Big Roller Overland Conveyor Company has announced that it has partnered with Tribotech Pty Ltd to develop the world’s first 20″, 20 kg idler roller suitable for a 1,500 mm wide conveyor belt, the most common belt size for 25-40 Mt/y conveyors handling larger jaw and gyratory crusher output, and to invest in tooling to scale up their existing production processes for the initial commercial product run of 50 rollers.
“We scoured the world for suitable roller product that met the requirements to achieve the design criteria and found it right here on our doorstep in WA. We went through a rigorous evaluation process of the roller manufacturing industry, including undertaking independent testing of key roller attributes necessary to achieving the design and selected Tribotech Pty Ltd nylon rollers on that basis. They exceeded all our stringent and demanding metrics on engineering knowledge and manufacturing know how, manufacturing quality and product performance,” said Shawn Ryan, Big Roller Overland Conveyor Company Founder and Executive Director.
The scope of works will be performed under Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia (MRIWA) Grant (M10549) and includes the design, manufacture and testing of an initial run of commercial roller products. This contract will demonstrate the roller manufacturing processes can produce a product that complies with international SANS/TUNRA Bulk Solids standards and further validates and expands upon the energy efficiency hypothesis of greater than 30% reduction in the energy required for horizontal material movement already demonstrated for a 16″ test roller on Continental’s Low Rolling Resistance Eco Plus pulley cover compound.
Ryan adds: “We look forward to working with Tribotech Pty Ltd and having third party validated commercial roller products available for the market in Q1 2025 for use in Big Roller™ Idler Frames and Big Roller™ Ground Modules.”
Big Roller Overland Conveyor Company also says it seeks to engage with progressive mining companies both locally and abroad to perform paid field trials of the suspended three roll offset idler frames and rollers which are interchangeable with existing OEM designs.
The greatest energy losses in overland conveyor systems come from the interaction between the rubber and the roller – in the form of indentation rolling resistance. Big Roller Overland Conveyor has estimated that using Big Roller™ technology, for 13.5 km of low level modules benchmarked against other conveyors in the Pilbara iron ore sector, it will reduce steel requirements by approximately 750 t (over 50%); carry roller quantities by 10,000 (over 55%); fabrication and construction schedule durations by a third; laydown/land clearing requirements; and transport by 300 to 400 trailer movements. It will also cut installed demand power by approximately 1.5 MW and power consumption by approximately 9,750 MWh/y.
