Material handling systems need to operate reliably and safely, even as operational demands grow and regulations evolve

The movement of material from pit to port can account for more than half of a mine’s operating costs. It is therefore important that material handling operations — covering transport, stacking, stockpiling, reclamation and loading — as well as the associated equipment and components, operate efficiently and with minimal downtime.

In greenfield mine projects, the selection of material movement method and equipment will impact capital and operating expenditures (capex and opex), as well as safety. A common consideration is whether to opt for a traditional truck-and-shovel system or a conveyor-based solution.

Bulk material handling systems are often highly bespoke. The choice of solution is influenced by product value, mine layout, terrain, transport distances, material volumes, ore characteristics, environmental impacts, project timelines and the experience of operational teams.

Environmental criteria can include noise, dust and particulates, exhaust gases, carbon footprint, light pollution, visual intrusion, animal strikes and hydrocarbon spills. Pinto highlighted that, as shown in the paper, the client used a weighted decision matrix to navigate these factors.

Once a mining operation has chosen the most appropriate material handling solution, its goal is to ensure the system operates with minimal downtime, predictable maintenance costs and safe conditions for personnel.

Marnus Fick, president of NEPEAN-owned bulk materials handling firm ALPINE, told Coal Age that productivity gains remain a core priority for operators. In practice, this means “reduced downtime, especially unplanned downtime, but also minimized planned downtime and extended intervals between scheduled shutdowns, without negatively affecting upstream or downstream operations.”

Travis Thooft, director of engineering at Superior Industries, echoed this view, noting: “Whether it was a short plant conveyor decades ago or today’s multi-mile overland systems, the fundamentals remain the same: Keep the belt running. Control maintenance spend. Protect the people working around it.”

Robin Schmidt, sales manager mining, NA & SA industrial powertrain solutions, at Regal Rexnord, also stressed that for mining operations “safety remains the non-negotiable foundation — particularly in applications such as long, complex overland or downhill conveyors where braking reliability plays a key role in preventing accidents and maintaining operational control.”

Braking performance can be managed with soft braking systems and torque-control technologies, such as those within the Svendborg Brakes portfolio.

Schmidt added: “[Operators] also place strong focus on gearbox reliability under extreme loads and harsh conditions. Temperatures, dust, heat, moisture and remote locations push power transmission components to their limits, so they are looking for conservatively selected solutions that reduce unplanned downtime and extend asset life.”

The scale at which mining conveyors often operate means that even minor component failures can lead to significant production and financial consequences.

“As capacities increase and duty cycles intensify, operators need equipment that performs consistently under sustained high tonnage and severe operating conditions. The expectation is not just durability, but reliability that minimizes intervention and supports continuous production targets,” Thooft said.

Over the past 12 months, Superior Industries completed a redesign of its conveyor idler rolls, focusing on bearing protection in high-contamination mining environments.

According to Thooft, based on field data, premature roll failures are caused less by structural fatigue and more by seal breakdown, which allows dust and moisture to enter the bearing cavity. Superior’s updated design thus incorporates a revised multi-stage labyrinth seal geometry with tighter tolerance control, improved elastomer compounds for temperature stability, and better grease retention to maintain lubrication integrity under continuous-duty conditions.

For more severe applications, Superior has introduced a premium Titanium Bearing Seal configuration. According to the manufacturer, the design features a hardened metallic sealing surface that resists abrasive wear longer than traditional polymer interfaces, especially in operations handling fine silica or other highly abrasive ores. The titanium interface maintains dimensional stability under heavy radial loads and fluctuating temperatures, reducing the risk of seal groove formation and subsequent contamination ingress.

“The objective of these upgrades was straightforward: extend mean time between roll failures without increasing rotational drag,” Thooft said. “Early performance data shows improved sealing consistency, fewer seizure events and longer service intervals, particularly in high-tonnage and remote conveyor systems where maintenance access is limited. For mining operators, that translates into more predictable component life and fewer unplanned shutdowns tied to roll failure.”

PROK, a conveyor component manufacturer owned by NEPEAN, has witnessed premature roller failures in cases where inferior products are supplied to customers or where rollers are incorrectly specified for the application.

Willem Niemandt, vice president USA at PROK, explained that the company “doesn’t just sell rollers; we look at the application and ensure what we propose as a solution will work by either designing a solution or selecting a technically conforming solution.”

He continued: “By proposing our HDPE [high-density polyethylene] rollers for suitable applications, we can offer our customers a product that weighs less than traditional steel rollers, reduces operational noise and is intrinsically protecting the belt, should the roller be prevented from turning, which will not damage the belt.”

This product also helps maintenance personnel plan when to replace the roller, using PROK’s patented wear visual indicator technology, where the yellow tube combined with the green inner layer acts as a clear visual guide for the teams to schedule roller changeouts more effectively.

For demanding conditions — where uptime, torque reliability, fast installation and ease of service are crucial — Regal Rexnord recently launched the Falk BK & BF Series Gear Drives with the Torque-Assist (TA) bushing system. The compact, high-performance solution is suitable for belt conveyors in bulk materials handling, among other applications.

Falk’s TA tapered bushing system — available on the new BK & BF Series, as well as the industry-staple Falk Quadrive shaft mount and V Class parallel and right angle gear drives — reduces assembly time by up to 50%, helping increase uptime while delivering the durability required for demanding environments.

An enduring challenge for material handling systems is fugitive dust, which can infiltrate bearings, conveyor components and other mechanical systems, causing friction and wear that reduces equipment life. This can lead to increased maintenance and more downtime, putting a strain on opex.

“Many mining industry customers highlight the need for chemical and engineering solutions for fugitive dust emissions that cannot be controlled by their current protocols. Traditional engineering controls such as local exhaust ventilation, dust collection systems and surface wetting applications are often insufficient for compliance,” explained Rebecca Song, technical director of MinTech Enterprises, chemicals company Momar’s mineral handling solutions division.

Harry Heydorn, the company’s general manager, added: “Customers are also concerned about meeting regulatory compliance while assisting their operations teams in maintaining a safe, compliant workspace. They are looking for simple equipment solutions that can retrofit into existing mine systems and help them meet regulations within their operations and maintenance budgets.”

Through MinTech, Momar offers dust suppression, antifreeze and flow-enhancing systems. Many customers submit samples of their process materials to its lab for analysis. Its team of chemists then tests a range of solutions and generates a technical report that highlights the most effective product and application rate for each customer.

The company can provide custom-built spray and feed systems that enable operators to apply its solutions efficiently within their existing infrastructure. In one installation, a retrofit feed system was integrated into an existing water spray setup, introducing chemical agents directly into the spray line. This implementation reduced overall fugitive dust by more than 90%, resulting in immediate and measurable improvements in visibility and site conditions, MinTech said.

“These systems greatly reduce dust, decrease downtime, improve productivity, simplify operations, enhance material flow and help reduce the risk of spontaneous combustion,” Heydorn explained.

Conveyor transfer points can generate significant dust emissions, both at loading and discharge, and along the line.

Chris Schmelzer, director of national sales at Martin Engineering, said: “As regulations tighten, we have been helping customers bring their operations into compliance with belt cleaning, sealing and alignment. Our technicians know these systems inside out and can identify compliance and safety risks.”

This year, Martin Engineering is introducing a new line of dust containment equipment for conveyor transfer points. The new Martin Skirtboard Liner protects the skirtboard from abrasive erosion and can be adjusted from outside the enclosure, eliminating the need for hazardous confined-space entry. The ApronSeal Urethane Skirting provides a seal to the enclosure, preventing dust emissions. The A.I.R. Control Dust Curtains can be adjusted and replaced from outside the enclosure, reducing service time to just minutes.

The lineup also includes the Martin H1 Primary Belt Cleaner HD and the P2 and R2 Secondary Belt Cleaners HD. All are constructed with stainless steel components and abrasion-resistant tungsten carbide tips, making them effective in handling abrasive materials and high-speed conveyor belts. The P2 and R2 secondary cleaners support the H1 primary by removing fine carryback on the belt return to control dust, with the R2 specifically designed for reversing belts.

Astec Technical Sales Manager for Material Handling Tony Pinto believes that flexibility is set to define bulk material handling in mining.

“Mobile and modular systems enable operators to deploy infrastructure faster, adapt to changing mine plans and optimize material flow without the long lead times associated with traditional fixed installations,” he said.

The systems also allow operators to transition away from purely truck-based material movement. According to OSHA, approximately 75% of struck-by fatalities involve heavy equipment such as trucks or cranes.

“Modern conveyors run continuously with few workers directly accessing them during operation. In fact, a conveyor system generally requires only half the workforce needed to run a fleet of trucks,” Pinto noted. “There are less mobile equipment and fewer operations and maintenance staff with conveyors, so removing a few haul trucks from your project eliminates many safety risks.”

Pinto also highlighted a broader trend of optimizing existing assets, whether reclaiming historic waste dumps, improving stockyard management or reducing the environmental footprint of bulk material transport. He noted that mobile equipment can play a significant role here because it allows operators to adapt quickly without committing to permanent installations too early in the life of a project.

Astec is preparing for this shift by expanding integrated solutions built around the Telestack range of mobile feeders, link conveyors and stackers. These systems are designed to work together as modular building blocks, enabling customers to configure material handling systems that can evolve alongside their operations.

From the perspective of ALLU, a company that designs and manufactures screening and crushing buckets, mining companies are pushing to move more saleable tons with fewer steps, fewer people and less downtime. In material handling, this translates to a clear expectation: every minute of uptime must deliver value.

“Across the industry, we consistently hear that mines want to cut cost per ton by reducing double handling, tightening control of product size earlier in the process and protecting downstream circuits from variability,” said ALLU product marketing lead Juha Werkkala. “At the same time, they’re dealing with tougher realities at the face: mixed seams, variable hardness, wet or sticky material, and increasing pressure to improve safety by reducing traffic, rehandling and exposure around fixed plant pinch points. In short, mines want cleaner, more consistent loads moving off the face, and they want to achieve that without adding complexity that creates more downtime.”

He believes this is driving growing interest in “process where you dig” approaches. By separating waste rock, screening and crushing softer material at the point of loading, mines can avoid hauling problems downstream.

Over the past year, ALLU has focused its development on bringing processing closer to the working face. Its M-Series buckets are designed to turn loaders and excavators into mobile crushers and screens, so material can be conditioned during the normal loading cycle.

“When mines apply that correctly, the benefit is not just a cleaner product but a measurable reduction in wasted movement. Instead of moving raw, inconsistent material to be fixed later, you improve the material as it is handled the first time,” Werkkala said.

One large opencast nickel mine in South America illustrates the approach. The operation faced a costly quality issue, with waste rock mixing into ROM material and lowering the grade of ore delivered to the metallurgical plant. Conditions were further complicated by highly abrasive, wet and sticky material combined with heavy rainfall.

To address this, ALLU supplied a solution that enabled screening and separation during the loading process. This allowed operators to remove waste rock in a single step while loading dump trucks simultaneously. This eliminated double handling and improved ore quality per haul. A self-cleaning top screen drum configuration helped maintain consistent performance in wet conditions, while the mobile setup allowed the system to be easily repositioned as mining progressed. According to Werkkala, the solution was also simple to scale to match rising production without requiring external power, while keeping maintenance straightforward.

Labor shortages remain a challenge in some markets, particularly at remote sites, and material handling operations are affected just as much.

ALPINE’s Fick sees the disappearance of technical skills as “the elephant in the room.” In response, the company is launching a multi-year internal skills development program focused on mobile machine integrity and operations. Personnel will be trained internationally and deployed near customers to support operations and maintenance.

Skills shortages are also contributing to greater demand for components that reduce the need for manual inspection and adjustment, as well as predictive maintenance.

Superior has expanded deployment of its Vantage Monitoring system for idlers, addressing one of the most persistent conveyor reliability challenges: undetected roll failure. A seized roll can cause belt damage, structural wear or increased fire risk if heat accumulates. On long overland conveyors, manual inspection is time consuming and reactive, and visual or audible detection of a failed roll often occurs only after secondary damage has developed.

Vantage Monitoring is a condition-based system designed to detect early-stage roll failure before it becomes a larger event. It continuously monitors roll condition using embedded sensing technology that detects abnormal vibration and temperature patterns associated with bearing degradation. Rather than relying solely on scheduled inspections, operators receive data pinpointing the location of developing faults.

“Maintenance teams can schedule targeted change-outs during planned downtime rather than responding to emergency shutdowns,” Thooft said. “In mining operations where conveyors may stretch for miles and access can be limited, this approach reduces inspection labor, prevents belt damage and improves overall system reliability by intervening before a failed idler impacts production.”

Regal Rexnord’s Schmidt agrees that predictive and condition-based maintenance adoption will continue accelerating.

“Operators are seeking equipment that supports monitoring insights and includes maintenance-friendly features such as oil sampling access, improved sealing and advanced sensing technology. Perceptiv plays a key role in enabling earlier detection of issues,” he noted.

Perceptiv delivers condition monitoring and predictive maintenance through a connected ecosystem of sensors, a scalable software platform and reliability services. By monitoring vibration, temperature, current and torque across the full powertrain, Perceptiv enables earlier fault detection and more informed maintenance decisions. This helps mine sites transition from reactive to proactive strategies while improving equipment reliability and long‑term profitability.

Data-driven technology is also expected to ease the burden on maintenance staff, which might be struggling to keep up with equipment performance and scheduling servicing.

“New monitoring technology also enables our service technicians to focus more on problem areas, saving time and money,” said Martin Engineering’s Schmelzer.

“Artificial Intelligence (AI) will most certainly play a role in offering predictive and preventative maintenance suggestions in the future. Martin’s goal is to be a pacesetter, with a keen focus on improving production efficiency and workplace safety across all bulk handling sectors.”

Because uptime is often the headline metric, ALLU’s Werkkala has also seen growing demand for better visibility into how attachments are being used and performing.

“That is where monitoring and reporting solutions like the ALLU Dare come into play: the goal is to give operators and maintenance teams a clearer picture of production and operating conditions so they can optimize technique, catch issues earlier and shorten troubleshooting when something does change,” said ALLU’s Werkkala. “In mining, small issues that go unnoticed can quietly cut away performance until they become downtime. The more that can be seen, the more that can be prevented,” he continued.

ALPINE’s focus on asset life extension — rather than replacing equipment — means it also wants to identify issues before they become problems and fix them early.

“If we can extend asset life through proactive and predictive intelligence, that’s a major gain for the customer,” said Fick.

“We do this through digital technology and digital twins, identifying high-stress and strain areas. We’re working with a partner to provide steel structure lifecycle assessment without any form of paint removal or material stoppages that will give us an indication of when any form of a crack starts to propagate in a steel structure.”

While ALPINE is unable to name the company involved as of yet, Fick said the remote monitoring system is currently being piloted.

Maintenance teams also face ongoing issues when servicing large conveyor systems, so having the right tools can make a significant difference in safety and efficiency. Conveyor solutions provider ASGCO has expanded its belt lifter product line with a new model designed to support conveyor belts ranging from 48- to 72-in. (1,200- to 1,800-mm). The unit combines rugged durability with precision engineering, providing maintenance personnel a reliable solution for safer belt servicing and component replacement.

Engineered for strength and stability, the lifter accommodates stringer widths from 56.5 in. (1,435 mm) to 86.5 in. (2,197 mm) and offers a maximum lift height of 19 in. (482 mm) from a compact, 8.5-in. (216 mm) closed height. Weighing 104 lb. (47.2 kg), its robust frame ensures secure positioning and consistent performance, even in demanding industrial environments.

By elevating the belt, ASGCO belt lifters give maintenance teams safer access to idlers, rollers and other conveyor components. The larger belt lifter model extends service capabilities for mining, aggregates, cement and bulk material handling operations.

Looking ahead, in Pinto’s opinion, the material handling sector in mining will increasingly focus on systems that are more flexible, energy-efficient and easier to integrate into evolving mine plans.

“We expect to see continued growth in mobile and modular conveying technologies that can bridge the gap between traditional truck haulage and large fixed conveyor infrastructure,” he said.

He also noted that organizations often choose to innovate internally by challenging traditional practices and adopting technologies or processes that, while not new to the market, are new to their operations.

Companies frequently also focus on familiar methods and technologies, overlooking alternative solutions due to knowledge gaps. This is something Pinto is keen to highlight, as in dry bulk materials handling, differentiation is critical, as miners choose not just between suppliers but between solutions that can affect long-term competitiveness.

Innovation can also come from integrating multiple systems together, with the help of AI and digital twins.

Astec has invested in this space through the creation of ASTEC Digital, launched in 2024 to centralize technology capabilities. This division combines industrial automation, telematics and data solutions, providing a single-vendor “rock to road” technology suite that integrates controls, AI and robotics.

ALLU’s Werkkala believes the most meaningful developments in material handling will keep clustering around the same themes: fewer touch points, more mobility and smarter uptime management.

“We expect to see more processing pushed closer to the face because it’s one of the most direct ways to cut rehandling, haulage of waste and downstream disruption,” he said. “Designs will continue to trend toward modularity and rapid redeployment, so operations can scale and shift capacity without locking themselves into a single fixed layout. Safety will remain intertwined with all of it: reducing transfers and simplifying flows typically reduces exposure and traffic as well as cost per ton.”

Superior’s Thooft thinks that operators will want to take advantage of fully engineered material handling systems that are designed holistically — rather than focusing on individual components — to improve longevity and efficiency.

This article was adapted from a larger material handling piece that was originally published in the April 2026 edition of Engineering & Mining Journal (E&MJ).