Iron Ore Pellets

Iron ore pellet handling is high tonnage, high density and high impact, and the design margin is usually wear life rather than capacity.

Degradation

Pellets chip and break at each drop, and the fines fraction is measured and penalised at delivery.

• Engineered transfer chutes that guide the stream rather than letting it fall freely.
• Matched belt speeds at transfer points.
• Minimised drop heights into ship holds and stockpiles.

Wear and structural load

At a bulk density around two tonnes per cubic metre, impact energy is high and wear is rapid.

Replaceable liners, impact beds under loading points and routine thickness checks keep the plant available.

Dust

Fines generated in handling become airborne in the yard and at loading.

Enclosed conveyors, cascade chutes, wind fences and water suppression are combined according to site conditions and regulation.

Moisture and buildup

Wet fines stick to belts and chute walls, and the buildup changes the stream trajectory until it spills.

Belt cleaners, skirting that actually seals and accessible chute inspection are maintenance items that decide spillage levels.

What to establish before buying equipment

• Pellet strength and the fines limit in the sales contract.
• Drop heights and chute geometry across the whole route.
• Wear part strategy and the inspection interval.
• Dust control requirement at the site boundary.

Pellets are robust compared with most materials here, and the storage questions are mass and degradation.

They are dense, so a stockpile or bin loads its structure heavily, and they abrade against each other, producing fines that behave nothing like the pellets.

• Design the structure for the real bulk density, which is high.
• Expect fines generation during every handling step and remove them deliberately.
• Keep the store drained; wet fines turn a free-flowing stockpile into a sticky base layer.

Mass and abrasion drive everything.

Belt conveying handles the tonnage; the design work sits at the transfer points, where impact and wear concentrate. Pneumatic conveying is not a realistic option at these densities and particle sizes.

• Heavy-duty belts with impact beds and replaceable liners.
• Chute geometry that controls the stream rather than letting it fall freely.
• Dust capture or suppression at each transfer, sized for a coarse stream.

The risks are mechanical and respiratory rather than chemical.

• Dust suppression at transfer points; the fines are respirable.
• Guarding and access control around high-energy conveying equipment.
• Stockpile discipline: an undercut pile can collapse without warning.