Composite nylon roller technology from Veyex has significantly improved conveyor reliability and reduced maintenance demands at Rio Tinto’s Gudai-Darri iron ore operation in Western Australia.
The mine had previously faced persistent issues with premature failure of rollers on both inverted V-return and suspended idler sets. These failures were largely due to excessive belt tension and unsupported spans, resulting in costly downtime and heightened maintenance requirements.
According to Veyex, switching to heavy-duty nylon rollers delivered a substantial performance improvement under extreme load conditions.
“Since the installation, the rollers have shown exceptional durability,” general manager at Veyex David Massarotto said. “In one application, they’ve only required a single replacement, significantly lowering maintenance frequency and system interruptions.”
The first installation involved a two-roll inverted V-return set on a 1400mm-wide belt running at 4.6 metres per second.
This setup had suffered under increased belt tension, leading to premature failure of the existing rollers, but since switching to Veyex’s nylon composite rollers in January 2023, downtime has been minimised and the need for boom counterweight adjustments has been eliminated.
A second trial, initiated in February 2023, evaluated a six-roll suspended set designed for a 2000 mm belt width and a throughput of 14,800 tonnes per hour. An area where the belt was unsupported for up to 8 m, loading was calculated to exceed 1,400 kg per roll.
The nylon rollers replaced a non-composite solution that would have exceeded Rio Tinto’s roller weight allowances. No failures have been recorded since the changeover.
Beyond performance and compliance benefits, the nylon rollers offer improved safety and handling characteristics, weighing less than 20 kilograms – well below critical site thresholds.
Veyex’s success at Gudai-Darri demonstrates how composite materials can provide a more sustainable, safe and cost-effective solution in high-load bulk handling environments.