EDITORIAL

TheOptimalLayOutDesignforCoalStockpiles
bySandvikMiningandConstructionMaterialsHandlingGmbH&CoKG,Austria
Thisarticlereviewscurrentstateoftheartconceptsregardinglayoutandequipmentforcoalterminals.Itgroupstheseideasintoaworkablesetofguidelinesforthecoalmine
orstockyardoperator.Thearticleconcludeswithfourappropriatecases.
Theselectionofthebestsuitablelayoutofthestockpileandequipmentforcoalstorageandcoalterminalsisdeterminedbyanumberofimportantcriteria.Adetailedanalysisof
processrelevantrequirementsaswellasaneconomicandecologicalevaluationwillresulteitherinaconventionallongitudinalorinacircularcoalpilelayout.
Astheprioritiesforeachapplicationaredifferentutmostflexibilityinthelayoutanddesignofbulkterminalsisrequired.Threemainfunctionscanbeperformedbyacoal
stockpile/terminal:
l
l
l

buffering
composing
homogenizing

Thebufferingfunctionofabedblendingsystemconsistsofprovidingsufficientreserveofblendedrawmaterialstoguaranteethecontinuousoperationoftheprocessingplant
underallnormalcircumstances.Thismeansthattimebreaksanddisturbancestoacertainextentcanbepermittedinthesystemstagesprecedingtheblendingsystemwithout
influencingtheproductionorshippingplanorprocessingplantoperation.
Thecomposingfunctionofthebedblendingsystemconsistsoftheintegrationofanumberofrawmaterialswithdifferentchemicaland/orphysicalcharacteristicsinsuchweight
proportionsthatacompletedpilerepresentstherequisitecomposition.
Thehomogenizingfunctionconsistsofspreadingouteachmaterialinmanylayersoverthefulllengthofthepile.Bythisactiondeviationsfromtheaverageofachemicalor
physicalmaterialpropertyinsuccessivecrosssectionsofthepilearedecreasedcomparedwiththedeviationsfromtheaverageofthepropertyintheinputofthepile.This
meansthatthelowerfrequenciesintheinputfluctuationsareeliminated.
ThroughseveraldecadesSandvikMiningandConstructionMaterialsHandlinghassuppliedbulkterminalstovariouscustomer'sworldwideandthefollowingexamplesofcoal
terminalsrecentlysuppliedandcommissionedbySandvikshallgiveabriefoverviewoftheselectioncriteriaanddifferencesinequipmentwhendesigningbulkterminals.
Case1:LongitudinalCoalStorageforPlomin
ThealreadyexistingthermalpowerplantinPlomin,Croatia,wasexpandedbytwonewcoalfiredblocks.Theincreaseddemandofcoalcouldnolongerbesuppliedbythe
adjacentcoalmineandthelocalelectricitygeneratingcompanyhadtoimportcoalbyvessels.TheexistingcoalstorageequippedwithaStacker/Reclaimerof350tphcapacity
hadtobeenlargedfromastoragecapacityfrom32,000ttototally114,000tcoal.SandviksuppliedthenewStacker/Reclaimerwithastackingcapacityof1,200tphandthetotal
conveyingsystemofabout2,000mlengthleadingfromthejettytothestockyard.Apipeconveyorofapprox.1,700mlengthwasusedforprotectiontheseaagainstpollutionby
coaldust.
Thelongitudinalstockpileenablestostorecoalofdeviatingqualityeitherinseparatestockpilesortostackitinlayers.Thereforeseparatedorhomogenizedcoalcanbe
reclaimedandsuppliedtothebunkerofthepowerplantdependingonthefiringrequirements.
ThehighstackingcapacityofthenewStacker/Reclaimerenablestheunloadingofthevesselinonlythreedays.Thecontinuousfeedingofthebunkersandtheoperationofthe
powerplantduringtheshipunloadingperiodisprovideabypassconveyingsystem.Inaverageonlyonecoalvesselofanaveragecapacityof60,000DWTisrequiredeach
monthforcontinuouspowergeneratingoperation.Thereclaimingofthecoalismadecontinuouslyatintervalsaccordingthestoragecapacityofthebunkers.Thereclaiming
capacityislimitedtoabout350tphwithrespecttothealreadyexistingreceivingconveyorlinetothepowerplantblocks.
ThecombinedStacker/Reclaimerisaveryeconomicsolutionwhichprovidesfullflexibilitywithrespecttostorageandreclaimingmethodandenablescontinuousoperationof
thepowerplant.
TechnicalDataStacker/Reclaimer(Plomin)

l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l

TypeBucketWheelStacker/Reclaimer
ModelVASR1200/45
Stackingcapacity1,200tph
Reclaimingcapacity350tph
Beltwidth1200mm
Boomlength45m
Railgauge7m
Travellength103m
Totalinstalledpowerapprox.300kW
Yearcommissioned2000

Case2:TransshipTerminalforPortofKoper
ThePortofKoperinSloveniadecidedtobuildthetrans shipterminalthatwillallowreceivingcoalfromoverseasbylargevesselsandshippingofsmalleramountsofcoalby
bargestovariouscustomer'sinthevicinity.Theoverallrequirementswerefocusedonhighpeakcapacity,flexibilitytohandledifferentgradesandminimuminvestmentcosts
consideringarelativelylownumberofoperatinghoursperannum.TheselectedlayoutwasinlongitudinalstockpileutilizingacombinedBucketWheelStacker/Reclaimer.The
longitudinallayoutgivestheflexibilitythestorevariousgradesanddifferentlocationsandthemobilityoftherailmountedStacker/Reclaimeralsoallowsselectivestackingand
reclaimingaspertheoperationalrequirements.Thebucketwheeltypemachinewasselectedtoachievetheflexibilityinhandlingmaterialswithdifferentmechanicalproperties.
ThecombinedStacker/Reclaimeralsowasthemosteconomicalsolutionfromtheinvestmentpointofview.
TechnicalDataStacker/Reclaimer(Koper)

l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l

TypeBucketWheelStacker/Reclaimer
ModelVASR1200/40
Stackingcapacity1,500tph
Reclaimingcapacity2,200tph
Beltwidth1200mm
Boomlength40m
Railgauge8m
Travellength350m
Totalinstalledpowerapprox.350kW
Yearcommissioned2000

Case3:CoalTerminalforCallideMine
TheCallideCoalmineislocatedinQueensland/Australiaandowned/operatedbyShellCoal.Theterminalistoreceive RunofMinecoalforstorage,homogenisationand

loadout.Typicalforamineloadoutfacilitytherequirementswerefocusedonstoragecapacity,simultaneousstackingandreclaimingandmaterialhomogenization.
TheselectedlayoutisalongitudinalstockpileusingatravelingforluffingandslewingstackerforformingthestockpileinWindroworChevronformation.Thebuildingofthepile
isperformedbyastackingmachine,whichlayersthematerialinthepile.Forblendingefficiencyofthepileitisassumedthat:
a)eachlayerismadeinonetravellingdirectionofthestackingmachine,
b)eachlayercontainsthesameamountofmaterialpermeterpilelength.
Reclaimingoffullystackedstockpile'sisperformedbyaPortalScraperReclaimerwhichwillensurehomogenisation,constantandsteadyreclaim/load outrateandthe
flexibilitytoreclaimfromanyofthestockpilesalongthecoalyard.Thefullportalscrapermachinereclaimsthestockpileinalongitudinaldirectionontooneyardconveyorbelt.
TechnicalDataStacker(Callide)

l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l

TypeTravelling,slewing&luffingStacker
ModelVAST1200/38
Stackingcapacity2,100tph
Beltwidth1200mm
Boomlength38.5m
Railgauge6m
Travellength350m
Totalinstalledpowerapprox.220kW
Yearcommissioned2001

TechnicalDataReclaimer(Callide)

l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l

TypePortalScraperReclaimer
ModelVAPSC1800/52
Reclaimingcapacity1,800tph
Scraperbladewidth2,800mm
Scraperboomlength45.5m
Railgauge52m
Travellength438m
Totalinstalledpowerapprox.300kW
Yearcommissioned2001

Withregardtotheroleoftheprehomogeniserwithintheoverallsystemforcoalhomogenization,itishighlyprobablethatanincreaseintheblendingcapacitymaywellbe
requiredifforexampletheshippingvariabilitytargetlimitswerechanged,stimulatedperhapsbyarequirementorconsumerdemandforadifferenttypeofcoal.Thislayoutoffers
alltheseflexibilitiestoadoptsuchchanges.
Case4:CoalTerminalforHoPingPowerPlant
ThecoalstorageandfeedingforthenewHoPingthermalpowerplantinTaiwanincludingconventionalrequirementsofcoalsupplysystemsforpowerplantssuchas
simultaneousreceivingandfeedingofcoal,storagecapacityandfullredundancyforfeedingcoaltheboiler.Inadditiontotheserequirementsspatiallimitationsand
environmentalprotectionissueshavetobeconsideredintheselectionofthecoalterminal.
Theselectionwasmadefortwocircularstockpileslocatedinfullycloseddomesstructures.Therequirementsofstoringover270.000tonsofcoalrequiredoneofthelargest
circularstockpileseverbuilt.Coalisreceivedfromshipunloadingandconveyedtooneofthetworadialstackerseachlocatedinthecenterofonedome.Stackingwillbe
performedtheconeshellconfigurationasblendingofthecoalisnopriorinthiscase.Reclaimingisdonebytheportalscraperreclaimerthatfeedsthecoalontothevibro
feederswhicharelocatedunderneaththecentercolumn.Separatevibrofeedersarelocatedunderneaththestockpilefordirectfeedontotheoutgoingconveyortocatertoforany
machinecausedinterruptions/downtimes.Thestockyardsarefullyenclosedbythetwodomesandappropriatesystemsformanagingthecoalqualityinsidethedomesare
beinginstalled.
Whenconsideringcircularstoragesoperationaldisadvantagestobeobservedare:
1.Prehomogenizationcapacitycanonlybeincreasedbyestablishingasecondstockpile.Hence,therecanbenoroomforerrorintheinitialchoiceoftheprehomogenizer
blendingcapacity.
2.Stickyordifficultmaterials(highclaycontent)maychokethechutesinthecentralpillar.
3.Groundwatermaymakeitimpossibletoconstructandoperatethematerialdischargetunnel.
Occasionallydifficulttofitintoanexistingplantlayout.
TechnicalDataStacker/Reclaimer(HoPing)

l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l

TypeCircularStacker/Reclaimer
ModelVACSR3500/1000
Stackingcapacity3,5000tph
Reclaimingcapacity1,000t/h
Beltwidth1,800mm
Stackerboomlength35m
Numberofscraperbooms2
Scraperboomlength39&19m
Scraperbladewidth2,500&1,600mm
Railtrackdiameter134m
Totalinstalledpowerapprox.350kW
Yearcommissioned2001

Summary
Thesetypicalexamplesbrieflydescribedabovehavebeenchosentodemonstratehowapplication specificrequirementsinfluencenotonlytheselectionofthestockpilelayout
butalsothedesigndetailsoftheequipment.Themajorselectioncriteriacaninclude:
l
l
l
l
l

averagethroughputandpeakcapacity
blending/homogenizationrequirements
spatiallimitations
environmentalrestrictions
investmentcosts,expectedlifetimeandlifecyclecosts

Whendesigningastockpileforhomogenizationforagreenfieldsitewherebecauseofthegeneralinadequaciesofthecurrentlyadoptedapproachtomineraldepositvariability
characterizationparticularlyinthecoalminingindustry,dueessentiallytotheusualrestrictionsimposedbycapitalavailabilityandtimeconsiderations,theconfidencelimitsthat

canbeattachedtothepredictedmineoutputvariabilityarelow.Typicallyactualobservedmineoutputvariabilitymoreoftenthannothasawiderqualityrangeandfrequency
spectrumthanthatindicatedbytheparticulargeologicalinvestigation.
Hence,thepotentialforincreasedblendingcapacitytocompensatefortheinadequaciesofthegeologicalsurveyisregardedasanecessaryrequirementandprerequisitetobe
incorporatedinthedesignofastockpilepre homogeniserforanewgreen fieldsiteworks.Inpracticethisisbestachievedbyuseofthelinearstockpilepre homogeniser
whosecapacitycanbereadilyincreasedbysimplyextendingthelengthoftherailsonwhichthestackerandreclaimeroperate.Thisappliesmainlytocoalmines,coalfired
powerplantshaveabetterdefinedcoaldemand