the futran system: a new technology innovation for improved performance in coal transportation
TRANSCRIPT
The Futran System: a new technology
innovation for improved performance in coal
transportation
Presented by: Andries Louw
May 2015
The Futran system is a revolutionary new transportation
system that can be applied to transform various industries
Conveyor belts (25%-50% savings)
Factory / warehouse transformation
Urban Public transportation (70%-90% savings)
Open pit mining (25% - 50% savings)
Underground mining (30% - 60% savings)
1. M
inin
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Heavy haul rail (40% - 60% savings)
Dry bulk ship loading (60%-80% savings) 3
. In
do
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2. B
ulk
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4. P
ub
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The Futran System can be used to transport a range of loads of
different sizes and weights, using small, powerful electric motors
Electric motor unit Non-motorised bogies
The track has a very small footprint on the ground
The system is a low cost, low maintenance, high capacity bulk transit
system that can be assembled quickly and easily
Design specifications of the Futran System • A Low cost, greatly simplified design using off-the-shelf components
• Multi purpose system for moving a great range of objects
• Uses a light weight suspended track with no moving parts
• Can easily be maintained in far off regions and locations
• Aimed at the sub 100km/h market
• Uses very little energy per ton
• Is Completely automated
• Can be suspended above existing right of way
• Low cost / high capacity
• High availability design
• Can be built and constructed locally
The Futran system design was completed by Milotek and
patented in April 2014
Milotek Pty Ltd is the South African based company that owns the rights to the Futran system in Africa and South America. Imperial Holdings Pty Ltd is the majority shareholder in Milotek with 65% of the shares. Futran Limited owns the rights to the IP in the rest of the world.
The Futran motorised bogie is incredibly light weight and
robust while yielding significant power
Standard motor Power: 100 kW Torque: 2000 Nm
Range of motors Power: 10 to 200kW Torque: 500 to 5000Nm
The track is pre-manufactured and assembled on site
By using Advanced High Strength steel, we managed to
drastically reduce the track weight and cost
Salient features Track weight: <kg per meter Steel sheet cut-offs: <2% Section carrying capacity: >1 ton per meter Bulk carrying capacity: >50 000 tons per hour Track Maintenance cost: <2% of Capex per annum (est.)
The unique track design enables us to make it very light
weight and modular, easy to assemble anywhere
In July 2014 the first prototype test track was completely
assembled and electrified
The motorised bogie was mounted on the track and tested
manually first
Both a grid powered and a battery powered test unit was
successfully commissioned and have been tested
Battery powered unit
Grid powered unit
Mini train being pulled
The first test unit has been running since June 2014 under
controlled conditions
We are finishing off testing the third version of the bogie on a
new track and the fourth is being constructed at present
Bogie number 3
Bogie number 1
Bogie number 2
Bogie number 4
The completed motorised bogie has a protective cover to
limit dust and moisture exposure
An external test track of 1 km is being constructed at present
and will go live in June 2015
A multitude of bucket or skip types can be pulled behind the
motorised bogies
A range of loading systems are being developed for different
uses
Continuous in-line loading
Run-of-mine standstill loading
OB standstill loading
Superstructures for both single, double and triple lanes have
been developed
When the System runs horizontally (up to 5 degrees), it can cost
effectively run as long as a railway line or as short as a conveyor belt
A narrow counter-balance bogie can be used (narrow track), resulting in a low
cost track structure
Light weight containers moving in mini-trains of 20 to 30 tons can be pulled by a
single motorised unit, lowering cost
Many low support pillars can be used to lower cost further
Carrying capacity of track: > 40 000 tons per hour
Costs less than a conveyor belt for a system that requires much less
maintenance, has 99.9% availability, can cater for much higher capacity and runs
at less than half the operating cost
The Futran System can move loads from horizontally to vertically and
anything in between
Bogie cannot move out of channel track
When the Futran System runs up steep slopes, like a mountain, an
open pit mine or an incline shaft (>16 degrees), it shifts paradigms
A narrow counter-balance bogie can be used (narrow track), resulting in a low
cost track structure
Light weight containers moving in mini-trains of 4 to 20 tons can be pulled by a single motorised unit straight up steep slopes of a mine
Small support pillars can be used
Operating cost: • Virtually maintenance free system • Running less distance than a truck or train… • Has a weight to load ratio of less than 10%, or half
that of a truck or a train
As a result the system overcomes the gradient and cost and
distance limitations of conveyor belts
Problems associated with conveyor belts 1. Open system (dust) 2. Maintenance intensive 3. Low reliability 4. Lots of moving parts 5. Expensive 6. Gradient limitations 7. Distance limitations
THE FUTRAN SYSTEM 1. Closed System 2. Low maintenance 3. 99.9% availability 4. Few moving parts 5. Very cost effective 6. No Gradient limitations 7. No Distance limitations
When used to haul ore, coal or overburden out of an open pit mine, the
Futran system is much, much more cost effective than current modes
Diesel, Drivers, Tyres, Breakdowns, Roads, Dust, Internal Combustion
Engines, High TCO Payload / Operating Weight ratio: <55%
Electricity, EV Motors, No roads, No dust, automated, low maintenance, low
TCO per ton Payload / Operating Weight ratio: >80%
A typical Futran open pit mine process enables automated
haulage of RoM, OB, Waste and coal
WS 1
WS 3 WS 4
WS 2
WS 5
WS 6
WS 7 W
S 8
W
S 9
WS 9
WS 9
WS
9 Work Stations
WS 1: RoM Loading bay WS 2: RoM buffer bogies WS 3: OB Loading Area WS 4: OB buffer bogies WS 5: Workshop WS 6: RoM buffer WS 7: RoM crusher WS 8: OB Dump WS 9: Emergency waiting area
By spreading the load across multiple bogies, the system can also be
used to transport larger loads, such as containers
Containers and dry bulk
can be transported
using the same track
The same system can therefore be used for Long distance bulk,
freight and containerised transit
Problems associated with Dry Bulk, freight and containerised transit 1. Expensive 2. Dangerous on roads 3. Track volume limitations 4. Critical mass required 5. Right of way issues 6. Labour intensive 7. Environmental contamination
(dry bulk specifically) 8. Prone to people error
The Futran system has almost no competition when distance is
too long for conveyor belts and too short for trains or trucks
When compared against long distance rail, a well designed
Futran system can run at half the cost of a rail line
Given enough volume, cost per ton km can drop below 1 US cent, even for a fully outsourced solution running at profit for the operators. Maximum system capacity exceeds 300 million tons per annum
Rail benchmark
Rail Maximum capacity
Futran maximum capacity
At Coal and Iron Ore terminals the Futran system can further be
used to do ship loading, even from outside the terminal
1 – 50 km
1 – 50 km Sh
ip lo
adin
g chu
te
Bulk stockpile
Bulk stockpile
Ship
It is theoretically possible to achieve a rate of 40 000 tons per hour
using 2 berths only (handymax or bigger)
200 meters 200 meters
Feeding speed 1 ton per meter
at 40km/h
Each ore ship loading chute is fed by up to 7 tracks that can each take 20 containers of 2 tons each. These open in sequence to ensure a constant flow. All chutes can be
operated simultaneously.
In the Walvisbay North Port in Namibia, for instance, we can lower
cost and increase volumes dramatically
The main buffer stockpile will be outside the harbour so no need to increase harbour based stockpiling
Where the sea bed is shallow, the Futran system can be used as
a direct ship loader or a barge loader
Ideally, the environment will allow us to run the Futran track far enough into the sea to do direct ship loading from the coast
If such a long track is not feasible, we will do barge loading closer to the coast and then tranship in deeper waters
In Mozambique we can link Tete to Nacala via Macuze,
enabling vastly increased capacity at much reduced cost
Total Distance: 1055km Total construction cost: +- 2.5 billion US$ Line capacity: > 200 million tons per annum Project timelines: Can be Ready by 2018
Angoche
Nacala
It can now become feasible to ship landlocked resources to
ports in Southern Africa
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Key Routes
Large Coal deposit
Large Iron Ore deposit
Dry Bulk harbour
Southern Africa is richly endowed with mineral riches, but the vast deposits of coal and iron ore are difficult to exploit due to the lack of transit and port infrastructure, combined with the large overland distances, often across multiple countries.
Together, these known reserves are so vast they can be
mined on a large scale for hundreds of years
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TOTAL KNOWN EXPORT QUALITY COAL:
>80 billion tons 5 countries and 17+ suppliers Mixture of coking and various
thermal grades
TOTAL KNOWN EXPORT GRADE IRON:
>50 billion tons 5 countries and 9+ supplies
Using the Futran system, we are now discussing the creation
of The Southern African Ecolink with governments and mines
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Nacala
Quelimane
Angoche
Key Routes
Large Coal deposit
Large Iron Ore deposit
Dry Bulk harbour
Zim link route
By linking all these deposits together with a low cost, high capacity, multi-modal transit system, the economic destiny of the region can be transformed while mines and investors are safeguarded from catastrophic events (go the other way) and political turmoil (go the other way).
Beira is too shallow and has too little capacity to be included in the route
At high volumes the Futran based Southern African Ecolink
will have a much lower total cost of ownership than rail
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Expected rail cost per ton • Moatize to Nacala 42$ • Sishen to Walvisbay 35$ • Lephalale to Walvisbay 47$ • Zimbabwe to Nacala 45$
Expected Futran cost per ton • Moatize to Nacala 14$ • Sishen to Walvisbay 12$ • Lephalale to Walvisbay 17$ • Zimbabwe to Nacala 17$
By linking multiple resources together in a seamless chain
the Ecolink Value Chain unlocks much more value
ADD MULTIPLE INGREDIENTS
• Iron Ore
• Low grade Thermal coal
• High grade Thermal coal
• Coking coal
• Water
• Low cost, seamless haulage
• Multiple dry bulk Port terminals
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GET A RANGE OF OUTPUTS
• Electricity
• Diesel
• Fertilizer
• Chemicals
• Plastics
• Pig iron
• Steel
• Thermal Coal
• Coking coal
• Iron ore
South Africa: The market for the Futran system is significant
Addressable market: The short, medium, long distance dry bulk transportation industry in South Africa is currently serviced by trucks, conveyor belts, trains and slurry pipes.
Our competitive advantage relative to conventional modes of transportation is significant: • Automated (lower people cost)
• Lower Total Cost of Ownership
• Use less energy
• Safer for operators and miners
• Easier to construct
• More flexible
• More reliable
• Greener
• More scalable
• More attractive business models for clients
• Etc.
Coal accounted for approximately 26% of South African
mining revenue earned in 2013
Mineral Group
% of total
sales (2013)
Coal 26%
Gold 21%
Platinum Group Metals 21%
Iron Ore 14%
Other minerals 5%
Manganese Ore 3%
Other minerals 3%
Chromium ore 2%
Nickel 2%
Building materials 2%
Copper 1%
100%
The coal volumes in South Africa are so abundant that we have to service this market as soon as possible
Coal production in South Africa is expected to exceed 300
million tons per annum from 2016 onwards
Open-pit mining account for roughly half of South African coal mining
operations, the other half being sub-surface
Milotek will construct and own the entire system at client
sites and charge the client on a per ton delivered basis
Milotek will design, finance, construct, deploy, operate, and maintain Futran systems at client sites and then charge the client
on a per ton delivered basis only
FOR EXAMPLE
Our system pricing per ton/km improves with: 1) Distance 2) Volume 3) Contract period
Total transportation distance
Total committed tpons per annum 5 Mil 10 Mil 5 Mil 10 Mil
Truck cost per ton delivered R 15 R 15 R 24 R 24
Futran cost (over 8 years) R 14 R 13 R 21 R 20
Futran cost (over 12 years) R 12 R 11 R 18 R 17
Futran cost (over 20 years) R 10 R 9 R 15 R 14
10kms 20kms
Client Price
Although suitable for medium and long distance bulk transit,
Milotek will target shorter, on-site mining operations first
Although we are more suited for longer distances and high
volumes, there is a great need for the Futran system at
operating mines who have to cut their costs while increasing
their productivity.
We will target:
• Pit or shaft to washing plant (or beneficiation plant)
• Pit to overburden dump
• Washing plant to waste dump
• Washing plant to stockpile
• Washing plant to rail sidings
• Washing plant to end customers (such as Eskom)
