Owned by Barmer Lignite Mining Company Limited (BLMCL), the Kapurdi mine was established in 2010. Located in Northwest India, the mine delivers lignite, sometimes called brown coal, to the Jallipa Kapurdi coal-fired power plant.
Initially the lignite was transported by truck. But according to company Sr. Vice President, Anil Sood, after two years of employing this method of transportation, mine officials determined that a long conveyor would be a better solution.
“Transporting the lignite on a conveyor is more environmentally friendly, with minimal pollution and dust,” explains Sood. “A conveyor is also a more cost-effective all weather transport solution.”
With the conveyor becoming the life line from the mine to the power plant, selecting the equipment that would power the long conveyor was a top concern. Mine officials considered a variety of options, but became seriously interested in the CST solution after a technical presentation delivered by ABB’s local Dodge mechanical power transmission team.
Sood and other company officials were impressed with the capabilities the CST offered.
“After going through all of the technical details of the product, we thought the CST might be the best option for our desert location with high temperatures and dust,” explains Sood.
To help them reach the final decision, the ABB team suggested they visit a CST installation in China where multiple units have been successfully running for 5 years. The SWML team was eager to see first-hand how the product performed in application and to hear what others in the industry had to say about the product.
“During the visit to China, we found that the CST units were very reliable and provided very smooth starting,” says Sood. “The team also learned that the product is easy to install and easy to maintain. Based on all of this we decided that the CST was the right choice.”
Today, after years of trouble-free performance, Sood says it’s clear their decision was absolutely correct.
“We have been operating the mine at 100 percent capacity for more than two and a half years,” explains Sood. “The CST drives have delivered 99 percent availability with no breakdowns and have only required oil replacement. We would opt for the CST again in the future because it is robust machine.”
BLMCL Operations Vice President, Amrendra Kumar, shares the same opinion.
“CST is the best solution to power a long-distance conveyor, particularly in extreme weather, as it runs trouble-free and does not need any day-to-day maintenance.”
