Company Announcement - The mining industry is hard pushed globally to reduce operating costs. Therefore, repeat orders are a clear indication that a product is contributing towards lower total cost of ownership. “Reducing maintenance costs while increasing operational output requires skill, planning and the selection of the most appropriate OEM suppliers of equipment. This is particularly pertinent with regard to custom engineered products such as transfer points or chute systems,” says Mark Baller, managing director of Weba Chute Systems.

Kisladag Gold Mine in Turkey is considered a flagship operation for Eldorado Gold and its Turkish subsidiary so this lends even more credence to the recent repeat order awarded to Weba Chute Systems. Situated between the centres of Izmir and Ankara, Kisladag is the largest gold mine in Turkey and has been developed as a low grade, bulk tonnage open pit operation using heap leaching for gold recovery.

Weba Chute Systems, a South African based OEM of custom engineered chute systems and transfer point solutions, first supplied its innovative chute systems to this gold mine in 2009. At this stage eight Weba Chutes were installed under the fine and coarse ore bins discharging onto conveyors in the plant. Following the successful operation of these transfer systems, the company secured a second order for three additional chutes. The first was a belt feeder head chute which feeds an incline conveyor, the second was a screen oversize chute and the remaining transfer points are from conveyor to conveyor.

The most recent order received is for two replacement chutes and two new chutes. “The mine is replacing the incoming conveyor to facilitate the transportation of a higher tonnage. The new belt will be wider than the existing belt and it is therefore necessary to replace portions of the chute to accommodate increased incoming feed. This will entail the replacement of the top half of the chute to accommodate the larger conveyor as well as some adjustments to account for the height differential,” Baller explains.

The outgoing conveyor is also being replaced and relocated due to the upgrade on the plant. While the width of this belt will remain the same, there is now a need to facilitate the new profile and the direction of the outgoing feed, as well as to accommodate the increased tonnage. The third chute in this order is a new chute, responsible for transferring feed from belt to belt.

“All chutes supplied to the mine use our a ‘supertube’ effect with a cascade lining system, which results in 95% of the material running on material at all times. By adopting a streamlined and scientific approach to the dynamics of bulk materials handling at transfer points, we can provide the industry with a multitude of benefits including reduced maintenance requirements, improved transfer conditions, longer conveyor belt life and higher throughput,” Baller concludes.