The global demand for copper is rising along with the demand for lithium-ion batteries. A mine in Quellaveco, Peru, is expected to produce 1.1 million tons of copper in the future. A ship loading system from FAM, a member of the Beumer Group, uses an extraction system to prevent dust from escaping during loading at the port.
One of the world's largest and best-known deposits, with estimated reserves of 1.1 billion tons of copper ore, lies near the port city of Ilo – just under 37 km northeast of Moquegua in southern Peru. Anglo American, one of the world's largest mining companies, operates the Quellaveco copper mine there.
Anglo American is headquartered in London. Through subsidiaries and holdings, the group mines platinum, diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore, and coal. It also operates manganese and niobium extraction facilities and steel mills.
The Quellaveco project was developed by Anglo American in partnership with Mitsubishi Corporation. The ambitious goal: the plant is to produce 1.1 million tons of copper annually. To ship this enormous quantity of raw materials to the destination countries, Peru is investing heavily in the country's infrastructure – for example, in a new port terminal located just under 20 kilometers south of the city of Ilo. The operator is the energy company Engie. In their search for a suitable partner to supply the ship loading facility, the project managers selected FAM Minerals & Mining.
From the mainland to the loader.
The globally operating company, headquartered in Magdeburg, Germany, is a long-established manufacturer of conveyor systems. Its history dates back to the 19th century. As a leading supplier, the company provides machinery along the entire transport chain for bulk materials – from extraction, conveying, loading, and storage to the processing of various raw materials for diverse industries. FAM has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Beumer (headquartered in Beckum) since summer 2022.
To protect employees at the mine and minimize dust pollution, the open-pit mine in Quellaveco relies on a high degree of automation. Copper ore is transported to the truck loading station via a conveyor belt. Sensors signal when a truck arrives for transport. The gate opens automatically and closes again behind the truck. An extraction system is activated to prevent dust from escaping during loading. Once the raw material is loaded and hermetically sealed on the truck, the gate opens again. The truck then proceeds to a tire washing station. "Sensors activate this automatically – until it's confirmed that the tires are clean," explains Martín Cabrera, project manager at Anglo American.
While no significant dust generation is expected during the receipt, storage, and shipping of the copper ore, the operator has nevertheless installed systems to capture the particles as a precaution. "These efficient systems work similarly to large vacuum cleaners," explains Karen Huaraca, Environmental Officer at Anglo American. "They filter the dust and then release the clean air into the environment."
Photos: Beumer/FAM
To control the plant automatically, all information collected by the sensors about the operation of the facilities is transmitted to the operations center in real time. This is located approximately 90 km from Quellaveco.
Trucks transport the raw materials to the port. There, the copper ore is stored in a warehouse with a capacity of over 80,000 tons. A conveyor belt system conveys the material from the mainland and transfers it to the new SL1320.51/30 ship loader. This loader features a swiveling superstructure. At the end of the boom is the loading device with a belt conveyor. The material slides down into the cargo hold via a telescopic tube. This method minimizes environmental emissions during loading. The telescopic tube can be hydraulically swiveled to reach every corner of the cargo hold. The ship loader has a conveying capacity of approximately 1,320 tons per hour.
FAM successfully commissioned the plant at the end of 2022. The company also handled the installation of all mechanical components, as well as the electrical and control systems, along with project planning, manufacturing, transport, and consulting. FAM project manager Alexander Kammerer explained: “This project was challenging in many respects. We had to deal with both the high seismic loads and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
K. Ludwig
