Fire-retardant conveyor belts: testing and standards

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 85, No. 960, 1992

K.J. Mintz, Canadian Explosive Atmospheres Laboratory, Mining Research Laboratories, CANMET — EMR, Ottawa, Ontario

Conveyor belts installed in an underground mine can be a potential source of a major fire, thus the need for fire-retardant belting. A Canadian Standard, CAN/CSA-M422-M87, incorporating a small-scale flame test, a drum-friction test, a flame propagation test and an electrical surface-resistance test, has been developed to meet the varied needs of the mining industry. It is recommended that mines use Types A and B belting described in that Standard, because they will have passed the large-scale flame propagation test, rather than Type C, which does not require that test. Belting that has been approved by the U.S.A. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) may be much less fire-retardant than any Canadian-approved belting.

Keywords: Conveyor belts, Underground mining, Fire-retardant conveyor belts.