Belt conveyor (BC) transportation systems are considered to be the most effective for handling large volumes of bulk material. With regards to the rules of sustainable development, the improvement of belt conveyor technology is, in many cases, focused on environmental issues, which include the idea of energy usage optimization. The key issue in an energy-efficient transportation system is reducing the value of specific energy consumption (SEC) by increasing conveyor capacity whilst decreasing belt conveyor motion resistance. The main idea of this paper is to conduct an analysis of the modernization of existing belt conveyor transportation systems operated in open-pit lignite mines, in order to achieve relatively small electric energy consumption for a considered transportation task. The first part of the paper investigates the relationship between a conveyor’s SEC and material flow rate for various conveyor design parameters. Then, based on multi-parameter simulations, an analysis of electric energy consumption for a belt conveyor transportation system is carried out. Finally, an energy-saving, environmentally friendly solution is presented.

The ore quality at mining faces in the KGHM underground copper ore mines can be determined based on channel samples and block models built in the Datamine system. Unfortunately, even very accurate information regarding the quality of deposits at mining faces does not translate into the possibility of predicting the composition of feed to enrichment plants. The mixed ore from mining faces is cyclically loaded by trucks onto belt conveyors, which in turn convey it to shafts. When transported on the conveyors, mixed ore portions from many loading points form a divisional stream, which then goes to the main haulage conveyors where ore streams from various divisions are combined. The way of filling the bunkers, as well as ore flow temporary stoppages, changes the sequence of ore mixing and its arrival, which hinders the ability to track its quality. In the current study, radio-frequency identification (RFID) was proposed for tracking ore composition. A complementary method of ore quality prediction comes from simulating the tagged ore flow within the FlexSim software package. The discrete element method (DEM) of simulations, verified by experiments with RFID tags, can determine the ore flow through bunkers. Forecasts of ore feed composition for the next shift can be prepared with actual plans of mining division operations, the filling level of bunkers and the work plan of the transport system.

The mining industry is facing sustainable development challenges, among which the energy efficiency issues seem to be of major importance. As transport of the mined ore is considered as one of the most energy intensive operations, the improvement of its energy efficiency is a key indicator in terms of sustainable actions taken by mining companies. In open-pit mines, the material handling operations are mostly performed with trucks. Their electrified version—truck trolley systems—surpass diesel trucks’ efficiency while comparing the increased production capacity and the reduction of maintenance cost and fuel consumption. The paper analyzes the opportunities and benefits of the replacement of an ore transport system based on hauling trucks with a regenerative belt conveying in an open-pit mine. Presented case study has been analyzed from energy consumption and environmental impact reduction perspectives. Generally, conception of a regenerative conveyor is based on recuperation of energy or continuous braking needed while a conveyor is running downhill. Energy generated during the braking process (converted from the potential gravitational energy of the conveyed material) is fed back to the electrical grid. Then the regenerative conveyor can be considered as a machine that mines energy as an additional by-product of an exploited deposit. It was shown that difference in transportation cost between haul trucks and energy efficient regenerative conveyors is around 95%. The paper points the conditioning elements to allow the implementation of a regenerative belt conveyor system.