At $1,282.60 USD per ounce, the 316 Mining Crew couldn't afford to miss a single bit of gold.

Todd Hoffman and the 316 Mining crew, stars of Discovery Channel's hit TV show GOLD RUSH, partnered with Martin Engineering to ensure optimal performance of their conveyor belt systems so that no valuable material is lost in the process of separating gold from pay dirt.

In gold mining, every ounce counts.

The Best Results Begin With The Best People

With gold valued at more than $1200 an ounce, the 316 Mining Crew needed to squeeze every last ounce from their operation which relies heavily on conveyors belts. Even a small amount of carryback or spillage from the conveyors is a serious issue. The crew didn't have extra manpower, so any downtime for maintenance or repairs were disastrous. When the operation started, they were using the existing belt scrapers on the conveyors to clean any fines that remained on the belts at the discharge points.

According to Trey Poulson, “the original belt cleaners weren’t as effective as we needed them to be. They were leaving some carryback on the belt, and we even had a couple of them flip over and jam up the conveyors. On one, it actually ripped the belt.” To improve productivity, the hard-working GOLD RUSH crew needed belt cleaners that provide long service life with minimal maintenance required. Their crew and our team were anxious to work together to improve efficiency and as we believe…the best results begin with the best people!

Cleaner, Safer, & More Productive

After visiting the mine in Colorado and performing a site-inspection to look for ways to maximize their operation, we recognized the carryback issue they were facing as well as other areas for improvement.

The GOLD RUSH crew decided to move forward with the new Roll Gen™ system which uses kinetic energy from a moving conveyor belt to generate enough power to run a wide variety of electrical or electronic systems. “There are limits on the operating hours at this location,” Poulson explained, “and we’re only allowed to run generators until 7:00 pm. With this system in place, it runs all day off the conveyor belt, storing energy in a battery bank. Then we use that stored power to run our security lights all night long.”

Further safety enhancements included conveyor guarding to protect workers from pinch points and other hazards. The modular guards allow workers to do their jobs with reduced risk and greater efficiency, while helping to ensure plant compliance with safety standards and regulations.