The Henderson Coarse Ore Conveying System -: A review of commissioning, start-up, and operation

The Henderson Coarse Ore Conveying System is a three-flight belt conveyor system transporting primary crushed molybdenum ore 24 km (15 miles) underneath the North American Continental Divide. One of the conveyors is 16.8 km (55,200 ft) in length with 8,200 kW(11,000 HP) of installed power. The overland conveyor contains 11 vertical curves and 9 horizontal curves, some with radii as small as 1, 500 m. The system began full operation in December 1999 and is one of the longest and most complicated belt conveyor systems yet constructed. The design of this conveyor system utilized many innovative engineering concepts including low-energy belt covers, low-resistance idlers, torque-controlled tail drives, combined gravity and active winch take-up systems, small radius horizontal curves and belt turnovers. This paper reviews the start-up of the system, discusses the success of the design and addresses the lessons that can be learned from the first 4 years of operation of this unique conveyor system.