Superior Industries Heap Leach Conveyor System includes four models of the company’s heavy-duty mobile conveyors, all of which are designed and built to each customer’s specific requirements: the TeleStacker Conveyor, a horizontal index conveyor, a horizontal feed conveyor, and grasshopper conveyors. Customization includes conveyor belt length and width, belt speeds, load areas, hoppers, mobile tracks, control systems, electrical components and total number of grasshopper conveyors.
The core of the system is the Mine Duty TeleStacker Conveyor. The machine’s internal, or stinger conveyor maintains constant motion along the cell to distribute material evenly and maintain a flat top to each heaped pile. It’s built with a longer stinger conveyor that enables the stacking conveyor to pile more material per move.
Mounted to the TeleStacker Conveyor is the Horizontal Index Conveyor (HIC). This fully skirted conveyor is able to accept material from the horizontal feed conveyor at any point along its length for greater flexibility and minimal material spillage. It’s equipped with a track drive, enabling it to pull both itself and the TeleStacker Conveyor along the cell’s centerline.
A horizontal feed conveyor aligns perpendicular to the HIC and grasshopper conveyors, and serves as a material transfer point between the two. Because a grasshopper isn’t able to rise up and feed directly into the HIC, the horizontal feed conveyor moves material from the grasshopper conveyor to the HIC and maintains a consistent, steady flow of material between the two.
Acting as the initial material feed point, the grasshopper conveyor sits adjacent to the horizontal feed conveyor and transfers material to it. Superior’s standard grasshopper conveyors are 100 feet long, but the company can build them in longer, custom lengths often equal to the length of the HIC.