The Dune Express: Ram Enterprise installing enormous belt project

ELKO, Nev.—Ram Enterprise is on track to install more than 80 miles of conveyor belting on the Atlas Energy Solutions' Dune Express Project. It is the largest conveyor the company has installed over its 32-year history.

Ram Enterprise provides specialized industrial services, and manufactures and distributes products to the bulk material handling industry, including turnkey general contracting solutions, underground services, process piping, concrete foundations and flat work, structural steel erection, complete conveyor installation and commissioning, coatings and rubber lining, process equipment installation and commissioning, and electrical services.

The company will begin installing 84 miles of conveyor belt for Atlas Energy Solutions' Dune Express project in early 2024. The project is estimated at around $400 million.

The Dune Express will convey sand from the Atlas Energy Solutions sand mine in Kermit, Texas, to the northern Delaware Basin in New Mexico. It is estimated to be operational at the end of 2024. It will reduce the miles driven by frack sand delivery trucks, reducing carbon emissions and saving lives by reducing traffic accidents and enhancing the safety of public roads.

An overland conveyor system, the Dune Express will cover 42 miles in four single conveyor flights. One flight will set a new world record of 16.4 miles without a mid-drive. Ram will utilize six different splicing and flaking yards to splice the Continental Steel Cord belt into continuous lengths of up to 52,000 feet (9.8 miles).

Once the structural installation is completed, Ram will string the continuous belt lengths onto the system with the use of high-powered winders designed and built by Shaw Almex. Ram Enterprise will have over 26 employees on site through February for the initial splice work, and return in late spring to complete the vulcanization and installation of the steel cord belting on the system.

"We entered the project through a preexisting relationship with the client and then bidding and winning the project," Richard Milroy Jr., CEO and founder of Ram Enterprises, said in an email interview. "Ram has been engaged in the planning stages since April 2019.

"We worked extensively with Atlas Energy Solutions and Shaw Almex to design custom vulcanization presses with a longer splice area to ensure a final splice with the strength to withstand the operational and start-up tensions present in such a colossal system."

Milroy added that Shaw Almex provided exceptional engineering support, using Navisworks to plan and lay out the splicing and flaking areas, design and fabrication of two custom belt turnover devices and the high-power winders. Ram and Shaw Almex will be using a groundbreaking splice preparation technology that is projected to save hundreds of hours over the 216 splices.

Atlas Energy Solutions also has contracted Continental to supply the conveyor belt for the Dune Express. According to a news release, the project is one of the largest Continental Conveying Solutions conveyor belt orders in Continental's history.

The Dune Express will be equipped with the most advanced technologies to increase efficiency and prevent equipment errors. The damage detection equipment allows the system to monitor in real-time for rips, tears, cord damage and splice degradation, to proactively avoid major maintenance events and maximize uptime.

The project is nearing completion after years of right-of-way negotiations and acquisition along with design and engineering. The project finally broke ground on construction in March of 2023.

The 42-mile conveyor system will start at Atlas Energy's Kermit plant. The conveyor originates with a unique pantleg design in their 10 silos that can load sand onto trucks or directly onto the Dune Express. From the silos, the sand will continue on the overland conveyor going westward to Lea County, New Mexico, about 26 miles from the Kermit Plant. This is the first fixed Loadout facility along the right of way strategically located to allow trucks to deliver sand without ever touching the public road.

The Dune Express continues its 42-mile journey transporting sand used in the fracking process, concluding at the end of the line facility in the heart of the Delaware Basin. Additionally, mobile offloads have been pre-engineered into the system so at any point along the conveyor sand can be offloaded.

The conveyor will cross over at least three or four major highways. The structure will be elevated 25 feet over the highway roadways. The conveyor is covered so the product is protected from getting wet. Milroy said the conveyor does not go underground, but there are culvert crossings included to accommodate lease roads and wildlife crossings.

"The conveyor itself is 42 miles long from the plant to the end of the line," Milroy said, "which means it's 84 miles of conveyor belt including both sides of the belt, as to convey sand those 42 miles the system must simultaneously return 42 miles of belt to the plant on the underside of the line. The system is capable of conveying 1.3-1.5 tons per cubic yard (dry sand). The Dune Express can transport 13 million tons per year."

The materials will travel at 900 feet per minute initially and will be increased to 1,100 feet per minute at a later date. It's a smart conveyor with sensors in the belt to recognize potential failures.

"It's first of it's kind in the frack sand industry, but a well-established technology in use in many bulk material transportation applications," Milroy noted. "There's a 60-plus mile conveyor hauling phosphate in West Africa for example that's been in operation for decades.

"There are many systems in use in harsher environments and technically tougher applications, with conveyors traversing mountains and hauling ore out of underground mines for example. It's a novel application of a tried and true technology and we expect it to greatly benefit the industry and the local community in West Texas and New Mexico."

Conveyor systems of this magnitude benefit several industries around the world. Milroy mentioned that overland conveyor belt systems are used for moving coal in South Africa, Bangladesh and Australia. It eliminates traffic. It's more cost-effective because companies do not have to pay for fuel, tires and labor.

"The initial investment is big, but it quickly pays for itself," he said.

The biggest challenges Ram Enterprise faced for the project included weather conditions and getting equipment delivered.

"While not the largest overall project, it's the largest conveyor belt installation for Ram Enterprise," Milroy said. "Plus, we have recently decided to explore the potential of using laser technology for slice layout."