Metso replaces a 3rd Apron Feeder at Agnico Eagle Meliadine Mine

Near the north-western shore of Hudson Bay lies the Agnico Eagle Meliadine gold mine. The site is located in the Kivalliq District of Nunavut, Canada, which due to its unpredictable and extremely cold temperatures, comes with its own set of challenges. Scheduling the transport of equipment to the site by both road and water is also very challenging, as the site must avoid early freezing of waterways in the lower Arctic region.

Agnico Eagle approached Metso in 2020 to replace the first of three originally installed apron feeders of a different brand at its Meliadine site after three years in operation due to their high operating cost. Following this first successful replacement with Metso’s high-quality, durable, and reliable apron feeder, the second apron feeder was replaced later that same year and a third one in 2022.

“The heavy-duty design remains the preferred choice of material handling for the mineral processing industry around the world,” says Robert Wakefield, Manager of Mineral Sales Canada at Metso. “This is why we were not surprised by Agnico Eagle’s request to replace their Meliadine paste plant apron feeder in June 2022 after it had just experienced a major failure.”

“Metso already had tractor chain style feeders successfully operating at another one of Agnico Eagle’s sites, enabling us to demonstrate the quality of our products and service,” says Marty Yester, Product Manager, Feeders at Metso. “When a customer’s satisfaction and confidence in Metso’s products is high enough to request more of our offering, it’s a true testament to the portfolio."

The initial implementation had yielded such remarkable results that Agnico Eagle knew they could trust Metso to perform another successful project.

Though deemed another successful venture in their partnership, this project did not come without its challenges. There was a need for specific engineering, as Metso had to not only adapt its pre-configured AF8 to match the original product’s footprint, but also keep the same material discharge output to the downstream equipment.

“Upon analyzing customer operational data, we noticed the original drive was not properly sized, leading to an operation at very low speed, where the motors were very inefficient for energy consumption,” says Henrique Oliveira, Engineering Manager, Feeders at Metso.

Currently, Metso is in the manufacturing stage to replace the third apron feeder design to meet the customer’s demanding application. The scope of the third apron feeder replacement expanded to include dual drives, a dribble belt conveyor, a discharge chute, and a lump cutter device.

Delivery is scheduled for August/September 2023, so the goods can be placed on the barge and shipped to the site before the freeze. Metso’s Apron Feeder technology keeps operations running smoothly by increasing uptime, efficiency, production, and sustainability, contributing to operational excellence at Agnico Eagle’s Meliadine mine.