Electric tracing belt is used in mines.

　　In the harsh environment of mining, electric heat tracing technology is becoming a key factor to ensure the continuity of production with its unique adaptability. From the conveying system from the mine with a depth of up to 1.000 meters to the open pit, from the process pipeline of the concentrator to the drainage facilities of the tailings pond, the electric tracing belt silently plays an important role in anti-freezing and heat preservation in every corner of the mine.

　　This seemingly simple heating device shows amazing technical toughness and practical value under special working conditions in mines. The humid environment in the deep mine places strict demands on the electric tracing belt. In the underground operation of a copper mine at -30℃, the water supply pipeline was frequently frozen, which led to the interruption of production. After using the special moisture-proof electric tracing belt for mine, the system not only resists the erosion of high humidity environment, but also adapts to the temperature difference changes at different depths underground through self-regulation function. The outer layer of this kind of heat tracing belt adopts reinforced fluororubber sheath, and the inside is filled with waterproof sealant, which can run safely even if it is completely immersed in mineral water. More ingeniously, the designer integrated the tracing belt with the underground power supply system, and realized distributed heating by using the existing power network in the mine, which greatly reduced the installation cost. The monitoring data show that the system reduces the failure rate of water supply in winter by 92% and reduces the loss of production stoppage by more than 3 million yuan every year.

　　The anti-freezing demand of mine conveying system is equally urgent. In a large open-pit iron mine in the north, the ore conveyor belt is often stopped due to material freezing in severe cold. The engineering team innovatively installed miniature electric heat tracing elements inside the conveyor belt roller, and kept the surface temperature of the roller at about 5℃ through precise temperature control, which not only prevented the ore from adhering, but also prevented the rubber belt from being damaged by excessive heating. The system adopts explosion-proof design, which completely conforms to the mine safety regulations, and the special heat dissipation structure ensures the stable operation in the limited space. After the implementation of this scheme, the running efficiency of the conveyor belt in winter is increased from 65% to 93%, and the energy consumption is reduced by 40% compared with the traditional hot air ice melting system.

　　The application of electric heat tracing in mineral processing technology is more technical. The viscosity of flotation reagents increases at low temperature, which directly affects the beneficiation effect. An electric heat tracing system with zonal temperature control was installed on the reagent conveying pipeline in a gold mine concentrator, and accurate temperature parameters were set according to the characteristics of different reagents. The system adopts the heat tracing belt with food-grade silicone sheath, which not only ensures the purity of the medicine, but also facilitates cleaning and maintenance. The intelligent control system can automatically adjust the heating power according to the ore handling capacity, and enter the energy-saving mode during the shutdown period. This refined temperature management has increased the flotation recovery by 2.3 percentage points, and the annual economic benefit has reached 15 million yuan. What is more commendable is that the temperature data collected by the system also provides an important reference for process optimization and helps engineers find the nonlinear relationship between reagent activity and temperature.

　　The application of electric heat tracing in tailings treatment can not be ignored. In the mines in plateau area, the risk of freezing of tailings pipeline in winter is extremely high. The electric heat tracing solution used in a lead-zinc mine is unique: after laying the heat tracing belt on the outer wall of the pipeline, it is wrapped with calcium silicate insulation layer first, and then a stainless steel protective shell is installed. This structure not only ensures the thermal insulation effect, but also resists the wear and corrosion of tailings slurry. The system is also equipped with electric leakage monitoring function, which can give an alarm immediately once the sheath is damaged to ensure the safety of electricity consumption in corrosive environment. After three winters' operation, the system completely eliminated the freezing and blocking accidents of tailings pipelines, and at the same time reduced the maintenance frequency from once a month to once a year.

　　The special environment of the mine poses an all-round challenge to the electric heating technology. Severe conditions such as vibration, humidity, corrosion and explosion-proof urge manufacturers to develop more solid and reliable products. The heat tracing belt used in a coal mine adopts double-layer metal braided sheath, the inner layer provides electromagnetic shielding for tinned copper mesh, and the outer layer of stainless steel mesh enhances mechanical protection. This structure can withstand the strong vibration caused by shearer operation, and its tensile strength is five times that of ordinary products. In the gold mine containing hydrogen sulfide gas, it is necessary to choose the heat tracing belt made of special corrosion-resistant materials, and the anti-vulcanizing agent added in the sheath can effectively prolong the service life.

　　With the construction of intelligent mines, the electric heating system has also ushered in a technical upgrade. The new generation of mining heat tracing system integrates the Internet of Things technology, and monitors the temperature state of each pipeline in real time through wireless sensor networks. On the big screen of the control center of a modern iron mine, the running state of the heating system of the whole mine is clear at a glance, and any abnormality will trigger an early warning. More advanced self-diagnosis function can predict the aging trend of the tracing belt and arrange maintenance and replacement in advance. These technological innovations not only improve the reliability of the system, but also greatly reduce the intensity and risk of manual inspection.

　　From cold polar mining areas to humid tropical mines, from open-pit mining sites to thousands of meters underground, electric heat tracing technology is showing strong adaptability in the global mining field. It is not only an engineering means to solve the anti-freezing problem, but also an indispensable technical support to improve the production efficiency and safety of mines. With the continuous development of mineral resources and the increasingly complex mine environment, electric heat tracing technology will surely prove its unique value in more application scenarios.