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Deployment Analysis // Burgersfort

Thorncliffe
Ropeway

A critical 32km inter-station haul rope infrastructure engineered to transport chrome ore across the Limpopo terrain with synchronized automation.

Limpopo, South Africa
Lion Smelter
PKUK-01

Project Stats

Project IDPKUK-01
CategoryLion Smelter
LocationLimpopo, South Africa

Project Overview

A synchronised 32km haul-rope ropeway automates the full material cycle. Chrome ore is reclaimed and staged through a five-conveyor train onto 186 carriages, each loaded to 2,000kg by a VSD-controlled rotary chute, then hauled at 5m/s over 45 tower stations and 3 anchor stations before being automatically decelerated, tipped and discharged at the Lion Smelter offloading station.

// Specifications

Detailed Project Scope

Rope Infrastructure
  • Continuous Haul Rope: 32 km, 32 mm diameter
  • Track Rope (Outbound): 46 mm double-lock steel, 16 km across 4 sections
  • Track Rope (Inbound): 32 mm double-lock steel, 16 km across 4 sections
  • Tower Stations: 45 Units
  • Anchor Stations: 3 Units
Drive & Control
  • Main Drive: 6 x 75 kW motors, VSD controlled
  • Braking: Band brake plus 2x spring-activated, hydraulically-released disc calipers
  • Tensioning: Hydraulic head-end tensioning on the take-up sheave
  • Cooling: Gearbox oil circulated via filter, cooler & 10-point distribution
  • Safety: UPS-backed control system, pre-defined deceleration profiles
Operational Data
  • Nominal Throughput: 192 TPH
  • Haul Rope Speed: 5.0 m/s
  • Carriages In Service: 186 Units
  • Carriage Capacity: 2,000 kg each
  • Station Approach Velocity: 0.5 m/s
// System Overview

System Architecture

Loading Station

Fitted with a belt conveyor feeding system (intake) that stages and loads chrome ore into carriages via a VSD-controlled rotary chute.

45 Tower Stations

Support the track ropes and haul rope along the full 32km inter-station run across the Limpopo terrain.

3 Anchor Stations

Anchor the track rope sections and maintain line tension along the route.

Offloading Station

Fitted with an outtake conveyor; carriages are automatically tipped and discharged onto it at the Lion Smelter.

01

Continuous Haul Rope

A single 32km, 32mm diameter haul rope drives every carriage between the loading and offloading stations.

02

Twin Track Ropes

46mm double-lock steel track rope carries the outbound leg (16km, 4 sections); 32mm double-lock steel track rope carries the inbound leg (16km, 4 sections).

03

186 Carriages

Each carriage transports up to 2,000kg of chrome ore, running the loop continuously between stations.

04

192 TPH at 5m/s

The system sustains a nominal throughput of 192 tons per hour with the haul rope running at 5m/s.

05

Automated Load & Offload

At each station, carriages disengage from the haul rope drives and transition onto a tyre-beam system for automatic loading or discharge before re-engaging the rope.

// Equipment

Equipment Specifications

Apron / Reclaim Feeder
  • Belt Width: 1,000 mm
  • Belt Speed: 0.14 m/s (@100% motor speed)
  • Power: 18.5 kW
  • Drive: Electro-mechanical, VSD
  • Conveying Method: Chain & sprocket, belt-over-apron design (spillage prevention)
  • Design Capacity: 425 TPH maximum (chrome ore)
  • Fed by 2x front-end loaders from the Thorncliffe stockpile or the secondary Magareng & Helena stockpile
  • Surge stockpile builds up on the loading deck to retaining-wall height, holding a live capacity of approximately 14
  • Slight incline drains water back through the tail shaft to the concrete slab and water trench
  • Discharges to Conveyor 1 via an octagonal chute; RF speed auto-adjusts to hold the Surge Bin level steady
Conveyor 1 (CVR-01)
  • Belt Width: 750 mm
  • Belt Speed: 0.95 m/s
  • Power: 15 kW
  • Drive: Electro-mechanical, direct-on-line (DOL)
  • Design Capacity: 240 TPH (chrome ore)
  • Receives material from the Reclaim Feeder and conveys it on an incline to the Surge Bin
  • Discharges via its own head-chute; runs at constant speed
Surge Bin
  • Holds approximately 25 minutes of buffer at the 192 TPH design throughput
  • Spile Bars: manually engaged for maintenance
  • Agitator (AGT-01): 1.5 kW electro-mechanical, runs continuously with CVR-02 to prevent material arching
  • Cylindrical bin with a wedge-shaped hopper base
  • Level sensor determines whether upstream equipment feeds material in
  • Fed by Conveyor 1, discharges onto Belt Feeder CVR-02
Belt Feeder (CVR-02)
  • Belt Width: 1,050 mm
  • Belt Speed: 0.54 m/s
  • Power: 15 kW
  • Drive: Electro-mechanical, VSD
  • Design Capacity: 240 TPH (chrome ore)
  • Picking idlers prevent spillage; spile bars for maintenance access; fitted belt scale
  • VSD speed trims throughput to within ~10 TPH of the 192 TPH setpoint via an adjustable profile plate
  • Discharges onto Conveyor 3 via a discharge chute
Conveyor 3 (CVR-03)
  • Belt Width: 750 mm
  • Belt Speed: 0.98 m/s
  • Power: 11 kW
  • Drive: Electro-mechanical, VSD
  • Design Capacity: 240 TPH (chrome ore)
  • Fed by CVR-02, conveys on an incline to the Loading Station rotary chute
  • VSD speed is held fixed for throughput; only adjusted for maintenance and safe start-up
Loading Station
  • Located at Thorncliffe mine
  • CVR-03 discharges into a 3-compartment rotary chute; each carriage dwells under a leg for a calculated fill time
  • Rotary chute is VSD controlled, setting both carriage spacing and fill volume so every carriage loads evenly
  • Carriages disengage from the haul rope and decelerate 5m/s → 0.5m/s across two tyre-wheel sets
  • A mechanical interlock connects the carriage to the rotary chute arm while it fills
  • After filling, tyre wheels re-accelerate the carriage 0.5m/s → 5m/s before the grip re-engages the haul rope
  • A maintenance bay (two pivot-beam bays on the return side) allows empty carriages to be pulled for repair or planned maintenance
Offloading Station
  • Located at Lion Smelter
  • Carriages disengage from the haul rope and run on tyre wheels at the haul rope's speed
  • Tyre wheels decelerate the carriage to 0.5m/s as it approaches the discharge chute
  • Carriages are mechanically tipped at the chute to discharge chrome ore onto the Outtake Conveyor
  • Tyre wheels re-accelerate the emptied carriage back up to haul rope speed before the grip re-engages on exit
Main Drive System
  • 6 x 75 kW motors, VSD controlled
  • Main Drive HPU supplies oil to the band brake cylinder and head-end tensioning cylinder
  • Band brake: spring-applied hydraulic cylinder via lever arm; load cells on both tension sides for accurate deceleration control
  • Head-end tensioning: hydraulic cylinder on the take-up sheave, maintaining minimum drive-sheave tension to prevent rope slippage
  • Cooling unit: filters and cools gearbox oil, returned via 10 equal-flow distribution points
  • Operational & emergency braking: 2x spring-activated, hydraulically-released disc calipers with a dedicated HPU and UPS-backed control system
  • Pre-defined deceleration times bring the ropeway to a safe stop
Carriages
  • 232 carriages on the system
  • Each bucket has a fill capacity of 1,950 kg
  • Spaced 144 m apart along the rope
  • Connected to the haul rope by a grip assembly
  • Run on the track rope via bogie wheels

Project Outcomes

Braking Protocol: STAGED UPS
Initial Decel: 0.03 m/s³
Constant Decel: 0.10 m/s²
Total Stop Time: 50.0s
Capabilities Delivered

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