A family-run business has acquired two large-scale jaws for its expanding market
APRIL 2021
PARTNERSHIP A BOOST FOR NORTH QUEENSLAND
HIGH-TECH CRUSHERS MAKE THE GRADE
How a Townsville construction business has successfully moved into quarrying
A trio of tracked crushers impress in the plant hire market in Australia’s north
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CRUSHING CONTRACTOR BRINGS OUT THE BIG GUNS
28
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OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF QUARRYING AUSTRALIA
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IN THIS ISSUE APRIL 2021
VOLUME 29, ISSUE 04
FEATURES 24 PROS AND CONS OF CONE CRUSHER APPLICATIONS Quarries have numerous factors to consider when selecting cone crushers to create quality aggregate products.
32 MOVING VS FIXED CONES Cone crushers are an integral part of the circuit – but how do you know if your process requires a live shaft model or a fixed shaft unit?
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MILBRAE QUARRIES A contract crushing business has acquired two primary jaws for its expanding market.
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CAMM QUARRIES A Townsville construction business has successfully moved into quarrying.
38 WET CLASSIFIER TRANSFORMS OLD PRODUCT A Thailand cement and concrete manufacturer has invested in its first wet sand plant to recover raw materials from waste stockpiles.
48 COLLABORATIVE OPTIMISATION IN LIME MINE Boral’s largest mining operation in Australia has collaborated with Orica on the testing of bulk explosives.
50 SEVEN CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP Mike Cameron discusses the qualities and traits of “Emerging Leaders” in organisations.
55 OEM EXPANDS INCLUSION, DIVERSITY INITIATIVES
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MARKWELL GROUP Tracked trio make their mark in the North Queensland contract crushing market.
APRIL 2021
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF QUARRYING AUSTRALIA
PARTNERSHIP A BOOST FOR NORTH QUEENSLAND
HIGH-TECH CRUSHERS MAKE THE GRADE
How a Townsville construction business has successfully moved into quarrying
A trio of tracked crushers impress in the plant hire market in Australia’s north
34
28
18
QUARRY
A family-run business has acquired two large-scale jaws for its expanding market
MODULAR SCREENS A 30-plus-year veteran talks about the latest advances in screen media technology.
APRIL 2021
www.quarrymagazine.com
CRUSHING CONTRACTOR BRINGS OUT THE BIG GUNS
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Komatsu has continued its commitment to inclusion and diversity, and driving real change across its services.
COVER ADVERTISER: The Nord Wheeler portable jaw and cone crushing plants are installed on a wheelmounted chassis, enabling easier transport between crushing sites. Visit: tuttbryant.com.au/ tbe/metso
EVERY MONTH 04 FROM THE EDITOR
57 IQA AWARDS UPDATE
06 FROM THE PRESIDENT
58 IQA NEWS
08 NEWS THIS MONTH
59 FROM THE IQA CEO
16 PRODUCT FOCUS
62 GEOLOGY TALK
Quarry April 2021 3
EDITORIAL
WHY QUARRYING FARES WELL IN INCLUSION, DIVERSITY STAKES
F
or the past eight weeks, the mainstream media has turned up the blowtorch on the unsafe, sexist and bullying culture in our national Parliament. It has led to hundreds of thousands of women and men, from all walks of life, participating in rallies across the country, and continues to be an ongoing issue that politicians of all parties must address. There are several key issues that have arisen out of this coverage – ie the challenge is not just about respect for women but the promotion of safety and the duty of care and obligations of the employer. A latent disrespect for women among workers can unfortunately snowball into bullying, assault and worse. Further, failure to sufficiently address unacceptable behaviours can erode confidence in a business – from within and without. Most importantly, it is clear all organisations – political, corporate, not-for-profit and charitable – must strive to address the factors that lead to inappropriate behaviour. They have to educate their staff from the outset about the importance of inclusion and diversity – as part of their mandate to build successful, productive organisations. Quarries and the extractive supply chain have an important role to play in promoting a positive culture that not only actively encourages women to work at their best but also men, the young, the old, and all religions and ethnicities. From my personal observations, the industry is collegial and inclusive, and all workers – female, young, old, cultural – are respected for their talents and knowledge and their positive contributions to quarrying enterprises.
A number of thought leaders within the extractive industry have taken the lead in fostering inclusive, diverse environments. The IQA itself runs outstanding programs and networking opportunities for women and young members, with the view to encouraging them to become more
broadly engaged in the Institute and the industry. In particular, members are encouraged to apply for or nominate their peers for the Institute’s awards (see page 57). Komatsu Australia is, of course, another thought leader in inclusion and diversity (see page 55). The company has in the past two years won acclaim, both within the Australian and international extractive industries, for its Say Again? program which seeks to call out inappropriate remarks and sentiments early before they can escalate. Most importantly, it seeks to educate people about their thought processes and behaviours and to promote a positive working culture. Other producers and suppliers to the industry have devised their own policies to promote inclusion and diversity, including Boral, Holcim Australia, Hanson Australia, the Wagner Group, Caterpillar, Astec, the Weir Group and John Deere, to name a few. And it’s not just through making idle vision statements or undertakings either. Women and men of all backgrounds are important contributors in areas such as communications, logistics, analysis, transport, environment and safety, as well as in executive positions and on boards and committees. They’re not just on the weighbridge, in the site office or in the pit. The quarrying industry is working hard to provide a safe, inclusive, diverse and collegial industry. Certainly, there is an extraordinary amount of work to still do to promote equal opportunities, encourage people of all demographics to pursue rewarding and productive careers, and stamp out age-old, inappropriate attitudes more broadly in society. However, I think the extractive industry can be proud of its progress in recent years while still aspiring to do more in the decade ahead.
Published by:
A NUMBER OF THOUGHT LEADERS WITHIN THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY HAVE TAKEN THE LEAD IN FOSTERING INCLUSIVE, DIVERSE ENVIRONMENTS.
11-15 Buckhurst Street South Melbourne VIC 3205 T: 03 9690 8766 www.primecreativemedia.com.au Publisher John Murphy john.murphy@primecreative.com.au
Editor Damian Christie damian.christie@primecreative.com.au
Journalist Henry Ballard henry.ballard@primecreative.com.au
Business Development Manager Les Ilyefalvy les.ilyefalvy@primecreative.com.au
Client Success Co-ordinator Ben Griffiths ben.griffiths@primecreative.com.au
Design Production Manager Michelle Weston michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au
Art Director Blake Storey Subscriptions T: 03 9690 8766 subscriptions@primecreative.com.au Follow Quarry online: Facebook: facebook.com/quarrymagazine Twitter: twitter.com/2021Quarry LinkedIN: linkedin.com/groups/4314906/ Web: quarrymagazine.com The Publisher reserves the right to alter or omit any article or advertisement submitted and requires indemnity from the advertisers and contributors against damages or liabilities that may arise from material published. © Copyright – No part of this
DAMIAN CHRISTIE Editor
publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publisher.
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Quarry April 2021
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PRESIDENT’S REPORT
TIME IS NOW FOR THE IQA TO MAKE CHANGES FOR THE FUTURE The Institute of Quarrying
T
he IQA Board is currently reviewing the IQA’s Strategic Plan and the Horizons of Growth in terms of where we are at after 12 months of the plan in place. If you recall, when we communicated the strategic plan in February 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had just been declared but we had no idea of what was to unfold. The first action was to ensure that we developed and implemented the IQA’s COVID-safe plans. Next was to ensure that the IQA’s finances that are used to provide member services and education would not diminish. Pleasingly, a year on, I can report that we have managed to come through the most challenging period in the IQA’s history stronger and even more determined to press on with decisions that will ensure our long-term future. The urgency and purpose that we had to work with during the last year is a good reminder of what can be done if you work together and have a plan. To this point we have commenced reviewing the IQA’s five-year strategic plan and horizons of growth. To review the strategic plan on the IQA website, visit quarry.com.au, then click on “About Us”, and then “IQA Vision and Priorities”. One thing that last year taught us is that the time is now to make changes for the future. Making well informed decisions needs input from many. Therefore, it is so important that we hear about your ideas and improvement suggestions. Please drop us an email at president@quarry.com.au or ceo@ quarry.com.au
Australia
improvement program. Each member of the team has spent 35+ years learning from the ground up about what quarry extraction, processing, product handling and distribution is all about. They say it’s simple – it’s just breaking big rocks into small. As we all know, while the concept is simple, the science of quarrying is far more complex. I reflected on this recently, on what a pleasure it was to work with such knowledgeable and dedicated quarry professionals and started to think about what we are doing to help our younger people develop their skills, especially as technology advances at a fast pace. The fundamentals of quarrying will remain the same – ie breaking big rocks into small – but the way in which we do this into the future will continue to change and so must we. These quarry professionals that I worked with are excited about innovative technology to help solve problems that the old technologies failed to completely conquer. This experience reminded me it is never too late to learn and try new things. To see these passionate and dedicated quarry professionals help people on the front line and share their knowledge freely was an absolute honour. Quarry professionals such as these will exist in everyone’s company, and as an industry we must do more to provide opportunities for our young people to learn from them. As reported earlier this year, the IQA is developing a Mentoring Program and further details will be announced later this year. On behalf of the IQA Board and administration, I encourage you to stay healthy, stay safe and be positive.
We would love to hear from you. I spent the last few months working with several quarry subject matter experts in my company on a national
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Quarry April 2021
SHANE BRADDY President Institute of Quarrying Australia
Educating and connecting the extractive and associated industries
quarry.com.au THE URGENCY AND PURPOSE THAT WE HAD TO WORK WITH DURING THE LAST YEAR IS A GOOD REMINDER OF WHAT CAN BE DONE IF YOU WORK TOGETHER AND HAVE A PLAN.
The IQA’s Strategic Plan 2020 to 2025 embodies the following vision, values and strategic priorities: Vision: Educating and connecting the extractive and associated industries. Values: • A safe and sustainable environment. • Diversity and inclusion. Working development skills, careers and lifelong learning. • Networking, connection, trust and communication. Strategic Priorities: • Maximise outcomes for industry through education and sustainable practise. • Increase our relevance. • A high performing and sustainable organisation. IQA CONTACTS: Phone: 02 9484 0577 Email: admin@quarry.com.au Chief Executive Officer Kylie Fahey Company Secretary Rod Lester For all education, member and branch enquires please email: admin@quarry.com.au.
NEWS
GREATER SYDNEY CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS REPORT
The Greater Sydney Region planning districts covered in a study of the region’s supply and demand profile for construction materials.
The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (NSW DPIE) has released a study of the supply and demand profile for construction materials in the Greater Sydney Region. Regional NSW’s Mining, Exploration and Geoscience (MEG) division, a subsidiary of the NSW DPIE, commissioned the Supply and Demand Profile of Geological
Construction Materials for the Greater Sydney Region (GSR) report. MEG commissioned industry consultants RW Corkery and Co (RWC) to undertake the study, which includes a survey of quarrying and concrete companies and face to face interviews with the stakeholders. RWC was assisted in the study by Ecoroc. The study serves as an outline of current supply and future demand for construction materials across the Greater Sydney Region’s five planning districts – Western City, Eastern City, Central City, North and South. It is understood that MEG will circulate the results from the study to relevant government agencies planning for future freight distribution, economic supply of extractive resources and allocation of land for regional distribution centres. The results include an assessment of the current level of supply and future demand for construction materials used in housing, roads, buildings and engineered infrastructure. A MEG spokesperson told Quarry no further work is planned, but that it would be ensuring stakeholders and agencies are aware of the study. “Mining, Exploration and Geoscience within the Department of Regional NSW will ensure relevant agencies and key
“THE STUDY’S PURPOSE IS TO ASCERTAIN ACCURATE ESTIMATES OF THE QUANTITIES OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS NEEDED FOR HOUSING, ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE NOW, AND OVER THE NEXT 20 YEARS.” ROB CORKERY
external stakeholders are aware the report is now publicly available,” the spokesperson said. RWC’s principal environmental consultant Rob Corkery said the study was vital to the growth of the GSR this decade and beyond. “The study’s purpose is to ascertain accurate estimates of the quantities of construction materials needed for housing, roads and infrastructure now, and over the next 20 years – including sources of supply and the transport routes and modes needed to deliver the materials,” he said. Ecoroc’s principal Dugald Gray explained that “all hard rock aggregates used in the GSR are now transported from outside the region whereas a proportion of the sand resources used within the region are sourced locally”. “We need to look at the inventories of resources within the areas feeding construction materials into the GSR to see whether other geological resources need to be made available for future generations,” Gray said. “This requires the planning approval process for existing and any new quarries to think locally and think regionally. It’s never an easy task.” The study and peer reviewed report is available online at search.geoscience. nsw.gov.au/report/R00055810 •
VICTORIAN QUARRY PRODUCTION SHOWS SLIGHT BOOST Victoria’s quarry industry maintained steady production volumes and sales in 2020, according to the state’s regulator. In Earth Resources Regulation‘s 2019-20 annual statistics report, quarry production increased by 3.7 per cent in 2019-20 to reach a value of $1.06 billion, compared with $1.02 billion in 2018-19. However, the current number of Victorian quarries has declined, with 860 having a current work authority at the end of the 2020 financial year, compared with 873 in 2018-19. Out of the 860 work authorities, 506 quarries are in production. Quarry production volume rose in Victoria to 63.11 million tonnes in 201920. Production volume has increased consistently since 2013-14, when Victoria’s quarry industry recorded 40.33 million
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tonnes. Earth Resources Regulation stated the sales of quarry output tends to increase in line with construction and building sector demand. This has been evident with major infrastructure spending, including the $5.3 billion Big Housing Build announced in the 2020-21 Victorian Budget. A total of 40.37 million tonnes of hard rock products were produced in 201920, with 22.73 million tonnes of soft rock products, earning $721.22 million and $340.06 million in sales respectively. To download a copy of the report, visit the Earth Resources Regulation website: earthresources.vic.gov.au/legislationand-regulations/regulator-performancereporting/annual-statistical-reports •
Victoria’s 2019-20 quarrying production is outlined in Earth Resources’ annual statistics.
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NEWS
BORAL CONTINUES RESET AFTER DISAPPOINTING HY RESULT
FLINDERS ISLAND QUARRY PROPOSED Using an existing mining lease, Davrol Rural Management has proposed to operate three quarry pits at Flinders Island, Tasmania. The quarry would provide granitic gravel, sand, concrete and fractured rock/coarse base to the local community. The site’s northern and southern pits were extracted by former owners under two mining leases, with a third minor sand extraction pit also proposed. The application stated the building materials extracted from the quarry would be supplied to the region’s construction activity. “Each pit provides a different material that complement each other in their broader application in the local construction industry – a granitic gravel for roads and driveways, sand for decorative use and concrete and fractured rock/coarse base for foundations, hardstand construction and subbase for roads and driveways,” the Development Application Supporting Information document stated. The maximum extracted volume from the mining lease is 4999m3 per annum, with crushed and/or screened material not exceeding 1000m3 per annum. Excavation, surface site preparation, stockpiles, loading trucks and transport of products by truck are listed for the extraction process of the material. The quarry will operate from 7:00am to 7:00pm weekdays and 8:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday, with most truck movements expected on weekdays. The site is located on Harleys Road, Whitemark with the nearest residence 250 metres away from the northern pit. No blasting has been proposed in the application. •
An application for three quarry pits has been proposed at Flinders Island, Tasmania.
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“WHILE MARKET CONDITIONS ACROSS THE SECTOR REMAIN UNCERTAIN, WE HAVE MADE STRONG EARLY PROGRESS TO RESET OUR PORTFOLIO OF BUSINESSES ...” ZLATKO TODORCEVSKI, BORAL
In light of its latest half-year results, Boral chief executive officer and managing director Zlatko Todorcevski has said the company is progressing with its portfolio reset amid weaker market demand. Boral’s half year results to 31 December, 2020 saw the company’s sales revenue drop by nine per cent to $2.7 billion on the previous half year. Boral Australia’s revenue dropped eight per cent with 20 per cent lower earnings of $128 million. According to Boral, lower volumes and prices due to reduced activity and a lower property contribution caused the decline. However, the company’s operating cash flow is up by 65 per cent to $391 million. Todorcevski said the company is moving forward with the reset of its business portfolio. “While market conditions across the sector remain uncertain, we have made strong early progress to reset our portfolio of businesses, in line with our commitment to shareholders to transform Boral into a more agile, resilient and profitable company,” he said. Boral’s outlook for the rest of FY2020-
Boral is positive that its portfolio reset is progressing as planned.
21 is uncertain, due to weakness in multi-residential and non-residential construction, while major projects are experiencing low concrete and asphalt demand. “Our half-year results were impacted by a decline in multi-residential and non-residential construction activity in Australia, particularly in New South Wales, and the completion of a number of major projects, ahead of materials demand from new projects coming through,” Todorcevski said. “We are in a good position to supply demand when activity picks up.” Todorcevski said there is potential to build ”a stronger, better performing, more customer-focused Boral of proud and engaged people, with a portfolio of businesses that deliver strong returns for our shareholders”. •
WA BUSINESSES HELP KICKSTART OCEAN REEF MARINA UPGRADE Works on the Ocean Reef Marina in Western Australia have commenced, employing local quarrying companies WA Limestone and Italia Stone Group. Two breakwaters are scheduled for construction at Ocean Reef Marina using locally sourced limestone and granite. Each breakwater will have a limestone core and be surrounded by granite to increase durability. Construction of the breakwaters by WA Limestone and Italia Stone Group started in late March. Local quarries will provide 650,000 tonnes of limestone rocks and 30,000 tonnes of granite rocks for the project from early March. WA Bluemetal Quarry in Byford, Western Australia is extracting granite
rocks for the project, with most of the limestone to be supplied by DevelopmentWA’s Neerabup Quarry. WA Premier Mark McGowan said the works would provide a $3 billion boost to the state’s economy. “The start of the breakwater works marks an exciting new stage in the development of the Ocean Reef Marina,” he said. “The landmark project is helping boost local businesses, with 94 WA companies to work on the project. “The iconic precinct is expected to deliver a $3 billion boost to the Western Australian economy and support 8600 construction jobs.” Ocean Reef Marina is a Western Australian government project delivered by DevelopmentWA and the City of Joondalup. •
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NEWS
WAGNERS’ QUARRYING, CONCRETE SALES DEFY COVID-19
ADBRI POSTS POSITIVE RESULTS THANKS TO WA DEMAND Adbri and its subsidiary Cockburn Cement have withstood the trials of 2020 thanks to demand in Western Australia, according to Adbri’s full year results. Across the country, Abdri reported cement volumes were down 7.1 per cent, increasing its price by 1.4 per cent. In contrast, WA’s demand in residential construction and infrastructure helped to increase local cement volumes, while the mining sector was reliably strong. The company’s underlying net profit after tax was down just seven per cent to $115.6 million, keeping it above the guidance it withdrew in April 2020 as COVID-19 tookhold. Adbri’s chief executive officer Nick Miller was happy with the company’s results in the face of adversity. “In the context of the challenging operating environment, the financial outcomes we delivered for FY20 are better than expected and reflect the successes of our cost-out and business improvement programs,” he said. Similarly, ,WA demand in lime sales was strong while national prices dropped. The Federal Government’s HomeBuilder program helped to drive aggregate sales up five per cent as quarry products were shovelled into infrastructure, road maintenance and civil projects. Miller expects his company to profit from the rebounding economy. “Mining demand continues uninterrupted while the construction materials sector is expected to benefit from various government stimuli, particularly to fast-track ‘shovel ready’ construction projects, all of which position Adbri to play a key role in building a better Australia,.” Miller said. Earlier in the year, Adbri announced a $199 million upgrade to its Kwinana cement operation, expecting it to save the company $19 million in its first year of operation, due in mid-2023. •
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IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2021, WAGNERS HAS FIVE OPERATIONAL QUARRY SITES AND TWO ADDITIONAL SITES, AND IS CURRENTLY OVERSEEING FIVE MOBILE CRUSHING PROJECTS.
In its half year results, the Wagner Group’s gross profits increased by more than 30 per cent, thanks to increased revenue in the quarrying space and sales of Earth Friendly Concrete (EFC). The Queensland-based construction materials supplier saw a decrease in pedestrian infrastructure and bridge sales, with no growth reported in the USA due to COVID-19. However, Wagners’ building products business achieved 26.9 per cent revenue growth on the prior corresponding period – to $155.8 million. According to the company’s investors presentation, it enjoyed revenue increases from improved transport, quarry, concrete and cement sales. In the first half of 2021, Wagners has five operational quarry sites and two additional sites, and is overseeing five mobile crushing projects. It has increased production from investment in new quarry sites and identified and undertaken increased activity in the resources sector. Overall, Wagner’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and
Wagners is operating seven sites in 2021, including South Back Quarry (pictured).
amortisation (EBITDA) were $18.6 million – up 116 per cent on the corresponding period in 2019-20. The company’s EBIT was $10.3 million and its net profits after tax were $6.1 million. The company’s outlook remains positive, as there has been an increased demand in the UK and Europe for the EFC which uses no Portland cement and utilises the chemical activation of industrial waste by-products. On top of this win was an increase in overall cement sales over the half, as health restrictions in Australia eased. •
TASMANIAN GOVERNMENT ROLLS OUT ROAD UPGRADES The Tasmanian Government has commissioned its $2 billion road safety upgrade program, which is being delivered through joint funding from the Australian and Tasmanian governments. Tranche 1 of the program includes $33.3 million from the Federal Government and $12.3 million from the State Government. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the works – which include shoulder sealing, rumble strips and run-off-road barriers – will boost safety and support jobs. “The Australian Government takes road safety seriously, which is why we want to start this new year with boots
on the ground and shovels in the dirt to ensure these additional works are delivered quickly for Tasmanians,” he said. “A variety of works will be delivered across Tasmania, including installing line marking, signage and safety barriers on Glenwood Road in Launceston, to enhance the capacity, safety and accessibility of the roads.” Tasmanian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Michael Ferguson said the works will enhance the state’s road safety. “The projects being funded could make the difference in someone getting home safely to their loved ones, which is why we continue working to move closer to zero fatalities through these investments,” he said. •
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NEWS
STONEHENGE BLUESTONE ORIGIN A STEP CLOSER The original location of Stonehenge has been tracked to a Welsh hillside, a study published by Cambridge University Press journal Antiquity has suggested. According to the study, researchers investigating bluestone quarries at Waun Mawn in Wales discovered a circle of stones, with an empty stone socket in the circle matching a bluestone at Stonehenge. University of St Andrews School of Earth and Environmental Sciences doctor Tim Kinnaird used a dating technique to calculate the age of the dismantled stone. Doctor Kinnaird said the Waun Mawn stone circle was dismantled and the stone sockets were removed immediately before the construction of Stonehenge in 3000BCE. “Combined with the fact that the Waun Mawn bluestones came from the same quarries as Stonehenge, this led us to conclude that Waun Mawn was likely dismantled and became the source of many of the bluestones used at Stonehenge,” he said. Waun Mawn is more than 200km away from the Stonehenge Circle. Researchers also found Waun Mawn’s diameter identical to the ditch surrounding Stonehenge at 110m, and also aligns on the midsummer solstice sunrise. The research team was led by University College London Professor Mike Parker Pearson, who has helped co-direct excavations at Stonehenge since 2004. The study concluded that Stonehenge stage one was built — partly or wholly — by Neolithic Welsh migrants. •
It is believed that ‘stage one’ of Stonehenge was built by Neolithic migrants from Wales.
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WESTRAC, DARACON PARTNER WITH INDIGENOUS COMPANY “FOR THE PAST 11 YEARS WE’VE TOILED AWAY WITH A VISION TO ONE DAY CREATE JOBS AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.” VICTOR PERRY,
WesTrac and Daracon were among six companies that generously supported Yunaga Civil & Earth’s quest to grow its business.
YUNAGA CIVIL & EARTH
An Indigenous earthmoving company has received a swathe of support from the civil construction industry to grow its business. Yunaga Civil & Earth (YCE) is an Indigenous-owned and -run civil and earthmoving company in the Hunter Valley. It also offers consultation services to protect and conserve Aboriginal heritage. As part of a collaborative effort of six entities, YCE has received expertise, capital services and products to build its business. Caterpillar dealer WesTrac has provided heavy machinery, including excavators and dump trucks. Daracon Group, which runs four quarries in regional NSW, provided a working capital loan which enabled YCE, in conjunction with a $2 million small Indigenous-owned business grant from the Federal Governmentbacked National Indigenous Australians Agency, to assemble its earthmoving fleet and offer more employment opportunities to Indigenous people. At the beginning of February, YCE and its six supporters celebrated the final payment of the loan to Daracon in a cheque presentation ceremony. YCE founding partner and chief operating officer Victor Perry said the support from Daracon, WesTrac and the other companies was vital to the company’s growth. “Without Daracon’s financial assistance, there is no way we would be in the cash-flow positive position we are today,” Perry said. “This final repayment is a significant milestone for our company, as it not only reflects our growth and viability,
but importantly it affirms our operating model and our quality of service. “From the very beginning we’ve had overwhelming support from each of the six entities that got involved,” Perry added. “For the past 11 years we’ve toiled away with a vision to one day create jobs and employment opportunities for Indigenous people, and in the past few years our growth has really accelerated, helping us achieve that outcome. “It’s the support and guidance provided by each of these companies that has made this vision become a reality.” Jon Mingay, the managing director of Daracon Group, said that through a clear vision and persistence, YCE had become a successful, reputable and reliable Indigenous civil and earthmoving company. “Victor, with the support of the ServeGate team, already had a strong business plan and clear idea of where and how they wanted to grow,” Mingay said. “Today they are now a viable option to be considered on all projects which is a credit to their ongoing hard work and the quality of service provided.” WesTrac chief executive for NSW/ACT Greg Graham said its partnership with YCE demonstrated its commitment to Indigenous and workplace diversity. “YCE’s successful growth makes it an outstanding role model for other Indigenous companies to aspire to, and we hope that through this collaboration we encourage other companies to consider committing to similar partnerships.” •
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RELIABLE DETONATOR FIRING SEQUENCE Any detonator may miss an occasional fire command or two due to noise or interference, which results in a misfire. Issuing simple and redundant fire commands raises the risk of timing offset in the blast array. To ensure the highest reliability during firing, Austin Powder employs multiple sequenced fire commands (MSFC). The detonators in the E*STAR system rely on precisely timed fire commands. Austin Powder’s MSFC standards ensure the detonators receive at least one command to properly function at its delay time, providing more reliability for the industry.
For more information: Austin Powder, austinpowder.com/estar
MOBILE ELECTRIC BLENDER The new IMS BP1200-914S mobile electric blender has two five-metre long feed hoppers with front of hopper flow gates, variable speed and remote. The smaller hopper can operate from 10 to 200 tonnes per hour (tph) and the larger 14m3 hopper can operate at 100 to 400 tph. The electric gear drive motors provide acute and constant production. Both feed hopper conveyors can be fitted with belt scales and the option of being fully automated, working in conjunction with the IMS mobile track and electric modular pugmills and conveyors.
For more information: Crusher Screen Sales & Hire, crusherscreen.com
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Quarry April 2021
WEDGE WIRE FILTRATION SCREEN Wedge wire flat screen panels are used on vibratory screens for filtration and separation, dewatering, draining and desliming in the extractive industry. They consist of profile wire and support rods made of galvanised steel, low carbon steel and stainless steel 304 and 316.
For more information: Hong Hui JV, hhjv.com.au
To submit new product and equipment releases, email: les.ilyefalvy@primecreative.com.au
KNIFE GATE VALVE REDUCES CYCLING DISCHARGE The Isogate WR knife gate valve aggregates producers a “step change” in valve performance. Incorporating the latest advances in design and materials technology from Weir Minerals’ expert engineers, the range of Isogate WR knife gate valves are reliable, while producing minimal fluid discharge and weighing considerably less than equivalent mining valves. Isogate WR knife gate valves and Isogate WSL knife gate sleeves are now available worldwide.
For more information: Weir Group, www.global.weir/products/productcatalogue/isogate-ws/
K-CONTAINMENT SEAL Material spillage is a major productivity issue, especially at unstable areas such as the transfer point. Engineered with low friction polyurethane, the K-Containment® Seal is the high performance, wearresistant conveyor skirting solution. Featuring a slotted arrangement, which allows for easy installation adjustment, the seal provides added protection so that the material cannot become trapped, leading to premature belt damage.
For more information: Kinder Australia, kinder.com.au
BETTER BLAST TIMING Impact Drill & Blast is breaking new ground in the quarrying industry by converting 100 per cent of its blasting to electronic detonators. When combined with the company’s leading RedStar high energy emulsion, clients are reporting exceptional blasting outcomes including better fragmentation, reduced fines, and increased production throughput – and all without blowing the budget, as greater control of the blast timing combined with superior explosive leads to more “bang for less bucks”.
CONVENIENT, INEXPENSIVE AND PORTABLE PUGMILL The 13-tonne Phoenix pugmill from Tricon Equipment is decked out with a diesel-powered 74kW 4.4 Cat engine, a 6m3 hopper, a 1000mm wide feeder belt and a 1200mm wide conveyor belt. The Phoenix has 400mm wide steel tracks and a 250-litre fuel tank. A transport width of 2.3m means it can fit on the back of a standard semi-trailer without the need for a vehicle pilot – making it cheap and convenient to transport.
For more information: Tricon Equipment, triconequipment.com.au
For more information: Impact Drill & Blast, impactdrillblast.com
Quarry April 2021 17
CRUSHING
CRUSHING CONTRACTOR TOPS UP FLEET WITH MOBILE JAWS
Milbrae Quarries, a family-run quarrying and mining services business, has expanded on the local contract crushing market – bolstered by the acquisition of two primary mobile jaw crushers suited to large-scale quarrying and mining operations. Damian Christie reports.
M
ilbrae Quarries is part of a privately owned group of companies that provide specialist services in quarrying, mining and concrete manufacture and supply across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and the Northern Territory. Its headquarters are based in Leeton, in the New South Wales Riverina district. Established in 1969 as a small trades service business, PA Woods and Co has evolved into an important competitor in the mining services industry, providing contract crushing services to many big players Australia-wide. From humble beginnings the company consolidated its quarrying business in 1999 to become Milbrae Quarries Pty Ltd. “The company name ‘Milbrae’ comes from the first property that we bought near Leeton – we commenced quarrying on the site, and when we started out our office was just a telephone on a pole in the middle of a paddock,” recalled Chris Woods, the managing director of the company today. “Nowdays the Milbrae site acts as our company headquarters and is home to our mechanical, engineering, transport and drill and blast teams.
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“The property’s original name was ‘Millbrae’ with two ‘L’ letters in it, but we are a race horsing family and my father, Peter Woods, insisted that we drop one letter out of it to get seven – so that’s why it has one ‘L’ in it!” Woods laughed. “A number of famous racehorses had seven letter names!” While the business name may be short and to the point, it is attached to a very impressive organisation that has grown considerably over its three decades of operation. The Milbrae Business Group today employs more than 200 people across its businesses, and its assets include four fixed plant hard rock quarries, 20 road base pits, sand operations, a pre-cast yard, seven concrete plants and a fleet of mobile crushing plants and mobile concrete batching plants. Having founded the business more than 50 years ago, Peter Woods now enjoys a well-earned retirement but continues to take an interest in the growth of the operations. Milbrae is actively managed by Peter’s two sons Chris and Brett. Chris is the company’s managing director, overseeing the performance of the business as well as the mining services activities while Brett primarily drives the operational side of the business.
Both Chris and Brett have sons involved in the business, ensuring that Milbrae will continue well into the future.
EXTRACTIVE SERVICES Milbrae is a vertically integrated enterprise. Its operations begin with being able to win material via in-house drill and blast or mechanical methods, crushing and screening the material either in its fixed plant operations or via one of its 17 mobile crushing trains, conditioning material via pugmills, transporting crushed material to users via its transport fleet through to producing readymixed concrete and pre-cast concrete panels for end users. Chris Woods and his regional operations manager Scott Gillieatt estimate that on the hard rock quarrying side of the business, the annual output across the four sites would be in excess of one million tonnes of blue metal aggregates, and sand and gravel. The company’s construction materials products include: • 5/7/10/14 and 20mm aggregates and blends, both precoated and raw. • 5mm and 10mm river gravel. • 20mm and 40mm road base.
The Milbrae Business Group specialises in a range of services that encompass quarrying, mining services, road transport (pictured), ready-mixed concrete and concrete pre-cast manufacturing.
• RMS-specified products such as select fill, MB20, DGS and DGB road bases. • Rail ballast. • Spall, gabion and beaching rock. • Sands including river, pit and mortar sand. • Ready-mixed concrete. In addition to its company-owned operations, Milbrae has also built for itself a highly successful contract quarrying and mining business. “Initially we designed and built three wheel plants consisting of primary and secondary crushers, all electrically driven to service our satellite pits,” Chris Woods explained. “We would mobilise our mobile crushing train to site, crush material to build our stockpiles to use for customer sales for a period of time, and the crushing equipment would then be moved to another site.” As a result, outside of the Riverina operations, the company has operated up and down the eastern seaboard – including northern and southeastern Victoria, the whole of New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory. “Our largest growth area that we have experienced was contract crushing for mine operators, with beginnings in the Mt Isa area utilising the company-built wheelmounted crushing plants,” Woods explained. “Milbrae was initially involved with several smaller mining operators, before becoming involved with Xstrata and Glencore. It was the biggest increase we had in personnel
The maximum output of the LT130E, in the right conditions, can be up to 1000 tph.
and equipment. We have conducted contract mining operations at Mt Isa Mines, George Fisher Mine, Mt Cuthbert, Handlebar Hill Mine and then up in McArthur River Mine amongst others. This experience drove Milbrae to explore mining opportunities in New South Wales, and we have since conducted work at operations owned by Evolution Mining, Newcrest, Aurelia Metals, Tronox, CMOC, Alkane Resources and CBH.” Due to the logistics of operating remotely from its core region, the Milbrae Business Group established its own aviation service. It operates a turboprop Pilatus PC12 NG to support its operations throughout the country. Able to take aboard a complement of nine people, the aircraft can also be converted to handle cargo. The PC12 is able to operate from remote dirt landing strips commonly found in regional Australia and it has been essential in supplying parts to remote locations. “Since COVID-19 began to impact our operations, the PC12 has been critical in allowing crews to be flown directly from home locations to mine sites without transiting hotspots,” Woods added.
CONTRACT QUARRYING SERVICES Milbrae’s growth has been impressive for a company that had humble beginnings, conducting mobile crushing for Leeton Shire Council 35 years ago. Today, it produces several million tonnes per annum output from its mobile crushing business and in excess
of six million tonnes in its contract mining services division. Milbrae regularly undertakes mobile crushing services for approximately 15 shire councils across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, along with a number of government departments and private entities. In addition, Milbrae has supplied product for numerous projects including: • Australian Rail Track Corporation and John Holland specification ballast. • Armoured rock for large water catchments. • Heavily bound road bases for transport for NSW, including on-site incorporation of binder via pugmill. • B80 concrete mixes for transport for NSW. • Pre-cast panels for various private projects, including a shopping centre in Wangaratta and Quest Apartments in Griffith. Milbrae also contributed to the Hume Highway Woomgara Alliance, in which it provided mobile crushing works on a 9km dual carriageway and four bridges. It supplied about 290,000 tonnes of blue metal granite and 490,000 tonnes of regular granite for the project, with its mobile gear crushing at a rate of up to 320 tonnes per hour (tph). “The Riverina region is booming at the moment due to the great conditions in the agricultural industry,” Woods added. “There are a number of infrastructure projects underway, including major highway projects,
Quarry April 2021 19
CRUSHING
The hybrid LT130E can run on an external electrical drive or an integrated engine and generator package.
Brothers Chris (right) and Brett (left) with their father Peter Woods (centre) at the entrance to Milbrae Quarries. While retired, Peter continues to take an interest in the growth of the operations.
feed lots, several solar farms as well as a rapid expansion being undertaken in the poultry industry, resulting in new chicken farms being opened here. We’ve seen demand for road bases and concrete double over the past year, and we’ve probably never been busier in our history.” Any successful mobile contract crushing service is only as good as the equipment that it operates. Over the years Milbrae has used a variety of different makes of mobile crushing plant but since providing mining services, it has identified Metso Outotec as its crushing supplier of choice. The company has progressively upgraded its inventory so that Metso Outotec’s renowned line-up of Lokotrack crushers now make up nearly half of its tracked mobile fleet. Milbrae has worked with Tutt Bryant Equipment (TBE), the national distributor of Metso Outotec’s Lokotrack and Nordtrack
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ranges of mobile crushers and screens, for the past seven years. The company’s Lokotrack crushing fleet comprises two 63-tonne LT120 jaw crushers, one LT106 jaw crusher, four 43-tonne LT300HP cone crushers and seven 55-tonne LT1213S impact crushers. The Metso fleet will work in conjunction with Milbrae’s closed circuit wheeled plants to form the core of the mining services fleet into the future, Woods stated. “Our wheeled crushing plants have proven themselves time and time again while undertaking mining projects, so we believe that the Metso tracked equipment complements the wheeled plants. The wheeled plants can undertake high volume static works, where feed material is readily available at the crushing location, such as being trucked from underground, while the tracked Metso equipment will undertake projects where flexibility in crushing location is
required, such as crushing material located in large volume stockpiles, or at a moving face.” Woods said Milbrae was drawn to the Metso line-up because it has a strong reputation for reliability and robustness. “We believe that Metso is one of the best producers of plant and equipment in the world. The early days were a little challenging but Tutt Bryant made a commitment to improve their backup service and customer relations, and the relationship has come a long way, particularly with people like Wayne Kruger [Tutt Bryant Equipment’s technical sales representative for the Metso tracked plant] who had a hands-on crushing background. That’s always a big plus when people like Wayne have worked in crushing, it helps the sales person understand the key challenges that the customer faces on the ground.” Scott Gillieatt reiterated Woods’ comments. “We recently had the opportunity to have three machines of similar capacity from different brands in our fleet crushing side by side on a client site, and the Metso outperformed the other machines, providing a higher and more consistent throughput,” he said. “The Metso machine was more robust, leading to Metso being our machine of choice. We also find that the parts have a longer service life, the wear is noticeably better as well, and this is coupled with the excellent service that Wayne provides.”
HEAVY-DUTY DUO The most exciting development for Milbrae is that it has recently purchased two Lokotrack LT130E hybrid mobile jaw crushers, which are suitable as a primary crusher in large-scale quarrying and mining operations. For optimised energy efficiency for crushing operations, the hybrid LT130E can run on an
external electrical drive or, in locations where this is not possible, an integrated 403kW Caterpillar C15 engine and 500kVA generator power package. The LT130E incorporates Metso’s renowned Nordberg C130 jaw crusher for large-scale quarrying applications. It is Metso’s largest standard mobile jaw crusher, with a feed opening of 1300mm x 1000mm (51” x 39”) for coarser feed material, and its heavy-duty design can manage the hardest materials. A small nip angle and kinematics ensure aggressive crushing along the whole length of the crushing cavity and for all rock conditions. The maximum output of the LT130E, in the right conditions, can be up to 1000 tph. This large-scale unit is easy to adapt to existing processes. It is equipped with an adjustable hydraulic main conveyor and an advanced Metso intelligent crusher automation (ICr) control system. A wireless Metso ICr remote monitoring system or an interlocking cable can connect the unit to other Lokotrack crushing and screening
plants. All maintenance locations are easily accessible, making daily routines easier and safer. The LT130E can be optimised to move smoothly between sites. All the electric and hydraulic connections have quick couplings for easy disassembly. Optimised lifting points, along with user-friendly and safe hydraulic features, reduce downtime, while an easy split feature makes portability and set-up easier. For contracting purposes, the plant can be set up within a matter of hours. The easy split advantage utilises hydraulic cylinders to lift the crusher and feeder above the chassis for transfer to a standard trailer. Like regular Lokotrack mobile plants, the chassis of the LT130E can be driven to the trailer via remote control. As this article went to press, the two LT130Es were expected to be delivered and commissioned at Milbrae’s operations by March. The first of the units would go straight to work in Milbrae’s contract mining operations. The second, according to Woods and Gillieatt, is slated to be used at an
internally owned site, allowing it to be rapidly mobilised for future mining projects. While the LT130E has previously been trialled and demonstrated by TBE at Lima South Quarry in Victoria, these are the first units bought by an Australian quarrying producer. Wayne Kruger said this is an important milestone because “Milbrae will have the two biggest Lokotracks in NSW. Besides mobile cranes, the LT130E is the biggest piece of mobile equipment that Tutt Bryant has ever sold”. “The LT130E fits our model for contract mining and crushing perfectly,” Gillieatt said. He added the LT130E’s automation capabilities will also enhance Milbrae Quarries’ productivity in the pit. The LT130E can be remotely programmed by an operator in a nearby loader or excavator, which in addition to raising efficiency in the pit increases safety and removes risk for operators on the ground. “The feedback we get from clients is ‘Our people need it [remote control] on the ground, next to the machine’,” Kruger said.
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CRUSHING
“Our operators typically operate our current fleet of LT120s via remote from the excavator cabins,” Gillieatt said. “This provides an increased level of safety. We are all aware of the hazards of silica in mining, removing the need to have an operator physically walk over to the machine to change a setting greatly reduces their exposure.”
DEDICATED SERVICE With Metso mobile gear constituting 50 per cent of its fleet, to say Milbrae Quarries has a “good” relationship with TBE would be an understatement. While Milbrae has a mechanical and maintenance division that looks after the upkeep of all its plant and equipment, Woods and Gillieatt said that TBE’s aftermarket service is invaluable. “Our partnership has been so successful because of the robustness and ongoing technological advances of the Metso gear,” Gillieatt said. “We’re also really happy with the service and maintenance side of things. The servicing comes into that as a complete package. The TBE technicians are in constant contact with our own mechanical department. They’re great on the service, and their equipment is innovative and very user-friendly as well.” Kruger said that a major selling point of the Lokotrack plant for many quarry producers was TBE’s assurance package. “We provide regular technical assistance and warranty inspections. We provide an extended warranty with the equipment – 10,000 hours or five years, whichever comes first. Tutt Bryant is also the only one that offers that type of extended warranty in the market. “Further, we do on-site commissioning training and we’ll always provide over the phone technical support and advice.” “Tutt Bryant Equipment and Metso are improving their support and back-up services all the time,” Woods concluded. “They are always asking for feedback about how they can improve their equipment. “I think you would say that over the years Metso has proved to be reliable and we consider them to be the better machines in the industry.” With that sense of optimism, it is likely that Milbrae’s LT130Es and other Lokotrack mobile plant will continue to be a mainstay of the company’s quarrying, mining and contract crushing businesses for many years to come. •
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Milbrae’s contract crushing services have experienced the most growth in mining in recent years, with Mt Isa sites utilising the company’s wheel-mounted crushing plants.
SPECS - METSO LT130E LOKOTRACK TRACKED JAW CRUSHER MAIN FEATURES Crushing unit
Nordberg C130 jaw crusher
Crushing unit
Nordberg C130 jaw crusher
Feed opening
1300mm x 1000mm (51’’ x 39’’)
Feed hopper
11m3
Feeder
B13-50-3V
Main conveyor
H14-16E with adjustable height
Process control
Metso IC900
Engine
Caterpillar C15 (403kW)
Generator
500kVA engine
TRANSPORT DIMENSIONS Weight
103 tonnes*
Width
3500mm
Height
3.9m
Length
21.5m
*Split unit combined weight and depending on options selected. OPTIONS • Metrics remote monitoring system. • ICr remote control. • Easy split, hydraulic legs for dismantling the crusher and feeder units. • Rubber plates for feed hopper. • Rubber bottom for feeder. • Side conveyor H8-7E. • Magnetic separator for main conveyor. • High pressure water spraying system. • Dust encapsulation for conveyors. • Hydraulic boom and hammer.
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CRUSHING
THE PROS AND CONS
OF CONE CRUSHER APPLICATIONS John Flynn, of Terex Jaques, explains that quarries have numerous factors to consider when selecting cone crushers to create quality aggregate products.
S
uccessful application of a cone crusher within a crushing circuit is measured by the amount of material passing through the cone, the power draw of the machine, the size distribution of the products coming out of the circuit and the shape of the product. The goal is to efficiently and economically produce the target products, conforming with the required specifications. The mechanical factors that affect the production rate and quality of the material processed by a cone crusher include: • Cone head diameter. • Crushing chamber slope (angle). • Cone head stroke. • Gyrating speed. • Manganese liner profile. • Closed side setting (CSS). • Crushing force, monitored as operating pressure. • Applied power. • Feed control. In any crushing operation, physical characteristics of the material being processed affect the output product. The material characteristics that affect the crushing process include: • Abrasiveness. • Compressive strength. • Bulk density. • Friability. • Plasticity. • Feed gradation. • Moisture content. A measure of the size reduction achieved for a particular crusher application is the reduction ratio. A cone crusher in a secondary crushing application will typically work with a 3.5:1 to 5:1 reduction ratio. Tertiary cone crusher configurations typically work with a reduction ratio of 2.5:1 to 4:1. The reduction ratio is defined as the ratio of the feed size for which 80 per cent will pass (F80), divided by the product size for which
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80 per cent will pass (P80). The reduction ratio for tough, high strength, damp material is restricted to the low end of the application ranges whereas a soft, low strength, dry material can be successfully crushed at the higher end of the reduction ratio.
LONG STROKE ADVANTAGES The newer, longer stroke, high powered machines of today will outperform the machines in common use 25 years ago. A large stroke provides a greater crosssectional area for material to pass through the crushing chamber in a given amount of time. The result is that the longer the stroke, the greater the volume of material that can be processed through a given size machine. CRUSHER SPEED The influence of crusher speed, or gyrations of the cone head per minute, is not as well defined as stroke. Depending on the crushing stroke, the CSS and the crushing chamber profile, the effect of increased speed can either increase or decrease the production rate of the crusher. For any combination of these, a different “sweet spot” in speed will produce maximum throughput for a given feed. In general, a coarse crusher, such as a secondary cone in open circuit, should be run at the low end of the speed range. As the crushing becomes finer, an increase in speed has been found to be beneficial, especially when shape is a factor. Therefore, it is recommended that tertiary crushers that are operated in closed circuit and at the higher end of the speed range. It needs to be understood that the faster the crusher runs, the faster the manganese wears. The life of other mechanical components will also be reduced. Therefore, the optimum speed for any application is the slowest speed that produces the desired production rate, gradation and shape.
LIMITATIONS ON CSS Minimum closed side setting for any cone crusher is that setting just before the factory recommended limit of operating pressure is reached. This is the point at which the hydraulic relief system will act to open the CSS. Minimum CSS may be greater or smaller than published settings based on the conditions and crushing characteristics of the material being processed. Generally, clay or other plastic material in the crusher feed must be eliminated to prevent the formation of compacted material or “pancakes”, which are non-crushable and will cause activation of the tramp iron relief system. PRODUCING QUALITY PRODUCT The breakage of rock in a compression crusher can result in a percentage of flat or elongated product. However, most construction specification rock products require a cubical product. The cubicity of the cone crusher product can be improved with the proper circuit design, screen selection and crusher operating parameters. TEN RULES FOR CUBICAL PRODUCT SHAPE When a cubical product shape is required, the following process controls when correctly applied to the crushing circuit will minimize the flat and elongated particles generated inside the cone crusher: 1. Keep the crusher choke-fed. Choke feed means to keep the head covered with at least 150mm of feed material. Conditions that help keep the crusher choked include surge bins, bin level sensors, adjustable speed feeders, and automation. 2. Stable, continuous feed. The gradation of the feed material should be continuous from the maximum to minimum particle size. Do not allow “holes” in the feed gradation (gap graded material). Use a well graded feed.
Crusher throughput at different strokes keeping speed and CSS the same – representative of long stroke advantages.
3. Keep some material smaller than CSS in feed. Keep up to 15 per cent of feed below the CSS to encourage rock on rock attrition crushing. The small particles in the feed fill the voids between the larger particles which increase the density and promote attrition crushing, thereby improving the product shape. While it is beneficial to retain some feed below the CSS, it is advisable to screen fines (-5mm) out of the feed to minimise compaction and
The particle shape in relation to the CSS. This relates to two of the 10 points listed for cubical product shape, eg setting close to the desired product size and using the correct flow sheet.
avoid a tramping condition where the crusher will relieve under high pressure.
feed is on one side of the feed opening and the finer recirculated feed is on the opposite side of the feed opening.
4. Restrict final stage reduction ratio to 3:1. Feed size should be restricted so a high ratio of reduction is not attempted in one pass.
6. Setting should be close to desired product size. Studies have shown that the most cubical shape is achieved for those particle sizes that are close to the CSS. As the particle size gets larger or smaller than the CSS, the cubicity deteriorates.
5. Distribute the feed evenly. Crusher feed should be evenly distributed around the centre of the crushing chamber. Avoid feed segregation where the coarse new
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CRUSHING
7. Use an appropriate crushing chamber for the application. The most efficient crushing chamber promotes continual crushing of material as it travels through the chamber. If the liners are too coarse, the material falls too far into the chamber which can lead to packing, increasing crushing pressure, power draw and inducing a bowl float or tramping condition. If the liners are too fine, the feed opening will restrict the larger lump sizes from entering the crushing chamber, resulting in reduced throughput, poor choke condition, decreased power draw and elongated product. In some cone crusher designs the feed opening will reduce as the liners wear. 8. Operate the crusher in closed circuit. Operating a secondary cone crusher in closed circuit limits the material top size
for processing in the tertiary circuit and allows the near size particles to fill the voids between the larger particles to induce attrition crushing and break flaky elongated particles. Operating a tertiary cone crusher in a closed circuit provides consistent input gradation and improves the shape by attrition crushing. 9. Operate the crusher at the correct speed for the application. Running the crusher too fast can generate excessive fines because the material cannot fall as far with each revolution of the eccentric. The material becomes overcrushed and generates excessive crusher dust. Running the crusher too slow will coarsen the output and not allow the attrition rock on rock crushing action that leads to a cubical product.
10. Use the correct flow sheet. Carefully analyse the complete flow circuit to balance the production. For best shape, do not mix secondary with tertiary/ quaternary products.
GUIDE FOR CRUSHING CIRCUIT DESIGN In any crushing circuit, it is good common sense to get the material to the product piles as quick as possible. This will reduce the wear and tear on the equipment and can lead to increased efficiency and capacity of the circuit because the finished product is not taking up room on the screens, conveyors, and in the crushers. The size of the raw feed or blasted material and the specification of the final products will dictate the number of crushing stages and screens required. If there is also a shape specification, additional controls and crushing stages may be required. A low reduction ratio application may be able to get by with a jaw/ cone/ screen circuit (two-stage crushing). A higher reduction ratio application may require a jaw/ screen/cone/screen/cone circuit (three-stage crushing). A large reduction ratio application may require four or more stages of crushing. The crusher breaks down the rock to a smaller size. The screen is the “cash register” of the crushing circuit in that it determines the final gradation of each product pile. In general, it is good practice to oversize the screen to account for changes in environmental conditions that can affect the overall performance of the crushing circuit. CONE CRUSHER TYPES Cone crushers can be categorised into three main design types. With floating bowl and screw bowl cone crushers the upper frame raises to open CSS or relieve crushing pressure. The third type – the spider-bearing cone crushers – incorporate a shaft supported by a hydraulic piston which controls CSS and crushing pressure. Each machine type has its own features and advantages and each is best suited to particular applications. Terex, through the TC cone, Cedarapids MVP, TG cone and Jaques Gyracone, includes each of these main cone crusher types within its equipment range to ensure it can provide the best option across all crushing applications. •
A Terex MC1150 cone crusher module that includes a feed bin with a variable speed vibrating feeder. Level indicators in both the bin and crusher hopper work to maintain a choked condition within the cone crusher chamber.
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John Flynn is the Australia and New Zealand business manager for Terex Jaques. Visit terex.com/ mps/en-aus
CRUSHING
LONG-TERM PARTNERS A WIN FOR NORTH QUEENSLAND
A Townsville-based construction business has made a very successful transition into quarrying, thanks to a decade-long relationship with his mobile crushing plant distributor. Mendi Group’s Jeff Doyle and Lincom Group’s Erwin Koch talk to Quarry.
F
or more than 60 years, the Mendi Group has been a mainstay of the north and central regions of Queensland, offering expertise in civil construction, property and project development, bulk haulage and logistics, plant hire and contract crushing. It is a second generation family company, founded by Kevin Doyle in 1959. His son and the current company owner and managing director Jeff Doyle has been involved with the business most of his life and has 35 years’ experience in the civil construction sector. Today, the Mendi Group boasts more than 90 employees and has been involved in the construction of many of Townsville’s iconic buildings and facilities, including the Townsville City bus hub, the North Queensland Stadium, the Dalrymple Road upgrade, the V8 Supercar track, most large development sites in Townsville and many infrastructure projects in the North. In the past nine years, the company has also established a presence in the local quarrying market, operating four quarries: two
sand sites, under the subsidiary Townsville Graded Sands, in Kelso, off the Ross River Dam catchment; and two hard rock quarries, in Roseneath, 15km southwest of Townsville, the other off the Bruce Highway, on the way to Rollingstone, in the north (the Rollingstone site, purchased in 2018, originally operated as the Wild Boar Quarry). The hard rock quarries are operated under the Mendi subsidiary CAMM Quarries, whose initials derive from the names of Jeff Doyle’s four children – Courtney, Ashleigh, Matthew and Mitchell. The two hard rock quarries offer 20mm, 14mm, 10mm, or 7mm and less than 5mm aggregates, similar size or graded concrete aggregates, and crusher dust smaller than 5mm for pre-mix concrete manufacture, road surfacing, asphalt and drainage applications, as well as Queensland Transport and Main Roads-specified (TMR) roadbase and mattress, armoured and gabion rock. The two sand sites offer customers bedding, electrical and fine sands, top soils and loams, gravels,
Jeff Doyle describes the Trakpactor 320SR as a “a one-stop shop – it has the primary, the secondary and the recirc”.
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TMR-specified roadbase and fill materials, and turf underlays. “We would crush on a consistent annual basis around 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes per year,” Doyle said of his four sites. “My construction business is one of the largest in Townsville and is the dominant customer of CAMM. We do continue to work with the likes of other aggregate producers, including Boral and Holcim.”
TRANSITION TO QUARRYING Doyle’s original foray into quarrying first occurred in 2008 via his contract crushing business. He credits Stephen Watterson, now the managing director of the Lincom Group, based in Brisbane, with initially introducing him to crushing, which led him into quarrying. “We were working on a road cutting in 2008 and I spoke to Steve Watterson, who was a regional salesman for Lincom at the time,” he recalled. “Steve put me onto the 428 Trakpactor impact crusher and that was my first foray into crushing. That was an
experience. We proceeded to do contracting crushing in Cairns, Townsville and Mackay. “The contract crushing side of the business is nearly non-existent at the moment because we’ve been busy in our own quarries in the past three years. We’ve had some remote projects – and as part of those projects we’ve had to establish greenfield quarries or pits and manufacture roadbase materials for road projects north and south of Charters Towers. Each project was about 150,000 tonnes of materials for those projects.” In the past decade, Doyle’s sand and quarrying interests have supplied aggregate for infrastructure, residential, landscaping, water mains and underground, rehabilitation and road-based projects around Townsville, including the Glenn Road/Flinders Highway acceleration lane, the Townsville Distribution Precinct, the Port of Townsville Channel capacity upgrade, the Townsville City Council’s Stuart and Hervey Range landfills, schools and junior sports fields, the Bluewattle Estate project in Rasmussen and
the aforementioned Fairfield Grange and North Queensland stadium. Throughout that time Doyle has accumulated an impressive mobile crushing and screening plant fleet. Today, he has 13 machines, 11 of which are Terex Powerscreen units or their Pegson predecessors. Two other, non-Powerscreen-branded machines came courtesy of a quarry acquisition. “Steve Watterson had pestered me in his capacity as a salesman about buying a crusher or a screen,” Doyle quipped. “When the time came for me to go into quarrying, he was the first person I rang and we’ve had a great relationship.” Since 2008, Doyle has purchased 15 Powerscreen/Pegson machines, four of which he signed off on at time of press. “I traded the 428 in on a new jaw in 2008-09, and I still have every machine that I’ve bought off Lincom since then,” he said. “We’d average 1000 to 1200 hours per year per machine. I always have a redundant machine – so it can go into a circuit if one
machine has to be serviced or repaired. “I just bought an X400 jaw, a Maxtrak 1000 cone and a Warrior 2100 and a 2100 threedeck screen. They’re all being delivered in the next four weeks. They will serve our business, and being a competent quarry operator, we need good, reliable machinery.”
‘THREE MACHINES IN ONE’ Another purchase from Lincom in the past two years has been the Trakpactor 320SR impact crusher, which has been crushing and screening overburden at the face. “I wanted the one machine pass,” Doyle said. “We were limited for room, and we said it’s in stock so let’s just grab it.” Impact crushers have traditionally had a “bad rap” in the industry because they are not necessarily suited to high wear crushing applications but Doyle said that the Trakpactor 320SR was fit for purpose. “It’s a one-stop shop – it has the primary, the secondary and the recirc. In the right application, it’s a great machine. We put it in
CRUSHING
the right location, and it was crushing 1500 to 1800 tonnes a day without fail. “If you put an impact crusher into a low wear impact application, they’re good machines,” he continued. “They are three machines in one. Depending on the screen mesh size that dictates the output, we run a 40-45mm screen for that size material. We have put that machine in high wear areas to trial it – we leave it there for a week and calculate its effectiveness on cost per tonne.” The Trakpactor 320SR has been idle recently and is waiting for the right project to present itself. Doyle said it is “set up as a redundant crusher, so we can use it and it can fill the void for a period of time, but you just have to compare the cost per tonne in manufacture and wear. Sometimes, I don’t factor the cost, I take production into account. For us, it’s about servicing the customer. That’s our niche – we never say no.” Erwin Koch, Lincom’s area sales manager for North Queensland, the Northern Territory and Papua New Guinea, said the Trakpactor 320SR is a “single pass system – you put the material in and basically you don’t touch it until it’s an end product. It’s a universal machine that you can use in a range of hard or soft rock applications – it can be used in quarrying, recycling, demolition, and concrete applications because it can give you a greater end product and recirculates the oversized product to be reprocessed”. Koch said one of the benefits of the Trakpactor 320SR is its fuel-efficient direct drive system which comprises an engine with a direct drive to the clutch and a v-belt to the crusher. “A lot of other machines have a hydraulic pump which in turn drives a motor and the motor drives the crusher,” he explained. “You need a lot of horsepower to drive all of those things, to transmit the engine power to the crusher, and also you have a lot more components. On top of that, a big problem we have here in Australia is cooling and keeping the machine at the right temperature for the job it’s doing. If you’re using hydraulic oil as a form of drive transmission, it has to be cool. So if you don’t have that feature, it’s a simpler system for trouble-shooting. “It’s quite user-friendly. It’s very easy for the operators to adjust the settings and operate the crusher. It’s automated with remote control that can control the feeder from a digger or a loader, so you have remote control over the machine, which is quite easy. Servicing and the maintenance is quite easy, and very appealing
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CAMM Quarries’ Trakpactor 320SR tracked impact crusher has been in service for the past two years, crushing overburden at the face.
to people that would have to do that job.” In addition, the 46-tonne Trakpactor 320SR is equipped with twin apron and grinding path, four-bar impactor rotor with the options of a pre-screen, a Tier 4F vibrating grizzly feeder and an extended dirt conveyor. There are also options for an underpan feeder, hopper extension for the feeds, auxiliary stackers, cabin pressurisation, water suppression, and a fuel pump. It has a throughput of up to 320 tonnes per hour. Koch also repeated Doyle’s point that it is a “one shop stop” machine. “Because it has the crusher and the screener as a combination on the one chassis, it’s easy to move around from site to site if you’re doing any road projects, or instead of moving a jaw/cone/screener configuration, you’re able to use the one unit, which is the ideal scenario for a machine of this type.”
LONG-STANDING PARTNERSHIP After working with the Lincom Group for the best part of 13 years, Doyle said that he has never entertained buying his mobile crushing plant from anyone else. “I’d like to think the relationship I have with Lincom and the Watterson family will continue forever,” he said. “I think once you’re in a brand, if you want to have consistent parts supply and assortment of spares, you have to maintain the same brand, it becomes less complicated. Lincom’s service and maintenance is second to none, and fit for purpose. “I have machines with more than 10,000 hours on them,” he added. “They’re eight years old, and they’re serviceable today, and crushing most days of the week. It’s about being familiar with something – we’re familiar
and set up for the Powerscreen brand. I can’t compare Powerscreen with other brands in terms of economy but I’m comfortable with the levels of service that I get out of Powerscreen and Lincom.” Another aspect of the long-standing partnership that Doyle values is that Lincom is, like his own businesses, a family-owned and -run enterprise. “I understand what it’s like to have the family quality in my business - and that’s what I like about Steve and Roy Watterson,” he said. “They answer their phones any time I need a hand. They support our business with warranty, and there’s a clear understanding about the warranty process. I’ll see these new machines arrive in my quarry in the next month, and it will be a proud moment – not only for my business but because it reinforces the relationship with Lincom and the Wattersons. I am sincere about my relationship with the Watterson family. It’s just luck that they sell something I need. “We have our own workshop and service team, and we do at times have Lincom bring servicemen to Townsville, and we only use Lincom spare parts and components. It’s not price-driven, it’s relationship-driven. You can’t expect loyalty if you don’t give loyalty.” Doyle also paid tribute to Erwin Koch. “Having a local sales rep and subject expert live in Townsville and work for Lincom is very beneficial for any customer that works in the north,” he said. “It can’t be understated the importance of having Erwin in town.” Doyle’s advice to other quarry producers that haven’t worked with Lincom is simple. “There’s an opportunity they could be missing out on. There’s definitely an advantage that a family-operated team and business provides,” he concluded. •
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CRUSHING
Trio’s compression crushers are highly effective in typical extractive applications and when processing ballast.
MOVING VS FIXED CONES: UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCES
Cone crushers are an integral part of any comminution process – but how do you know if your process requires a live shaft model or a fixed shaft unit? Mark Utecht explains the differences.
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rio cone crushers, available through the Weir Group, offer robust reduction for medium or above hardness feed material and are suitable for secondary, tertiary or (if the application requires) quaternary crushing stages. These compression crushers are highly effective in typical mining applications and when processing ballast. Inside the crushing chamber, a moving cone (the head) compresses rocks against each other and the edge of the concave bowl. This reduces multiple-sized particles at once and minimises wear. The concave shape of the bowl ensures rocks will be crushed several times before they exit the crusher, as the volumetric space between the head and bowl gradually narrows towards the bottom of the crushing chamber. The primary difference between the two ranges of Trio cone crushers – the TC and the TP – is the rotating parts. The Trio TC crusher’s classic live – or moving shaft – design sees the entire shaft rotate eccentrically along with the head, while in a
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Trio TP crusher’s design, the shaft is fixed in the mainframe while the head rotates eccentrically. The TP’s design allows it to rotate faster and facilitates more interparticle crushing than the TC series. We are often asked: “Which cone crusher is better?” However, the answer is not as straightforward as it may seem, with factors such as the application and operating conditions determining the correct choice.
A LIVE SHAFT CRUSHER In the Trio TC cone crusher (see Figure 1), both the shaft and the head are moved in unison eccentrically during operation. This proven design can be traced back to the original cone crushers invented in the 1920s, and a century of optimisation later, it’s one of the most reliable crushers in operation today. Although we always recommend all cone crushers are choke-fed, the TC series’ straightforward design makes it ideal for use in applications where feed conditions are unreliable. It has a slower rotation and a smaller throw (the space between the head and the bowl) compared to fixed shaft
designs. It is also less susceptible to wear from intermittent feeds which leave the crushing chamber filled below capacity. The TC series cone crusher remains the first choice for operators looking for reliable equipment. Its robust design makes it the preferred choice for pebble crushing – one of the toughest crushing applications. Based on a proven design, the Trio TC series cone crusher features modern, easy to use control systems. Its suitability for substandard feed conditions doesn’t mean this is a sub-standard cone crusher. After months of operational and design upgrades, our Trio TC is a fully automated live shaft crusher, engineered to deliver maximum efficiency. It features state of the art crushing technology with modern lubrication, power systems and optimised hydraulics. Every element has been considered in the design, from the gearing, to the motion of the shaft and eccentricity of the rotation.
A FIXED SHAFT CRUSHER The Trio TP fixed shaft – or pedestal – cone crusher can utilise substantially more watts,
with a bigger eccentric throw and a higher pivot point to deliver throughput as high as 1000 tonnes per hour (tph). The TP series also benefits from higher percentages of interparticle crushing which enables it to produce a finer product curve compared to TC-style crushers. The fixed shaft is more compact than live shaft designs, making it ideal for mobile applications or plants with limited clearance. The easily adjustable closed side setting (CSS) makes it easier for operators to adapt to changing ore bodies, or for aggregate producers to achieve their preferred product. The Trio TP series cone crusher naturally creates a cubical-shaped end product that can remove the need for further crushing and shaping. Available in short head and standard configurations offering 193kW to 671kW (or 260 to 900 horsepower), the flexible Trio TP series is suitable for any project which facilitates choke-fed crushing.
CRUSHING EXPERTISE Weir Group consists of the experience and knowledge to specify the right equipment for mines and quarries. With two market-leading cone crushing options, together with an unrivalled service centre network and support, Weir can offer viable solutions. Using data from applications throughout mining and aggregates, quarry producers can be supported throughout the entire process of cone crusher selection, installation, optimisation, and maintenance, from locations in more than 70 countries around the world. • Mark Utecht is the director of Weir Group’s Comminution Technology Group.
Figure 1. A cross-section of the Trio TC series cone crusher, which has a live, moving shaft that rotates eccentrically with the head.
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CRUSHING
The MCO9S cone crusher (centre) has a large stroke for maximum crushing capacity.
HIGH-TECH CRUSHERS
MAKE GRADE FOR PLANT HIRE GROUP A trio of tracked crushers, working to very different goals and in varying environments, are making their mark in the North Queensland contract crushing and demolition markets. Damian Christie reports.
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he Markwell Group, a plant and equipment hire provider based in Townsville, last year celebrated 40 years of business. Unfortunately the anniversary celebrations had to be put on hold because of COVID-19 – but in spite of the pandemic, the business has this year continued to build on the foundations that were first established in 1980. For almost its first two decades of operation, the family-owned business has been renowned for being North Queensland’s largest earthmoving equipment hire specialist. The Markwell Group today offers dry hire equipment ranging from prime movers and body and water trucks through to quarry-spec wheel loaders, articulated dump trucks, graders and excavators, which in turn comprise a full array of attachments – rock-breakers, augers, grabs, shears and pulverisers. It is a fleet that has come a long way,
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having started in 1980 and considering the company’s first purchase was for a rockbreaking excavator in a project in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 1989. In addition to offering dry hire, Markwell Group also makes its highly skilled operators available for wet hire purposes, and offers its customers full machine induction and operator training. Twenty-three years ago, the Markwell Group diversified into the mobile crushing and screening market. “We bought our first jaw crusher in February 1998,” Gavin Markwell, the founder and managing director of Markwell Group, told Quarry. “The business started as a mixture of contract crushing, dry hire and wet hire crushing units.” The contract crushing service today accounts for about 30 per cent of the Markwell Group’s business. “We generally campaign crush for other companies
– that is, quarries and mine sites that crush aggregates to road base to mining aggregates,” Markwell explained. “We operate our own concrete crushing material, building pad material, roadbase, various aggregates. We do concrete crushing for a few of the shires in this region and we contract major quarries including Holcim, Boral, Hanson, as well as the smaller quarries. We’re also at work in Bundaberg, Mount Isa and Cape York at the moment – so within a 1000km radius of Townsville – and occasionally work in PNG.” Markwell estimates that his company undertakes between 20 and 50 contract crushing jobs per year. “However, the projects range from a few days to six months,” he qualified. “Many projects have run for a year. Our involvement in campaign crushing is either on sites where there are no crushing facilities at all or in quarries where extra assistance/extra production is
required. They’ve won a large contract and they can’t service their existing customers as well as complete the large contract, so we come into assist. Sometimes we may be asked to make specialty products.”
A CONCRETE-EATING MACHINE Markwell’s contract crushing fleet currently comprises 15 mobile crushers (including cones, jaws, and impactors) and screens. Three of those machines are Kleemann mobile crushers: the MR130 Z Evo 2 Mobirex Impactor, the MCO9S Mobicone cone and the MC110 Z Mobicat jaw, all supplied by Wirtgen Australia, a member of the John Deere Group of companies. The MR 130 Z impactor and the MCO9S cone are equipped with recirculating screens, which Markwell said “clip onto the back for quick release”. The MCO9S cone crusher has a large stroke for maximum crushing capacity that is powered by a powerful diesel-direct drive and regulated by a continuous feed system (CFS) that monitors the crusher fill level, load on the crusher drive, and crusher speed. The MCO9S is fitted with integrated overload and intelligent overload systems, a high performance secondary screening unit and a feeding conveyor which adapts to the fill level of the crusher, resulting in continuous optimal crusher level for maximum performance and a quality final product. From a maintenance perspective, cone liner change-outs are easy and brisk due to the fact of not having
a backing compound meaning you will be back crushing sooner with less downtime. Other features include a sliding feed unit for fast set-up, a recirculating conveyor, a metal detector, automatic crusher gap setting and zero-point calculation, and an easy control touch panel that monitors speed, temperature, and pressure. The MC110 Z features an extra-long articulated, flattened transition and highly raised crusher jaw, powered by a dieseldirect drive. It features an independent vibrating double-deck pre-screen, which offers effective screening of fine material for optimum final product. Like the MCO9S, it has a CFS which adapts the vibrating feeder and pre-screen frequencies to the crusher level, and a load reduction system (or LRS), which intervenes when the crusher is fed materials outside the permissible range. When the overload is reduced the system adapts to the highest possible output. It also features a crusher unblocking system for short downtimes, a by-pass flap for redirection of materials and a magnetic separator. A control touch panel monitors speed, temperature, and pressure. The MC110 Z jaw and the MCO9S cone crushers are used by Markwell Group in quarrying applications, and at time of writing were assisting one of the larger quarrying producers in North Queensland. The MR 130 Z impact crusher is being used in concrete crushing and Markwell joked that it “just loves eating concrete”. Like the MC110 Z jaw, the MR 130 Z
features an independent vibrating doubledeck pre-screen. It has a crusher inlet of 1300mm x 900mm and is equipped with a four-bar rotor with C-shaped blow bars for better impact over extended periods. Hydraulic gaps can be set via a touch screen and an integrated overload protection system prevents stoppages, material congestion and downtime. Like the other crushers, the MR 130 Z is fitted with a CFS. A lock and turn safety key transfer system allows work in certain areas only if they are mechanically locked. All components and functions can be controlled via a simple touch control system. The MR 130 Z is also equipped with a secondary screening unit and a magnetic separator to capture metals and sharps. Markwell said the MR 130 Z impact crusher has impressed him because in concrete crushing applications it effectively doubles for both the cone and the jaw crushers. As he put it, the MR 130 Z essentially “makes the same end product. Previously we made a -100mm product out of the jaw and then crushed that to a -23mm product through the cone. The impactor will go from the feed size of about 500mm to 600mm to -23mm with the use of the recirculating conveyor, in effect making the one product with one machine. It makes the site more efficient because there is one machine doing the job. This machine also has a 2.9m underpan feeder, which means less steel and contaminants are caught, and therefore less damage is done to the belt”.
Quarry April 2021 35
CRUSHING
While not specifically used by Markwell Group for quarrying, the MR 130 Z can crush rock in addition to C&D materials and recycling.
The MC110 Z features an extra-long articulated, flattened transition and highly raised crusher jaw.
While he doesn’t use it in quarrying specifically, Markwell said the MR 130 Z has crushed rock in addition to C&D materials and recycling. “You don’t use impactors in high silica contact rock,” he explained. “It’s suitable for basalt and lime. You just have to pick what you’re crushing.”
FUEL EFFICIENCY One of the factors that persuaded Markwell to buy his Kleemann mobile trio was the fuel economy. He estimates his machines, which are three years’ old, would use about 30 per cent less fuel than the rest of
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his mobile fleet. For example, a 40-tonne impactor in Markwell’s inventory was consuming about 38 litres of fuel per hour compared to only 25 litres per hour on his 60-tonne MR 130 Z impactor. David Dixon is the Kleemann sales manager in Queensland for Wirtgen Australia and has assisted Markwell Group with the set-up and ongoing maintenance of the Kleemann trio. He told Quarry that this fuel saving is common of the entire Kleemann mobile crushing suite. “The MR 130 Z impactor, the MCO9S cone and the MC110Z jaw have efficient and
high performance diesel-direct drives for minimal fuel consumption per tonne of end product and high performance electric drives for chutes, screens and conveyors,” Dixon explained. “The generator runs the chutes, screens and conveyors, as opposed to the engine, which means there’s less risk of hydraulic leaks, and low fuel consumption. Our entire crushing fleet, not just those three machines, has those features. “The other features of the machines are the continuous feed system – the CFS - and probes that monitor chamber depth, and when it’s crushing maintain a constant feed, maintain the belt, maintain a constant feed,” Dixon added. “The machine is running at its maximum efficiency all the time. It’s operating non-stop and it will slow down and speed up accordingly where there are some stop-starts. “Another feature on the MR130 Z is optimal material flow,” Dixon said, “so it’s a straight feed, From the feeder to final end product belt the width increases incrementally meaning as material is crushed and bulks up it flows better through the machine. By total throughput, this helps with less fuel consumption, reduced life and less congestion.” Dixon described his role at Wirtgen Australia as an after sales and customer liaison. “The sale doesn’t just stop with the availability of the machine,” he said. “My background is in the general hire industry offering service on demand, 24/7.” His feedback is that Markwell Group is happy with the performance of the machine. “Gavin’s feedback is positive, we answer his questions, we get back in a reasonable time frame, and nothing really is a problem with Wirtgen. We have quarterly meetings in Queensland, and we are constantly talking to Markwell about how we can improve our service to them.” Markwell has been very pleased with the output and overall performance of the Kleemann mobile crushing plant, and also with Wirtgen Australia’s aftermarket support. “The machines work very well,” he said. “Kleemann is very supportive of the product – and all the parts we’ve needed so far have been on the ground in Australia.” As for those overdue 40th anniversary celebrations, Markwell joked that he still has memorabilia in stock that is now a year old. However, he is hoping to still organise a function in the near future that celebrates the milestone. •
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SAND PROCESSING
An aerial overview of TPI Concrete Co’s quarry and ready-mix concrete operations in the Saraburi province, Thailand.
WET CLASSIFIER TURNS
BY-PRODUCT INTO VALUABLE MATERIAL TPI, a Thailand-based manufacturer and distributor of cement and concrete products, has successfully invested in its first ever wet classification plant, designed and engineered by CDE Global, to recover valuable materials from stockpiles of historic by-product and meet zero waste targets.
T
PI Concrete Co, a subsidiary of the Thailand-headquartered TPI Polene, was established in 1991 for the production of cement and ready-mix concrete products. By 1997, its production capacity had expanded to a combined nine million tonnes per annum. Today, it is the second largest manufacturer and distributor of readymixed concrete in Thailand. Historically, materials processors in Thailand have adopted dry processing technologies for classifying sand and aggregate products. Such processing techniques lack the precision necessary to maximise product yield. As a result, the fine fractions from feedstock are inefficiently separated and contribute to significant volumes of by-product. With a multi-million tonnes per annum
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production capacity, TPI had generated in excess of seven million tonnes of what it had considered to be unusable 0–50mm quarry by-product. TPI CEO Prachai Leophairatana initially approached CDE’s in-market partner Uawithya Machinery to find a zero waste solution to move towards a circular economy. Now, with the support of wet processing experts CDE, the company has invested in its first wet classification solution to maximise the quality and quantity of its products and extend the life of its available resources by recovering high value material from millions of tonnes of stockpiled by-product.
QUALITY, QUANTITY IN EQUAL MEASURE CDE’s wet processing technologies support materials producers to gain competitive
advantage in their markets by not only maximising the volume of resources but also their commercial value. CDE’s Australasian regional manager Daniel Webber said CDE worked with Uawithya Machinery to demonstrate the technical capabilities of its wet processing technologies to efficiently process TPI’s stockpiles. “Widespread adoption dry processing techniques provided us with an opportunity to really showcase the huge benefits of wet processing,” Webber explained. “Through intensive lab analysis and real world testing through a scale plant we were able to put forward a compelling case for how CDE wet processing technology could process TPI’s by-product into high quality materials for use in its downstream processes.”
CDE’s bespoke 300 tph wet processing solution was integrated seamlessly with TPI’s existing crushing and batching equipment.
Following a site visit to Léman Granulats, one of CDE’s customers based in Switzerland, Uawithya Machinery and CDE worked closely with TPI to design and engineer a new classification plant to help recover a range of products from its quarry by-product. CDE proposed a bespoke 300 tonnes per hour (tph) wet processing solution that was engineered to integrate with TPI’s existing equipment at its base of operations in the Saraburi province. “Over the years TPI has made huge investments in infrastructure, equipment and the makeup of its site which sits adjacent a limestone quarry feeding four batching plants,” Webber explained. “It was essential to integrate our solution seamlessly with the existing crushing plants.” The resulting solution which provides material for TPI’s on-site batching plants features a combination of CDE equipment operating in perfect synergy: a M4500 modular wash plant, an AggMax modular logwasher, CDE’s pioneering Infinity ScreenTM technology and closed-circuit water management system incorporating the AquaCycleTM thickener and Filter Press.
MINIMISED ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT The CDE solution is an expansive network
of uphill and downhill conveyors to transfer material to and from the plant. Covering more than 1800 metres, the sophisticated conveyor system has significantly reduced load and haul fuel usage, noise pollution and dust pollution at the quarry by eliminating the need for trucks. In addition to the environmental benefits, the system has minimised costly fleet maintenance for TPI. CDE’s AquaCycle is an important addition to the water-intensive TPI operation, supporting the company to reduce its environmental impact. An alternative to water extraction and the costly process of pumping water to the plant, the AquaCycle is a highly efficient water management solution that minimises costly water consumption by ensuring up to 90 per cent of process water is recycled for immediate recirculation. After feed material has been washed and classified, waste is sent to the AquaCycle thickener tank. Here, a small amount of polyelectrolyte flocculant is added to the water via an automatic dosing station which forces fine particles to settle on the bottom of the thickener tank. The clean water on the top overflows the weir and is stored in a sheltered concrete water tank before being recirculated around the plant. The result is a highly efficient water recycling system that
requires only a 10 per cent supply of top-up water. Previously stockpiled material is now being processed into a variety of high value products including a 2.5–5mm scrubbed aggregate, a 0–0.6mm and a 0.6–2.5mm sand, a manufactured C33 concrete sand (M-Sand) and a dried filtercake. TPI historically purchased significant volumes of natural sand at high expense for its ready-mix concrete and mortar production. Now with the cut point accuracy offered by CDE’s wet processing technology, stockpiled crusher fines are being turned into in-spec, reliable and consistent C33 manufactured sand, resulting in huge savings for the company. While the dry filter cake is often used for pipe bedding and landfill capping, TPI has utilised this material in its cement production, meaning the CDE solution is recovering 100 per cent of the raw feed material for high value applications and supporting TPI to divert millions of tonnes of historic by-product from landfill. “We call our CDE project the ‘zero waste project’,” TPI’s CEO Leophairatana commented. “We are the only cement company in Thailand creating valuable products from waste while also using less energy in our operations. We are very
Quarry April 2021 39
SAND PROCESSING
As a rule, dry processing technologies for classifying sand and aggregate products in Thailand have resulted in fine fractions from feedstock being inefficiently separated and resulting in significant stockpiles of by-product.
proud to contribute to the circular economy movement.” “CDE technology is supporting TPI to respond to two primary challenges, namely
growing demand for quality construction aggregates and identifying alternatives to finite virgin materials,” Webber said. “The solution is central to supporting
TPI achieve its zero waste aims.” The manufactured C33 concrete sand is being produced from the 0–0.6mm and the 0.6–2.5mm sand, and results have shown it to match the quality of natural C33 concrete sand. “This is a significant achievement towards the company’s sustainability goals,” Webber concluded. “It demonstrates the strength and consistency of CDE M-Sand and will help TPI maintain a competitive advantage in the market.” CDE develops wet processing equipment for quarries, mines and recycling operations across five regions globally. Its equipment range has applications across a wide range of materials and is delivering significant efficiencies in the construction and recycling (CD&E), mining, industrial sands and environmental sectors. For more information about CDE and its wet processing solutions, visit CDEGlobal.com • Source: CDE Global
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FOR THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY Xylem’s pumps, treatment equipment and analytical instruments and technologies help mines at every stage in the water management cycle.
X
ylem is the name of the tissue in plants that brings water upward from the root. Much like its definition, Xylem the company helps mines and quarries to not only bring water to their production facilities but also through all stages of water boosting, dewatering open pit and underground mines, slurry pumping, water treatment and testing. Xylem’s slogan – “Let’s solve water” – reflects the company’s vision to be a holistic solution provider for water management. As Paul Gaby, Xylem Oceania’s product and marketing manager explained, the company relies on its “local experts and quality products” to achieve that vision. “Our strength as a company lies in having people who are skilled in everything waterrelated and backing that up with a portfolio of leading product brands,” Gaby said. As a global company with more than 16,000 employees and offices in more than 150 countries, Xylem’s product range is extensive. Brands such as Godwin and Flygt have a manufacturing history of more than 100 years, with 17 other brands including Lowara, Wedeco, Sanitaire, Leopold, Goulds and YSI added to the mix in past decades.
Xylem’s Godwin NC80 Rig Pump.
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Gaby said while water access is a key challenge for many mines, being able to remove water from the operation in an environmentally friendly way often poses an even bigger challenge. “Removing water or dewatering a mine site might seem minor, but in reality, it is as big a challenge as supply,” he explained. “Xylem’s broad range of dewatering pumps enables us to help mines overcome dewatering challenges within their space and access constraints.” Water and wastewater treatment is another area where the company offers multiple innovations. “An example of how Xylem is bringing innovation into the mining industry in the area of water and wastewater treatment is highly compact biological treatment utilising an in-situ build-up sludge cake layer for bio-solid filtration through the in-house brand Sanitaire,” Gaby said. “Another example is the newly developed smart Flygt mixing devices to build autonomous mixing applications. In addition, Xylem supports customers to recover cyanide in gold mining processes via containerised ozone systems under the global leading brand Wedeco.” Gaby added Xylem has a lot to offer for online flow monitoring and water quality monitoring pre- and post-treatment. “Our engineers can help organisations choose and configure system components that allow them to have a compact footprint, while simplifying operation and reducing life cycle costs.” Dewatering of open pit and underground mines is another area where Xylem’s products, expertise and solutions come into play, Gaby said. “In open pit mines, we pump surface water from the pit and lower the water table through active dewatering to prevent
Xylem’s Wedeco PDOevo ozone system.
disruption of mine production. Underground, we transfer water from sumps, optimise main drainage, and dewater shafts.” With open pit mines getting deeper and deeper, Gaby said pumping high lifts and long distances is becoming a key requirement. “Xylem’s booster pumps can be used underground to maintain system pressure for machinery like drill rigs. “As an original equipment manufacturer, Xylem has direct access to global teams for support and innovative product development. We have products that can support a mine site’s needs for every step of the water cycle and we can sell or rent equipment to support our customers’ budgeting needs of OPEX or CAPEX investments.” With multiple branches across Australia and New Zealand, Xylem can support extractive customers in all locations. “Our highly skilled technicians can service and repair any critical equipment,” Gaby said. “We also provide large warehousing inventory to make sure products are available to our customers in times of emergency. “Xylem’s vision is to devote our technology, time and talent to advancing the smarter use of water. That’s the vision that has been driving the development and growth of our products and solutions.” •
LOAD & HAUL
ARTIC DUMP TRUCKS OFFER IMPROVED FUEL BURN, BOOST PRODUCTIVITY
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new range of articulated dump trucks with improved features and an enhanced design can positively impact machine productivity and ease of use. Designed with the demands of today’s job site in mind, John Deere has introduced the new E-II articulated dump trucks (ADTs). The models, including the 410E-II and 460EII, incorporate customer-driven features, promising greater operator comfort, reduced fuel burn, increased uptime and lowered daily operating costs. With a redesigned dump body, updated operator station, and new drive and transmission retarder modes, the John Deere-designed and -built E-II models deliver ultimate productivity on the job. “All of our ADTs are proudly designed and built by John Deere in Dubuque and Davenport, Iowa,” said Cory Ouellette, John Deere Construction & Forestry’s product marketing manager for ADTs. “The new E-II trucks combine the most popular features of the E-series line with customer-driven performance and operation enhancements, resulting in a machine that is easier and more cost-effective to operate. “With the three standard drive modes, new body design, operator station enhancements and improved fuel burn, the E-II series trucks provide customers with a reliable and durable, yet easy to operate, solution that positively impacts their operation and their bottom line,” Ouellette added. A key feature on the E-II machines is the redesigned dump body, which is wider and has a lowered and levelled rail height to improve material retention. A new side sheet design makes the load height the same from front to back, while the widened bin offers additional tyre coverage and easier loading. In addition, the bin rail features an angled top, helping to reduce material spillage while traveling. The updated operator station on the E-II models increases ease of use, productivity and all-round comfort. One of the most notable features is the single sealed switch module, reducing the number of switches by 25 per cent compared to the previous models. An automotive-style multi-function turn signal lever includes lights and windshield wipers, further helping to simplify truck settings without limiting functionality. The new primary display
The E-II ADT incorporates improved features and an enhanced design.
unit provides a clear display of daily operation and enhanced diagnostic information. Other comfort-boosting features include the relocated air conditioning controls for easy access to the temperature settings, an optional automatic temperature control feature, and a heated and ventilated premium seat option. Customers can also add the seat belt minder system, which includes a green beacon light outside the truck, providing confirmation that the seat belt is fastened. An optional four-point retractable seat belt harness is available on all models. The three standard drive modes — Normal, Eco and Traction — help to optimise the drivetrain and reduce inputs from the operator. The “Normal” mode provides the same features familiar to the E-series, while reducing fuel burn by up to seven per cent compared to the existing models. With “Eco” mode, the system reduces fuel consumption by smoothing throttle input and reducing maximum revolutions per minute (rpm). When conditions allow, “Eco” mode can improve fuel consumption by up to 12 per cent compared to the E-II “Normal” mode. The “Traction” mode helps the operator to maintain tyre traction in soft underfoot conditions, automatically engaging the differential lock to minimise wheel spinning, and increases traction. To improve the function of the automatic differential locks,
new wheel speed sensors have been added, enhancing the accuracy of engagement. Also designed to boost operator productivity, simplified retarder controls help to create a consistent, smooth ride in all applications. Three transmission retarder modes — low, medium and high — offer different operating characteristics for loaded and unloaded trucks. The design of the E-II machines maintains the best in class ground level daily service capabilities. By maximising machine uptime, there is a 10 per cent reduction of electric and hydraulic routings, further reducing potential leak points. The optional, factory-installed auto lube feature is filled at ground level and takes the guesswork out of lubricating grease fittings, increasing component life. Optional LED lights provide greater visibility in lowlight settings. The 460E-II model is available with a new ejector body solution. This solution allows operators to spread a load over a given area and can be used in areas where there are overhead powerline concerns or where risk of rollover is high due to steep grade unloading. • To learn more about the new E-II models, as well as the full line of John Deere construction equipment, visit JohnDeere.com.au
Quarry April 2021 43
SCREEN MEDIA
MODULAR SCREENS: THE WAY OF THE FUTURE
The success of any screen in a plant circuit is the quality and the robustness of the screen media. A 30-plus-year veteran talks to Quarry about the latest advances in screen media technology.
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ill Ziogos is Metso Outotec’s screening sales support manager for the AsiaPacific market, based in Brisbane. He has worked with operators in the quarrying industry since 1986, when he first worked for Melwire in Clayton, Victoria. In 1991, Bill Ziogos joined Svedala, which eventually became part of Metso after the merger with Nordberg in 2001. Metso has recently amalgamated with Outotec to become Metso Outotec in 2020. With his screening background, Ziogos has progressed through each transition and his breadth of experience and knowledge has been undoubtedly valuable in every iteration. Ziogos said the Metso Outotec screen media brand, which started life as Trellex, has proven as durable as its products. “The Trellex brand has been renowned for a very long time. Many of the old quarry managers still refer to me as the old “Trellex man’,” he laughed. “It’s just lived forever, so now it’s about passing on this information to the up-and-comers.” Metso Outotec’s screen media range consists of three types – modular, panel and tension systems. Modular screens, available in rubber and polyurethane, are designed for fine to medium coarse applications. Panel systems are suited to medium to primary (coarse) applications, and consist of a self-supporting screening panel with an integral steel and cord reinforcement vulcanised within each panel. Poly panels are suitable for wet screening applications and for use in sand plants. Tensioned screens are suited for fine to semicoarse applications. “Wire predominantly makes up the bulk of the tensioned cloths in the quarry industry, followed by rubber and polyurethane,” Ziogos explained. However, he has little doubt about the future direction of screen media. “Modular screening is the way of the future,” he said. “When looking at it from a global viewpoint, there is certainly interest in moving away from the traditional wire-tensioned
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An example of the Trellex LS modular system.
systems to a modular system.” Ziogos added modular screens “allow for selective change-outs of individual worn panels, as opposed to a complete tensioned cloth that need changing if one section of it is worn. It also provides for fine tuning of grading envelopes through strategic placement of apertures across the deck. “Modular screen panel retrofits can be performed to most screens currently suited to cross-tensioned cloth. The advantages of installing modular panels is not only the wear life benefits but the panels are smaller and safer for operators to handle. Manual handling is minimised, reducing the risks to operators performing screen change-outs. There is also a reduced cost in labour and less downtime,” Ziogos explained. Tensioned screen media such as wire, rubber and polyurethane cloths can be fitted to most fixed screen plant, regardless of the manufacturer, and may suit mobile screens.
HEALTH BENEFITS In addition to the durability of modular options, quarry operators will appreciate the added safety measures. In 2017, the New South Wales Resources
Regulator and the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment released a guide on the management and maintenance of screens in the extractive industries. The guide had a heavy emphasis on the importance of proper screen management, as musculoskeletal disorders can pose a considerable risk to screen operators. To that end, Ziogos said the “modular media has an advantage in minimising health and safety risks due to its lighter weight and manageable size. It also offers significant noise reduction. More urban quarries are looking for ways to operate with reduced dust and noise”. Rubber screen media is an option to reduce noise emissions and frequency of changeouts. Other safety features across Metso’s entire screen range include comfortable room between decks, noise and dust reduction technology. The durability of Metso’s range has been tested by clients in more than 50 countries, and Ziogos said his relationships across Metso’s Asia-Pacific clients have endured over the years - such is the strength of Metso’s customer satisfaction. “It’s always a pleasure to assist our customers when they are seeking advice on how to
screen more efficiently,” Ziogos said. “The way I approach it is that we are not looking to offer a product but to offer a solution to screening problems being experienced. “Over the years I’ve had great relationships with many operators and to this day they will still contact me.” Ziogos outlined plenty of examples of local success stories. “For many quarries around Australia, the installation of Superflex cloths has reduced pegging and blinding on site, improved grading quality and also throughput. The bottom deck of the tertiary screen is the most difficult one to access so less frequent screen cloth change-outs is more attractive to operators who gain in productivity, throughput and reduced risk on site. “Another great success story – and one of my favourites – was at a quarry in central Victoria. We converted a conventional crosstensioned screen into a modular panel system. The benefits of this conversion lead to other screens being converted in both the crushed rock plant and tertiary plant.”
SCREEN MEDIA OPTIONS While the Trellex Superflex is perfect for tackling
After three decades, Metso Outotec’s Bill Ziogos is still remembered as the old ‘Trellex man’.
pegging or blinding issues at the tertiary screening stage, Metso Outotec has a product to match every stage of production. “The primary screening side can be effectively handled by Trellex panel systems such as the 610MP/Panelcord in separations from 50mm and higher,” Ziogos said. “For separations less than 50mm the Trellex
LS modular system is a good option. For finer separations below 10-15mm, a thin flexible membrane can avoid the pegging, due to flakiness of the material. “Whatever the screening application, there is a screening media solution to match,” Ziogos summarised. “Screen media is adaptable to all environments and tasks. The range is designed to offer maximum productivity without compromising quality. “When fitting a modular system, our Trellex Trellstep system is the easiest to install, as there is no need to convert existing screen decks. It’s a quick, easy retrofit by installing our ‘Snap-On’ rail to an existing deck.” If durability, cost-efficiency, and added safety aren’t enough, Ziogos added Metso Outotec is a proud contributor to meeting science-based targets of a maximum of 1.5°C global warming. With a brand promise of being “the partner for positive change”, Ziogos said quarrying producers can be assured of Metso’s clean-cut, trustworthy world of stress-free operation. For more information on Metso’s screen media, visit mogroup.com/products-andservices/parts/screening-media/ •
CRUSHING | SCREENING | STOCKPILING MIXING | WASHING SOLUTIONS
1800 727 991 (Free call AUS)
sales@precisionscreen.com.au | www.precisionscreen.com.au
PRECISIONSCREEN TRACKCRUSH PV350 VSI CRUSHER « High capacity machine with production up to 350TPH « Rotor direct hydraulic drive « Manufactured in Australia for Australian conditions
CONVEYING The OPS Group has signed a new deal with Astec Australia to distribute Astec’s Telestack stockpiling range.
NEW DEAL STACKS UP FOR ASTEC, OPS GROUP
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stec Australia has signed a new, exclusive deal with its dealer OPS for Astec Telestack products in Australia. Mobile conveying equipment can offer significant operating cost savings for certain applications compared to traditional methods of material handling. The plant can also reduce planning requirements thanks to increased flexibility, and the ability to move from site to site. The Astec range of equipment has made its mark around the world, operating successfully in some of the most challenging environments. Telestack, located in Omagh, Northern Ireland, was acquired by Astec Industries in recent years and specialises in the complete in-house design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of mobile conveying equipment, a complete line of material handling systems used extensively in the port, aggregate and mining industries. Telestack continues to invest heavily in its facility, as part of a long-term strategy to futureproof its capacity to support the development of an extensive range of worldclass, innovative and quality products. Astec anticipates synergies between Telestack and its aggregate product lines to be beneficial while incorporating OPS as Astec Australia’s newly appointed dealer. This is an important evolution collaborating in very active and demanding markets and expanding Astec’s footprint. Shane Czerkasow, managing director of the OPS Group, said the market is embracing solutions that reduce reliance on manual labour, fuel usage, manpower and ultimately improve efficiencies. “We at OPS are delighted to formally announce the extension to our long-standing partnership with Telestack through Astec Australia, which is already in effect with OPS and MPS stocking and servicing Astec Telestack Australia wide.”
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The OPS Group has been the exclusive dealer for Telestack in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. However, with the signing of the new agreement with Astec Australia, the company’s subsidiary Mineral Processing Solutions (MPS) will distribute in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. In addition, MPS will distribute Astec Breaker Technology International (BTI) equipment. BTI manufactures mining, quarrying, construction and demolition equipment designed to improve productivity and profitability. Czerkasow described the timing as perfect for OPS to expand its Astec Telestack offering across Australia. “The OPS business has grown on the core values of delivering world-class products with industry-leading service and support, all of which provides our customers reliability, productivity and efficiency,” he said. “Astec Australia is an obvious fit and perfect partnership for our business, as these are commonly shared values. “Great equipment requires great back-up and support and we believe this is a well matched partnership that will deliver quality outcomes for customers of these industries. David Smale, Astec Australia’s regional managing director, said MPS’s local market knowledge and mineral processing experience, backed by Astec Telestack’s innovation prowess and manufacturing capabilities, will allow the two companies to develop into a dominant player in these markets. “MPS’s demonstrated ability to offer innovative, quality products and services makes them the perfect partner to support customers with applications, support and service,” Smale said. MPS will deliver the Astec Telestack product offering through new and existing Australian support infrastructure. The company already has facilities in Perth, Darwin, Adelaide and the
New South Wales Central Coast which each hold new and used equipment stocks, hire fleets, spare part warehouses and local service and support teams. To strengthen its presence on the east coast, the company has invested in local teams in Brisbane and Melbourne, along with additional inventory of equipment and parts. Additional work is underway on new facilities in these cities, to be completed later in 2021. Trevor Raman, OPS Group’s operations and engineering manager, said the company’s investment in its facilities is aimed at improving the service and support capabilities for its current and future customers. “With the expansion and continued diversification of our range of equipment offering, it is critical that we constantly develop and improve our overall customer support,” Raman said. “Our first-class facilities will enable our businesses to stock unprecedented levels of capital equipment, readily available for sales, hire and demonstration, as well as ensure we stock industry-leading levels of spare parts. “OPS have always strived to deliver class-leading service and support. These new facilities will allow us to take this to a whole new level. We now have tremendous capabilities in large scale plant refurbishment, fixed plant services, fabrication and component manufacturing and refurbishment, including screen media and conveyor products.” The Astec Telestack range covers all facets of moving material from one point to another and is capable of up to 3000 tonnes per hour capacities. This range includes track-mounted stackers, wheeled stackers and link conveyors, radial telescopic stackers, ship loaders and unloaders, tracked and wheeled hopper feeders, reclaim hoppers, tracked and wheeled truck unloaders, bulk reception feeders, static and project conveyors, and tracked blending plants (pugmills). •
BEARINGS
ROLLER BEARING EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS IN SAND WASHING APPLICATION
Timken’s uniquely designed spherical roller bearing solid-block housed units are unmistakable in their signature blue colour.
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and washing plants are among the most rugged environments for bearings. Once washed and dehydrated in the impeller, fine sand is discharged to a dewatering sieve and mixed into coarse sand to further dehydrate. The discharge port is connected to a belt conveyor to be transported to the designated position. At one such sand washing operation in Queensland, the bearings in the main conveyor’s tall drum were failing frequently, with plant supervisors sometimes having to replace the bearings every week. When informed of the problem, BSC technical sales representative David Harwood visited the site to investigate further. “The sand washing plant was continuously changing bearings on the tail drum of the main conveyor in the wet plant on a weekly basis from contamination with sand and water,” he explained. “After investigating the failing bearings on-site and evaluating the situation in consultation with Timken, we provided a solution using Timken’s spherical roller bearing solid-block housed units.” Timken’s uniquely designed spherical roller bearing solid-block housed units are unmistakable in their signature blue colour. According to Harwood, the rugged design of the Timken housed units make them a perfect fit for high abrasion applications such as quarry conveyors. “Because solid-block housed units are made of cast steel, they are built to last the
impact of falling debris or grinding forces from sand and gravel,” Harwood said. “These units are also designed to handle up to 1.5 degrees of misalignment and to protect the bearings from contaminants with a range of sealing and locking arrangements.” Further, Harwood said ease of installation adds more benefits when mounting the bearings on-site. “The housed units that Timken provide come as fully-assembled, pre-greased, sealed units that are ready to be fitted to the shaft. A major benefit of this is that it reduces the installation and removal time for operations that are time-critical, such as for replacing conveyor pulleys.” As for the sand washing plant, which is a long-standing client of BSC’s North Lakes branch, Harwood said the cost savings and life improvements had already exceeded
expectations. “Our initial expectation was that after installing the spherical roller bearing solid-block housed units, they would last for at least three years without needed replacement,” Harwood said. “The bearings have already been in place for more than six years and are still going strong. The plant has been able to save approximately $8000 per year in bearing replacement costs alone.” BSC, as one of Australia’s largest distributors of industrial parts and services, works closely with Timken to address bearing-related issues across every industry. “The sand washing plant that we worked with was very impressed by the solution and they have already adopted the units across their other applications,” Harwood said. • Source: Motion Asia Pacific
MERITS OF A SPHERICAL ROLLER SBHU • Accommodate shaft diameters from 35mm to 380mm. • Machined feet, tapped puller holes, black oxide inner rings and multiple shaft-locking choices make it simpler to install. • Wide selection of primary and secondary seals, as well as auxiliary covers. • Double-nut housing feature allows expansion in both directions. • Robust steel housing results in increased unit uptime. • Eccentric lock series designed to stay tight in reversing applications. • Bearings accept up to 1.5 degrees of misalignment. • Pressure relief valves come standard when unit is ordered with non-purgeable seals. • Dimensionally interchanges with a wide range of other mounted roller bearing units.
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DRILL & BLAST
COLLABORATIVE BLAST OPTIMISATION IN A LIMESTONE MINE Boral’s largest mining operation in southern NSW has collaborated with Orica on the testing of bulk explosives.
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oral’s Limestone Mine near Marulan in southern New South Wales is the source of limestone for up to 60 per cent of all cement products used in the state. It has operated since the 1830s, and today it is Boral’s largest mining operation in Australia. The mine blasts 3.5 million tonnes of rock a year using modern open-cut hard rock drill and blast techniques. Orica provides down the hole (DTH) bulk explosive loading, survey and laser profiling, and boretracking services to site. It also supports the site with technical services and blast design advice, explosive type and requested Orica’s support with measurement technology. The original aim of the project was to identify the bulk explosive most suitable for the geology and Boral’s blasting objectives. Boral’s target fragmentation for productivity in mining and processing is between 250mm and 600mm. Orica provided services, software, and hardware to support the project by measuring these outcomes in three production blasts: 1. The average sonic velocity of the rock adjacent to each blast, using arrays of Kelunji accelerometers and Orica’s Cycad software (Table 1). 2. Fragmentation, using aerial photography and Orica’s Powersieve analysis software (Figure 1). 3. The velocity of detonation (VOD) of bulk explosive. When blasting for fragmentation, it is better to choose an explosive with a VOD higher than the local sonic velocity of the rock. Under this condition, damage to the rock around each blasthole is increased. Sonic velocity was measured using
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Figure 1. Drone imagery and Powersieve software were used to measure the PSD.
Figure 2. Dig rate comparison.
an array of precisely synchronised accelerometers adjacent to each blast. The values shown in Table 1 are therefore “average” values, including the effects of pre-conditioning and structure and are probably lower than the sonic velocity of the limestone rock fabric. The results indicate the average sonic velocity of the limestone is in the range of 3900 to 4380 metres per second (m/s). This is lower than the VOD of
the bulk emulsion blend used in the blasts. The Boral and Orica teams identified that the high energy Centra Gold 1.25 g/cc bulk explosive is most suitable for the blasting objectives and local conditions. However, further analysis indicated that localised fragmentation surrounding the explosive column was finer than required, while the stemming zones and regions between holes was producing oversize.
Figure 3. Fragmentation curves measured using Powersieve showing trial results.
BLAST HOLE DIAMETER (MM)
VOD (M/S)
AVERAGE SOLID VELOCITY
165
5356
4380
165
5181
3899
102
4627
4180
Table 1. Results from three blasts in limestone using Centra Gold bulk explosive @1.25g/cc average in-hole density.
TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS, RESULTS Orica and Boral agreed on an objective to create a more uniform fragmentation distribution by reducing the hole diameter from 165mm to 127mm. The 127mm pattern was adjusted to reduce the overall energy factor but create a more even energy distribution. If successful, this would produce more uniform fragmentation, reduce costs, and improve productivity. Blasting results using both diameters were assessed. The results from the comparison
trials were shared between Boral and Orica so both parties could jointly determine potential opportunities for improvement. Measures used to identify the effectiveness included: • Fragmentation analysis using drone imagery and Orica’s Powersieve software. • Drilling accuracy using GPS survey and boretracking to measure blasthole deviation. • Oversize per blasted volume measured using drone survey and Powersieve™.
• Crusher throughput measured by site methods. • Instantaneous dig rate measured using Orica’s cyclepro software (Figure 2). The collaborative effort demonstrated that value can be unlocked by applying technology to blast measurements. The design change produced the following improvements in blast outcomes: • A 27 per cent reduction in the cost (dollars per tonne) of blasted material. • An 11 per cent reduction in instantaneous dig rate (Figure 2). • A smaller and more uniform fragmentation distribution (Figure 3), ie o P80 size reduced by 12 per cent. o P50 reduced by nine per cent. o P20 reduced by nine per cent. • A 41 per cent decrease in oversize (Figure 4). • A crusher throughput increase of three per cent. • Minor improvement in drill accuracy. • Authors: Jonathon Keller, Orica Advisor Technical Services Cameron Ingles, Orica Blast Technician ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Orica thanks the following people for their contribution to the project, strong collaboration, support, and permission to publish this case study: • Shane Braddy, Boral GM Quarries, • Alex Nicetin, Boral Drill and Blast Manager, • Wayne Beattie, Boral Pit Production Manager, • Darryl Young, Boral Pit Supervisor, • Craig Chapman, Boral Shotfirer.
CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL “Orica’s Technical Services team did an exceptional job. They looked at Boral’s problem with an advanced set of skills and tools, which allowed Orica to move the investigation from one originally looking at explosives selection to now focus on explosives distribution. In NSW, Boral and Orica enjoy open and robust technical conversation. This has been the key to collaboration, continuous improvement and project successes such as this one.” Alex Nicetin – Boral Drill and Blast Manager Quarries Figure 4. Measured oversize as a proportion of blast volume.
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EDUCATION & TRAINING
To competently advise and direct others, managers need to be assured that they are confident about their own abilities.
SEVEN CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
In the first part of a new educational series, Mike Cameron discusses the qualities and traits of “Emerging Leaders” in organisations and what makes them qualified to not only manage other people but have complete confidence and assurance in themselves.
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areth R Jones, in his pivotal book Organizational Theory, Design and Change1, stated that organisations
are: • Efficient when they manage resources to maximise their utility in the process of producing goods or services. • Effective when they achieve qualitative goals and targets that are customercentric, such as satisfaction. Peter Drucker succinctly summed it up as efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right thing2. In other words, it is not a question of how much but rather how well the organisation achieves its goals through the employment and support of competent managers and/or effective leaders. “Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success. Leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.” Stephen R Covey 3
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When facilitating leadership development programs several years ago, one of the open questions for discussion was: “Are leaders made or born?” The resounding response was that the skillset and key competencies associated with effective leadership can be learnt. However, as Paul J Meyer stated: “Before you can understand, motivate and lead others, you must first understand, motivate and lead yourself.” 4 How many friends, colleagues, supervisors, managers and/or former bosses have you known - possibly admired for their technical expertise and practical experience - who did not appear to have the appropriate leadership skills to survive and flourish themselves, to inspire and motivate their people, to encourage mutual trust or create an innovative and empowering workplace? How many of those people were promoted, or aspired to be promoted, without any real understanding or experience of how to lead themselves,
let alone having received any training in what are now commonly referred to as the soft skills? Soft skills involve interpersonal qualities (ie effective communication and management intelligence) and intrapersonal qualities (ie emotional intelligence/ resilience/agility and the ability to truly “know yourself”). Key components of Management Intelligence include: • Disciplining your thoughts and actions. • Being trustworthy and humble. • Communicating vision and purpose. • Applying personal time management competency. • Demonstrating the value of coaching and facilitated learning. • Being accountable for the efficient delivery of your own and your team’s agreed deliverables. It is generally accepted that the following five key elements, identified in 1995, by the American psychologist Daniel Goleman5, define emotional intelligence (EI).
Key components of Emotional Intelligence are: 1. Self-awareness. 2. Self-regulation. 3. Motivation. 4. Empathy. 5. Social skills. EI is the capacity to be aware of, to control and express one’s emotions and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. Simply put, people with a high degree of emotional intelligence know what they are feeling, what their emotions mean and how these emotions can affect other people. Emotional Intelligence (including the subsets Emotional Resilience and Emotional Agility) is the key to both personal and professional success. After all, who is more likely to succeed – a leader who shouts at their team when under stress or a leader who stays in control and calmly assesses the situation?
A leader that stays in control and calmly assesses a stressful situation is more likely to succeed.
When people have been promoted, moved into a new or challenging role or joined a new company, it is frequently necessary to revisit their skillset and overall competencies. I am sure that we all have an example of a totally competent and respected person who, having been promoted, without appropriate support and/or mentoring, succumbed to the pressures of the new role or their lack of competencies to successfully carry out their new duties. The main reason being, they
had a need to grow into the role in order to emerge with the success anticipated at the time of their appointment. • Organisations require predictable results and performance. • Workplace engagement is achieved through: • Trust. • Purpose. • Alignment. • Conversations.
EDUCATION & TRAINING
Together with a couple of professional colleagues and with the above points in mind, a new leadership development model was created: The Emerging Leader (see Figure 1) is based on seven core characteristics of effective leadership: 1. Know yourself. Confident leaders apply their strengths judiciously and work on their personal growth and development. They appreciate the value of life-long learning and selfdiscovery. 2. Emotional resilience. Resilient leaders are aware and in control, of their emotions and have the ability to adapt to stressful situations or crises. They overcome adversity without lasting issues. 3. Empathetic relationships Empathetic leaders have the ability to recognise, understand and share the thoughts and feelings of another person. They acknowledge the story without judgement. 4. Vision and values. Visionary leaders appreciate that, while values make a contribution, vision is future-focused and about developing clarity and purpose around their goals. 5. Effective communication. Effective leaders understand the power of words and their ability to inspire, support, reassure and direct their people. They communicate with clarity of purpose. 6. Motivation and teamwork. Motivational leaders create a working environment where empowerment and active encouragement build teamwork. They show trust and courage while walking the talk. 7. Trust in your leadership. Appreciate yourself, exhibit your values, walk your talk and trust in your worth. Trustworthy leaders work with their people to establish believability, dependability and reliability through open and transparent behaviour that lacks self-interest. Over the next couple of issues, I will review one of these seven core characteristics each month, through storytelling, with a simple
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Figure 1. The Emerging Leader coaching model.
yet practical message designed to resonate with leaders regardless of rank – from team leaders through to supervisors, frontline, operational, general managers, business leaders and c-suite executives. I have chosen to invite a number of people from a diverse demographic, and a number of industries, which I hope you will find enlightening as well as of real interest for you personally, regardless of your current role and future career aspirations. The first example is from Emma Turner (see boxout). The core characteristic of effective leadership that resonates most from her story is “motivation and teamwork”, closely followed by “effective communication”. Emma’s story demonstrates both of these characteristics and ties in with my own brief explanation for motivation and teamwork – ie motivational leaders create a working environment where empowerment and active encouragement build teamwork. They show trust and courage while walking the talk.6 The message beginning from this month is to grab a coffee, read Emma’s story, check
if it relates to your experience(s) and finally to then consider whether the strategies and actions taken within that particular scenario would be a suitable option for you. “Regardless of WHAT we achieve in our lives, our WHY – our driving purpose, cause or belief – must always be based on the principles of ethics, trust and integrity.” • Mike Cameron is an IQA member and the principal of Strategically Yours. Visit strategically.com.au
REFERENCES & FURTHER READING 1 Jones GR. Organisational theory, design and change (7th edition). Pearson, 2012. ISBN: 0132729946. 2. Drucker P. The effective executive: The definitive guide to getting the right things done. Harper Business (Revised edition), 2006. ISBN 0060833459. 3. Covey SR. The seven habits of highly effective people. Free Press, 2004. ISBN: 0743269519. 4. National leader of the month: Paul J Meyer. leadernetwork.org/paul_j_meyer_july_08.htm 5. Goleman D. Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ (10th edition). Random House, USA, 2005. ISBN: 9780553383713. 6. Cameron M. The Emerging Leader: 7 core characteristics of effective leadership. Strategically Yours, 2020. ISBN: 978-1-716-39670-0.
EMMA TURNER:
MOTIVATION AND TEAMWORK Emma Turner, a HRT director at Deloitte, Melbourne discusses motivation and teamwork from an earlier stage in her career and development as an effective leader.
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s the manager of a small team of professionals, all of whom I had hired, I was able to build an empowered and highly motivated team, without much thought. Together we set the tone and structure from the outset. As this team was running extremely well, following an acquisition, my manager asked me to take on the additional management of a team of 35 payroll processers in an outsourced environment. Following a short handover with the previous manager, it quickly became apparent that she was not a leader and the team was suffering as a result. When team members came to her with questions or problems, she fixed the problem for them. They were working on strict rosters – 8.30am to 5.00pm or 9.00am to 5.30pm
– and would leave on the dot, regardless of what needed to be done. There were signs everywhere telling them what they could and could not do, eg rosters for kitchen duty. After assessing all of this and watching them for a few weeks, I brought them together for a team meeting. I made it clear that it did not matter about the hours worked so long as they got the job done, effectively and on time. We discussed the flexibility this would give each of them, with an opportunity to leave early some days and work late others, based on work requirements rather than a roster. I asked for their input on what they felt would work better to ensure work was done and each team had coverage from 8.30am to 5.30pm. Each team agreed to ensure they had at least one person start at 8.30am and at least one
stay until 5.30am and they, as a team, would be responsible for this. Over the next few months, I noticed an increase in employees being a lot more flexible with their hours, staying late when needed and leaving early when not. All the signs and the kitchen roster were removed, with all team members being advised that I trusted they would all do the right things to ensure the kitchen remained clean. It took a while but the kitchen became cleaner than it had ever been. For the first month or so, people would still check with me if they could leave early, start late or take a long lunch break for an appointment, etc. My response was always the same: ‘You don’t need to ask me, it is your decision based on your commitments and responsibilities. If
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you believe your work is under control and this will not impact deliverables, then you decide.” It was essential that each team felt empowered to make the decision and take responsibility for their actions. Each team had a team leader but most of them were still processing payrolls and therefore had little or no time for a leadership focus. It took a while to reallocate the team leader’s payrolls, so they had time, but the next step was to turn them into leaders. Weekly management meetings were implemented so that the team leaders could contribute to things like resourcing allocations. As each team leader engaged in the decision-making, they became accountable for that decision. When there were employee or client issues, it ensured that we worked through them together, so I never made a decision that impacted their team without their knowledge, and tacit agreement. Through this process, they were able to learn from me and their own experiences. As mentioned above, the previous manager would fix any problem an employee raised with her. Therefore, if there was an issue or problem, the employee was not owning it. This was also
how the team leaders were behaving, ie taking the problem from the employee and just fixing it themselves. This had to be turned around so that the employees appreciated that I trusted them to fix it themselves. Therefore, when they came to me with a problem, I would ask questions to guide them to the solution. I would always encourage them to try and work it out and come to me or their team leader if they got stuck. I rarely took the work from the employee since, with direction and support, they nearly always worked it out themselves. This created a sense of pride and ownership. We had regular and constant communication within the team. Each team had a Monday morning huddle and went through what needed to be done for the week and who needed to help who. We put up white boards for each team that outlined the key deliveries each week so, if someone in the team had some capacity, they would know what others were doing and offer to help rather than having to be asked. Everyone was empowered to work as a team with my support of each team leader, for the first week or two, as they
learnt how to run their huddles. We also had a weekly meeting when all the teams came together, and I was able to give updates on everything from business strategy and direction, through to birthdays with everyone being encouraged to contribute while also sharing their “wins and successes” from the week. I managed this team for 18 months and throughout this time we experienced reduced staff turnover, increased client satisfaction and the creation of a strong and motivated team. The evidence of this was how they performed over the next three months after I left. It took the business three months to find my replacement and in this time that team continued to run smoothly. The Team Leaders and employees felt empowered and responsible for their work and therefore continued on as they had been. Interestingly, when they did hire a new manager, he had a more micro-managing style and the performance of the team and their satisfaction went down, which was very disappointing. •
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SMART BUSINESS
EARTHMOVING OEM EXPANDS ITS INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY INITIATIVES
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omatsu has continued to demonstrate its commitment to inclusion and diversity, and is working to drive real change across the industry sectors that it serves. Areas where it is leading by example includes its Say again? campaign to help create a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace, engaging more than 50 per cent female apprentices for its 2021 intake, and supporting increasingly diverse recreational activities within communities it engages with. The company’s approach to ensuring inclusion and diversity across all aspects of its operations was outlined in detail in early 2020 by Komatsu Australia president and managing director Sean Taylor. At that time, Taylor pointed out that for Komatsu, inclusion and diversity, means that individual differences are recognised, respected and embraced as an opportunity to learn and enhance capability.
SAY AGAIN? Say again? was first rolled out in August 2019, and designed to create a workplace environment that is safe, respectful and inclusive. “This is incredibly important for the future success of our business and aligns with the values we all uphold,” Taylor said. Komatsu recently refreshed Say again? to remind everyone in the company that they all have a part to play in building an inclusive workplace. Say again? is a powerful tool to call out inappropriate comments and behaviour – with kindness and respect. It builds on six “motivators” to encourage people to use Say Again? when it counts. These cover the following: 1. Recognising what people say matters. 2. Times are changing. 3. Consideration of others. 4. Giving people space to think again about their words. 5. A “fix it first time” approach, so that potentially offensive comments can be dealt with before they escalate. 6. Giving every Komatsu employee the right to call each other out. “We want everyone at Komatsu to have the courage to use Say again? and everyone in the
company to have the character to accept when they are being called out,” Taylor said. “If everyone plays their part, we will move towards becoming the inclusive, innovative and winning organisation we want to be.”
MOST GENDER DIVERSE APPRENTICESHIPS INTAKE In late 2020, Komatsu announced that its latest intake of 57 new apprentices included 29 females and 28 males. “This is a clear indication of our ongoing commitment to diversity and ensuring we attract the best possible candidates to work with us at Komatsu,” Taylor said. “In the years to come, these apprentices will play an important and ongoing role in the service and support capabilities we provide to customers.” In 2019 and 2020, Komatsu began supporting two Queensland-based women’s sports organisations. In Mackay, Central Queensland, the company came on board for the 2019-20 season to support the Komatsu Challenge Series: a T20 cricket competition played over
eight rounds in a Mackay City versus Mackay Country format. In the recent 2020-21 season , the matches were played under lights at Mackay’s Harrup Park on Friday nights. An extra bonus that began this season was the ability to livestream the Komatsu Challenge Series matches through the Mackay Cricket Livestream Match Centre (mc-mca.sportzvault. com). This really helped generate interest in the competition, with Mackay currently the only regional centre in Australia to provide live coverage of women’s fixtures. A new sponsor partnership in 2020 was also forged between Brisbane’s Wests Rugby Club and Komatsu. Komatsu is committed to continue partnering with Wests and supporting the women’s rugby program into 2021 and will work with club officials to introduce the team to opportunities available with the Komatsu family. Future plans include tours of the company’s local operational facilities, the local team presenting opportunities to females in non-traditional roles and introducing players to Komatsu’s apprenticeship program. “These initiatives to support community sports teams are part of Komatsu’s everyONE counts inclusion and diversity strategy,” Taylor said. “We are very proud of our efforts to foster collaboration and inclusion, not only within Komatsu, but across the wider communities with which we engage. “Today, diversity, in particular gender balance, is a critical issue for industrial companies globally – Komatsu included. “For us, the key is to make our businesses more welcoming and attractive to women. “This not only involves leadership to achieve cultural change, but also requires hard changes in human resources policy around recruitment, through to things like parental leave and flexible working hours,” Taylor said. • For more information about the Say again? program, visit komatsu.com.au/company/ careers-with-komatsu/why-work-at-komatsu A free webinar on Say Again delivered by Sean Taylor is also available at quarry.com.au
In 2020, just on half of Komatsu’s intake of new apprentices were women.
Source: Komatsu Australia
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SUPPLIER PROFILE
A portable sand plant circuit in regional NSW that Hankins assisted with set-up, circa 2018.
A DEPENDABLE SERVICE IN THE LOCAL MARKET
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or almost 20 years, a local equipment dealer has been delivering sand and aggregate washing equipment in Australia. Rivergum Industries is a local company that provides sand and aggregate washing equipment, spare parts and other items used in washing plants for quarries. The company distributes products from suppliers FLSmidth Krebs, Superior Industries and Manufacturers Equipment Co. Company founder Jim Hankins has entered his 18th year as the managing director of Rivergum. “We started from scratch,” Hankins told Quarry. “We then acquired key suppliers, although those companies have changed due to transformations to the industry and supplier ownership. “Rivergum has stayed focused on the sand washing component because that was where I viewed my expertise.” Hankins’ industry expertise is both longterm and well known, both as a Fellow of the Institute of Quarrying Australia (IQA) and a retired member of the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy (MAusIMM). His previous experience in the mining sector involved minerals processing but Hankins now sticks to sand and aggregate washing. Hankins said his experience in the IQA has enabled his business to branch out. “Over the early experience of getting involved in the IQA, I realised it was a great networking platform,” he said. “Suppliers were welcomed by producers and so forth and so you would typically meet a lot of people at evening dinners, weekend conferences or the annual conference.” After becoming a Fellow of the IQA six years ago, Hankins has continued
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to attend its sponsored events. “My involvement with Cement, Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) at the biennial conference every other year extended the networking potential as well,” Hankins added. As a distributor of Superior Industries products, Hankins has worked with other companies to sell a portable plant in Victoria and a fixed plant in New South Wales and install and trial a low water washer in a hard rock quarry. For Hankins, a “hands-on” approach to his business ensures customers get exactly what they pay for. “I tend to be reasonably hands-on with the parts that I supply,” he said. “If I find that I’m depending on somebody else manufacturing or supplying something, I like to ensure that the quality is up to our expectations before it gets sent to the client.” This didn’t stop during the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hankins continued. “With the challenges early in the pandemic, we modified things so that we just have things picked up and delivered directly to people. When these products were delivered during COVID-19, I would stay in contact with the client to ensure the product arrived how it should.” Hankins is well accustomed to selling the Krebs line of pumps, which were distributed by Rivergum prior to FLSmidth’s takeover. “I have handled the Krebs line of pumps for some time, and over that time FLSmidth took over Krebs,” he said. “Krebs developed a ceramic line rubber hose which I believe we were the first ones to introduce into the industry.” Rivergum also sources smaller items both locally and from overseas, including wear parts, sand screws, and coarse material washers. Hankins said the quarrying industry’s
Jim Hankins’ experience in the IQA has enabled his business to branch out.
close proximity to capital cities ensures easy deliveries, something that he prefers over his minerals processing days. “The mining industry is more difficult to work in than the quarry industry due to location,” he said. “If you’re dealing with a mine in the outback they may have a head office in a capital city. In the quarry industry, a high percentage of the operating quarries in Australia are based around the five mainland capital cities within a 150 to 200km radius – with all due respect to Tasmania of course. “It’s much easier to deal with quarries as opposed to chasing things in mineral processing.” • For more information, visit rivergumindustries.com.au To become an IQA member, visit quarry.com.au
EDUCATION & TRAINING
NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR IQA AWARDS
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he Institute of Quarrying Australia (IQA) is now taking nominations for the 2021 IQA Awards, which highlight the industry’s merits in education, innovation, community engagement, environmental management, safety and creativity. The IQA Awards will be presented as part of the IQA’s National Conference from 5-7 October, 2021. All current IQA members are permitted for award nominations, while a non-member is permitted to be the nominator. The IQA’s chief executive officer Kylie Fahey told Quarry the awards represent an opportunity to recognise the achievements of the industry, while setting a positive example for peers to follow. “Awards are really important for an industry,” Fahey said. “They do a number of things. They recognise the contribution of innovations and good practice to the overall industry. “Sharing innovation and good practice on safety and environment will only improve the industry as a whole, and if you’re looking at individual awards that’s about individual contribution to an industry and a business. “Awards really recognise industry sectors and showcase some of that innovation and progress.” Fahey said that peer recognition from a nomination can also lead to improving work culture and performance. “There’s a lot of research that points to how recognition of your peers and recognition of your teams within a business can improve culture, performance, morale,” she said. “Awards are one tool that people can use to do that. “Just the process of nominating peers can be very powerful. The awards give an opportunity for managers, business to be recognised by their teams and their peers.” This year’s IQA Awards will showcase how companies have responded to COVID-19related changes to working environments. “We’re coming off the back of a very interesting period of social connectivity as a result of COVID-19 and I really encourage people to just take time to be nominating people and recognising people,” Fahey said. “It’s an opportunity for businesses to take stock of what they have been achieving in unusual circumstances and that team and peer recognition is really important.”
in areas including exceptional rehabilitation, a new or improved pollution control method and displaying environmental awareness and leadership. It also includes a framed certificate and an engraved gold plated trophy.
Excellence in Innovation and Community Engagement Recognises an individual’s contribution to excellence and innovation in the industry while demonstrating improvements or measurable outcomes, eg in community engagement and consultation that may show design, production, operations, automation, plant design, and maintenance. Prizes include a framed certificate, trophy and a contribution for an approved professional development activity.
The 2019 IQA Excellence in Innovation Award, sponsored by Trimble and presented to Alasdair Webb.
Nominations will close on Friday 6 August, 2021 at 5.00pm AEST, with the winners to be finalised in September. The 2021 IQA Awards include:
President’s Medal For an applicant with outstanding and ongoing service to the extractive industry that shows leadership and the advancement of the industry. Prizes include a framed certificate and inscribed medal. The Alec Northover Award (sponsored by AIQEF) Acknowledges IQA members who have completed study and achieved Certificate III, Certificate IV, Diploma or Advanced Diploma qualifications in surface extractive operations. Prizes include a framed certificate and an allowance to attend the IQA conference. Gold Hard Hat Site Safety Award (sponsored by IQA) Recognises a site’s contribution to the advancement of health and safety in the quarry industry. Prizes include a framed certificate and an engraved gold-plated trophy. Gold Environment Award (sponsored by Groundwork Plus) Presented to a site that has contributed to the advancement of environmental management,
Quarry Manager of the Year <10 FTE (sponsored by Metso Outotec) Highlights an individual quarry manager with demonstrable achievements within the quarrying industry, who has less than 10 FTE employees. Prizes include a framed certificate plus a $3000 contribution to a professional development opportunity. Quarry Manager of the Year >10 FTE (sponsored by Metso Outotec) Highlights an individual quarry manager with demonstrable achievements within the quarrying industry, who has more than 10 FTE employees. Prizes include a framed certificate plus a $3000 contribution to a professional development opportunity. Quarry Operator of the Year (sponsored by RTV Training) Recognises a quarry operator with demonstrable achievements in the quarrying industry, including a personal commitment and leadership in occupational health and safety and demonstration of broad industry knowledge. Prize includes a framed certificate and support to undertake accredited training. IQA Conference Exhibitor of the Year Awards a supplier/sponsor with the most creative and engaging exhibition and involvement at the IQA 2021 national conference. Prize includes a framed certificate. For more details about the 2021 IQA Awards, visit the IQA website: quarry.com.au •
Quarry April 2021 57
IQA NEWS BRANCH MEETINGS SA Branch Dinner The South Australian branch hosted an out of town dinner on Saturday, 13 March. It was the third time lucky for this event, due to COVID cancellations and the branch’s first foray into the Adelaide Hills for a dinner to support the local community and businesses that are still recovering from the devasting bushfires that occurred in 2019-20. It was the SA branch’s intention to host the dinner at a venue that had been directly affected – Barrister Block Wines which lost most of its vineyards in the fires. A capacity crowd was in attendance and enjoyed the uniqueness of the venue (a hayshed) and the open fires and country atmosphere. The guest presenter was Mike Haywood, of Sustainable Resource Solutions, who, as he presented a sincere and somewhat emotional story – “After the bushfire disaster, the first six weeks and beyond” – described the recovery and cleanup operation for residents who had lost all or part of their properties in the fires.
Six proud SA members with their certificates (l-r): Anthony Dix, Simon Kitson, Anthony Chamberlayne, David O’Farrell, Susan Neale, and Mikayla Schwarz.
North Queensland Dinner Meeting, Townsville Members and associates of the North Queensland branch attended a dinner meeting in Townsville at the North Queensland Club on 9 February, 2021. The dinner was very well attended, with 70 members and associates coming together for the first time in 2021. Both the operatory and supplier sides were well represented, which provided excellent networking opportunities.
Membership certificates were presented to: • Susan Neale, Hallett Quarries (Associate). • David O’Farrell, Hanson (Associate). • Anthony Chamberlayne, Groundwork Plus (Associate). • Mikayla Schwarz, Groundwork Plus (Associate). • Anthony Dix, Delta Rent (Associate). • Simon Kitson, Hanson (Technical Member). The SA branch thanks its 2021-22 sponsors for making this event possible: Aplus Blast Management; Bridgestone Mining Solutions; Cavpower; Finlay Crushing & Screening; Groundwork Plus; Groundwater Science; Hitachi Construction Machinery; Komatsu Australia; Lucas TCS; Orica Australia; Position Partners; Quarry & Mining Manufacture;
SA branch chairman Andrew Wilson (left) with guest presenter Mike Haywood.
Southern Contracting Group; and Warrin Mining & Volvo/VRents. The SA Branch again thanks its sponsors for their continued support which goes a long way to ensuring that the branch remains relevant, vibrant and effective for its members. The next function will be a dinner meeting on Friday, 28 May at the Adelaide Zoo.
The guest speaker on the night was the Federal Member for Herbert, Phillip Thomson OAM MP, talking about the current pipeline of projects, and a preview of what’s to come. He also provided an overview of recent changes to the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. Queensland Site Tour and Networking, Brisbane Queensland members and associates were invited to a site tour of the Holcim Australia Sunrock Quarry and Beerburrum on the north side of Brisbane (unobtrusively located surrounding forest), followed by a debrief and networking session at the North Lakes Hotel. The tour provided attendees with an overview of the history and 30-year operation of the site. The site tour covered the processing area and then moved on to the quarry, which was able to be viewed from the observation platform. Participants gained an understanding of the plant, set-up and production outputs. The visit finished with a barbeque lunch before the return to North Lakes.
More than 70 members attended the North Queensland Club on 9 February, 2021.
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The quarry has very close neighbour - a house/farm which is right opposite the site office/weighbridge, backing onto the access road to the quarry. The quarry has a
The Institute of Quarrying Australia
RE-THINK, RE-SOURCE, RE-ENGAGE The theme for the 2021 IQA conference is Re-Think, Re-Source, Re-Engage. This theme speaks to a number of initiatives the IQA is working on to support the industry, none of which is more important than mental health. The conference will showcase innovation from different industries on safety, emergency prepardness and mental health. The Mines Rescue Facility at Argenton and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, based in Newcastle, are two organisations that will share learnings to help our industry re-think and re-engage when it comes to safety and mental health. While a lot has been done to reduce the stigma around talking about all things mental health-related, there is unfortunately still a reluctance for many people to seek help and open up. The statistics across the broader building and construction industry are alarming and we need to re-think how we can continually raise awareness and promote the importance of seeking help. Consider the following and sobering statistics: • Australia loses one construction worker every two days to suicide and workers in the industry have a higher risk of suicide (53 per cent). • Forty per cent of people who die by suicide
really good, longstanding relationship with the owners which it considers important to maintain.
GALA BALL TO SUPPORT SIDS In 2017, parents Ben and Liz Willcox experienced every parent’s worst nightmare. Their beautiful and healthy five-month old baby girl Jasmyn had tragically passed away from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). With so many unanswered questions, Jasmyn’s dad Ben and his wife are dedicated to funding research so no other parent has to endure their loss. Ben has worked in the quarrying industry for the past 19 years and is openly supporting both fundraising and awareness.
fail to seek professional support. • Men are three times more likely to commit suicide than women. The IQA was recently approached by IQA Associate Member Ben Willcox and his wife Liz to support raising awareness for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). In 2017, Ben and Liz lost their beautiful baby girl Jasmyn through SIDS. Ben and his wife are dedicated to raising awareness and funding research so no other parent has to endure this loss (see details below about the gala ball being organised on 10 July). Ben has worked in the quarrying industry for the past 19 years and is very open about sharing his story and talking about his loss. His dedication to raising awareness to support others is commendable and highlights the importance of talking, seeking support and, when necessary, professional help. Each day we can be aware of the people around us and be supportive of conversations around seeking help and our
The IQA actively supports mental health and awareness in the industry. SIDS is still the leading cause of death among infants from one month to one year of age and remains unpredictable, despite years of research. Raising awareness of SIDS is important to help reduce the risks, something Ben and his wife are very passionate about. Following on from a hugely successful fundraising event in 2019, Ben is now planning the 2021 event in partnership with River’s Gift, Australia’s leading SIDS research funding organisation. The event is being held on Saturday, 10 July at the Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane. Why not grab a group of friends and book a table for a night set to be full of fun, laughter and hope for all future generations?
overall wellbeing. I encourage all quarry operations to actively promote available supports such as general practitioners, Lifeline, Beyond Blue, Mates In Construction and local community health services to your teams. I certainly admire Ben and Liz for sharing their story. If we can draw some inspiration from it we can make our workplaces supportive and continue to reduce the stigma around mental health and increase the number of people seeking help. KYLIE FAHEY Chief Executive Officer Institute of Quarrying Australia
IQA NEW MEMBERS GRADE NAME ASSOC ASSOC ASSOC ASSOC ASSOC ASSOC ASSOC ASSOC ASSOC MIQ MIQ MIQ MIQ MIQ MIQ
Tina Welch Tom Manning Martin Digby Karen Poulton Stafford Jones Brent Dawson Tony Chamberlayne David O’Farrell Shane Ovens Peter Radzievic Peter Sullivan Steve Franklin Russell Goodsell Daniel Ritchie Jessica Arnold
BRANCH NSW NSW QLD QLD NQLD NQLD SA SA WA NSW NSW QLD NQLD SA SA
Quarry April 2021 59
IQA NEWS - Townsville: Wednesday, 23 June, The Mercure Hotel, Townsville (in conjunction with Resources Safety and Health Queensland). To register for these events, email admin@ quarry.com.au or visit the “Events” section of the IQA website: quarry.com.au.
EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES • 22 April Quarry Products Technical Training • 22 April Electrical Awareness • 4 May Holcim Australia’s Sunrock Quarry, with the Beerburrum forest in the background.
Tickets can be purchased via Try Booking: trybooking.com/events/landing?eid=706629& Donations can be made at riversgift.com/shop/donations/one-off/ Sponsorship packages are available. For a proposal, email unitingforjasmyn@outlook.com.au
RE-THINKING THE IQA CONFERENCE Registrations are now open for the IQA conference being held from 5-7 October, 2021 in Newcastle (#IQA2021). The IQA Conference is shaping up to be a highly innovative program with the theme ReThink, Re-Source, Re-Engage. The Conference Organising Committee are proud to announce Michale McQueen will be one of the keynote speakers. Michael is a multi-award winning speaker, trend forecaster and bestselling author of eight books. With clients including KPMG, Pepsi and Cisco, he has helped some of the world’s most successful brands navigate disruption and maintain momentum. Michael will link with the conference theme of Re-Think, Re-Source, Re-Engage. The site tour on 5 October is designed to showcase the local area and learnings from different industries. The site tour will include: • A Tour of Newcastle Harbour and the Port of Newcastle. • A tour of Port Waratah Coal Services Kooragang Terminal. • A tour of the Mines Rescue Facility at Argenton. The tour of Mines Rescue Facility will tie into other innovative topics during the program on rescue, mental health and emergency preparedness that will
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be announced in Quarry next month. If you are a young person working in the industry – watch this space! The Conference Organising Committee will be announcing a special program as part of the conference specifically for younger people working in the industry. This is the first time a stream for younger people has been included in the conference program. To register for #IQA2021, visit the IQA website: quarry.com.au.
Learning From Disasters
• 4 May Respirable Crystalline Silica (conducted by F2F Training, Perth) • 8 June
Slope Stability
• 29 June
Learning From Disasters
• 21 July
Learning From Disasters
• 31 August Learning From Disasters • 16 June, 14 July, 11 August, 15 September Key Account Management (delivered over four 90-minute modules) TBC
Electrical Awareness
Online courses:
UPCOMING BRANCH EVENTS • 20 April North Queensland branch site visit and dinner. • 21 May Queensland annual golf day, Oxley. • 23 June North Queensland branch dinner meeting, Townsville. • 23 July Far North Queensland annual golf day, Cairns. • 30 July Central Queensland annual golf day, Rockhampton. • 2 Sept Queensland Women in Quarrying 5th annual conference, Brisbane. The IQA is also presenting the 2021 Quarrying & Mining Safety & Health Conferences for 2021: - Virtual: Wednesday, 19 May – The New South Wales branch (in conjunction with the CCAA) will deliver a virtual health and safety seminar. The program will be released shortly and will feature presenters from the NSW Resources Regulator and SafeWork NSW. - Brisbane: Friday, 11 June, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane (in conjunction with the CCAA).
• Effective Risk Management – Self-paced fully online course. • Incident Investigation – Self-paced fully online course. To register for these courses and/or to organise corporate training, email admin@ quarry.com.au
ACCREDITED TRAINING The IQA has referral partnerships in place with Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) delivering the following accredited courses. • RII50115 Diploma of Surface Extraction Operations. • RII40115 Certificate IV in Surface Extraction Operations. • RII30115 Certificate III in Surface Extraction Operations. Through these partnerships, the IQA is supporting access to full qualifications or units of competency. The IQA can provide advice on the requirements in each state about the required accredited training for quarry manager competencies. Any site needing to update competencies to meet the NSW Resource Regulator’s requirements for Tier 1 and Tier 2 quarries, email admin@quarry.com.au •
WOMEN IN INDUSTRY AWARDS
AWARDS AMBASSADOR URGES MORE WOMEN TO SEEK RECOGNITION FOR EFFORT
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n 2021, Quarry is partnering with various Prime Creative Media (PCM) titles to acknowledge exceptional women for their leadership, innovation and commitment to their sectors. PCM’s Women in Industry Awards recognise outstanding women from across the industrials sector – ifm marketing manager Rachael Ashfield. whether they work in quarrying, mining, road transport, manufacturing, engineering, logistics, bulk handling, waste management, rail and infrastructure. Rachel Ashfield, from ifm, took home the award for Business Development Success of the Year in 2020, and is this year an ambassador for the 2021 awards. In her first guest column for Quarry, Rachel encourages more women to nominate for the awards.
Welcome to my first column as Ambassador for the Women in Industry Awards. I am currently the marketing manager at an advanced automation company, and my career has been challenging yet rewarding so far. I started out as the executive assistant to the managing director. My training and experience had provided me with a career in administration, but I felt I had more to be achieved. Then five years ago, I was appointed as marketing assistant. As I grew within the role I was seeking newer and more exciting challenges, and as a result invested a lot of time learning many aspects of the company’s product offering. This proved to be quite complex and challenging but extremely rewarding. I am now in my fourth year as marketing manager and firmly believe that the more you strive, the more you will be fulfilled within your career. In 2020 I was nominated by my peers for the Women in Industry Awards. This was a surprise to me, and I was honoured that my colleagues felt so highly about my efforts. The nomination itself was extraordinary, and then to reach the list of finalists and subsequently win the award was a personal and career defining highlight. The Women in Industry Awards recognise outstanding success in industries traditionally dominated by men, including manufacturing, mining, engineering, transport and logistics and waste management. My aim as ambassador is to encourage you to nominate for these fantastic Awards, so that you receive recognition for your efforts in building a strong, well-defined and lasting business. Women bring alternative viewpoints and experiences to a business which often fosters creativity and change. Yet the career pathway
for women can be quite challenging, especially in an industry that is not highly represented by women. The Women in Industry Awards give you an opportunity to highlight key aspects and career-defining moments of your many years of success and dedication. The journey is extraordinarily rewarding, and when you have been with a company as long as I have, you can dig deep into the knowledge base that you have built and realise you can contribute exponentially to your company, and industry more broadly. I look forward to celebrating all of your success at the 2021 Women in Industry Awards. Rachael Ashfield 2021 Women in Industry Ambassador
Nominations for the 2021 Women in Industry Awards are now open. Visit www.womeninindustry.com.au
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GEOLOGY TALK
RAW MATERIALS POINT TO LIFE ON MARS
NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its onboard Navcam, located high on the rover’s mast. Image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech, mars.nasa.gov
The search for life on Mars has taken a huge step forward, after NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance touched down on the red planet.
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n board the Perseverance were 22 samples of earth from all corners of the world – including one chosen from Australia’s own Pilbara region by three local geologists. Back in 2015, Associate Professor Patrice Rey, Professor Nicolas Coltice, and then PhD candidate Claire Mallard chose a sample that best represented what NASA hopes to find on Mars – a piece of red chert. Of the 22 samples, 19 were synthetic, while the Pilbara red chert was one of three natural samples. Rey, from the school of Geosciences at the University of Sydney, said the trio didn’t hear about the sample for another five years, forgetting about it and expecting nothing from the matter. “The advice was don’t spend too much time on new samples, you have a very small chance that one of the samples will find its way to Mars,” he said. But the professor said he and his team were pleased to hear their chosen sample had been shortlisted last year. “That little piece of rock we sent to Mars is a perfect analogue to what we expect to find,” Rey said. “It means that all the
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ingredients at the molecular and atomic level are all there trapped in our little sample. “We couldn’t have sent a more perfect sample for the Perseverance mission and we were really excited that they chose ours.” If Perseverance finds that the Martian surface matches the Pilbara chert, then NASA will have taken another step in confirming life once existed on Mars. Professor Rey said he is expecting positive results from the mission to the red planet. “The fact it is red is very significant,” he said. “The red colour in that chert came from a few percent of hematite which is an oxidised form of iron hydroxide. And this shows that free oxygen was available to produce the hematite.” Rey is currently working on projects looking at the relationship between landscapes and biodiversity on Earth. Meanwhile, researchers in Antarctica have stumbled upon traces of jarosite, a mineral commonly found on Mars, which might confirm theories about water on the red planet. According to the study published in Nature Communications, jarosite is rarely found on earth and occurs in low temperature
acidic-oxidative weathering of iron-bearing minerals in water-limited settings. The research team was investigating ice age cycles by drilling 1000 metres into East Antarctica’s Talos Dome ice core. Jarosite was detected using X-ray absorption testing and electron microscopy in the samples found in the ice core. The rare, yellow-brown mineral was stuck to silica-rich particles, which were interpreted as products of weathering in the Talos Dome ice core, and included aeolean dust and acidic atmospheric aerosols. “… the mineral has been repeatedly identified on Mars and regarded as evidence for the occurrence of liquid water because on Earth jarosite forms as the result of low temperature acidic-oxidative weathering of iron-bearing minerals in water-limited settings,” the study stated. Mars had previously experienced dramatic shifts in its climate, and it is believed the red planet was covered in an ice blanket millions of years ago. According to the researchers, jarosite on Mars has previously been found in large slabs after dust was blown into the ice blanket, forming jarosite in small pockets. “… it is reasonable that the formation of jarosite on Mars involves the interaction between brines and mineral dust in deep ice,” the study stated. While the jarosite discovery may point researchers in the right direction, scientists have not discovered why Mars has large jarosite deposits compared to the scarce quantities on Earth. The research team, led by University of Milano-Bicocca’s Giovanni Baccalo believe this supports a similar ice-weathering model for jarosite formed on Mars. “This is the first described englacial diagenetic mechanism occurring in deep Antarctic ice and supports the iceweathering model for jarosite formation on Mars, highlighting the geologic importance of paleo ice-related processes on this planet,” the study stated. “Talos Dome ice is isolated from the Earth atmosphere and its conditions, including pressure, temperature, pH and chemistry, provides a suitable analogue for similar Martian settings.” •
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