Cementos Progreso is using RopeCon material transport technology to connect the crusher with its San Gabriel cement works.
Located some 35km west of Guatemala City, the 2.2Mta plant is supplied by limestone from a quarry around 200m lower than the cement plant. The raw material is then transported over hilly and wooded area and over a 1.58km distance.
By using RopeCon, supplied by Doppelmayr, to transport the limestone between the crusher and the processing plant the cement producer is able to cross the terrain in a straight line despite the topographical situation. This means where the terrain is steepest, a gradient of 22˚ is reached.
Because the RopeCon belt is fitted with axles with running wheels at regular intervals, no additional cleats were required to tackle that gradient.
The system requires no more than four towers over its entire length and, thanks to the long rope spans between the towers, the amount of space required on the ground can be reduced to a minimum.
