The first four 5MW gearless drives were recently commissioned at conveyor CV-02's head drive station. This conveyor forms part of Tenova Takraf's scope of supply for an underground mining project in northern Chile, which the company claimed is the world's most powerful belt conveyor system.

Conveyor CV-02 is the second of Takraf's 11,000t/h gearless drive conveyors that will convey crushed copper ore from the underground mining area to the surface. Conveyor CV-02 is fed by conveyor CV-01, which has a similar length, with both conveyors overcoming significant elevation change as they transport ore from the first level of the underground mine system to the surface

Conveyor CV-02 feeds into another Takraf conveyor, this time an overland conveyor; this also features advanced gearless drive technology, which itself feeds into an existing conveying system.

Marc Hollinger, Takraf project manager, said: "Thanks to the effective collaboration of all concerned, together with our technology partners, ABB, commissioning of the drives was realised in a record time of only 14 days. This now means that the drives are ready and can be employed for the arduous task of belt installation, which makes the process significantly safer and faster."

Carlos Gonzalez, Takraf construction manager, added: "We always strive to ensure that our commissioning processes are conducted safely and efficiently while exceeding client expectations across all areas."