Long distance belt conveyor
Metso's Mining and Construction Technology

The world record setting Metso's MRC Cable Belt is a unique conveyor design that is ideally suited for long distance conveyor applications where vertical and horizontal curves are required. The ability to negotiate low radius curves by this conveyor can significantly reduce the costs of installation and civil works that are a major feature of large conveyor systems. In addition, routes that would commonly be achieved by multiple conventional conveyors can often be done by a single flight Metso's MRC conveyor and the need for multiple transfers is eliminated, reducing material degradation, transfer maintenance and often the total installed system power.

To the left, a Cable Belt conveyor is featured that runs across and through the hills and valleys of the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia. This conveyor carries coal from the mine to a train load-out facility. The total conveyor length is roughly 6.4km with an overall lift of 160 meters.

The design of Metso's MRC conveyor differs to that of conventional conveyor designs. The conveyor belt is supported by two endless wire rope cables, one on each side of the belt, in lieu of idlers. The belt has almost no tension induced as it simply "goes along for the ride". This type of design requires a special sort of belting and Metso manufactures a belt known as PVL, or 'pre-formed for variable loading'. The belt is designed to be pre-formed or "dished" to maximize the amount of material that can be carried while minimizing material spillage.