A multidirectional rotating underground coal chute system that can be installed in less than a single shift at a typical mine has been developed by Chute Technology in what the Australian technology and manufacturing partnership believes is a world first.

 

The cost-saving universal chute – which can rotate output through 160 degrees left or right – can completely remove the need to custom-manufacture individual chute types to fit the confined spaces and particular angles of individual mines.

 

The versatile bolt-in system – comprising a complete integrated structure from head end to conveyor outlet – features a rotating outlet beneath the head that can be angled to any position required to facilitate product flow.

In addition to radically reducing the labour required for manufacture and installation, the chute’s ability to be installed in a fraction of the time of custom chutes minimises downtime by keeping production moving when chutes wear out.

 

The new chute system – of which the first example has already been produced - is the result of the analytical, design and manufacturing experience of each of the three Principal Partners in Chute Technology, who have combined experience of more than 80 years in a wide variety of resource industries including coal, iron ore, alumina and limestone across Australia, the USA, South America and South Africa. The company’s technologies are also applicable to gold, nickel and other bulk minerals and ores.