Launching an underground rail system: new rail-veyor system allows marginal mineralization to become economical.

• Author: Louiseize, Kelly
• Position: MINING

It only seems fitting that Greater Sudbury would be the testing site for a new underground mine technology that could change the face of deep mining forever. After all, it is one of the most prolific mineralized deposits in the world, with more than 100 years of mining in its history. The city, its residents and businesses have experienced many mine evolutions, but this one is sure to impact local and global mining in a monumental way.

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By 20i0, Kelly Lake may be the site of a brand new technologically-advanced Vale Inco mine where there will be no shafts, no head frame, no ropes, crushers, conveyor belts, no toggle replacements, no main ore passes, no haulage trucks, little diesel fumes and no drifts larger than 12-by-12 feet.

Welcome to the Rail-Veyor operated mine. In a city that has hauled ore from its belly for more than a century, change is coming. A second feasibility study on Kelly Lake is looking at an all Rail-Veyor option.

Rail-Veyor is similar to the boyhood toy called Hot Wheels Supercharger. It had a little house or station the tracks would run through and two rubber wheels that spun the car forward through loop-the-loops, hairpin turns and figure eights. This was back in the 1960s and truth be told, that was when Rail-Veyor was born in France. It works on the same principles. Instead of having four D-cell batteries and tiny motors, Rail-Veyor has two 100-horsepower motors with truck-sized tires at various distances that push the train forward on rails.

Rail-Veyor moves materials via a light track system with a chain of connected cars that look much like a long open trough moving along the track. Each car is connected to the one in front and a coupling system allows for articulated movement on curves and dumping. Sealing the gap between cars are overlapping flaps, which prevent material leakage and act as a discharge chute for dumping.

The unique feature of the system are the stationary drive stations. Gear reducers and AC motors turn horizontal tires against the side drive plates of the cars, providing forward thrust. Speed is controlled by an inverter, which allows operation in either forward or reverse directions with sufficient power to start a loaded train from any position on the track. The idea is when the train comes close to the loading point it slows down, gathers ore or muck without stopping, then takes off from the station fully loaded to transport the material to the mill.

This system, owned...