Materials like loose ore, fragmented rock, coal, food grains are called bulk material.The bulk materials can be of uniform size as rice grain or mustard seeds, mixed sizes as run-off -mine ore or powdered material like fly ash or fines generated in iron ore beneficiation. Bulk materials can be dry or wet. Thus a wide range of materials from mining products, agricultural products to solid wastes of municipalities all come under the category of bulk materials. These materials play an important role in sustaining growth and development of human civilisation. A large amount of money is invested in every country in bulk material handling and large number of appliances, machinery and systems are deployed in this sector. Bulk materials handling means processes involved in use of bulk materials. This involves transportation, storage, blending, reclamation, crushing, screening, drying etc.Considering the investment, cost of operation and maintenance needs, bulk material transportation is the most important bulk handling operation.
Bulk material handling operations are carried out as an interlinked sequential operations that are carried out as a system. Such system includes movable machinery, static appliances and storage facilities. Each of these are designed to serve specific objectives and operated and maintained by trained persons and using appropriate tools developed for specific purposes.
This course brings out the principles of bulk material handling and equipment and systems used for bulk material handling in the mining industry.