Bulk Material Conveying Solution for Mongolia's Energy and Chemical Industry

As a country with rich reserves of mineral resources such as coal and limestone globally, Mongolia faces challenges in the bulk material conveying segment due to topographic complexity, which restricts efficiency. Mining areas are mostly distributed in grassland and hilly regions, where traditional truck transportation requires detours through complex routes, resulting in high transportation costs and poor transportation stability. Additionally, traditional open-top transportation is prone to causing air pollution, making it difficult to meet environmental standards. A single production line requires a bulk material conveying capacity of 800-1000 tons per hour, a demand that traditional equipment cannot satisfy for continuous production.

In early 2023, a large energy and chemical enterprise in Mongolia (hereinafter referred to as "Mongolian Customer") launched the "10-Kilometer Bulk Material Conveying Dedicated Line from Mining Area to Processing Plant" project. The project aimed to replace the original truck transportation mode and achieve efficient, environmentally friendly conveying of two core raw materials: coking coal and limestone. As the sole EPC contractor for this energy and chemical enterprise, Zoomry Heavy Industry (Zoomry) established a dedicated engineer team based on the Mongolian Customer's working conditions and needs. After 3 on-site surveys and 2 rounds of solution iterations, Zoomry finally determined a full-chain solution centered on 11 sets of belt conveyors plus supporting auxiliary equipment, which fully integrates the advantages of various equipment types such as long-distance, steep-incline, curved, and pipe belt conveyors.

Project Requirements

Core Customer Needs

• Materials and Conveying Scenarios: Two types of bulk materials need to be conveyed simultaneously—coking coal (moisture content 15%-20%, prone to adhesion) and limestone (particle size 5-50mm, high abrasiveness). The conveying route extends from the mine crushing station to the processing plant's silo, covering a total distance of 10 kilometers, passing through 2 hills (maximum slope of 18°), 1 residential area, and 1 seasonal river.
• Equipment Configuration Requirements: 11 sets of belt conveyors are clearly required, with belt widths covering two specifications: 1200mm and 1400mm. Supporting auxiliary conveying equipment must be matched to ensure the entire system realizes fully automated processes of "raw material reception - conveying - stockpiling - feeding".
• Key Indicator Requirements: Conveying capacity ≥ 800 tons per hour (for 1400mm-wide belts) and ≥ 500 tons per hour (for 1200mm-wide belts); the equipment must operate stably in an environment of -40℃ to 50℃; dust emission concentration ≤ 10mg/m³; equipment failure rate ≤ 1% per year; service life ≥ 10 years.

Project Objectives

• Efficiency Improvement: Replace traditional truck transportation, reducing the raw material conveying cycle from 4 hours to less than 1 hour to meet the processing plant's 24-hour continuous production needs.
• Cost Optimization: Reduce the operating costs (including labor, fuel, and maintenance) of the bulk material conveying segment by ≥ 25%.
• Compliance with Environmental Standards: Fully meet Mongolia's Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Law and the EU CE environmental standards to avoid the risk of environmental penalties.
• Localization Adaptation: Provide equipment operation and maintenance training to ensure the local Mongolian team can operate the system independently, while guaranteeing the timeliness of spare parts supply.

Zoomry's Customized Solution

Precise Selection and Functional Allocation of Belt Conveyors

Based on the topographic differences of the conveying route and material characteristics, a "scenario-specific customization" strategy was adopted for the 11 sets of belt conveyors:

• 5 sets of 1400mm-wide long distance belt conveyors: Focus on long-distance and high-capacity conveying, used for the main line (6 kilometers long) from the mine crushing station to the foot of the hills. The conveying capacity for coking coal can reach 850 tons per hour. These conveyors adopt Zoomry's customized 40Cr forged drums (diameter ≥ 159mm), paired with SEW low-temperature gear motors (protection class IP54, suitable for -40℃ low temperatures) to ensure stability under heavy loads. Additionally, 2 sets of PU cleaning scrapers (1 set each at the head and tail) are equipped to solve the problem of coking coal adhering to the belt, reducing the material residue rate to below 0.5%.
• 2 sets of 1200mm-wide steep-angle belt conveyors: Used for the hilly section (slope of 18°), adopting a design of "deep-trough idler sets (trough angle 35°) + anti-slip belts". Compared with ordinary belt conveyors (maximum incline angle of 12°), these conveyors can be laid directly along the hillside, shortening the route length by 1.2 kilometers and reducing civil engineering costs by 30%.
• 3 sets of 1200mm-wide curved belt conveyors: Used to bypass the residential area and seasonal river (turning angle of 90°). Hexagonal idler sets enable smooth belt turning, with a turning radius of only 20 meters (ordinary belt conveyors require ≥ 50 meters), avoiding large-scale land expropriation and reducing damage to the surrounding ecology.
• 1 set of 1200mm-wide pipe belt conveyor: Used to pass through the core area of the residential area (800 meters long). The belt is folded into a pipe shape (overlap ≥ 100mm) to achieve fully sealed conveying, with dust emission ≤ 5mg/m³—far lower than Mongolia's environmental standards. The operating noise is ≤ 45dB (using Zoomry silent idlers, 10dB lower than the national standard), avoiding impact on residents' lives.

Supporting Auxiliary Equipment

To ensure seamless connection of the "raw material reception - conveying - stockpiling" process, the solution is simultaneously equipped with 3 types of core auxiliary equipment, all independently developed and produced by Zoomry:

• 1 set of ZRLS-TU1400 wheeled truck unloader: Used for raw material reception at the mining area, equipped with 2 truck ramps (capable of accommodating 2 30-ton dump trucks simultaneously), with an unloading capacity of 600 tons per hour. The ramp angle (6.7°) is adjusted via hydraulic drive to adapt to common heavy truck models in Mongolia.
• 2 sets of ZR-SF radial telescopic stackers: Used for raw material stockpiling in front of the processing plant's silo, with a stacking height of up to 18 meters. Compared with traditional fixed stackers, the storage capacity is increased by 28% (reaching 100,000 cubic meters). They also support PLC-based fully automatic stacking (with configurable "herringbone" and "circular" stacking modes) to reduce manual operations.
• Complete set of core components: All equipment adopts idlers, drums, and other components independently produced by Zoomry. The roller radial runout is ≤ 0.4mm (national standard ≤ 0.5mm), and the sealing performance meets the requirement of "72-hour water immersion test with water ingress ≤ 100g" (national standard ≤ 150g), with a service life of ≥ 50,000 hours, ensuring the reliability of the entire system.

Project Implementation

Preliminary Survey

Zoomry dispatched a 5-person engineer team to Mongolia for on-site work. They obtained 3D topographic data of the 10-kilometer route through drone surveying and mapping, marking key parameters such as slope and soil bearing capacity. Meanwhile, they collected meteorological data from the past 5 years and determined the types of hydraulic oil and lubricating oil for the equipment (using low-temperature anti-freeze hydraulic oil with a viscosity index ≥ 140) to adapt to the -40℃ low-temperature environment. They also communicated with the Mongolian Customer's operation team to customize simplified HMI touchscreens (supporting bilingual operation in Mongolian and English) and assisted the customer in completing the application for CE and EAC certifications for the equipment to ensure compliance with Mongolian import standards.

Production and Transportation

All equipment was produced at Zoomry's Hebei factory, with the entire process integrated into the ISO 9001 quality management system. Key components (such as drums and idlers) must pass the dual verification of "material testing in chemical laboratories + mechanical performance testing", with zero outflow of non-conforming products. For logistics, 40HQ container transportation was adopted (11 sets of belt conveyors can be disassembled into 28 container units), reducing the cost by 15% compared with bulk cargo transportation and protecting the equipment from severe winter cold. At the same time, communication with Mongolian customs was conducted in advance to ensure customs clearance efficiency, shortening the transportation cycle to 20 days.

Installation and Commissioning

Zoomry dispatched an 8-person installation team to Mongolia. Following the "pre-assembly + modular splicing" mode, the installation of 11 sets of equipment was completed in only 18 days (the industry average cycle is 30 days). During installation, hydraulic jacks were used for leveling to ensure the belt running deviation ≤ 5mm. The entire system was linked and commissioned through the PLC control system, with functions such as "automatic start-stop" and "fault alarm (e.g., belt deviation, motor overload)" set up. A 10-day operation training was provided for the Mongolian Customer, covering daily equipment maintenance (such as idler lubrication and scraper replacement) and emergency handling (such as hydraulic locking operation in case of power failure), to ensure that the local team can operate independently.

After-Sales Service

In terms of after-sales service, Zoomry provides "5-year warranty + lifelong technical support", with a response time for common spare parts ≤ 48 hours. Engineers are sent to the site for a comprehensive inspection once a year, and technical means such as vibration testing and oil analysis are used to identify potential equipment hazards in advance. A 24-hour overseas technical hotline is launched to provide multilingual video guidance, solve common faults, and avoid production losses caused by downtime.

Project Results

Since its commissioning in 2023, the project has operated stably, with all indicators exceeding the customer's expectations. In terms of efficiency, the entire system realizes 24-hour continuous conveying. The 1400mm-wide equipment achieves a conveying capacity of 850 tons per hour for coking coal (50 tons per hour higher than required), and the 1200mm-wide equipment achieves 550 tons per hour for limestone (50 tons per hour higher than required). The conveying time of raw materials from the mining area to the processing plant has been reduced from 4 hours to 50 minutes, meeting the processing plant's annual production demand of 1.2 million tons.

In terms of costs, after replacing the original 30 dump trucks, approximately 1.2 million US dollars in fuel costs and 800,000 US dollars in labor costs are saved annually, with the operating costs of the bulk material conveying segment reduced by 28% (3 percentage points higher than the target). In terms of environmental protection, the fully sealed conveying of the pipe belt conveyor results in a dust emission of ≤ 5mg/m³, far lower than Mongolia's standard of 10mg/m³. The curved belt conveyors and steep-incline belt conveyors reduce the land expropriation area by 15 mu, minimizing damage to the surrounding ecology. The equipment's operating noise is ≤ 45dB, with no complaints received from residents.

In terms of reliability, the failure rate of the entire system has been only 0.3% since commissioning (far lower than the 1% target), and no faults have occurred in core components such as idlers and drums. The customer's operation and maintenance team feedbacks that "the equipment is easy to operate and requires little maintenance, fully adapting to Mongolia's climate and terrain". During the acceptance inspection, the project leader of the Mongolian Customer stated: "Zoomry Heavy Industry's solution not only solves our conveying pain points but also takes into account the needs of localized operation and long-term operation and maintenance. We will still choose Zoomry Heavy Industry for the future Phase II project."

The success of the Mongolia Energy and Chemical Bulk Material Conveying Project not only verifies Zoomry Heavy Industry's EPC capabilities under complex overseas working conditions but also reflects the corporate philosophy of "Building High-Quality Conveying Products, Forging a Century-Old Foundation". In the future, Zoomry Heavy Industry will continue to focus on overseas energy, mining, chemical and other fields, and through technological innovation and localized services, provide more efficient, environmentally friendly and reliable bulk material conveying solutions for global customers, truly fulfilling the brand commitment of "We Move The World!".