Mining & Mineral Processing

Reliable and Long-lasting Conveyor Belt Drives for Mining & Mineral Processing

Improves Conveyor Reliability

  • “How can I make our conveyor more reliable?”  Click here.
  • “Why does my motor keep burning up?”  Click here. 

Since 1952, the Rulmeca Motorized Pulley has been a reliable mining and mineral processing conveyor drive. The hermetic seals and continuous oil bath of all bearings and gears insure that the drive provides consistent “up time” in spite of abrasive, corrosive, hot, or cold operating conditions.

Lowers Maintenance Expense

  • “How can we reduce our conveyor maintenance budget?” Click here. 

The Rulmeca Motorized Pulley eliminates external bearings, which require greasing and inspection. Instead, it encloses all mechanical parts within an oil-filled hermetically-sealed shell, reducing maintenance requirements to a fraction of what exposed drive systems require.

Reduces Energy Consumption

  • “How do I calculate conveyor energy savings?”  Click here. 

Rulmeca Motorized Pulleys require less than 90% of the electrical power of exposed drive systems when compared with motor/reducer/chain & sprocket or motor/reducer/V-belt drive configurations.

Makes Installation Easier

  • “How can I fit a conveyor drive into a tight space?”  Click here. 

Since the Rulmeca Motorized Pulley is compact, pre-aligned, and often 35% lighter than an equivalent exposed drive, installation is easier and quicker, usually 1 to 2 hours. Setting heavy external gearboxes and motor frames and laser-aligning shafts and couplings are eliminated.

Improves Quality of Work Environment

  • “How can I stop my conveyor belt slippage problems?”  Click here. 
  • How can I reduce conveyor noise?”  Click here.

Retrofitting old exposed conveyor drives with Rulmeca drives has enabled some operators to reduce plant sound level and eliminate complaints about noise. One mine reported a 15 decibel sound level reduction after replacing their exposed drive with a 100 HP Rulmeca Motorized Pulley.

Improves Personnel Safety

  • “Is there a way to make our conveyors safer?”  Click here. 

The Rulmeca Motorized Pulley protects plant personnel from pinch points as well as slip, trip, and fall hazards because it encloses all moving mechanical parts within a pulley shell . The drive eliminates the need for expanded metal guarding around rotating shafts, external gearboxes, motors, and cooling fans.

“Hutchinson Salt operates an underground mine and loading facility in Hutchinson, Kanas where millions of tons of salt have been mined, stored, and shipped throughout the U.S. Midwest since 1923.

Rulmeca manufactures and services internally-powered hermetically-sealed Motorized Pulleys to drive belt conveyors where old-fashioned exposed drive systems do not stand a chance in harsh, corrosive, and abrasive environments, such as salt mines.

Rulmeca Motorized Pulleys have been installed at salt mines, phosphate mines, and iron mines throughout Europe and the United States since the 1950s.

This video highlights ‘The Rulmeca Advantage,’ the company’s problem-solving capabilities and willingness to partner with customers to achieve their desired results.

Salt is notorious for its corrosive properties. Reliability is a crucial part of the Hutchinson operation because allowing trains and trucks to wait to be loaded is not acceptable. The facility mines hundreds of thousands of tons of salt each year and ships it via three miles of conveyors from the mine face 650 feet below ground to outbound trains and trucks seven days a week during the busy season.

Hutchinson approached Rulmeca in 2013 to help upgrade the old conveyor drives in the storage shed, requesting a 40 HP shed feed conveyor drive and a 20 HP shed takeaway conveyor drive. Rulmeca evaluated the conveyors and recommended a unique dual drive system which has been very effective.

Rohrer’s Quarry is in Eastern Pennsylvania, where rock has been extracted, crushed, and shipped to build roads, bridges, and buildings in the Eastern U.S. for more than 50 years.

When the quarry owners decided to install a 1,000-foot-long belt conveyor in the pit they contacted Rulmeca Corporation for a drive because the Motorized Pulley they purchased in the 1990s had yielded a long trouble-free life of service. Although they requested a single 300 HP drive for the conveyor with a 400 foot per minute belt speed, Rulmeca recommended two 150 HP Motorized Pulleys with a belt speed of 600 foot per minute.

That dual drive idea reduced total belt tension from 27,000 pounds to 17,000 pounds, reduced the initial cost of the belt, and extended its service life.  Rohrer’s Quarry is very satisfied with Rulmeca’s product and service.”