Vale says the station has demonstrated constant efficiency, attaining a nominal capability of 9,500 t/h, with recorded peak operation of as much as 11,500 t/h, and integrating effectively into the S11D truckless system. Gomes: “The efficiency of the BSM straight contributes to mine manufacturing stability and reinforces the reliability of the IPCC mannequin adopted by Vale, broadly recognised as one of the vital superior in open-pit mining worldwide.”
He says beyond operational features, the undertaking can also be a part of a broader sustainability context. The manufacturing and upkeep of enormous tools, akin to sizers, contain important volumes of metal, the manufacturing of which is vitality intensive. “On this context, practices associated to the restoration, reuse, and recycling of metallic elements all through the tools life cycle have more and more been included into tasks and upkeep routines, contributing to the discount of environmental influence related to each manufacturing and subject interventions.”
