Pit & Quarry, March 2015
MOVING MOUNTAINS An energy generating downhill overland conveyor system boosts safety savings and sustainability CONVEYING M oving mountains of upper ledge rock material to ground level crushing and processing operations had once posed a significant transport challenge at Geneva Rock Products Point of the Mountain site in Draper Utah Today the operation boasts a state of the art material handling solution with the installation of an innovative downhill conveyor system that meets the companys key goals of maintaining sound lowering operational costs and increasing worker safety Carl Clyde who serves as the companys vice president of gravel and asphalt says that within Utahs sand and gravel industry this particular downhill conveyor system is unique The system is particularly unique because its designed to generate electricity enough to ultimately provide power to much of the 50 acre site Geneva Rock Products is committed to sustainability and we find this system to be the most efficient safe and sustainable way to move aggregate materials says Clyde who adds that the 11 million overland system will pay for itself in two years or less In the fall of 2012 Geneva Rock began cutting the grade in preparation for installation which would begin in December 2013 Startup was initiated in May 2014 and the following fall marked the final phase of the project which included getting the power contained and interconnected on the property The overland system was designed engineered and manufactured by Superior Industries a manufacturer of bulk handling systems as well as components such as idlers and pulleys Throughout the entire process the team at Geneva Rock worked closely with Superiors engineering and service teams as well as with the veterans at Salt Lake City based Kimball Equipment a dealer for Superior Industries Clyde says the entire team has done a tremendous engineering job in designing the system and each of its components ultimately allowing the operation to lower operating costs while maximizing uptime and meeting production goals Meeting production goals is especially important to the Point of the Mountain operation It is imperative that we operate as efficiently as possible as this site alone provides more than 75 percent of the material that our company requires says Ed Clayson aggregate production manager at Geneva Rock We mine a unique quartzite material that is highly sought after in our area Described as a quartzite that is pre split by BY CAROL WASSON 56 PIT QUARRY March 2015 www pitandquarry com
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