Highest Strength Conveyor Belt Ever Produced from Kwinana
Fenner Conveyors has delivered the highest ever strength rated conveyor belt from its steel cord factory in Kwinana, Western Australia. Possessing a breaking strength of 6300 kN/m, the Australian-Made, custom-designed belting was successfully delivered to NSW gold mine in October 2024.
The conveyor belt will be installed on a critical system for the underground gold mining operation. Designed with a high strength rating, the conveyor belt will provide operational reliability and support lowering asset lifecycle costs.
Plant Manager, Nick Annetta, said manufacturing of the ST6300 conveyor belt includes a steel cord carcass with FireBoss K cover protection for flame resistance. It will be installed on an existing conveyor onsite which has been operating with this strength rating of belting - but through other conveyor belt suppliers.
“The system is critical to the gold mining operation. As with all our clients, we have taken every care to ensure a high performing and fit-for-purpose solution which we know will perform,” said Annetta.
Manager of Technical and R&D, Christopher Ball, said prior to this the highest strength conveyor belt made at Fenner Conveyors’ Kwinana factory was rated to 5600 kN/m – a total length just shy of 4km.
“We typically receive requests within the 2000-4000 strength rating range, however this gold mine required a higher rated specification custom-designed for this unique system,” said Ball.
“The equipment in our Kwinana factory is designed to make belts with this strength rating - in fact, our equipment can produce conveyor belt with a breaking strength of up to 10,000kN/m. Our manufacturing and engineering teams have the expertise to execute, but this is the first time we’ve had the opportunity to deliver to this specification.”
“With a 41.3mm engineered thickness it’s also one of the thickest belts we’ve ever made!” explained Ball.
The state-of-the-art conveyor belt factory in Western Australia produces circa ~270,000 km annually across its three press lines, supporting Australian mining customers with an ability to deliver high quality product with reduced lead times.
NSW Business Development Manager, Dean Callaway, said that Fenner Conveyors has been supplying to the underground gold mine for the last 7 years and has been able to demonstrate expertise to the client across its comprehensive conveyor solutions portfolio.
“We started supplying our steel cord conveyor belt to other systems onsite, and the client was impressed with how it was performing. Soon after we became the incumbent for steel cord belting onsite,” said Callaway.
“Demonstrating reliability in our product over this time, naturally the client allowed us to propose a unique design for this particular conveyor system as the current belt is nearing forecasted belt life completion.”
A key element of this project was the collaboration between Fenner Conveyors’ various business units right from order inception to successful delivery to site.
“We had coordination from account managers, front office support, manufacturing and logistics, our belting engineers and executive management overseeing production,” explained Ball.
“We took the concept from an idea to a highly engineered product that has now been successfully delivered to our client. Jobs like this bring our teams together and show the true Fenner Conveyors advantage!”
Production of the conveyor belt began in August 2024, with dispatch to the NSW site in two batches – the first at the beginning of September and final at the end.
The high-strength belting is fitted with sensor loop technology to detect damage. As loops pass the monitoring technology, any wear or damage is logged and site teams are able to stop belts automatically to prevent major damage events.
In fact, Fenner Conveyors designed conveyor belt loops to be compatible with the client’s existing monitoring system, further saving them capital expenditure costs.
“Our Technology team has been highly involved in the engineering and manufacturing process, and have been available to the client to answer any questions regarding the embedded loop system,” explained Callaway.
Having an accurate sensor loop system is essential for high throughput operations such as the client. “I’ve been on sites before where belt rips have occurred from the sharp and heavy material, but because belt rip precautions such as this technology were in place, the conveyor was able to be stopped promptly for repairs before the rip extended along the entire system,” explained Callaway.
“You don’t have to guess the capital and labour costs saved from the investment in conveyor belt loop technology. We understand the importance of protecting high investment conveyor belting.”
Unloading and installation is a common challenge for underground mines given the physical size of belts required for this application and space restrictions.
NSW Business Development Manager, Greg Lynch, said another aspect of Fenner Conveyors’ customised solution is in regard to the belt’s packaging and transport. As part of this project, Fenner Conveyors engineered a modified reel design to suit existing belt winder equipment intended for use during the installation of the conveyor belt once it arrived to site.
“We’re able to tailor reel specifications because of our in-house fabrication facility,” said Lynch.
Conveniently located only a street away from the belt factory, both teams work cohesively together to deliver innovative and reliable solutions.
The belts were also shipped by sea freight as an economical and sustainable opportunity was identified.
“We work with our clients to find the best solution in terms of packaging, freight costs, and lead times,” said Lynch.
Fenner Conveyors have manufactured this conveyor belt at such a high quality with the confidence that it will perform.
“Our flexibility in terms of custom conveyor solutions coupled with a breadth and depth of quality staff eager to find the best solution for our clients are key to our success.”
