EGAT tender and partnership with Sahakol
In early 2016, EGAT issued the tender for Overburden Removal System Phase 8. From the beginning, a close dialog began with the customer, Sahakol Equipment Public Company Limited, to find the best solution and to meet the very short completion time, with operations hoping to start in mid-April 2018. With no time to waste, Sahakol and FLS finalised the contract for the Conveyor System Phase 8 several weeks after EGAT awarded Sahakol the Mae Moh 8 Phase 8 contract.
Designing an ambitious conveyor system
“The first step was an analysis of the conditions and requirements of the mines and the expectations of the customer. The design and project scope was then developed to closely reflect the specificities of the task. The conveyor system for Phase 8 was ambitious: It included 12 conveyors with belt widths of 2.2 metres and 2.6 metres and a rated capacity of 17,500 t/h and 27,600 t/h. The conveyors are 12.6 km long and are equipped with 40 drives of 1750 and 2000 kW”, says Helmut Oberrisser, the Project Director of the whole system.
FLS started engineering in the middle of September 2016, even before the Supply and Erection Contact became effective in mid-December that year. Planning and executing became key, with Oberrisser explaining the complexity needed to deliver on time: “Mechanical engineering was made in house, with the electrical engineering completed in cooperation with the main subcontractor, Siemens Austria. The steel structure was fabricated with our long-term partner Chiefnew in China.
“The complete conveyor drives were purchased from Siemens so that mechanics, electrical and control were from one source to avoid interface problems. Most mechanical and electrical components were procured in Europe. Transformers were fabricated and electric houses were assembled in Thailand, and we used the local erection contractor VTEC for the erection and installation. This enabled us to adapt manpower in line with the challenging time schedule and to provide project added value to Thailand.”
This meant that even though nearly all major mechanical and electrical components had long lead times and thus were on the critical path of completion plan, FLS and Sahakol could start load commissioning on 31 January 2018 and achieved the start of the operation on 1 March 2018 – one and a half months ahead of schedule.