The event, entitled "Shaping a Strong Future Through Mining", is the follow-up to a highly successful meeting in Phoenix last year and will once again attract individuals from all facets of mining, from coal to metal, non-metal, preparation and processing, research and more.
It is scheduled to run through to March 2.
The exhibition portion of the event will begin Sunday evening with a welcoming reception for exhibitors. Monday and Tuesday's hours at the hall are 11am to 5.30pm, and the final day will see the expo floor open from 8am to noon.
There are dozens of short courses and technical discussions also planned for SME Denver, each under a collection of diverse categories such as coal and energy, environmental topics, mining and exploration, construction materials and aggregates, industrial minerals, and mineral and metallurgical processing.
Check out a few of the exhibitors that can be found on the show floor at this year’s event below.
Also, be sure to watch International Longwall News for coverage from SME 2011 in Denver next week.
Becker Wholesale Mine Supply
Becker Wholesale Mine Supply is returning to Denver for another year as an SME exhibitor.
This year, the Pennsylvania company will have a big group of great communications and safety products on display, including the Becker Node, the Varis Becker Leaky Feeder system, Venture Design’s MineTracer and its line of Kenwood radios.
Also at the BWMS booth for 2011 will be products from the company’s two newest partnerships, with Strata Proximity Systems, Frederick Mining Controls and Kutta Radios.
The HazardAvert proximity protection system has been available through BWMS since late last year.
The mine-safety solution uses a magnetic field to alert miners to the inherently dangerous areas around continuous miners, surface vehicles, and even forklifts and draglines.
It can automatically slow or even stop machines if workers are sensed to be in a position of threat.
The other new partnership with Kutta is for the partner’s DRUM communications and tracking program.
A demonstration of it at SME will show guests both the design and cost-effective details of installation, for which no powered infrastructure is needed.
DRUM was designed to serve both as an everyday communication device and for emergency communication, making it a great solution for mines of virtually any size.
BWMS will have service staff on hand on the show floor to talk with mines about their needs and help to find the best product to suit the operation.
Matrix Design Group
Matrix Design Group will return to the SME show this year, now a short trip for the Matrix team as it recently expanded into Colorado with an office just south of Denver in Pueblo.
The company will have a number of its technology and safety products on display, including hot topics such as tracking, communications and atmospheric monitoring.
Matrix will also be displaying its recently designed belt- control appliance and system.
The controls-and-automation group will also talk about the various projects it has completed in the last year.
While Matrix has been designing and installing a wide variety of belt-controller systems for many years now, just recently they have developed a standard package for wide-scale production.
The Matrix BCS-1000 is designed to automate and simplify belt control in mining and material-handling environments. It is also designed to maximise mine productivity and safety.
The system is composed of BCS controllers that use advanced-technology PLCs and easy-to-use Matrix software.
The BCS controller has a color touch-screen LCD panel that displays the status of the belt, alarms, and inputs-outputs, such as the pull-cord and fire-suppression system.
Matrix’s WAMS, Wireless Atmospheric Monitoring System, will also be on display.
As the only post-accident intrinsically safe carbon monoxide system on the market today, WAMS allows operators to comply with Mines Safety and Health Administration regulations and save time and money.
In mines that use Matrix METS for communications and tracking, battery-powered sensors send data wirelessly to the METS post-accident communications infrastructure, providing post-accident and fan-down AMS data on the surface.
This allows operators and examiners to check for indications of hazardous conditions while the fan is down and to check again prior to restarting the fan and re-entering the mine.
Currently Matrix has more than 600 S1000b wireless CO sensors deployed in production at US coal mines.
As usual, Matrix will also be demonstrating the industry-standard METS tracking and communication system and helpful Matrix staff will be on hand to answer any questions.
Bucyrus
Bucyrus offers a full range of heavy-duty belt systems and belt products to handle the most demanding bulk-material transportation requirements in both underground and above-ground applications.
That range encompasses pre-engineered and engineered belt terminal groups, including drives, belt starters, take-ups, intermediate and tail-loading sections, hydraulic power units, belt storage units, and remote discharge units, engineered class pulleys, and steel and Exalon rolls.
On display at this year’s annual SME exhibit, the Bucyrus Pulley Model will allow Bucyrus representatives to explain product benefits to interested attendees.
In a typical conveyor-belt system, pulleys play a key role in extending the service life of conveyors by reducing wear on the belt drive and components.
They also increase conveyor-system availability and cut maintenance costs.
Extended life of the rubber belt is one of the key factors in reducing the cost of operation of any mine.
As part of that effort, it is crucial to guarantee the proper traction integrity of the rubber belt.
The perfect set of pulleys will be able to apply full motor horsepower and full take-up force without damaging the belt.
Bucyrus pulleys are heavy-duty, designed to reliably drive conveyors with installed power in excess of 4000 horsepower (2982 kilowatt) to meet the specific power and tension needs of the conveyor system.
Built to last, the pulleys are offered in two types, the Turbo-Disk and the T-Bottom.
The profiled end discs, machined from solid steel plates, eliminate all welds in areas of high-stress concentrations.
Keyless locking elements eliminate the unfavorable hub-to disc-weld and pre-stressing of the end disc during assembly. Proprietary welding techniques ensure complete penetration-1 Bevel Groove weld version three circumferential fillet welds.
Bucyrus is able to solve many operational issues with existing systems, by simply applying the appropriate customer-specific engineered class pulley.
Flexco
Flexco plans to feature its Tasman Warajay technology at SME 2011.
The organisation solves transfer point challenges with the most powerful controlled-flow technology on the market: Tasman Warajay Technology.
These systems not only improve throughput, but also reduce excessive dust, spillage, plugging, downtime, belt wear, and combustion dangers.
Flexco specialises in assessing transfer-point needs, modelling data to accurately predict material trajectories, and designing solutions that will accommodate future fluctuations in load volume.
The company uses Tasman Warajay technology to develop custom solutions for material handling operations.
Flexco transfer chutes are designed to perform optimally under varying operating conditions, including variances in moisture content and flow rates considered normal and expected in coal-handling operations.
Each material transfer system from Flexco is designed to control the flow of material by keeping material in a continuous stream throughout the transfer.
The geometry of the system is designed to accurately control the velocity and direction of the material stream contained within it, so the material stream stays together with all fines and particulates entrained in the stream.
Material discharged from the system is deposited softly and uniformly at a predetermined velocity and direction on the receiving belt, so material settles on the conveyor rapidly and without the turbulence that typically leads to spillage and dust generation.
