Australian Bulk Handling Review

www.BulkHandling.com.auVolume 18 No 7 Jan/Feb 2014

Profile: Ian Burrell of Control Systems Technology

Australian company spearheads container tippling in Eritrea

Containing dust at NSW seed plant

RKM opens new conveyor roller manufacturing plant in China

Can red sand be used for road building?

KOCKUMS… a refreshing solution for Boag’s Brewery

ABHR Cover Jan/Feb14_2.indd 3 5/02/14 12:03 PM

Perfecting Particle SizeSturtevant Air Classifiers are designed and configured for classification, separation and recovery of dry metals and minerals without the use of water or auxilliary equipment.

Three Sturtevant Models are available to meet a variety of needs:

• Whirlwind® Air Classifiers (pictured above)• Side Draft™ Air Classifiers• Superfine® Air Classifiers

Perfection in Dry Separation

www.sturtevantinc.com

Sturtevant_ABHR Ad.indd 1 9/5/13 12:04 PM

Perfecting Particle SizeSturtevant Air Classifiers are designed and configured for classification, separation and recovery of dry metals and minerals without the use of water or auxilliary equipment.

Three Sturtevant Models are available to meet a variety of needs:

• Whirlwind® Air Classifiers (pictured above)• Side Draft™ Air Classifiers• Superfine® Air Classifiers

Perfection in Dry Separation

www.sturtevantinc.com

Sturtevant_ABHR Ad.indd 1 9/5/13 12:04 PM

4 Australian Bulk Handling Review: January/February 2014

CONTENTS

6 Hyundai-AMEC awarded ECI for Hillside

6 Transmin to represent Mercodor shredders

8 Profile: Industry recognises belt weighing guru, Ian Burrell

10 Rotainer key equipment for Eritrean copper exports

12 NCIG hires new boss

14 Flexicon tackles seed plant’s dust challenge

18 Tenova to design and supply Maules Creek reclaimers

18 $197m write-down for Aurizon

20 Tippling operations fruitful for Flinders Ports

24 McAleese adds Mt. Webber to Atlas Iron portfolio

26 30-year-old Munson batch makers going strong

28 Camfil adds touch screen controller to range

28 Reynolds Soil Technologies veneering New Hope’s coal trains

29 Rino fog maker Tecpro’s “economical” answer; Idrotech’s fog makers

30 Tooperang washing plant equipped by CDE

34 What NSW’s first Freight and Ports Strategy means for bulkies

38 RKM opens Chinese conveyor roller manufacturing facility

40 Innovation award for Telestack mobile loader

42 ASGCO Pro-Zone conveyor belt load-zone system a world first

42 Atlas Copco finalises Edwards vacuum solutions purchase

43 ContiTech to supply ‘intelligent’ belts for Chilean mine

44 Toll sells North Qld rail service to Asciano

45 Melco’s anti-runback rollers protect inclined conveyors

GEARS, MOTORS & DRIVES FEATURE

46 Altra buys Svendborg Brakes

47 4.8 MW belt conveyor drive gets Voith fluid couplings

48 Awards retrospective: Industry’s top innovators

50 Feed screws a specialty for Bonfiglioli drives

51 SEW-Eurodrive outlines 2014 training program

52 Motor-mounted starter from NORD

52 Centrex examines transhipment plan in SA

54 Milford foldable IBCs a solution for hazardous liquids

55 50 year celebrations for Busch; new Mink claw vacuum pump

56 Hurll Nu-Way on positive displacement blowers

57 CAPS to distribute Pedro Gil blowers

58 Flexicon debuts 15cm tubular cable conveyor

58 Kennards Hire adds cordless pendant to JDN air hoist

59 Kockums upgrades office space

60 GrainCorp, ADM deal rejected by Government

62 Rabobank analyst: efficiency the key for Aussie grain

65 Demag automates material storage facility at Belgian cement plant

66 Abbot Point dredging approval causes a stir

68 Saviz Nekoufar makes the case for pocket conveyors over trucks in open pit mining

70 Dr Wahidul Biswas of Curtin University finds that Alcoa’s red sand bauxite residue can be used in road construction

www.bulkhandling.com.au

EDITORCharles MacdonaldTel: +61 2 9080 4443Email: [email protected]

REPORTEROliver ProbertTel: +61 2 9080 4484Email: [email protected]

ADVERTISING SALESPeter DelbridgeLevel 2, 120 Sussex St, Sydney, NSW 2000Tel: +61 2 9080 4478 Fax: +61 2 9299 4622Email: [email protected]

PEER REVIEWRonda McCallumTel: +61 2 9080 4354Email: [email protected]

PRODUCTION MANAGER/GRAPHIC DESIGNERMagazines byDesign - Linda GunekTel: +61 2 8883 5890Email: [email protected]

FOR SPONSORSHIP & EXHIBITION OPPORTUNITIESPeter DelbridgeTel: +61 2 9080 4478 Fax: +61 2 9299 4622Email: [email protected]

PLEASE SEND ADVERTISING MATERIAL TORonda McCallum Email: [email protected]: +61 2 9080 4354

PUBLISHING DIRECTORPeter Attwater

SUBSCRIPTIONSNatalie Gardner – Tel: +61 2 9080 [email protected]

ABN 66 086 268 33AUSTRALIAN BULK HANDLING REVIEW (ABHR) is published 7 times a year by Informa AustraliaLevel 2, 120 Sussex Street,Sydney, NSW 2000, AustraliaPO Box Q1439, Queen Victoria Building Post Office, NSW 1230Tel: +61 2 9080 4480Fax: +61 2 9299 4622

ISSN 1444-6308 Circulaton: 5,983 (audit period ending September 2013) Member Circulation Audit Bureau (Australia)

Copyright © 2010 Informa Australia Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the editorial or pictorial content by any manner without written permission of the publisher is prohibited.While contributed articles to ABHR are welcome, return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings and photographs if they are to be returned and no responsibility can be assumed for unsolicited materials. All rights in letters submitted will be treated as unconditionally assigned for the publication. All products listed in this magazine are subject to manufacturer’s change without notice and the publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes.The publisher’s advertising terms and conditions are set out in the current Advertising Rate Card, which is available to read before placing any advertisements.

contents JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

ABOUT THE COVERResolving residue sugar at James Boag’s breweryIn Tasmania, James Boag’s Launceston brewery had a problem: pressurised ISO containers, bringing sugar to the plant, continually left a residue of two to three tonnes of sugar after emptying.In response, Boag’s and its supply chain partners – Sugar Australia and Toll – turned to a solution from powder handling specialist Kockums Bulk Systems.Kockums supplied a customised sugar receiving vessel, of 0.75m3 capacity, which employs its ‘suck-blow’ technology.In practice, the vessel fills by vacuum from containers arriving at site; it then pressurises to send the load of sugar up to an adjacent silo.For the full story, see page 32.

10 14 22

38 50 66

OVERHEAD

Powder handling stalwarts to the foreIn this edition, ABHR looks at two clever powder handling solutions devised by two thoroughbreds of the field: Kock-ums Bulk Systems and Flexicon.

In Tasmania, brewer James Boag’s had a problem at its Launceston site. Pressurised ISO containers, bringing sug-

ar to the plant, continually left a residue of two to three tonnes of sugar after emptying.

In response, Kockums designed and supplied a customised sugar receiving vessel, which uses the company’s ‘suck-blow’ technology to fill by vacuum from arriving containers, before pressurising to send its load of sugar up to an adjacent silo.

This is a neat solution which will undoubtedly save Boag’s money. See page 32.

At Griffith in NSW, seed processor South Pacific Seeds was faced with a dusty plant as it combined a very free-flowing gyp-sum powder with a glue binder to pelletise seeds for packing and sale.

In response, South Pacific Seeds turned to a bulk bag discharg-er and flexible screw conveyors from Flexicon, which the former company says have eradicated its dust problem. See page 16.

Fancy a tipple?In recent years, many exporters, whether constrained through geography or a lack of capital, have turned to container tipplers to export their ore.

South Australia has embraced the technique, with companies like IMX Resources and OZ Minerals to the fore.

A major supplier to the sector, Container Rotation Systems (CRS; formerly known as Rotainer), is now taking its expertise to the world.

The company has supplied its container rotation systems and related gear to Bisha Mining, which is exporting copper concen-trate through the Port of Massawa in Eritrea.

Eritrea, in the Horn of Africa, has a fascinating but troubled his-tory, including regular conflict with its larger neighbour, Ethiopia.

ABHR is happy to see an Australian company help Eritrea es-tablish the sort of export operation which will help raise living standards for its six million people. See page 10.

Closer to home, ABHR spoke to Andrew Pellizzari of Flinders Ports about the organisation’s expanding tippling ambitions. See page 20.

Ian Burrell recognisedBelt weighing master Ian Burrell, proprietor of Control Systems Technology, took out the Australian Society for Bulk Solids Han-dling’s top personal award in late 2013.

Starting on page 8, ABHR profiles this humble man, who, over the years has injected some integrity into an industry known for some sharp practices.

By Charles MacdonaldEditor – ABHR

Peter Arnold: Emeritus Professor, Key Centre for Bulk Solids & Particulate Technologies, Faculty of Engineering; Consultant, Bulk Materials Engineering Australia, University of Wollongong. Alan Roberts AM: Consultant, Key Centre for Bulk Solids & Particulate Technologies, and TUNRA Bulk Solids Handling Research Associates. Peter Wypych: Director, Key Centre for Bulk Solids & Particulate Technologies, Faculty of Engineering, and Bulk Materials Engineering Australia, University of Wollongong. Gary James: Bulk Materials Handling Specialist Calibre Global Pty Ltd. Mark Jones: Professor, Director Centre for Bulk Solids & Particulate Technologies, University of Newcastle. Stephen Davis, Technical Director Materials Handling, WorleyParsons Canada

Editorial Advisory Panel

EDITORIAL

bulk handling technologies pty ltdengineered materials handling solutions project management | Engineering | ManufactuRE

Suite 1/138 Abernethy Road Belmont WA 6104 AustraliaP 08 9277 9188 | M 0417 617 789 | F 08 9458 7606 | E [email protected]

Specialists in the design and manufacture of innovative and practical Bulk Materials Handling Equipment and Systems

Rammer Boom Systems Authorised Re-SellerSpecialising in abrasive

and difficult to handle materials

Authorised Agents for Magaldi

150TPH MagnetiteScrew Conveyor

• Heavy Duty Belt Feeders and Conveyors

• Bins and Hoppers

• High Head Load SDB Hybrid Feeders

• Screw Feeders and Conveyors

• Bucket Elevators (Belt and Chain)

• Storage Silos and Filling / Discharge Systems

• Lime Slaking and Flocculant Mixing Systems

• Reagent Mixing Facilities (Soda Ash, Lime, Depressant)

• Hydraulic Actuated Bin Isolation Gates

• Container Tipping and Filling Solutions

BHT_ad_150x210mm_V6.indd 1 20/01/14 10:54 AM


NEWS

Rex Minerals, Hillside’s developer, is advancing various project develop-

ment initiatives.The Hyundai-AMEC team will pro-

duce the project execution strategy, the project schedule and the final price for the main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.

A statement from Hyundai, coinciding with a signing ceremony in Seoul, sound-ed a confident note that Hyundai-AMEC was now in the box seat to secure more work at Hillside.

Hyundai said: “By securing of this Hillside Copper Project Early Contrac-tor Involvement (ECI), Hyundai-AMEC is well positioned to secure the main EPC Works in 2014. Rex is planning to seek part of the project debt funding from the financial institutions in Korea, with the support from HDEC and HRC.”

Hyundai’s involvement is via two subsidiaries from the parent Hyundai Motor Group. Hyundai Engineering &

Construction Co., Ltd (HDEC) is a construc-tion business which has delivered 781 proj-ects in 56 countries. Its 2013 contracts were worth over $100bn. It has delivered two Australian projects, including the dredging and reclamation works for Bunbury Harbor.

Hyundai Rotem Company (HRC) is a manufacturer and supplier of heavy equipment to industries such as rail, steel and the defence sector.

Hyundai said that HRC “will be inte-gral in the fabrication, supply and pro-curement of equipment and associated steel structures as well as piping, elec-trical and instrumentation scopes for the Hillside Copper Project.”

Rex Minerals managing director, Mark Parry, said that the company was progressing a number of important proj-ect development and funding initiatives for Hillside to allow for the commence-ment of construction with the aim of commencing copper production in 2016.

Parry said; “We have a very busy

period ahead of us with a number of project elements to be brought together and crystallised. We continue to work to-wards finalising the Bankable Feasibility Study, we are working closely with the State Government to secure regulatory approvals and we have a range of ongo-ing discussions to secure debt and equity funding, including with potential offtake partners and export credit agencies.”

Hyundai-AMEC awarded ECI for Hillside copper project

The pairing of Hyundai of Korea and international engineering company AMEC has been selected to perform early contractor involvement (ECI) engineering for the Hillside copper project on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula.

Contact: www.rexminerals.com.au

Rex bills Hillside as Australia’s largest undeveloped copper project. Mining will be by open cut, supplemented by underground, over 15+ years. Development of the open pit will be staged.

AMEC to buy Foster WheelerAs ABHR went to press, AMEC an-

nounced that it had provisionally agreed to buy international engineering,

construction and power equipment sup-plier Foster Wheeler for US$3.2bn.

AMEC said the purchase of Foster

Wheeler would extend its reach in the oil and gas sector and in new geographies, while delivering annual cost synergies.

Mercodor, a family-owned company, has designed and manufactured

shredders from its founding in 1973. The company has its manufacturing base at a plant near Frankfurt.

Mercodor’s shredders can handle wood, glass, metal, plastic, textiles, rub-ber, paper, cardboard, aluminium and steel chips, filter fabrics and many other materials.

Typical applications include: all types of waste recycling; incineration plants; tyre and cable recyclers; document shred-ding, PC and hard drive destruction;

fertiliser; used bulk bag and packaging shredding; food, large caterers and res-taurants; particle board manufacturers and timber companies; hospital and med-ical establishments; ships – cruise, mer-chant and naval for volume reduction of waste prior to incineration; abattoirs and meat processors; and wineries and bever-age companies.

Mercodor’s website states that: “with customer-specific machines tailored to the particular waste problems, the waste volume can be reduced by up to about 80 per cent. As a result, transport, storage

and disposal costs calculated by volume are significantly reduced.”

Modular design principles mean Mer-codor’s machines can be adapted to dif-ficult local conditions, for example, com-bining with existing conveyor systems in manufacturing plants. Depending on the function, Transmin says it can provide tai-lored feed and discharge products, such as conveyor belts, lifting and tipping devices, suction units, and discharge chutes.

Transmin to represent Mercodor shreddersMechanical and bulk handling equipment supplier and OEM, Transmin, based in Perth, is to act as the Australian agent for Mercodor, a German company specialising in volume reduction shredding systems and equipment.

Contact: Matthew Brooks, tel: 08 9270 8555, email: [email protected]

Heavy Duty Bin Isolation Gates

Flocculant Preparation

Rockbreaking Systems

Roller Mounted Ball Mills

Lime Mixing

Feeder TechnologyA Revolution in

MORE FEED | LESS SPACE | CHANGE OF DIRECTION

Transmin’s Low Profile Feeder™ (LPF) is an original hybrid feeder delivering the advantages of both belt and apron feeders. It holds the unique ability to change direction using a bend transition within a single feeder; improving space utilisation, flexibility of plant layout and reducing capital expenditure.

Change of Direction

Lowest Profile

Rockbreaker Automation

Safe | Efficient | Reliable

Innovative solutions for Bulk Materials Handling since 1987.Please contact us for a detailed product overview brochure. Email enquiries to: [email protected]

W I N N E RINNOVATION

EXCELLENCE AWARD

2012

W I N N E RC.Y. O'CONNOR AWARD

FOR EXCELLENCE IN ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

2012

Australian Bulk Handling Review: January/February 2014

Armed with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of NSW, Burrell got his first exposure to belt

weighing in 1976 at a company called Inflo Belt Weighers, owned by Beaumont McFee.

Burrell was impressed by McFee, who he describes as “a great character”. Inflo’s weighing technology, which used a resonating wire like a guitar string and a force transducer, was developed by “a great technologist” called Raymond Dunn.

Burrell worked in Australia and the US for Inflo and while the company had a relatively short life, its main product “made a big impact in a short time.”

Of Dunn, Burrell says “he’s a man that I have a lot of respect for and we still aspire that our belt weighers be as good as the ones that he built.”

After his first taste of belt weighing, Burrell detoured into mining systems for Honeywell’s process control division. How-ever, he soon concluded that he would have to start his own business to make real progress.

“I wanted to have my own business, just because engineers aren’t paid enough money, frankly. I don’t think that’s changed; you have to actually have either very good financial manage-ment skills, or start your own business, is how I see it.”

So Burrell opened the shingle on Control Systems Technol-ogy in 1984 “with some fear and misgiving, but I was very well supported by the industry.”

Initially, Burrell sold instruments like flow and pressure me-ters, before being asked by a customer to build a belt weigher.

Some early milestones were belt weigher sales to Clarence Colliery and, later, the Baal Bone Coal Preparation Plant.

The company grew briskly in its early years – “doubling in size every three years.” With Inflo Belt Weighers going into ad-ministration, Control Systems Technology was able to “come in on the back of it and replace a lot of the Inflo equipment”.

The Pilbara proved a happy hunting ground for Control Systems Technology, with weighers going to mines and ports across the iron ore province. The company, early on, set a high bar when it came to quality.

“In a competitive game, you can have a situation where all suppliers are at each other’s throats in a race to the bottom, to over promise equipment that might, just, be good enough, for a price advantage,” explained Burrell. “And so, when people buy purely on price, they really run a serious risk of ending up with something inadequate

8

Belt weighing guru recognisedIan Burrell, proprietor of Control Systems Technology, was awarded the Australian Society for Bulk Solids Handling Award in November 2013 for his outstanding contribution to the field of bulk solids handing. He provided some reflections on his career to ABHR editor, Charles Macdonald.

PROFILE

Jacmor Screw Conveyors are designed and manufactured to the end user requirements.

JAC

017

Mining Screw Conveyors

JAC 039

Victoria Head Office20-22 Macquarie Drive Thomastown Vic. 3074 AustraliaTelephone: 61 3 9463 0888 Facsimile: 61 3 9465 8788

E-mail: [email protected]

FreeCall 1800 334 005 Web Site: www.jacmor.com.au

“I wanted to have my own business, just because engineers aren't paid enough money, frankly.”

Ian Burrell (left) in Korea on a job for Posco.

“There’s very little, or no, live-weight test-ing, so it’s an industry that is subject to a fair amount of dishonesty or not huge integrity, anyway.

“And so we took the moral high ground and kept on insisting on big weigh frames for ac-curacy – other people were offering a much lesser weigh frame – so by taking the high integ-rity approach, our equip-ment was working much more reliably. Generally, people in the industry have no confidence in belt weighing, but we actually have established credibility in belt weighing, and delivered a reliable technology in a marketplace of low expectations.”

Outside the Pilbara, the east coast coal industry has been another major market for Burrell at sites such as Abbot Point, Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal, Hay Point, PWCS, NCIG and Port Kembla.

Control Systems Technology manufactures in Australia at Revesby near Sydney. It takes printed circuit boards from a Dee Why business called National Electronic Manufacturing.

In terms of skills, Burrell’s 60-person company employs two doctorate-level engineers who spearhead its R&D efforts. Two recent developments include a Cargo Superintendent Scale and associated laser system, MAVIS, which Burrell claims as a “world first in high accuracy in-motion weighing for ship load-ing facilities.” In 2014, the firm anticipates introducing a system which will do autonomous calibration checks.

While it has a number of patents, Burrell, at the end of the day, puts the company’s success down to its quality ethos.

“It’s just that people trust us,” he says.

Outside workAway from business, Burrell feels a need for speed, piloting a Buell BX12R motorcycle flat out at 207km/hr at Eastern Creek. The US machine uses a fuel injected Harley Davidson engine with a 10:1 compression ratio.

PROFILE

Contact: www.controlsystems.com.au

Beau McFee, formerly of McFee Construction Engineering and Inflo Belt Weighers.

Ian Burrell (right), again in Korea.

Skirting & Lagging

Belt Cleaners

Belt Trackers

PloughsYour greatest asset in this industry is a TUFF partner...

and TUFFSTUFF hits the mark everytime!

Ph: 02 4968 0298 l www.tuffstuff.net.au

Ploughs Trackers Cleaners


TIPPLING

A new project exporting copper concen-trate from Eritrea pivots on a key piece

of Australian technology: the Rotainer.Container Rotation Systems (CRS; for-

merly known simply as Rotainer) has just announced the successful commencement of an export operation in the Eritrean port of Massawa, for which CRS supplied a full selection of bulk handling equipment, and will, for at least the next six to twelve months, supply a workforce, as well.

It’s a development Murray Bridle, managing director of CRS calls an “excit-ing” one.

“[Eritrea] is a very poor country… but everyone wanted to get [the project] done, so it went quite well.”

Eritrea was once one of the more pros-perous countries in the Horn of Africa. Following the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, and Italy’s subsequent invasion of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia, Eritrea maintained a relatively successful, stable economy, thanks primarily to its access to the Red Sea, and its extensive mineral deposits.

“When the Italians got kicked out in the Second World War, it just stopped overnight,” Bridle explained. “Prior to the Second World War, [Eritrea] had a huge economy; it used to supply the Western African region with everything from beer to canned tomatoes and oranges.”

After World War II, and following a decade of tumultuous administration over the country by Britain, Eritrea was feder-ated with Ethiopia in 1951.

But when Ethiopia annexed Eritrea in 1961, in an attempt to make Eritrea its 14th province, it kicked off a war which lasted the next 30 years, until it was officially ended with Eritrea’s independence in 1991.

Bisha mine was the first to export in the modern, post-war era, and is the source of the copper concentrate going through Massawa, courtesy of the equip-ment and labour supplied by CRS.

Bisha is a large, high-grade volcanogen-ic massive sulphide deposit, located 170km west of Massawa. It opened in early 2011 as a low-cost gold-silver doré producer, and operated at around 2mtpa, until mid-way

through 2013, when it underwent a $110m expansion, and switched product to cop-per concentrate, at a rate of 2.4mtpa.

Bisha Mining is 60% owned, and whol-ly-operated, by Nevsun Resources, a Cana-dian mining company listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges and head-quartered in Vancouver, British Columbia.

“Nevsun … approached us, probably 18 months to 2 years ago now, I think,” said Bridle.

Bridle also said the Eritrean govern-ment was a key help in the project’s de-velopment. The state of Eritrea owns the other 40% of Bisha – 30% in fully paid ownership, and 10% free carried.

Together, CSR, Nevsun, the state of Er-itrea, Massawa Port Authority, and junior mining specialist Cliveden Trading, devel-oped and deployed the Massawa contain-erised copper export project.

When the first copper concentrate was exported on October 10, 2013, Bisha Min-ing (BMSC) had this to say: “This is a signifi-cant milestone for Eritrea, its people and the whole BMSC team … now let’s focus on

the next 1000 shipments!”Copper concentrate from

Bisha travels 18 hours from the mine to the port, along a wind-ing road on difficult terrain.

“It’s a 36-hour round trip, currently. The mountain-ous road; you’ve never seen anything like it. The switch-backs, the road conditions… there’s no infrastructure for rail there,” explained Bridle.

On site at the Massawa terminal are two German-made Gottwald mobile har-bour cranes, each equipped

Tippling kicks off Eritrean revolution

An Australian-designed container rotation technology is set to play a role in the rebirth of one of post-WWII’s most conflicted nations, Oliver Probert writes.

The management team for the new copper concentrate exporting project, which was supplied by Container Rotation Systems, manufacturer of the Rotainer.

Operations underway at Massawa.

11Australian Bulk Handling Review: January/February 2014

TIPPLING

with its own Rotainer container tippler, and joined by a small fleet of reach stackers, trucks and other equipment.

“We’ve supplied the whole project,” Bridle said. “Which is the cranes, all the Rotainers, the forklifts, the trucks, the containers.”

Bridle said the two cranes are currently loading about 35 con-tainers each hour, giving the terminal a total loading rate of 70 containers per hour. Each container carries roughly 35 tonnes of copper concentrate.

“Eventually their output could be 9–10 ships a month, by the end of 2016,” Bridle said.

Adding to the terminal’s throughput volume will be the de-velopment of another mine in Eritrea, currently being developed by Sunridge Gold.

Like Bisha, the Asmara Project is based on a large deposit of volcanogenic massive sulphide, as well as near surface gold mineralisation. The project’s deposits are spread across a 600km2

area, located immediately north, south and west of Eritrea’s capi-tal, Asmara, 65km south west of Massawa.

Sunridge’s various studies have defined four separate cop-per, zinc, gold and silver mineral deposits, which have total com-bined proven and probable reserves of 57.3mt.

“They’re coming online in 2015/16,” Bridle said. “All [of those products] will be going through Massawa, and the round trip from Sunridge is 10–12 hours.”

A contextual map of Eritrea.

Copper concentrate from Bisha is driven 18 hours by road, from the minesite to the export terminal.

With nation-wide resources, Ahrens has a proven track record in the design and construction of smart, cost effective and reliable materials handling solutions for the mining & resources industry, specialising in;

• Conveyors • Substations • Workshops/warehouses

• Platework • Stockpile covers • Mining infrastructure

• Commodity storage • Structural steel • Loading/unloading facilities

[email protected] I www.ahrens.com.au I 08 8521 0015 Our symbol. Your guarantee.

proven track record


The combination of resource exports from both Bisha and Sunridge’s Asmara Project could be a serious boost for the Eritrean economy.

But mining’s promise in the African nation does not only apply to those two projects. The Colluli project, a 50/50 joint venture between ASX-listed South Boulder Mines, and the Eritrean National Mining Company (the same group work-ing with Nevsun at Bisha), is gearing up to export potash out of Eritrea by as early as 2016.

Since exploration began in 2010, South Boulder says it has identified over a billion tonnes of mineralised potassium bearing salts at Colluli.

South Boulder is gauging market inter-est in the potash and associated minerals, looking for potential customers to export to, and for potential methods of export.

Bridle doesn’t think South Boulder will go with a containerised tippling method, though, saying: “They’re going to build the world’s biggest potash mine. It won’t use the Rotainer system – it’s too big a project – they’ll use shiploaders.”

Nonetheless, the Colluli project is another example of the potential mining has to help get Eritrea back on its feet af-ter years of conflict.

Early, smaller exports in recent years – like the gold and silver exports from Bi-sha, before it shifted to copper production

– are also seeing a resulting growth in Eritrea’s economy, with gross domestic product per capita rising 15% (based on current prices) from 2011 to 2012, and up 10% in 2013, to US$9312 per annum.

The International Monetary Fund is predicting a further rise in 2014, estimat-ing a growth of 9%, and Bridle agrees: Eri-trea is a country on the up and up.

“Eritrea is a fantastic place to do busi-ness,” Bridle said. “Eritrea has been at war until 20 years ago, so the country is very poor. But mining and tourism will get some sort of revenue back into the country.”

Contact: www.containerrotationsystems.com

TIPPLING

A container is tippled using a Rotainer. A worker at Massawa. Locals near the Massawa terminal, beside one of the export operation’s trucks.

NEWS

NCIG chairman, Michael Egan, an-nounced that 41-year-old Aaron Jo-

hansen will take over the role in mid-Feb-ruary, from the current chief, Rob Yeates.

Johansen is currently NCIG’s chief fi-nancial officer, and was the commercial manager on the $3bn NCIG construction project when it began in 2008.

“Rob [Yeates]’s shoes will be hard to fill,” Johansen said. “He’s established a great culture at NCIG where safety of our workforce and protection of our en-vironment are top priorities for the whole community.”

A commerce graduate from Newcas-tle University, Johansen has a master’s degree in business and technology from the University of New South Wales, is a certified practising accountant and grad-uate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

His appointment as chief execu-tive comes as NCIG continues to ramp up terminal throughput to its projected 66mtpa target capacity.

Over the last month, NCIG says the terminal has been running at close to peak rate, and is typically receiving and unloading thirty trains, and loading two ships, each day. Recently, the terminal set a new daily record of 250,000 tonnes.

That contributed to a record 2013 calendar year for Newcastle. The major NSW port, which includes the NCIG terminal and terminals operated by Port Waratah Coal Services, exported 150.5mt of coal in 2013 – nearly 17mt more than in 2012.

NSW minister for roads and ports, Duncan Gay, said the coordination of the coal chain in the region was key to that success.

“This strong result is an endorse-ment for the coordinated work of coal producers and service providers to con-tinue to grow exports,” Gay said. “With the continued development of the Hunt-er Valley Coal Chain, we will see coal exports from the Port of Newcastle con-tinue to grow.”

In addition to the annual record, a new monthly coal export record of 15.1 million tonnes was achieved in Decem-ber, exceeding the previous record of 14.2 million tonnes set last October.

That December rate works out to an annualised rate of 178mtpa.

After record year, NCIG hires new boss

Following a record-breaking 2013 for coal exports at Newcastle, one of the port’s two major terminals, Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group, has appointed a new chief executive.

Contact: www.ncig.com.au

NCIG’s new chief executive, Aaron Johansen.

Primary Belt CleanerAdvantEdge

The Belt Cleaner Line Designedto MAXIMISE User Benefits

The AdvantEdge blade technology willoutlast all competitors in terms of lifewhilst delivering optimal belt cleaning

• Simple Installation• Competitive Price• Minimal Maintenance• Optimal for Vulcanized Belts• Self-contained Dual Tensioners

“I am excited to get more of these cleaners in and have them working throughout the plant.”- Coal Yard Maintenance Foreman

[email protected]

02 4724 9444


CASE STUDY

South Pacific Seeds (SPS) ranks as one of the world’s largest vegetable seed

companies. In the 2011/12 crop year, the company produced 2,930 tonnes of seeds from its facilities in Australia, New Zealand, Chile and the U.S.

But production at the company’s Griffith treatment plant was generating atmospheric dust. Flexicon helped pro-vide a solution.

The equipment manufacturer provid-ed the Griffith plant with a bulk bag dis-charger and flexible screw conveyors.

Bulk bag discharger controls dustPreviously, dust was generated at the beginning of the process where gypsum powder is combined with a glue binder to pelletise seeds for packaging and sale. The powder is extremely free flowing, with a bulk density of 400 gm/l.

Bulk bags of gypsum were cut open and emptied into a V-shaped bin feeding an auger that transported the material to a rotary treater. Here, the gypsum is mixed with the seeds and pellets are formed by the rotating action. The ma-chine also adds colour coatings, pesti-cides and fungicides to the seeds.

SPS solved the dust problem by in-stalling a Flexicon bulk bag discharger. Gypsum flows from the bulk bag into a floor hopper, from which the material is transported to the rotary machine

by two flexible screw conveyors. The enclosed process has essentially eradi-cated the dust problem, says Peter Pear-son, the plant’s operations manager.

The Griffith plant receives gypsum powder in bulk bags of approximately 350kg. Each bag is loaded by a forklift into the bulk bag discharger frame, where it is suspended by four loops, and unloaded into a 140L, V-shaped floor hopper. The bag is opened, the in-ner liner is cut, and the powder is dis-charged through an iris valve.

Bag discharge is aided by a bag

agitation device, which Flexicon calls its Flow-Flexer – two pneumatically driven plates that raise and lower op-posing edges of the bag to direct mate-rial to the outlet. As the bag empties, the stroke of the plates increases, form-ing the bag into a V shape and promot-ing total evacuation.

The iris valve essentially eliminates dust, says Pearson. Nevertheless, the company also uses Flexicon’s dust con-tainment system, Bag-Vac, which is at-tached to the discharger frame and re-moves any residual dust.

“The powder is particularly dusty and for operational health and safety considerations we automatically added this (dust collection) option,” Pearson says. “As a result we have a clean and tidy working environment that is safe for the operator.”

Flexible screw conveyor ‘fits in’Material is removed from the bottom of the hopper by a flexible screw conveyor. An agitator and vibrator in the bottom of the hopper help to move and direct the powder to the conveyor inlet.

The flexible screw conveyor con-tains a rotating, stainless steel centreless screw, housed in a durable polymer tube. It measures approximately 6 m long by 80 mm O.D. and is powered by a 2.2 kW, 3-phase motor that is located just beyond the discharge point, eliminating material contact with bearings or seals.

Containing dust at NSW seed plantSouth Pacific Seeds of Griffith in NSW, a major seed processor, contains dust at its plant with a bulk bag discharger and flexible screw conveyors from Flexicon.

An inclined and a horizontal flexible screw conveyor transport gypsum powder from the bulk bag discharger to the rotary treater.

Forklift loads a bulk bag onto the discharger frame, which is fitted with dust collector (right).

CASE STUDY

From the hopper, the conveyor moves the material at a 45° incline to one side of the rotary treater. At that point the powder is discharged through a small transition hopper into a second, identical flexible screw conveyor that carries it horizontally to an inlet cone on the side of the rotary treater.

The combination of the bulk bag discharger with the flex-ible screw conveyors assures that the delivery of powder to the rotary treater is consistent and uniform, says Pearson.

Also, he says the screw conveyors solved “a big constraint,

which was the amount of floor space we had to work in. The rotary machine is positioned in a tight corner and so to have a delivery system that would fit in was fantastic.”

How seeds are processedSeeds are received in plastic or cardboard bins of approximate-ly 750L capacity, or in 25kg plastic bags. In the case of bins, the lids are removed and they are emptied by means of a special bin tipper. Bags are cut open.

Iris valve prevents uncontrolled bursts of material and dust when bag spout is untied. Flow-Flexer plates raise and lower the bag to promote complete evacuation.

CONVEYORS...PNEUMATIC CONVEYING...BELT CLEANERS...ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT...MOBILE CONVEYING...

Peter DelbridgeNational Advertising ManagerAUSTRALIAN BULK HANDLING REVIEWwww.BulkHandling.com.auph 02 9080 4478 mob 0400 700 765

Next EditionIn our next edition, Editor Charles Macdonald will present a selection of informative articles covering:

• Belts • Scrapers • Idlers • Drives • Pneumatic conveying • Air supported conveyors• Screw conveying • Vibratory conveyors • Cable conveyors • Pulleys • Portable conveyors• Bucket elevators • Container Tipplers • Dust control• Transhipment • Mobile Conveyors

If you have something to say, contact Peter Delbridge on 02 9080 4478 or [email protected] Booking Deadline: 7th March 2014

Like to include your Products and Services?Your products and services could benefit from advertising placed adjacent to our editorial topics. Call 02 9080 4478 or email [email protected]

Comprehensive details of the magazine, weekly and on-line advertising can be found at www.BulkHandling.com.au

Maybe Australian Bulk Handling Review could generate sales enquiries for your company – we do it for many others!

March/April 1. Conveyors, Belt scrapers, Ancillary equipment 2. Pneumatic Conveying3. Container Tipplers Trans-shipment Mobile Conveying

May/June 1. Food Products Powder Handling Pneumatic Conveying2. Dust Control

July/Aug 1. Weighing and Level Measurement Technology2. Grain Handling

Sept/Oct Engineering Services - Design and Consultancy

Nov/Dec 1. Dust Control2. Explosion Management

IMPORTANT BULK HANDLING EDITORIAL TOPICS FOR 2014

ABHR_House_JanFeb14_3.indd 3 31/01/14 11:24 AM


The containers are emptied into steel, wheeled V-bins that move the seeds through a series of process steps for the removal of plant material, soil, insects, stones and light, undesirable seeds. The main processes are:• Cleanup by size, using an air screen

cleaner that has a series of screens for scalping and sieving.

• Sorting by length, using an indented cylinder that can pick up either the seed or contaminant, depending on the crop type.

• Separation by weight, using a gravity table. The seeds pass over an inclined, oscillating mesh deck with a fan that blows air up through the seed.Other cleanup processes include

colour sorting, spiral separation and washing.

Following cleanup, the seeds are dried to less than 7% moisture content in drying bins, and then delivered to the pelletiser by a V-bin.

Rotary treater produces pelletsThe pelletiser mixes seeds with gyp-sum-based powder and a glue binder (as noted earlier), forming pellets, which are easier to plant than single seeds. The machine can also coat the seed with a film containing colourant, fertiliser, fungicide or a pesticide, says Pearson.

Seeds are weighed and then dis-charged into the rotary treater, while gypsum powder is delivered by the flex-ible screw conveyors at a rate of 3.5kg/min.

Following the rotary treatment, seeds are dried and graded, then pack-aged for sale in woven polypropylene bags, plastic pails, cans and foil pack-ages. Seeds are sold by seed count per kilogram in packages that range from about 15 kg for the bags, down to a few grams in the foil packages.

The company has also installed a similar Flexicon system in its New Zea-land sales warehouse in Pukekohe.

Contact: [email protected]

Horizontal flexible screw conveyor transports the powder through a transition adapter and downspouting, to the rotary treater inlet. Motor at the discharge end drives the conveyor.

Gypsum powder moves from the bulk bag discharger through the inclined flexible screw conveyor which transitions to a horizontal flexible screw conveyor discharging into the red pelletiser.

Gypsum powder

Coated seeds from the pelletiser

CASE STUDY

1300 SEW AUS (1300 739 287) to be directed to your nearest officeMelbourne (Head Office) I Sydney I Brisbane I Townsville I Perth I Adelaide

www.sew-eurodrive.com.au

As a key supplier to the Australian mining industry, SEW-EURODRIVE believes in

quality and efficiency when it comes to drive technology. Supplying a range of

industrial gear units, motors and drives for especially large torque requirements,

SEW delivers more than just products to heavy industry. A team of talented

engineers develop effective and timely solutions based on customers’ drive

specifications, which are backed by after-sales commissioning & product support.

SEW-EURODRIVE also understands that time is money, so units may be delivered

within a matter of weeks from local assembly plants, rather than waiting months

for items to be shipped from overseas.

SEW-EURODRIVE – Driving Australian Industry

X Series• Robust gear housing

• Flexible mounting capability

• Worldwide service

• Local stock holding and assembly

• Thermal housing “Mining Drive” option

• Torque range 58-475 kNm

Gearmotors \ Heavy Industrial Solutions \ Electronics \ Decentralised Systems \ Services

No Matter What You Move: We Drive It

sew abhr 1-2.14 fap X series NEU.indd 1 13/01/14 4:42 PM


NEWS

Aurizon said that a legacy of its former long history as a government owned

corporation is a “complex and diverse fleet” with more than 59 classes of locomo-tives and 297 classes of wagons nationwide.

By 2018 the company plans a net re-duction of its locomotive fleet of 28% (829 down to 598) and the wagon fleet of 12% (18,546 down to 16,292).

The planned reductions will be achieved through asset disposals and, claims Aurizon, will simplify the fleet, standardise maintenance practices, re-duce materials and inventory as well as result in a smaller, more efficient fleet.

The impairments on projects reflects developments such as Glencore’s decision to put the Wandoan mine project on hold and consequent termination of the Surat Basin Rail Joint Venture. It also includes the consolidation of Aurizon options re-lated to coal haulage for GVK Hancock’s Galilee Basin projects.

Aurizon says that further restructuring has led it to accept an additional 248 vol-untary redundancies across the company since July 2013. This means that since its IPO more than 2,000 people have left Aur-izon, a reduction of more than 20%.

Aurizon managing director & CEO

Lance Hockridge said the demand environ-ment of key commodities hauled remained strong with increases in coal and iron ore for the five months ending November 2013.

“As part of the next step in our transfor-mation journey we are reshaping our oper-ations and fleet for significant productivity and efficiency improvements to deliver bet-ter value to shareholders. The safe and dis-ciplined execution of our transformation programs and operating plan, with a heavy focus on productivity, will deliver our fi-nancial and operational targets.”

Write downs of up to $197m for AurizonReviews of its rolling stock needs and involvement in major projects have prompted bulk haulier Aurizon to announce asset impairments of $130m - $150m and $47m, respectively, to be recognised in the first half of its 2014 financial year.

Contact: www.aurizon.com

Aurizon plans a net reduction in the number of locomotives in its fleet from 829 to 598 by 2018. It is also planning a net reduction in the wagon fleet, from 18,546 down to 16,292.

The reclaimers are due to be delivered to site and installed in line with the planned commencement of production early in 2015.According to Tenova Australia, the machines are to be built in

modular format to reduce site impact and expedite construction.In addition, the machines will be trial assembled upon com-

pletion of fabrication and fitted-out both mechanically and elec-trically to the extent of transport capabilities.

Key components will also be dry commissioned prior to site delivery.

“A key aspect of the development of this contract has been the close co-operation between the entities to ensure that

specifications and commercial conditions were fully developed and agreed on prior to contract execution,” stated Tenova Australia.

The reclaimer project is in addition to an earlier design and construct contract of the coal stacker for the CHP facility, due for installation in the middle of 2014.

The reclaimers’ specifications are: 64.5m rail gauge; single boom scraper; and 2,500tph average reclaim rate.

Whitehaven Coal’s Maules Creek Project lies in the Gunne-dah Basin, 18kms north-east of Boggabri.

Maules Creek reclaimersMaules Creek Coal and Tenova Australia have entered into a design and construct contract for the delivery of two portal reclaimers for the Maules Creek Coal Project.

Contact: www.tenovagroup.com

Tenova Australia Pty. Ltd.L10, 410 Ann Street, Brisbane QLD 4000PO Box 10163, Brisbane QLD 4000

Phone +61 7 3124 9080 Fax +61 7 3124 9079 Email [email protected]

www.takraf.com www.tenova.com

TENOVA is a worldwide supplier of advanced technologies, products and engineering services for the metalsand mining & minerals industries.

Tenova_JanFeb_PRESS.pdf 1 31/01/14 9:32 AM


TIPPLING

ABHR: Give us an update about the tip-pling facilities over the last 12 months.Andrew Pellizzari (AP): We’ve tripled our tonnages. Basically there’s more cus-tomers, and the more we educate them to understand the benefits that they get from this process – those clients that are more aligned towards the environmental slant – they are moving more towards this process. There’s no doubt about that.

Also, we’ve invested, in the last twelve months, a considerable amount of money. We’ve got another crane [at Port Adelaide’s inner harbour green field site] so we can work two cranes at once, so there’s increased productivity. And we’ve got two new patents out on our misting systems, because of inroads in different vessels.

ABHR: Tell us about those misting systems.AP: It’s not one-size-fits-all when it comes to this misting system, so we’ve had to develop that further. That’s been another enhancement to the whole process.

I keep going back to when we start-ed this, over three years ago. Tipping a

container in a hold is not what this pro-cess is about; it’s about total containment. The actual dust suppression system is pretty key to this whole process.

It’s different per product, and it’s also about the ship, the hold of the ship, as well as the wind, the humidity… We’ve spawned out of a company that has not got that stevedore mind, so we’re focused on very much an environmental solution.

It was trial and error for the first six months of operation. Our original mist-ing system that we had was not as suc-cessful with, say copper concentrates as it was with iron ore, and that’s because of the technology behind it. Now we’ve perfected that, that’s fine.

Now there’s different vessels that we get, where we can’t get the actual misting system around all four sides of the hatch – where we needed to come up with a different solution, which we’ve now got another patent for.

It’s almost like a plug-n-play, where you’ll put in another system, which has a greater throw across the hatch, so that’s good for when it’s a windy day, or when

it’s a hatch configuration where we can’t get misting around all four sides.

ABHR: You mentioned you’re handling different types of products?AP: Over the last twelve months, there are more customers that are coming to us, and asking us about the system. We have taken on, and we’ve now got more customers using the system, ranging from iron ore, to mineral sands, to cop-per concentrates. So it’s a wide, diverse product range that we can use this pro-cess for.

The technology in the containers has changed, as well – you can’t underesti-mate the yard system that you’ve got to have to make this work. We’ve got cus-tomers now that have got five grades of product, and five sub-grades within those grades. And we can blend at the port, be-cause our system can track every type of product in every container, in the whole supply chain.

ABHR: So you blend straight into the hold of the ship, essentially?

Container tippling forges on at Port Adelaide

In 2010, South Australian port operator, Flinders Ports started providing container tippling services to iron ore junior, IMX Resources. Four years on, Flinders Ports’ head of logistics, and tippling guru, Andrew Pellizzari, speaks with Oliver Probert of ABHR about progress.

In the first stage of Flinders’ containerised bulk process, boxes are loaded at the inland source (mine, silo, etc.). In this case, product is being loaded at an OZ Minerals terminal.

AP: Yes, that’s exactly right. That’s a big selling point to this pro-cess as well. But to execute that you’ve got to have the yard system, which has been developed in house with a key supplier of software that we use out of our container terminal.

ABHR: Now these misting systems – with any of these materials, is liquefaction a risk?AP: There’s too little liquid involved.But what we also do is we know, in each container, the moisture content of that container. And before we tip it, that goes into our yard management system – this is how it’s all integrated – and then we sequence those specific containers into the hold of the vessel.

So we know the total moisture level inside the container, and in each hatch, and then we meter and log how much water we’re using on our misting systems.

So we know exactly how much water we use. That doesn’t mean that’s how much [water] goes into the hold, this is a worst case scenario … and then we monitor that against the transport-able moisture limit. We never go over, and in fact we’ve never come close to it.

The actual system we’ve got now, funnily enough, uses about a third of the water we used to use in our original misting sys-tem. So it actually saves us water. That’s part of the innovation process, and the continuous improvement process, that we’ve been through.

ABHR: So what sort of volumes are you guys handling?AP: We’re doing approximately 2.5mtpa. We’ve got four major clients at the moment.

ABHR: What are the secrets to navigating that much bulk vol-ume in container form?AP: The first thing is that the containers are filled with the prod-uct at the mine … and then transported down to the port, either by road or rail, and we’ve got clients that do both.

Then we gate in all those containers into our yard management

system, and what happens is all the information attached to one of those containers (i.e. the product, the product grade, the mois-ture, any other information – whatever the clients want to attach to that) we can keep in our yard management system.

The container is then put into a slot in our yard, so we know exactly where it is. Then, when a ship is booked, we sequence those containers based on what the client needs so far as grade and the product type, into each hold of the vessel, for our yard management system.

And then we’ve got tablets in all our machines that tell the operators what the next container is to be put under which crane, to go in which hatch.

ABHR: How do you manage empty containers?AP: With an empty container, we put it back onto an internal


TIPPLING

Containers are received at the port and stacked in assigned areas.

The locations of all containers in the facility are tracked via a central IT system, which also carries information about each container, including its contents, its moisture level and other information.


TIPPLING

transfer vehicle like a truck, and that goes to the stack. That actually gets put back in the stack, with that container number, so we know what’s empty, because that’s very important. They all look the same when they’re in the stack, but you want to know what’s full and what’s empty.

That’s until the next truck comes in, or train comes in, then [the container] gets placed on the truck, or the back of the train, and goes back up to the mine and gets filled again.

ABHR: Are there any future development planned?AP: There are other refinements in im-proving productivity.

We’re using a slewing crane, like a mobile harbour crane, to actually at-tach to the containers a lot quicker, and reduce the damage, so that’s increased

productivity. But it also takes the tagline man off the wharf.

What we have is a tagline on the end of the tippler, and there has to be some-one on the ground, guiding that either on the back of a truck, or on the wharf. Now, with this guidance system that we’ve got, we eliminate having that person on the wharf, and everyone’s in a machine.

So we’ve improved the safety, there. We only had one person out, that was not in a machine, and that was that person. Now we’ve taken him off.

That’s our container guidance system.

ABHR: I know recently Flinders Ports acquired full ownership of the container port in the outer harbour of Port Adelaide, which used to be run by DP World. Have you learnt anything through running that which applies to your tippling process?

AP: There’s nothing that we’ve taken from outer harbour, or with the container terminal, and brought into our other op-erations, at this stage, other than improv-ing the yard management system, improv-ing the misting system, and the creation of the container guidance apparatus with the slewing cranes.

We’ve actually now got tippling op-erations out at that container terminal, as well as at the inner harbour site.

ABHR: So you’ve added some tippling op-erations at the container terminal in the outer harbour, to join the dedicated inner harbour site. To summarise: what does your tippling operation look like in terms of overall assets?AP: We’ve got four cranes [at the contain-er terminal in the outer harbour], but we only use one on this [tippling] operation. That’s about 1.5 to 1.7mtpa of iron ore.

We’ve now got two mobile Gottwald cranes [at the dedicated tippling site in the inner harbour].

ABHR: So in the outer harbour you’re using a modified version of a traditional container crane?AP: Yes. Because it’s very versatile and it’s using containers, we just put a differ-ent spreader on it. We put one for bulk containers on there that can rotate. So container terminals around the world can actually do this quite easily, with a differ-ent spreader.

ABHR: Have you had much interest from international businesses?AP: In the last six months, I’ve had probably three overseas, major mining companies come and have a look at our operations, so this has now been recog-nised. Our facility in Port Adelaide inner harbour is now recognised worldwide as the benchmark.

ABHR: And you’ve got enough patents on it to hopefully protect your IP?AP: We just don’t want people to pick up what we’re doing and try and repli-cate it. I understand some of this stuff’s not rocket science. But things like the misting system – the original one – won’t cut it for these concentrates, and we’ve developed it, and that’s what we’re focused on.

As far as the process is concerned, it is what it is and we do it well. I can give you quotes of companies that have said they’ve seen other operations like this, and that we are the benchmark in the world.

That’s a good feather in the cap of my guys. It’s not me that does it – I sup-port them, they do it, and they do it very well.

To deliver product from a container into a waiting vessel, the container is lowered into the hold of the ship and, in the case of lidded containers (such as the one shown here) the lid is removed by a specialised spreader, which also rotates the container.

Product is ‘tippled’ into the waiting vessel by the specialised spreader, which rotates the container. Errant dust is captured by a misting system, which surrounds the hold of the vessel.


NEWS

Atlas Iron, which already uses McAleese for haulage of iron ore from a number

of its other Pilbara mines, will now use the bulk haulage provider to move iron ore from its new Mount Webber mine.

McAleese will haul the iron ore, by road, to export facilities at Port Hedland, 230km to the north west. The contract is due to commence mid-way through this year, and will last until 2018.

Mount Webber is part of Atlas’ Horizon I expansion, intended to lift the miner’s ex-port production from 10mtpa to 15mtpa.

“Mount Webber will be a significant addition to Atlas’ iron ore exports and we look forward to working with Atlas to continue to safely and efficiently deliver iron ore to port from their fifth mine com-missioned in five years,” said McAleese Group’s chief executive, Paul Garaty.

“The flexibility and lower capital re-quirements of road haulage has delivered an effective transport solution for Atlas and supported their rapid growth.”

Garaty said Atlas’ complement of smaller scale, close-to-port mines made a flexible, dynamic schedule paramount to ensuring the road transport fleet meets pro-duction, shipping and grade quality targets.

The addition of the Mount Webber contract will result in about 500,000km per month of haulage for McAleese, bring-ing its total work for Atlas in the Pilbara to roughly 3,000,000km each month.

“We are delighted that we continue to be Atlas’ preferred road transport provid-er,” said Garaty.

As happy as McAleese may be, ex-ecutives at the transport company are no doubt concerned over the growing chance that Atlas moves its ore haulage to rail in the short-to-medium term future.

Atlas has publicly expressed its desire to use rail to transport product from its Pilbara mines to port, writing on its web-site: “For the longer term developments and production beyond 15mtpa, rail haul-age will be preferable due to the scale and distance to port.”

However, Atlas has been unable to gain access to other companies’ existing rail lines, namely Fortescue Metals Group’s, writing: “Access to existing rail in the Pilba-ra has typically not been historically achiev-able on commercially acceptable terms.”

To cope with this, Atlas has made an

alliance with junior minerals exploration company, Brockman Resources, and rail operator Aurizon, to conduct a study of the feasibility of the development of an independent rail network in the East Pil-bara to transport ore to Port Hedland.

Atlas says the first phase of that study has concluded, and shows there are merits in a new, standard-gauge rail-way in the region.

“Negotiations with a number of in-frastructure owners and developers are progressing with the intent of unlocking the value of Atlas’ Horizon II assets,” the miner says on its website.

Horizon II is Atlas’ next expansion wstage, and is by far its most ambitious.

Atlas hopes to expand its production from the 15mtpa target at the conclusion of the Horizon I project, to up to 46mtpa,

at the conclusion of Horizon II.That includes the McPhee Creek proj-

ect, the site of Atlas’ biggest direct ship-ping ore (DSO) resource, as well as the Davidson Creek Hub in the south east of the Pilbara, a significant DSO resource at McCamey’s North, and another DSO proj-ect at Western Creek.

Atlas sticks with McAleese for Mt. Webber haulage

McAleese Resources has won a four-year, $250m contract with junior miner, Atlas Iron.

Contact: www.atlasiron.com.au

McAleese adds the Mount Webber haulage deal to its collection of Atlas contracts.

Atlas’ expansion plans.

ShorterLead Times

AT FLEXCO, WE TAKE YOUR SYSTEM’S PRODUCTIVITY AS SERIOUSLY AS YOU DO. The most advanced composite roller made from innovative plastic technology is now manufactured on Australian shores meaning shorter lead times and less downtime for your production.

Designed to overcome common issues with belt rollers, heavy-duty CoreTech™ Conveyor Rollers are strong enough to tackle the toughest environments while maintaining superior performance.

Made of light weight, high strength, corrosion and abrasion resistant composite materials, CoreTech rollers require less energy, and emit less noise than steel counterparts - plus superior plastic construction means that even advanced wear on the shell won’t damage the belt.

Phone: 1300 098 435Email: salesau@fl exco.com

www.fl exco.com

SuperiorPerformance.

Now assembled at the Flexco manufacturing facility in Baulkham Hills, NSW, Australia

TALK WITH A FLEXCO SALES REPRESENTATIVE TODAY!

TM

Conveyor Rollers

1213__AUSBlkHdlg_fp_CCT2.indd 1 1/7/14 8:53 AM


CASE STUDY

Archer Daniels Midland subsidiary, Alliance Nutrition is a manufactur-

er and distributor of vitamin and trace mineral pre-mixes, ingredients and food additives used in manufacturing pet food products.

In addition, about 10% of the com-pany’s output is mixes for bovine and swine feed.

“We run about 1100 pre-mixes from 400 different powdered ingredients, largely for pet food producers,” says Alliance Nutrition’s location manager, Kyle Taylor. “The mixers we use to pro-duce our blends are critical to the suc-cess of our business.”

The ingredient list is vast, including zinc sulphate, zinc oxide, manganese, L-pheronine, riboflavin, lysine, assort-ed vitamins and minerals, and a host of other nutritional compounds.

Putting those ingredients together at Alliance Nutrition’s plant in Quincy, Illinois, are the company’s three rotary batch mixers, which are over thirty years old. The Munson machines were installed in the 1980s, and run twenty hours a day, seven days a week.

“The rotary batch mixers have lasted a long time, process high volumes, and are very reliable,” Taylor says. “Their motors are a lot smaller than the ones in our paddle mixers, so they are very energy-efficient.

“They also clean up quicker because they discharge completely with little or no product heel. This is important be-cause of the many fast changeovers for different customers we need to make each day.”

Once a unit discharges, workers stop the machine, lock the drum and physi-cally get inside to sweep out residues.

“It’s pretty much a dry process. Sometimes we use limestone, but no cleansers.”

Taylor prepares each batch to keep the particle size and bulk density of his raw materials as uniform as possible, in an effort to get the best mix for each product run, but says sometimes this is not possible.

But Munson assures that its rotary batch mixers can produce uniform

30-year-old batch makers going strong at feed plant

A trio of rotary batch machines – which run 20 hours a day, every day – are still putting out consistent mixes, thirty years since they were installed.

Munson Rotary Batch mixers at ADM Alliance Nutrition have been processing high volumes 20/7 for more than 30 years.

Operator dumps “hand-adds” into mixer from floor above.

blends, even if particle sizes are signifi-cantly different and densities are as dis-parate as 320kg/m3 to 1350kg/m3.

“The units are versatile,” Taylor says. “In the past we used them to do batch-es of peas and carrots with virtually no separation, and when we switched them over to pet food powders we got the same even results without having to make any engineering changes.”

The smallest of the three mixers, the 700 THS-110 model, has a capacity of

3.1m3. The other two – one a 700 TS-180, the other a 700 THC-180 – are rated at 5.1m3. The 700 THS-110 and 700 TS-180 machines can mix 2727kg per batch, while the 700 THC-180 can mix 5454kg, thanks to its more powerful motor and gearbox.

Considering their longevity, Taylor says, maintenance has been light.

“We’ve replaced the main sprockets, chains, rollers and drive motors twice in the last 25 years,” he says, “and we

replace the seals about once a year on average.”

One key benefit of rotary batch mixers to the animal vitamin indus-try, as opposed to agitated mixers, which Alliance Nutrition also utilis-es, is that rotary batch mixers don’t heat material up to a significant ex-tent during mixing.

This prevents delicate and ex-pensive additives, such as vitamins with time-release coatings, from breaking down.

Individual product runs on the rotary batch mixers average be-tween 900kg and 2700kg, but can go as high as 27,000kg for bulk loads, which are packed into pneumatic trucks, or hopper bottoms as they’re also called, that customers provide.

Smaller batches are packed ei-ther in bulk bags or standard bags in the 9-27 kg range.

Alliance Nutrition has three bagging lines and four bulk bag lines. At an average six minutes per batch, it completes about 60 batch-es per day for an average weekly output of 843 tonnes.

The rotary batch machines at Alliance Nutrition have been mix-

ing heavy volumes for decades, and will likely continue for decades to come. But Taylor understands that everything has an expiration date in industry.

“Sooner or later, like everything else, they will be up for replacement,” he ad-mits. “But considering how robust and well designed they are, an overhaul if and when needed could make them last another 20 years.”


CASE STUDY

Powder flow at the facility is largely gravity fed over four floors, and assisted by ‘drags’ – paddles hooked to U-

shaped conveyor chains.At the top level, workers feed the special ingredient hand-

adds into the mixers. One floor below are the mixers, along with 17 bulk bins for 12 different bulk ingredients that auto-matically batch into the three units.

Surge bins, which are rectangular steel holding tanks sized to accommodate one entire load from the mixers, are located on the second floor. These in turn feed the bulk loaders, bulk bags, and bag lines on the ground floor.

Metal detectors, which use either ceramic or rare earth mag-nets, are in place at strategic locations throughout the plant.

“If material coming in has gone through a grinding process – for instance calcium carbonate which starts as large rocks – we want to be sure we can catch a loose bolt, broken blade, or other item from equipment failure, which is rare, but nothing we want to take chances with,” explains Taylor.

Testing for consistencyAs part of its quality assurance policy, ADM says it carries out mixer studies on a regular basis.

Small samples of the batch are taken from various areas of the mixer (around 15 typically), and the number of parti-cles of each ingredient are counted. The number of counted particles in each sample is then compared to the average in the batch recipe.

“Assays are an important part of the quality control pro-gram we’ve developed together with our customers over the years,” explains Taylor.

While the plant is considered ‘feed-grade,’ Taylor says high-tech quality and other controls are moving it toward food-grade.

“Companies involved in companion animal feed are going toward that way of doing things,” he says.



Alliance Nutrition’s process

The rotary batch mixers discharge with little or no product residual, simplifying changeovers.

Blends are bagged below the mixers. Sample packs indicate the many blends produced at ADM Alliance Nutrition.


NEW PRODUCT

The controller is designed for use with Camfil’s Farr Gold Series dust collectors, or other types of collectors if they

are integrated with a motor starter or variable frequency drive package.

A built-in differential pressure sensor monitors the primary filter pressure drop. Four analogue inputs can be used to monitor the secondary filter, as well as other devices such as leak detec-tors, flow meters and compressed air pressure monitors.

Six digital inputs are also included to monitor hopper level, smoke detection, remote cleaning and other functions.

Four relay outputs are provided to signal faults from any of the digital or analogue inputs or from internal device faults. The 4-20 milliamp output will remotely monitor air flow or pass through any analogue input to a remote location.

The controller can also monitor fan power consumption, and can provide data logging of system performance with multi-lan-guage capability.

Touch screen controller for industrial dust collectors

Dust collector manufacturer Camfil APC has debuted a new touch screen controller, designed to provide full monitoring and control of all functions of an industrial dust collector and associated equipment.

Contact: www.camfilapc.com/touch-screen-controller

Camfil’s touch screen controller is designed to give maximum monitoring and control.

DUST CONTROL

RT4 Superskin, designed by Australian dust suppression and soil stabilisation

company Reynolds Soil Technologies, is diluted in water and sprayed directly onto the surface of loaded coal.

The water-based dust suppressant crusts and binds the coal’s surface layer to create a durable veneer coating, aimed at preventing the movement of dust and fine particles throughout the transporta-tion phase.

Key to the project was Queensland based civil engineering company Shad-forths Civil Contractors, which designed and built the new rail wagon veneering system at New Hope Group’s Jondaryan Rail Loading Facility, located west of Toowoomba.

Through one automated spray appli-cation during the loading process, coal

fine particles are tightly suppressed as the water dispersive polymers dry, according to Reynolds.

This process ensures that New Hope Group is complying with Queens-land’s Coal Dust Manage-ment Plan and meeting the Department of En-vironment and Heritage Protection’s standards.

“Our RT4 Superskin product is a highly effective, non-hazardous dust sup-pressant specifically developed for the minerals transportation industry,” said Reynolds Soil Technologies’ operations and technical director David Handel.

“Comprising the latest in eco-friendly chemical technology, RT4 is both easy

and efficient in application and is also a cost-effective alternative to covering the coal wagons with materials and lids. The strength and durability of the RT4 solu-tion will also prevent the veneer coating from cracking throughout travel.”

Dust veneering chemical at New Acland

Loaded rail wagons leaving New Hope Group’s New Acland Coal Mine in Queensland are being veneered by a solution known as RT4 Superskin, in an effort to suppress environmentally harmful dust emissions.

Contact: www.rstsolutions.com.au

Reynolds Soil Technologies’ RT4 Superskin solution veneering trains at New Hope Group’s Jondaryan Rail Loading Facility.

DUST CONTROL

The Rino is designed for greater versatility, with the ability to op-

erate effectively with either low or high pressure water, and at many dif-ferent flow rates, Tecpro told ABHR.

“Thirty nozzles are positioned around the fog cannon’s mouth, with different types of nozzles used depend-ing on whether water pressure is high or low,” Tecpro Australia’s managing director, Graeme Cooper, said.

“The nozzles atomise the water into a fine mist capable of being pro-pelled 30 metres by its powerful fan.”

The use of fine water droplets (i.e. mist) in the control of dust works on

the principal that fine droplets will readily combine with dust particles, causing the dust to fall to the earth, aided by gravity.

The Rino can be set for high water pressure (up to 70 bar) or low water pressure (up to 15 bar). Tecpro says that by varying the nozzles and pressure, the Rino produces droplets of a size that eliminates water pooling and therefore reduces environ-mental and safety hazards in the vicinity.

A number of mounting options are available for the Rhino, but Tecpro says the most common is the 3-wheel trolley version, which allows it to be moved where needed and with a rotation angle of up to 340 degrees and an elevation range between -25 degrees to +35 degrees.

This design allows fog to be directed over a broad area, or targeted, when needed.

Rino fog maker Tecpro’s economical’’ answerEquipment supplier Tecpro Australia has extended its range of industrial fog makers, with the launch of the Rino, designed for economical dust suppression, odour control, humidifying and evaporative cooling.

Contact: (02) 9634 3370 www.tecpro.com.au

Contact: (02) 9634 3370 www.tecpro.com.auTecpro’s Rino fog maker.

Tecpro distributing Idrotech’s fog makers Down Under

With their cannon-like ability to disperse a fine mist over extensive areas, Idrotech says its Elefante and Giraffa fog makers are effective in suppressing fugitive dust in mining and construction environments.

Tecpro Australia showcased the ‘long necked’ Giraffa and the bigger bodied Elefante dust suppression products at AIMEX

2013 in Sydney.“Each has a 340 degree rotation angle and elevation range of

-25deg to +45deg. The Elefante has a throw distance of 60 metres and the Giraffa’s throw distance is 25 metres,” said Graeme Coo-per, managing director of Tecpro Australia. “Over these long dis-tances, the fine mist particles combine readily with airborne dust, and the combined weight causes the dust to fall to the ground.”

Cooper said many visitors to Tecpro’s AIMEX stand said they’d been frustrated in their previous efforts to control dust effectively.

“They were very interested to see the complete range of solutions we have on offer,” he said. “This included the Elefante and Giraffa as well as the customised solutions we have developed to address site-specific dust problems being

experienced by our customers.”Tecpro Australia has designed a variety of dust suppression

solutions for transfer stations, conveyor belts, hopper bins, and product crushers. Among the systems on display at AIMEX was the company’s award winning solution designed for Centennial Coal’s Mandalong Mine.

“For the Mandalong Mine site, Tecpro, in partnership with the University of Wollongong, developed a solution that won the 2012 Australian Bulk Handling Review Award for Dust Control, Technolo-gy, Application or Practice,” said Cooper. “After trying a variety of ap-proaches without success our team, in conjunction with the Universi-ty of Wollongong, designed and fabricated a solution that dramatically reduced dust emissions around a large underground bin.”

Idrotech’s fog makers on show at Tecpro’s stand at AIMEX.


The new turnkey plant includes a range of equipment from CDE including an

M2500 mobile washing plant with inte-grated Counter Flow Classification Unit (CFCU), EvoWash fines recovery system, fine sand screens, attrition cells and spi-rals. CDE says the plant configuration also includes an AquaCycle thickener which re-duces the volume of fresh water required to feed the washing plant by more than 90%.

According to CDE, the design feed rate to the plant is 100 tons per hour and this produces 50 tons per hour of glass sand with an additional 30 tons per hour of concrete sand. The plant accepts -120mm feed to the M2500 hopper and this material is transferred to the inte-grated ProGrade double deck rinsing screen. The top deck removes the 40-120mm material to a stockpile while the bottom deck sends the 7-40mm material to another stockpile.

The 0-7mm material collects in the ProGrade sump and is pumped to a five deck fines screen. At this point the sili-ca sand is screened at 0.43mm and the 0.43mm to 7mm material is sent to a sepa-rate EvoWash sand washing plant to allow for the production of concrete sand.

Meanwhile, the 0-0.43mm material is sent to an EvoWash fines recovery plant where following delivery to the EvoWash sump the material is pumped to the inte-grated hydrocyclone which removes the -63 micron material. The cyclone over-flow containing the waste material is sent to the AquaCycle thickener.

The underflow from the cyclone is de-livered to the EvoWash dewatering screen before being transferred to the attrition cells. The function of the attrition cells is to assist with the removal of iron oxide and other deleterious materials from the silica sand. The iron oxide is adhered to

the silica particles and must be scrubbed from the surface of the particles to allow removal later in the process.

Refractory heavy minerals and iron oxide particles are separated from the silica sand through the introduction of spiral classifiers. As these particles have a higher specific gravity than the silica sand particles, the spirals are able to per-form the required separation. The rejects from the spirals – a sand product con-taining the liberated heavy mineral and iron oxide – is delivered to the EvoWash sand washing plant sump and is destined for the concrete sand product. The silica sand slurry is delivered to the sand sump on the M2500 where it is then pumped to the integrated counter flow classification unit (CFCU).

The CFCU unit is used to remove the <106um particles from the sand as required by the specification. The

$4.5m silica sand washing plant for Tooperang Quarry

Global supplier, CDE has provided equipment to the Tooperang Quarry for a silica sand washing plant at a site near Adelaide, South Australia. The new plant is producing glass sands for use by Owens-Illinois at its glass bottle manufacturing plant in Adelaide.

NEWS

Tooperang quarry.

Contact: www.cdeglobal.com

CFCU is an upward flow classifying unit which operates on the principle that an upward flow of water will cause the lighter particles to rise and the heavier particles to sink. According to CDE, this facilitates the removal of any remaining fines while the silica sand slurry is de-livered to a dewatering screen. The de-watered silica sand is transferred via an integrated stockpile conveyor. The fine material removed in the CFCU is sent to the concrete sand Evowash for recovery into the concrete product.

From an initial iron oxide (Fe2O3) content in the feed of 0.3% the glass sand is required to achieve 0.25% Fe2O3 in line with Owens-Illinois’ sand speci-fication for coloured glass. The final product has less than 0.1% iron oxide. The FE2O3 content in the final silica sand product is reduced to 0.1% ensur-ing that it meets the specification re-quired by Owens-Illinois at its Adelaide plant. “We are achieving the 0.1% figure consistently which is as important as achieving the reduction in the iron con-tent,” explained Chris McKeown, CDE project manager.

Both the dewatered silica sand and concrete sands are subsequently

stockpiled using 26m radial conveyors which ensure a stockpile capacity of 5,000 tons. From an initial silica content of 93% for the excavated material the fi-nal product achieves +99% silica.

Waste water from the plant is pro-cessed by the AquaCycle thickener which, according to CDE, recovers 90% of the water for re-circulation around the washing plant. The plant requires 400m3 per hour of water for its operation and the introduction of the AquaCycle ensures that the top up water supply is only 40m3 per hour. The sludge from the AquaCycle thickener is pumped to on-site settling ponds.

The glass sands produced by Toop-erang Quarry will be used at Owens-Illinois’ Adelaide plant in West Croydon which produces mainly wine bottles to supply Australia’s wine industry. Owens-Illinois’ Adelaide plant is one of four the company has in Australia. Across its four production plants Ow-ens-Illinois employs around 900 people and produces almost 860,000 packed tonnes of glass products or around 3.4 billion containers each year.


NEWS

Tooperang quarry.


COVER STORY

James Boag’s had a problem: pressur-ised ISO containers, bringing sugar to

the company’s brewery in Launceston, continually left a residue of two to three tonnes of sugar after emptying.

Apart from the environmental impact and wasted freight cost, the residue rep-resented an effective loss of capacity in the supply vessels.

The stakeholders in the sugar supply system – the sugar supplier, Sugar Aus-tralia; the carrier, Toll Group; and the end user, James Boag’s brewery – realised they needed an effective solution.

The stakeholders discussed the applica-tion with Brian Watson at Kockums Bulk Systems on the basis of the Melbourne-based company’s previous work with the handling of bulk solids in shipping contain-ers and its ‘suck-blow’ module for the un-loading process.

“The advantages offered by handling bulk solids in shipping containers have been long recognised in terms of availa-bility, flexibility and cost,” explained Ivan Price, Kockums Bulk Systems’ chairman.

After an initial trial and demonstration at a Sugar Australia site in Melbourne, the sugar receiving test vessel was sent across to Bo-ag’s in Tasmania for a week’s trial purposes.

“However, Boag’s was so happy with the solution to handling their sugar at arriv-al, that they ended up keeping it for about 12 months while a customised vessel sys-tem was developed and manufactured to suit their requirements,” said Price.

The end result was the installation of a special purpose sugar receiving vessel (as pictured) which has been developed to suit Boag’s application for sugar.

The vessel is 0.75 m3 capacity and fills by vacuum from the containers brought to

site by Toll Transport. It then pressurises to send the load up to the adjacent silo.

The vessel is made totally from stain-less steel, of clean design and food grade quality, with quick release couplings for access for cleaning.

Another aspect is the fitting of haz-ardous area instruments and controls for handling a product of the nature of sugar. Transfer rate is 10 to 12 tonne per hour.

“The vessel utilises food grade Posi-flate inflatable seat butterfly valves for quick response time and for long valve life,” said Price.

“The system is a development of Koc-kums Bulk Systems’ standard container unloading module used for flour, cement, magnesium oxide and alumina. In fact it is suitable for any powdered product.”

James Boag’s is an Australian com-pany founded in 1883 in Launceston by

Resolving residue sugar at James Boag’s brewery

Kockums Bulk Systems designed and supplied a customised sugar receiving vessel to James Boag’s brewery in Tasmania. ABHR spoke to the company’s chairman, Ivan Price.

Unloading location at Boag’s. The suck-blow module.

How Kockums’ suck-blow vessels work

The picture on the right is of a typi-cal unloading arrangement. In the

foreground is the module and behind is the tipped container with the rear doors opened for access. The liner in the container is visible, and this enables any powder to be carried in a standard shipping container. Shipping contain-ers are readily available and able to be put back directly into container traffic when emptied.

A hose is connected from the con-tainer to the suck-blow module and an-other hose from the module to the silo is evident.

In operation, the truck driver grad-ually tips the container as the empty-ing process continues, to ensure all the product is fed to the rear outlet.

The module sucks a charge of prod-uct, and, when full, changes from vacu-um to pressurise.

At the set pressure, the discharge valve opens and the product is transferred to the silo. The controls confirm the trans-fer is complete and the vessel empty.

Then the vessel changes back to vac-uum operation to suck the next charge into the vessel. The system is fully auto-matic in operation, run by a PLC.

This type of ‘suck-blow’ module was originally developed by Kockums Bulk Systems (KBS) as a method of re-trieving powder from suitably prepared shipping containers.

With fine powders, an aeration mat is required in the liner.

According to KBS, the system is find-ing a wide range of other applications.

Configured for vacuum filling and pressure discharge, the module is able to retrieve powder from any vessel that is provided with a hose connection.

The module may be located and configured to retrieve powder from up to four silos, without the need of air slides or screw conveyors.

It may be used to draw powder from a bin or hopper with very little clearance overhead, or from a hopper located in a pit.

According to KBS’s publicity, the system’s other advantages include:

“The module is quite portable, so may be moved to where the action is. Also, it is suitable for general housekeep-ing or product spill retrieval. It is a sealed

system, so dust is contained.

“It may be driv-en by plant air or by an auxiliary com-pressor. No vacuum pump or dedicated dust filter is re-quired on the standard models.

“Standard un-load rates are 12 to 18 tonne per hour with fine powders, but spe-cific projects have been supplied to a rate of 60 tonne per hour with cement.”


COVER STORY

Contact: www.kockumsbulk.com.au

James Boag. It is now owned by Lion, one of Australia’s leading brewers.

“James Boag’s produces a range of beers to suit every taste, some of which are exclu-sive just to Tasmania. This provides more than one good reason for a holiday to the Ap-ple Isle to find out more and go on one of the tours offered at James Boag’s brewery,” quipped Price.

“This project required close collaboration between: Sugar Australia; Toll Intermodal, who were responsible for the critical contain-er set up, loading and transfer; Toll Tasmania for the local logistics, handling and operation of the equipment at site; James Boag’s brew-ery; and, of course, Kockums Bulk Systems for the interface and unloading expertise.

“It was a most impressive and gratifying team effort by all.”

Contact: Brian Watson, Email: [email protected]

Cut-around picture of the Boag’s module as it left

Kockums Bulk Systems’ works.

Module from above. Vacuum hose connected to module.


NEWS

A year after releasing the draft report, NSW roads and ports minister, Dun-

can Gay, released the final copy of the plan aimed at managing the near-dou-bling of freight volumes in NSW over the next 20 years.

The strategy was finalised by its au-thor, Transport for NSW, following con-sultation with local government and industry, and more than 80 submissions in response to the release of the draft in November 2012.

“With the volume of freight on our transport network forecast to nearly dou-ble over the next 20 years to 800mt each year, the NSW Freight and Ports Strategy is a critical long-term road map which puts NSW on the front foot to meet the task ahead,” Gay said.

The report says more than 409mt of freight moves through NSW each year, contributing roughly $58bn to the state’s economy. It also employs half a million people, per the report.

“The NSW Freight and Ports Strategy … shows the NSW Government is taking seriously the freight and logistics indus-try,” Gay continued.

“With an efficient and effective freight network underpinning the strength of our exports and reducing the costs of everyday goods and services, the strategy will ensure that freight is at the forefront of our economy.”

The strategy is broken down into three strategic action programs: one tar-geting efficiency on the existing freight network, one targeting the growth and development of that network, and one targeting the improved sustainability of that network.

Strategic Action Program 1 – network efficiencyThe first of the government’s three strate-gic action programs is focused on maxim-ising the efficiency of the existing freight network in NSW.

In its report, Transport for NSW highlighted unused capacity as a waste of investment, and pointed to the words of former BHP Billiton chief executive, Marius Kloppers, who said in 2012: “The cheapest capacity that you can normally find is latent capacity.”

Looking to target the utilisation of this unused capacity, Transport for NSW will first identify freight movements and network demand.

To do this, it will develop macro and micro level indicators of performance, to measure and report on the efficiency and effectiveness of the freight network. This will allow it to build and maintain a dataset, which will help it articulate the value of the NSW state task, as well as the value created by efficient operation of the freight network.

These actions tie into a message deliv-ered in 2012 by Sir Rod Eddington, chair-man of Infrastructure Australia, who said: “Governments must be smarter and focus on evidence-based analysis of what infrastructure is needed and why, rather than on short term political pressures, before giving the green light to projects.”

Once it’s established a statistical framework – against which it can meas-ure the impacts of other initiatives – Transport for NSW will look to improve network efficiency through a number of other means.

This includes the development of pur-pose designed cargo movement models,

the guided optimisation of the road freight network, the promotion of off-peak time slots to freight handlers, and working with the trio of national transport regulators – for rail safety, heavy vehicles and maritime – to help improve the interstate network.

Two network efficiency initiatives which are particularly interesting to the bulk handling industry are the improve-ment of productivity on the rail freight network, and the facilitated use of coast-al shipping.

“Rail freight plays a critical role in the NSW transport task for bulk as well as con-tainerised freight,” the report said. “For rail freight operations to work efficiently, an access pathway on the network at the right place and right time is needed.”

In an effort to facilitate access pathways for potential rail users, a review is under-way to create a new rail access regime in NSW, aimed at promoting “a consistent ap-proach to rail access regulation, [and] com-petition, through the economically effi-cient operation, use and investment in rail.”

Freight and Ports Strategy targets efficient logistics future for NSW

New South Wales’ first Freight and Ports Strategy was released in December and bulk handlers around the state took note. A number of the many strategic actions outlined in the 20 year plan will have an impact on the bulk handling sector, Oliver Probert writes. Former chief executive of BHP Billiton, Marius Kloppers:

“The cheapest capacity that you can normally find is latent capacity.”

The MV Kowulka discharging gypsum at Sydney’s Glebe Island wharf. Almost 400,000 tonnes of gypsum is delivered each year to Glebe Island, for distribution to plasterboard manufacturing facilities. The front page of the strategy.

While coastal shipping currently represents a small part of NSW’s freight task, Transport for NSW says it’s an im-portant one.

“The majority of coastal shipping con-sists of construction materials, bulk min-erals and fuels,” the report said. “Coastal shipping offers significantly lower per kilometre costs and less environmental impacts compared to road or rail freight. However, slow journey times restrict the amount of freight suitable for coastal shipping.”

Looking to increase the use of coastal shipping in industry, Transport for NSW said it will analyse the role coastal ship-ping plays in the freight task, and inves-tigate ways its use can be promoted to industry.

“Facilitating the use of coastal ship-ping will enable the use of a relatively ef-ficient and environmentally sustainable mode of freight.”

A final initiative targeted at improving network efficiency is improving coordina-tion between participants in commodity chains, to help reduce congestion around the ‘pinch points’ that are ports.

“The movement of bulk and break bulk cargoes to Port Kembla by rail has

a direct impact on the metropolitan rail network due to the volumes of grain and coal that transit through Sydney from western NSW,” the report said. “Similarly, steel products originate at Port Kembla and are transported nationwide by train using the Illawarra line for the first part of the journey.”

To tackle congestion issues like the ones caused by bulk at and around Port Kembla, Transport for NSW said it’s inves-tigating establishing the NSW Cargo Move-ment Coordinator (CMC).

“This body would share some similar characteristics to the successful Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator, modified to reflect the important differences with the cargo transport network around Port Botany and Port Kembla.”

The CMC would be a development of the Port Botany Landside Improvement Scheme undertaken over the last few years by Sydney Ports, and would aim to opti-mise landside cargo transport to meet Port Botany and Port Kembla demand growth, and to minimise overall supply chain costs, including externalities like congestion.

The CMC would look for, and take steps to eliminate, coordination failures and ‘pinch points’ in NSW’s freight network,

Transport for NSW said. Its scope of activ-ity would include break bulk cargo such as steel and bulk cargoes such as coal, other minerals and grain.

Strategic Action Program 2 – network capacityNSW’s freight network – in the eyes of Transport for NSW – has been built, maintained and improved “in a frag-mented manner dependent on owner-ship, funding and usage patterns.”

The issue with this is that it has re-sulted in a network that achieves varied levels of performance.

“The examples of ‘missing links’, pinch points and weight limitations that constrain performance are numerous and not limited to any particular region or mode,” the report stated.

As such, Transport for NSW said it will endeavour to identify and protect strategic freight corridors, and will de-velop and maintain capacity for freight on the road and rail networks.

But perhaps the most important ini-tiative from a bulk handler’s perspective for boosting network capacity, is the work Transport for NSW plans to do around NSW’s ports.


NEWS

For more information, visit www.bulksolids.com.au or call +61 2 4033 9055

Upcoming Industrial Training Course:25 - 27 February 2014: Bulk Solids Handling - Storage, Feeding, Transfer and Belt Conveying; Gold Coast, QLD

08 - 09 April 2014: Transfer Chute Design; Perth, WA

We are experienced and offer assistance in everything that is BULK SOLIDS, including:

• Testing of Bulk Materials and Bulk Materials Handling Equipment

• Consulting Services for Storage, Flow and Handling

• Conceptual Design of Storage and Handling Systems

TUNRABULK SOLIDS

World Leaders in Bulk Materials Handling with over 35 years of experience in Research and Consulting


It intends to grow port capacity through three growth plans: one for Sydney, one for Newcastle, and one for Port Kembla.

The primary bulk facility in Sydney is at Glebe Island and White Bay – on the city’s main harbour (not Botany Bay). Transport for NSW said Sydney Harbour is an ideal port for the import of dry bulk products, as transport costs represent a significant portion of their product cost – and importing them close to a metropoli-tan area minimises transportation costs.

The three main lessees in the precinct – Sugar Australia, Gypsum Resources Aus-tralia and Cement Australia – have all in-dicated to Sydney Ports that they wish to extend their leases beyond the current term of 2020, and Transport for NSW believes that this should be capitalised upon, and more bulk handlers should be encouraged to use the precinct to trans-port their goods.

“Sydney Ports’ proposed land use strategy for Glebe Island/White Bay en-visages the consolidation of existing and future dry bulk trade at Glebe Island,” the report said.

Transport for NSW believes the Han-son aggregate import facility at Blackwat-tle Bay and the Hymix cement batching plant at Pyrmont could be relocated to the Glebe Island site, releasing land for alternate uses.

“If relocated,” the report continued, “the concrete batching plant could use cement and aggregate from Glebe Island

without transporting the material via the external road network, as currently occurs.”

The growth plan for the Port of New-castle will need to stress rail access, if projected growth in the local grain han-dling industry is to be met with improved capacity, Transport for NSW said.

“Grain exports through the Port of Newcastle totalled 1.8mt in 2011-12, ris-ing from the 1.3mt recorded in 2010-11. The port has a nominal grain export ca-pacity of around 4.2mtpa, which is suf-ficient for forecast growth demands,” the report explained.

“Achieving this nominal capacity is, however, dependent upon receiving suf-ficient rail access to move these volumes to port as well as supply, demand and lo-gistic support impacts.”

Coal would be the major focus of the growth plan for Port Kembla, with a pair of expansions set to increase the port’s coal export capacity to 25.5mtpa (it cur-rently sits around 14mtpa capacity).

As well as ports, intermodal terminals will also be a key focus of Transport for NSW going forward, as well as continued support for the development of regional networks, and other projects designed to boost network capacity.

Strategic Action Program 3 – network sustainabilitySustaining the freight network – and thus its capacity – will be as important for

NSW’s future as the expansion of capac-ity itself, according to the report.

This was a topic heavily represented in submissions made by local govern-ments to Transport for NSW during the report’s drafting process.

In practical terms, it means better integrating freight requirements in all types of planning schemes, managing congestion, noise and emission impacts of freight transport, prioritising safety on freight transport, and supporting the growth of the transport and logistics workforce.

That last issue is to be achieved, Transport for NSW says, by finding ways to attract and retain skilled workers to the freight transport industry.

The first step of this will be to quanti-fy the scale of skill shortages in the trans-port and logistics industry, including identifying the regions which are most greatly impacted, the report explained.

“The industry can then target entry level workers for education and training, working with community colleges and tertiary institutions such as TAFE.

“Workforce initiatives in the freight and logistics industry will result in de-velopment of the required employment profile. It will also encourage people to enter the sector and make them aware of the available occupations and career progression.”

Contact: www.freight.transport.nsw.gov.au

NEWS

White Bay (bottom of picture) with Glebe Island at bottom left. Transport for NSW believes White Bay’s role as a bulk terminal for Sydney’s metropolitan customers should be expanded and optimised.

integratedbulksystems.com.au

(03) 9585 6391

Solutions for all your bulk material handling needs

Complex materials handling solutions... for any size project.

No matter how big or small . . .Talk to us about our alternative pricing and project delivery options to ensure the success of your project

From standard equipment through to a full custom designed turnkey solution, IBS will work with you to achieve your specification within your budget & delivered to your requirements.

IBS_full Page_2014_V4.indd 1 20/01/14 12:32 PM


NEWS

The lavish opening was attended by Chinese Government officials, in-

ternational suppliers and customers, and executives and staff of RKM-Rokon-ma, the Australian-Chinese-Malaysian company behind the new facility.

Brett Maiden, a senior executive of RKM based in Hong Kong, explained that the new plant would allow low cost manufacturing, competitive pricing of products, easy access to raw materials and handy proximity to port and trans-port infrastructure.

The factory is one hour’s drive from the port of Shenzhen and 2.5 hour’s drive from Hong Kong.

“Our goal from the beginning was to establish a world class manufactur-ing facility, fully focused on provid-ing quality-engineered products, at the best possible price,” said Maiden. “Our design work is still carried out in Australia, and all our products are de-signed and engineered to suit the large tonnage, high-speed conveyors that we see in today’s mining and materials han-dling sectors.”

The new factory employs 120 staff, 90% of whom live on site in the compa-ny’s accommodation block, which also provides all meals.

The plant includes a testing facility which Maiden describes as “world class”.

“It gives confidence to our clients that their specifications are measurable by them in person, and is supported by our comprehensive inspection and test plan,” he said.

At RKM’s factory a new design pro-gram enables the company to evaluate the stress and deflection of a roller shell under specific loading conditions. The program can be applied to various types of rollers, including but not limited to

RKM opens new manufacturing facility in China

Conveyor roller, idler and structure company, RKM opened a new 18,000 sqm factory in Dong Guan City, Guangdong in late November, 2013.

Owners, visitors and staff at the official opening.

Brett Maiden speaking at the opening.

Outside of the new factory.

“Our goal from the beginning was to establish a world

class manufacturing facility…”

steel, aluminium, ny-lon, PVC, UHMWPE and HDPE.

“Once the calcula-tions are complete, we can then provide the customer with a de-tailed, one page print out, including graphs, showing the allowable and actual loads and stresses that are being applied to the roller,” said Maiden.

With the new fac-tory, RKM has ex-panded its product range. Roller produc-tion is about 2,000 per day, depending on the size and type. Frames are manufactured ro-botically at a rate of around 400 per day.

“All rollers are now available in our premium RS seal pack-age, or in our economic TK2 seal package along with our low rolling resistance package,” explained Maiden.

NEWS

Rim drag testing.

Roller milling in progress and stack of the finished product.

Comprehensive suite of testing equipment in the new plant.

Proud distributor of Conveyor Accessories, Belt and Rollers:

www.convatech.com.au

Conveyor Specialists:> Onsite Service> Product Sales> Condition Monitoring> Design and Engineering> Projects

Your Partner for

High Performing

Conveyors


“We have now developed a com-plete range of rollers to accommodate all markets and market segments; this gives our customers a complete range to choose from. It includes plain steel, aluminium, nylon engineered plastic, and steel shell with poly composite housings.

“All these rollers are available in weigh quality and low noise, dynami-cally balanced options.

“Our heavy duty poly disc rollers and plain steel rollers are designed to accommodate extremely harsh impact zones where standard rollers are not up to the duty requirements.

“We also supply Impact and RDRT rubber disc rollers, in plain rubber or our Mines Department approved FRAS rubber disc,” concluded Maiden.

NEWS

Contact: Brett Maiden, email: [email protected]

Festivities in full swing.

Telestack designed a unique solution using existing technol-ogy for Arcelor Mittal, providing the steel and mining com-

pany with an innovative mobile shiploading system.Telestack believes the system offers the shortest hatch

change time in the mobile shiploader industry, thus providing the customer with added efficiencies.

The TS2058 All Wheel Travel Mobile Shiploader can load iron ore at a rate of 2000tph. It can load vessels with a freeboard height of up to 16m, and a beam of 43m.

“Drawing on our extensive knowledge and experience gained from numerous installations across the globe and espe-cially those handling heavy ores, we designed a very unique solu-tion using proven existing technology,” the company said.

“In the first 12 months our customer loaded approximately 3.5mt with the Telestack system. The unique mobility of the sys-tem allows Arcelor Mittal to quickly move from hatch to hatch and when loading is complete, the entire system is easily relo-cated away from the quay side to free up valuable ground space.”

Telestack says its ISO 9001:2001 certification helps it ad-here to processes and procedures internally so that it meets and

exceeds the needs of its customers in terms of specification, per-formance, delivery, reliability and aftersales support.

Telestack mobile loader wins innovation awardBulk equipment specialist, Telestack, won an award for innovative technology at the IBJ Awards held in Paris in November 2013.

3D model of TS2058 all wheel travel shiploader showing capabilities.

Contact: [email protected] www.telestack.com

TS2058 all wheel travel shiploader.

TS2058 all wheel travel mobile shiploader loading vessel at 2000tph from HF2020 heavy duty tracked mobile hopper feeder.

The GOODYEAR (and Winged Foot Design) trademark is used by Veyance Technologies, Inc. under license from The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.Goodyear Engineered Products are manufactured and sourced exclusively by Veyance Technologies, Inc. or its affi liates. ©2011 Veyance Technologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

14308 A4 MM

THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THEBEST CONVEYOR BELTSNOW ALSOSERVICE THEM.

Whether your mining operation is surface or underground, Veyance now offers a

complete range of service, repairs and maintenance for all types of conveyor belts.

• Belt installation • Splicing • Scanning • Belt repairs • Pulley lagging • Condition monitoring

Because we’re a total service provider, Veyance will also deliver full certifi ed trained

technicians. We believe prevention is the key to lowest cost per tonne conveying,

which is why we offer regular maintenance checks to help keep you running in

peak condition. Our Veyance Services network is now operational in Mackay

and Karratha and will soon to be up and running in the Hunter Valley.

Learn how to speak the language of the belts at: www.goodyearep.com

Mackay 0408 292 538 Karratha 0429 728 703

DUST CONTROL

NEWS

ASGCO says the system is especially suitable for dusty conveyed products

and processes, for example in coal-fired power plants, and in facilities that handle wood chips, grain and soy beans, other dry minerals and recycling products.

The ‘skirt-less’, fully self-contained Pro-Zone has an optimised seal on the re-ceiving end of the conveyor belt, for air and dust-tightness.

It is made up of ASGCO’s Slide-N-Roll beds, with removable, ‘slide-out’ designed polyethylene and steel side sup-ports, and easy to remove centre rollers, the company says.

Slide guards, an internal splash seal-ing system, dust curtains and angled

hoods (which come in both aluminium and steel) are designed to completely en-close the entire system.

These features, according to ASGCO, promote productivity and longer convey-or belt life, because the completely sealed

load zone helps eliminate turbulence and conveyor belt cover abrasion.

The ‘skirt-less’ design can also lead to lower maintenance costs, the com-pany says, because it means there are no adjustments of metal skirt-boards or rubber skirting.

A modular design means the unit can be installed in any combination of 1.2m or 1.5m lengths, to fully cover a load zone area, the company says, and quickly removable hoods, slide-out sec-tions and removable centre rolls are de-signed to aid in the system’s installation and maintenance.

Conveyor load zone system for dustless loading

Bulk handling supplier, ASGCO, says its patent pending modular conveyor belt load-zone system, Pro-Zone, is a world first in the containment and dust control of bulk materials.

Contact: www.asgco.com

A computer rendering of the ASGCO Pro-Zone.


Atlas announced the deal in August last year, saying it would buy the UK-

headquartered Edwards in an effort to expand its influence in a global vacuum solutions market valued at more than $6.93bn by Atlas.

The deal was finalised late last week, when Edwards formally became part of Atlas Copco’s new vacuum solutions divi-sion, which itself is within the compres-sor technique portion of the business.

“Edwards is a technology leader with a well-developed structure and solid customer relationships in industries we know well,” said Atlas Copco’s president and chief executive, Ronnie Leten. “It is a great fit for Atlas Copco.”

Edwards has more than 90 years’ expe-rience in the vacuum products and abate-ment solutions technology industries. It has more than 3,200 employees, and de-spite being headquartered in Crawley, UK,

was (until now) listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York.

Following the acquisition, Edwards was delisted from the NASDAQ stock exchange.

Atlas Copco had initially paid Ed-wards shareholders US$9.25 per share. Once Edwards’ audited 2013 income statement is final, an additional payment of up to US$1.25 per share will be made, Atlas says.

Leten said a key benefit of the Edwards business in Atlas’ view was its people.

“We recognize the strength Edwards has in its people and products as well as their excellence in technology and inno-vation,” he said. “We are excited that this professional company will join our group.”

Edwards earned the equivalent of AUS$1.1bn in revenues in 2012. It earned more than half of that in Asia, where its adjusted EBITDA margin was 19.1%.

Atlas Copco made the all-cash acqui-sition utilizing its own existing funds.

Atlas Copco finalises Edwards acquisition

Mining and bulk handling equipment manufacturer, Atlas Copco, has bought vacuum and abatement technologist, Edwards, in a deal worth roughly $1.84bn.

Contact: www.atlascopco.com

Atlas Copco’s president and chief executive, Ronnie Leten.

The mine, which is run by Codelco, is being expanded and a pro-ject is underway to open up new copper reserves in the deeper

layer of the mountain so that mining can take place underground.ContiTech says the new conveyor system, which will transport

the mined rock, implements energy-saving solutions. The steel cord belts are manufactured with what the manufacturer calls the XLL Compound: a special, energy-optimized rubber composition.

Since this rubber compound significantly improves visco-elastic properties, ContiTech says, the indentation rolling resistance on the conveyor belt system is minimized.

“In comparison with conventional conveyor belts, this enables energy consumption during the transport of raw materials to be cut by up to 25%,” the company reports. “In this way, energy costs and CO2 emissions can be significantly reduced.”

Alongside the energy-optimized steel cord belts, ContiTech is supplying innovative electronic conveyor belt monitoring and in-spection systems for El Teniente.

The manufacturer says these systems are well suited for the di-verse challenges of the copper mine and guarantee a high degree of safety and reliability.

CONVEYORS, MOTORS & DRIVES

‘Intelligent’ conveyors support Chilean copper development

More than 20km of ContiTech steel cord conveyor belts will be fitted at the El Teniente copper mine in Chile by 2017, the manufacturer says.

Electronic monitoring systems like ContiProtect Belt Rip Detection increase process reliability, according to the manufacturer.

Designing & constructing world class materials handling systems

Cortex - DosSANTOS

High-Angle Conveying

Tel: +613 9543 5225 www.cortex.com.au

Cortex HPV_v1.indd 1 5/06/12 4:42 PM

ContiTech says its energy-optimized conveyor belts minimize indentation rolling resistance. In this way, energy consumption during the transport of raw materials can be reduced by up to 25%.


Contact: www.contitech.com.au

NEWS

Toll announced late in December that it had entered into a 13-year rail haul-

age agreement with PN Rail, a subsidi-ary of Asciano, for the latter to take over Toll’s North Queensland rail operations.

Toll said the agreement was made so that it could continue to service its cus-tomers in North Queensland.

“The deal allows us to continue to provide Toll Intermodal’s customers with long-term access to quality rail infrastruc-ture and significantly enhances the opera-tional flexibility of our North Queensland business,” Toll Group managing director, Brian Kruger, said.

“It also reduces capital employed in this part of the business, which will re-sult in an improvement in our return on invested capital.”

Toll has been pushing through head-winds in recent years. Net profit after tax and non-recurring items declined in the 2012 financial year, by 75.9%, to $70.9m. That improved in the 2013

financial year to $91.7m.Under the new agreement, PN Rail

will acquire from Toll five Queensland in-termodal rail terminals, for approximate-ly $70m, at Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton and Brisbane, together with associated plant and equipment.

Toll Intermodal will continue to op-erate its freight forwarding business at those terminals.

“This agreement is a very positive transaction for Toll and all of our North Queensland customers,” Kruger said.

Earlier in December, Toll also an-nounced the acquisition of Nationwide Transport Solutions (NTS).

NTS, which has annual revenues of $17m, is headquartered in Port Kembla, and specialises in the over-dimensional and heavy haulage sector, particularly in the heavy haulage of major infrastructure projects as well as the energy, alternative energy, and heavy industrial sectors.

Toll Contract Logistics’ divisional

general manager, Bruce Wilson, said Toll sees strong growth opportunities in busi-nesses like NTS.

“We are excited about this opportu-nity to build on the expertise we have al-ready developed around the wind energy sector,” Wilson said.

“Along with building on our existing activities, NTS provides us with the op-portunity to drive strong growth such as in infrastructure projects.”

Asciano nabs Toll’s North Qld rail serviceTransport and logistics company, Asciano, took over operation of the Toll Group’s rail service in North Queensland at the start of February 2014. Toll, meanwhile, has acquired a heavy haulage business in Port Kembla.

Contact: www.tollgroup.com

A Patrick straddle carrier loading a Toll shipping container onto a truck. Toll Group managing director, Brian Kruger.

Toll’s share price over the past five years (red line), compared with the ASX All Ordinaries (blue line), suggests

Toll hasn’t bounced back as rapidly as the rest of the Australian economy after the GFC in 2009.

CONVEYORS, MOTORS & DRIVES

“ContiProtect monitoring systems protect conveyor belt systems against serious damage, thereby making a major contribution to enhanced operational reliability by reducing the number and length of malfunction-related downtimes.

“ContiProtect Splice Elongation Meas-urement is designed to monitor larger con-veyor belt systems and uses magnetic mark-ers to detect irregularities in splice length.”

Arndt Bunzel, application engineer in ContiTech’s mining segment, says splice

monitoring can prove invaluable to a con-veyor operator.

“On conveyor systems with ever more stringent safety factors and ever increas-ing conveyor belt strengths, monitoring the splice increases operational reliabil-ity,” Bunzel says.

Another monitoring system, Conti-Protect Belt Rip Detection, uses conduc-tor loops vulcanized into the conveyor belt to detect longitudinal slits as early as possible.

ContiTech’s mining head, Claus Peter Spille, was happy to announce the con-tract with the Chilean miner.

“We are absolutely delighted to be in-volved in this large-scale project and to support the expansion with our innova-tive products,” he said.

ContiTech received the order via Tenova TAKRAF from Leipzig.

Australian Bulk Handling Review: January/February 2014 45

CONVEYORS

The rollers are designed to prevent an inclined conveyor from running backwards in the event of a belt break. This is

achieved thanks to a patented mechanism fitted into the rollers, which only allow them to run one way.

This differs from standard steel and high density polyethyl-ene rollers, which are fitted with bearings that enable them to turn in both directions.

Gavin Hall, Melco’s managing director, says the anti-rollback range has been particularly popular in platinum, gold, coal and copper mining applications in various African countries, as well as in Australia and Canada.

“The product is appealing to engineers because of the in-herent safety features of the anti-runback rollers, and because incline conveyors fitted with the product may experience less downtime in the event of a belt snap,” Hall says.

“Conveyor belts with inclines of between 6° and 18°, which are commonly found in mining applications, are most prone to running back in the event of a belt snap. Some of these belts are as long as 1km, and could cause unprecedented damage if break-age occurs.”

The majority of conveyor belts in mines are run through con-fined spaces, and Hall says that this can further exacerbate the issue of belt breakage, should the belt be allowed to reverse.

“Downtime related to clearing the tunnel and repairing the belt may result in significant lost production, resulting in crip-pling financial effects.”

Melco’s anti-runback rollers are designed to react instantly in the event of a belt snap.

“We have received positive feedback from numerous mining customers, who have revealed that anti-runback rollers, if cor-rectly installed to the pattern recommended by Melco, bring the snapped belt to a standstill within a short distance, which sub-stantially reduces safety risks, the risk of any damage, and associ-ated costs,” Hall says.

Anti-runback rollers are not designed to be used all the way along a conveyor. Instead, they are designed to be spread evenly along the conveyor. The anti-runback rollers are the same size and shape as standard rollers, but are identified with an arrow marked on their ends, which points in the direction allowed by the roller.

Melco says it can assist clients determine an appropriate ratio of standard to anti-runback rollers in a specific conveyor, based on belt length and width, product type and capacity, inclination, and other factors.

“Each conveyor belt is unique to its specific operating envi-ronment and, using the technical details of the conveyor belt, Melco is able to recommend to the customer precisely how many anti-runback rollers, and the installation pattern they require for a particular application.”

Anti-runback rollers Conveyor equipment manufacturer, Melco says it’s finding commercial success with its range of uni-directional, anti-runback conveyor rollers.

Contact: www.melcoconveyors.com

... If so, you can now expand your capabilities by joining the Australian Society for Bulk Solids Handling.The Society has a mission to enhance the discipline of bulk solids handling through research, education and sound engineering practice.Further information on the Society’s activities, its Constitution and registration procedures are available from the :

Australian Society for Bulk Solids Handling Centre for Bulk Solids and Particulate Technologies The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308 Phone: (02) 4033 9055 Fax: (02) 4033 9044 email: [email protected] Website: www.engineersaustralia.org.au/Australian-Society-Bulk-Solids-Handling

ARE YOU...A DESIGNER / MANUFACTURER / RESEARCHER / OPERATOR OF

BULK SOLIDS HANDLING... SYSTEMS / EQUIPMENT / STORAGE?

Membership is open to ALL practitioners in bulk solids handling and related technologies.

A cutaway of a high density polyethylene, anti-runback roller from Melco.

Melco’s anti-runback rollers are specially marked on their ends to identify them among standard rollers in a conveyor belt assembly.

The anti-runback roller has been popular in platinum, gold, coal and copper mining

applications.

A cutaway of a steel anti-runback roller.

Headquartered in Vejstrup, Denmark, Svendborg provides engineered brak-

ing systems for a wide range of industrial markets including bulk handling, oil and gas, mining, wind power, marine and metals.

“Svendborg is a leading brand that provides Altra with new technology and access to a number of new geographic re-gions,” said Carl Christenson, Altra’s presi-dent and CEO.

“This acquisition presents a number of new opportunities to help drive our top-line and bottom-line growth, and we are

excited to deliver on this key part of our growth strategy.”

Svendborg joins Wichita Clutch, Indus-trial Clutch, Twiflex Limited, Formsprag Clutch, Marland Clutch and Stieber Clutch as brands of Altra Industrial Motion’s Heavy Duty & Overrunning Clutch Brake Group. This supplies brake and clutch so-lutions to a broad variety of applications.

Altra Industrial Motion Corp, through its subsidiaries, is a global designer, pro-ducer and marketer of a wide range of electromechanical power transmission products.

The company’s brands cover over 40 product lines with production facilities in eleven countries. Altra’s brands include Boston Gear, TB Wood’s, Bauer Gear Mo-tor, Nuttall Gear, Kilian Manufacturing, Warner Electric, Warner Linear, Inertia Dynamics, Matrix International, Wichita Clutch, Svendborg Brakes, Twiflex Lim-ited, Formsprag Clutch, Marland Clutch, Stieber Clutch, Ameridrives Couplings, Bibby Transmissions, Huco-Dynatork, and Lamiflex Couplings.

German company Aumund Fördertechnik GmbH, a specialist in transport and storage solutions for difficult bulk materials,

has opted for integrated drive systems from Siemens.According to Siemens, Aumund wanted “a complete one-stop so-

lution” for geared and frequency-controlled drives – including engi-neering, drive configuration, and consulting. Siemens says its entire

drive train comes mounted on a skid and is ready for installation.Siemens said that: “Tedious component logistics, interface losses

and consequent malfunctions have become a thing of the past for Au-mund. This speeds up processes and makes possible faster delivery.”

Altra buys Svendborg Brakes

Aumund opts for Siemens drives

Massachusetts-headquartered Altra Industrial Motion Corp has acquired Svendborg Brakes, a leading global manufacturer of caliper brakes.

Contact: www.altramotion.com

Contact: www.industry.siemens.com

GEARS, MOTORS AND DRIVES

NORD industrial gear units were developed according to the tried-and-tested unicase principle. The design

was developed for a wide range of applications in many different sectors of industry. With all of the availa-

ble options and modules it is very easy to confi gure especially compact drive solutions. This standardisation

guarantees quality, reduces the number of components, simplifi es storage and ensures rapid availability for

our customers. You can fi nd out all about NORD energy effi ciency under www.nord.com.

Unicase industrial gear units from NORDModular concept • Mirror image installation thanks to

symmetrical construction• Lower weight than jointed housing gear units• Same physical size for 2 and 3 stage gear units• Short delivery times

Oil & fans • Oil supply by fl ange-

mounted pumps in all installation orientations

• Optimal axial fans• Synthetic oils for

greater reliability

Production and quality • High precision production due

to rigid housing• High power density• Longer bearing life than with

jointed housing gear units

NORD DRIVESYSTEMS | Intelligent Drivesystems, Worldwide Services

NORD Drivesystems AU 18 Stoney Way, Derrimut Vic 3030Phone 1300 00 NORD Fax +61 3 9394 1525 [email protected]

A total of three fluid couplings are used underground in the powerful 4.8 MW drive of the main belt conveyor in the

Xiegou No. 12 coal mine in Shanxi Province, China.Three 1600 kW drives power the 1900 metre long main in-

clined belt conveyor. This conveyor transports 3800 tonnes of coal per hour.

According to Voith’s publicity, through controlled application of torque, the fluid coupling pretensions the belt slowly and per-mits smooth conveyor start-up.

Voith said: “This controlled soft start protects the belt and driveline components and extends their lifetime. As a result, the fluid coupling reduces unplanned downtime – the operator ben-efits from lower maintenance costs and continuous production.

“Regardless of the load state of the belt, start-up times of up to three minutes are possible. Thanks to stand-by cooling of the operating oil, the 866 TPKL fluid coupling also permits multiple conveyor start-ups in succession, even when the belt is loaded.

“An additional benefit of the 866 TPKL is its ability to operate

with reduced filling to drive an empty conveyor at a reduced speed. During the creep speed operation, less power is transmit-ted and the belt runs more slowly.

“This function is useful for the visual inspection of the belt and splices. In the Xiegou No. 12 coal mine, the fluid couplings were operated in the partially filled mode during commission-ing to be sure that the belt was tracking properly. With the fluid couplings operating in the partially filled mode, the belt speed could be reduced to 1.2 – 1.7 m/s instead of operating at the rated speed of 4.5 m/s.

“Until now, the coal mine has been operating at the initially planned production capacity of 15mt of coal per year. The opera-tor plans to increase production capacity in the next one to two years. This will require the main belt conveyor to be upgraded with a fourth drive. For this, the operator plans on installing an additional 866 TPKL fluid coupling from Voith.”

Voith fluid couplings in 4.8 MW belt conveyor drive

Chinese miner Xishan Jinxing Energy Co. Ltd is using fill-controlled 866 TPKL fluid couplings from Voith.

Contact: www.voith.com

Voith says its 866 TPKL fluid coupling protects the belt conveyor as well as the drive components against damage and prevents unplanned downtime.

The Chinese mining company Xishan Jinxing Energy Co. Ltd is using the Voith 866 TPKL fluid coupling.

INNOVATIVE design and manufacture of engineered vibratory screening, sieving and separator equipment for...

Mineral — Food — Dairy — Chemical — Pulp & Paper and Associated Process Industries

“It always pays to talk to a specialist”

www.amkcoaustralia.com.au

MACHINE SALES • TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE • SPARE PARTS • SCREENSPh: 03 9775 1185 Fax: 03 9775 1184 Email: [email protected] AMKCO Australia Pty Ltd

LET US GIVE IT A SHAKE!or screen... or sift...

• Self Screening Bag Dump Stations• Inline Pressure Sifters• Portable Batch Sifters

• Spare Parts, Super Welded and Super Bonded SS mesh replacement / re-meshed screens to suit ALL brands of Circular Vibratory Screener

• Standard Circular Vibratory Screeners• Straight Flow Low Profile Screeners• High Capacity Classifiers

Expert Application and Technical Advice • On-Site Service

AMKCO Group operations – Australia, Singapore , Indonesia , Korea, Netherlands , USA

Amkco TPH Ad_4.indd 1 7/05/12 9:38 AM


NORD industrial gear units were developed according to the tried-and-tested unicase principle. The design

was developed for a wide range of applications in many different sectors of industry. With all of the availa-

ble options and modules it is very easy to confi gure especially compact drive solutions. This standardisation

guarantees quality, reduces the number of components, simplifi es storage and ensures rapid availability for

our customers. You can fi nd out all about NORD energy effi ciency under www.nord.com.

Unicase industrial gear units from NORDModular concept • Mirror image installation thanks to

symmetrical construction• Lower weight than jointed housing gear units• Same physical size for 2 and 3 stage gear units• Short delivery times

Oil & fans • Oil supply by fl ange-

mounted pumps in all installation orientations

• Optimal axial fans• Synthetic oils for

greater reliability

Production and quality • High precision production due

to rigid housing• High power density• Longer bearing life than with

jointed housing gear units

NORD DRIVESYSTEMS | Intelligent Drivesystems, Worldwide Services

NORD Drivesystems AU 18 Stoney Way, Derrimut Vic 3030Phone 1300 00 NORD Fax +61 3 9394 1525 [email protected]


Behind nearly every piece of machin-ery in a bulk handling plant is a gear,

motor or drive. And high capacity ore ter-minals and related facilities provide some of the toughest environments on earth for these technologies.

According to the criteria, the award for Excellence in Gears, Motors or Drives is for a new or innovative technology or practice in the area of gears, motors or drives, or for the application of such technology in an Australian bulk han-dling facility.

2010 winner – Baldor AustraliaIndustrial motor supplier, Baldor Aus-tralia, won the inaugural ‘Excellence in Gears, Motors or Drives’ award thanks to a nomination which included details of three innovative technologies.

One standout was the Dodge Mag-naGear XTR Gear Reducer. Designed to provide maximum reliability in tough applications, the MagnaGear was recog-nised for its money-saving potential.

It is a modular, global product that extends the advantages of planetary gear technology to achieve size reductions of 25% or more compared with all helical or bevel gearing systems.

The judges also praised Baldor Aus-tralia’s Dodge ISAF Bearings, which re-duce assembly time and prolong bearing life, and the company’s Motorized Torque Arm, which was the first to meet the de-manding American Gear Manufacturers Association standard.

Bonfiglioli Transmission (Australia) was highly commended for its enormous commitment to the local gears, motors and drives scene.

The company has invested $22m in local facilities and products with much more to come. The money has gone on assembly facilities and factories which allow local assembly of drives, cutting delivery time to weeks rather than 3 – 6 months.

2011 winner – Bonfiglioli Transmission (Australia)Following up its runner’s up position in 2010, one of the big boys in terms of the global gears, motors and drives market, Bonfiglioli, took out the award in 2011 for its work supplying mine site services company Ontrak Engineering with con-veyor, crusher and travel drives for three feeder breakers working underground at BHP Billiton’s Appin mine.

Bonfiglioli’s large and diversified product range earned the judges’ recogni-tion for effectively providing a one-stop-shop for Ontrak to get three very differ-ent kinds of geared motors.

Ontrak’s crusher was set up with a Bonfiglioli heavy duty bevel helical HDO gear box, in an alignment-free configura-tion with a built-in slip for coal crushing.

A smaller Bonfiglioli A90 helical bevel gearbox modified with a hydraulic mo-tor was installed to provide conveying to bring the coal to the crusher.

And the whole feeder breaker was made mobile by track drives running Bonfiglioli’s 711 hubs with a releasable brake system to allow for towing.

The winners in gears, motors and drivesThe award for Excellence in Gears, Motors or Drives has been part of the Australian Bulk Handling Awards since 2010. Oliver Probert takes a look back at past winners of the prestigious category.


PIVPosiplan BPH series bevel/planetary/helical gearbox, which helped

Brevini Australia win the award in 2012.

Bonfiglioli supplied conveyor, crusher and travel drives for Ontrak engineering, to win the award in 2011.

Baldor Australia’s MagnaGear XTR gear reducer, which was part of Baldor’s winning nomination in 2010.

The judges recognised Bonfiglioli in 2011 because they as-serted that, generally, the supplier’s alignment-free drives save both time and money in a range of applications because there is no need to laser align the motor and gearbox shafts.

2012 winner – Brevini AustraliaPower transmission specialist, Brevini Australia, took the award for gears, motors or drives in 2012. Brevini was selected for an ap-plication of its PIVPosiplan gear units at the Genesis Xerowaste Facility in Eastern Creek, NSW.

The judges recognised Brevini’s gear units for achieving a more compact design, and their use in applications like take-up winches, screw conveyors and cranes. The units also have high efficiency gear reducers, with figures over 97% typical for two-stage units.

The PIVPosiplan gear unit was designed using the finite el-ements method with 3D modelling, meaning that the device’s performance was optimised during the virtual prototype phase.

At the $300m Genesis recycling plant, which has 49 con-veyor systems, Brevini designed a drive solution using its PIV-Posiplan units.

The system powers a downhill conveyor that carries materi-als such as mixed construction and demolition waste including concrete, steel, metals, cardboard, paper and timber.

Brevini’s units were chosen for their compact dimensions, roughly 65% that of an equivalent bevel helical gear reducer.

2013 winner – FMG and Metso Mining and ConstructionFortescue Metals Group and Metso teamed up to win the latest instalment of the award for gears, motors or drives.

Metso provided Fortescue with two new train unloaders in the second half of 2012. These were needed to help Australia’s third force in iron ore cope with mine production rising towards 155mtpa.

24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the massive unloaders have to deal with trains which are 2.7km long, with 240 freight cars car-rying 32,800 tonnes of iron ore. During unloading, two wagons are simultaneously emptied every 90 seconds.

Judges agreed that this must be one of the most demanding installations in Australia for gears, motors and drives.

One component alone – the indexer – uses variable speed drives that deliver a power output of 1.1 megawatts to move the train.

SEW-Eurodrive was highly commended by the judges in 2013, for its supply of gears, motors and drives to Queensland-based electrostatic separation company, OreKinetics.


The system powered by Metso Mining and Construction’s gears, motors and drives allows Fortescue Metals Group to simultaneously tipple two containers every 90 seconds, helping FMG and Metso win the award in 2013.

Our global family of industry-leading “power brands”, extensiveapplication knowledge and award-winning design advantagesprovide proven product performance and reliability. Thousandsof Altra backstops, couplings, clutches, brakes, torque limiters,and belted drives are hard at work in mining applications including conveyors, shovels, draglines, ball and sag mills,winders and hoists, crushers, compressors, fans, stackers/reclaimers, sizers, and vehicles.

Many major mining equipment OEM’s and end users partnerwith Altra to access the latest power transmission technologies.

www.AltraMining.com

For the distributor nearest you, contact us at:

(02) 9894-0133

875_Layout 1 1/13/12 8:54 AM Page 1

www.AltraMotion.com.au

[email protected]

Altra products help keep material moving at minesthroughout Australia


The original Archimedes’ screw has been used to lift water to higher

levels since ancient times, perhaps most notably in the Nile delta, where such screws were used in ancient irrigation systems.

Now, feed screws are used for the horizontal transport of cereals like bar-ley, wheat and maize, or granular prod-ucts like soya, grain and cocoa.

Drive manufacturer Bonfiglioli thinks its range of materials handling drives is particularly suited for applica-tion in feed screws.

The supplier has designed a range of drives that it says can be custom-engi-neered for local conditions, demanding compact performance in a wide range of ambient conditions.

These include its range of Trasmital planetary gear units (pictured) which are generally favoured in slow moving applica-tions where high output torque is required, according to managing director of Bonfigl-ioli Transmission Australia, Malcolm Lewis.

“Their planetary drive train makes them the ideal choice for all the severe duty applications, where shock loadings and im-

pacts are more the rule than the exception,” Lewis explains.

“The product configura-tion is highly versatile, with several options for mounting, the gear layout, the output shaft and the motor inter-face. All the features are avail-able for each of the 20 finely spaced frame sizes, spanning over the 1,000-1,400,000 Nm torque range.”

Meanwhile, Bonfiglioli’s F Series drives can be applied to a feed screw by being mounted directly on its shaft, Lewis says.

“F series offer easy and neat installa-tion to achieve lightweight, cost-efficient performances with high dependability proven across material handling applica-tions,” he says.

Torque range for the F Series extends from 140 Nm to 14,000 Nm.

“Because of its great flexibility, excel-lent performance and extremely favour-able price/rating performance, we believe the F Series sets the benchmark in the ex-panding market segment for shaft-mount-ed speed reducers and gearmotors.”

Finally, Bonfiglioli’s A Series helical bevel drive range is targeted at the small-to-medium sized applications.

The series is available in nine sizes from 0.9-55Kw and 150Nm-14000Nm torque, and has a ratio of up to 1700:1 in a single gearbox, with four reduction stages.

Bonfiglioli details drives’ feed screw applications

Feed screws function on the same principle as an Archimedes’ screw, where a helical surface, surrounded by a hollow pipe, rotates and moves fluids (or fluid-like dry bulk) upwards.

Contact: www.bonfiglioli.com.au


F Series (left) and A Series (right) drives.

Combination Trasmital/A series drives.Bonfiglioli’s Trasmital planetary gear unit.

Trasmital planetary drives can be combined with A Series drives for ultra slow applications, such as screws for live bottom bins.


Contact: ???????????

The DriveACADEMY training courses are designed to provide end-users and

system integrators with a comprehensive set of skills to get the most out of motor and drive technologies and applications.

The combination of theory and hands-on practical segments used in each training course is aimed at equipping at-tendees with specific knowledge relating to SEW products, meaning they are better able to use this functionality in their own workplace.

All courses are tailored to a variety of end-users, including drive engineers, service application engineers, operations managers and maintenance technicians.

SEW-Eurodrive’s national training manager, Michael Stranieri, said the com-pany is trying to make it easier for more customers to receive training.

“In addition to training offered at our DriveACADEMY centres located in Mel-bourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Ade-laide, we are offering site training for com-panies in country areas,” Stranieri said.

“It is important that our customers are equipped with the proper training to get the most out of the products.”

Topics covered at DriveACADEMY

training courses include maintenance and condition repair, focusing on the mainte-nance and repair of SEW gearmotors and condition monitoring systems for preven-tative maintenance.

Product specific courses are also offered.

The SEW-Eurodrive group is a global designer, developer and manufacturer of mechanical power transmission systems and motor control electronics, headquar-tered in Bruchsal, Germany.

SEW-Eurodrive announces 2014 training dates

Drive engineering business, SEW-Eurodrive has announced new dates for 2014 for its nation-wide motor and drive training program, DriveACADEMY.


MOBILE VEHICLE SAFETY

Contact: www.sew-eurodrive.com.au

The DriveACADEMY training courses are designed to provide end-users and system integrators with a comprehensive set of skills to get the most out of motor and drive technologies and applications.


The compact SK 135E integrates mo-tor overload protection through PTC

thermistor monitoring, mains and motor phase failure monitoring, I²t monitoring, and magnetizing current monitoring.

According to NORD’s publicity: “The electronic, wear-free switching technol-ogy replaces motor circuit breakers, re-versing contactors, and brake rectifiers, thus rendering entire control cabinets unnecessary in large facilities.

“As PTC thermistor connection cables and brake control cables are not required, either, installation becomes generally more cost-effective, space-saving, and faster. When the drives are ordered com-plete and wired with gearbox, motor, and

starter, any assembly effort is reduced to simply tightening the screws and estab-lishing the electrical connection, which is optionally with plugs.

“The soft start function reduces me-chanical stress, preventing shocks during start-up and braking. A voltage boost can be programmed for applications requir-ing high break-away torques. Various braking modes are available.

“The starter features four potentiom-eters and four DIP switches for adjusting the most important parameters. LEDs sig-nal the operating status. Parameterization and diagnosis can be carried out via pa-rameter boxes or via a PC, using the free-of-charge NORD CON software.

“NORD’s entire distributed electron-ics program, which also includes the SK 180E and SK 200E series frequency in-verters, provides the benefit of a uniform operation concept.”

Decentralized starter with motor protectionNORD Drivesystems has introduced a motor-mounted starter with what it describes as “an extended performance range for the economic distributed implementation” of soft start and reversing functions, for motors from 0.25 to 7.5 kW.

Contact: Tel - 1300 00 NORD (6673), Email: [email protected], Web: http://www.nord.com


NORD says that with a compact, easy-to-clean enclosure, the SK 135E starter provides for equipment-friendly soft

start-up of distributed drives in a variety of sectors.

TRANSHIPPING

The plan is an alternate option to Cen-trex’s initial proposal for an export fa-

cility at Port Spencer.The developer’s original plans called

for a deepwater loading facility, featuring a 515m jetty capable of loading Cape-class vessels on any tide.

But the new study has suggested an alternate approach, using transhipment – where smaller vessels shuttle back and forth between a landside loading facility, and a larger ship, anchored offshore.

The study suggested that a jetty to load these feeder vessels could be just 200m in length – D E 315m shorter than previously planned – thanks to the smaller depth re-quired for smaller vessels.

The company says its transhipment plans are similar to those being performed at another South Australian port, Whyalla, by transhipment specialist, CSL.

CSL’s new transhipper technology com-prises a self-powered, self-docking vessel, replacing the traditional barge and tug ar-rangements, and also eliminates the need for tug facilities.

“Under the new design option the transhipper would load cape-class vessels anchored approximately one nautical mile offshore in a water depth of about 23m,”

Centrex said in an ASX release.“This depth would also allow consider-

ation in the future for larger vessel sizes if warranted. The transhipper would also be capable of loading smaller Panamax-class vessels required for grain exports.”

Centrex hopes to build an export facil-ity to support a number of its projects in the region.

Its Eyre Iron magnetite joint venture with Wuhan Iron & Steel, currently in its feasibility stage, would ideally move prod-uct 40km by slurry pipeline to Port Spencer.

The Bungalow magnetite project, a joint venture with Baotou Iron & Steel

Group, also in its feasibility stage, would use a 100km slurry pipeline to export from Port Spencer.

Meanwhile, Centrex’s wholly owned hematite project, Wilgerup, yet another project in its feasibility stage, would trans-port product by road, 110km to the port.

Finally, Kimba Gap, an explora-tion-stage magnetite project also whol-ly-owned by Centrex, is located 150km from the site. Centrex has not specified how it would move product from Kimba Gap to Port Spencer.

Transhipment plan cheaper for Centrex in SAASX-listed project developer, Centrex Metals, has finished a pre-feasibility study into a potential iron ore transhipment option for exports at Port Spencer in South Australia and says it can reduce start-up costs to $142m.

Contact: www.centrexmetals.com.au

CSL transhipper in operation loading iron ore into a Cape-class vessel.

185 x 270 text210 x 297 size220 x 307 bleed4-18-19-0; 55/10

ABHR1314-1

Single products to total Turn-key Systems

The Professionals in Powder Handling and Packaging Systems

and CONTROL AUTOMATION

PNEUMATIC CONVEYING100kg/hr to 500 tonne per hour

Sack Emptier/transfer System

TMThe economical MICROVEYOR powder transfer system # 1 - 10 tonne/hr # very adaptable - # install under hoppers, # under sack emptiers, # under dust filters; # many applications.

Your bulk storage may look like this?

Intermediate Bulk ContainersSimplify Handling - Eliminate Dust

Economical storage space

An IBC mounted on one of 3 discharge stations

1500 litre stainless steel IBC’s for powders

40-50 tonne/hr continuous conveyore.g. from bag emptier

Use Dense Phase Systems for minimum power usage.

# Sealed, and vermin proof# Automated fill and discharge# Dust free discharge station# Sizes from 600 to 3000 litre# Meter directly into process# Pulsating large cone valve - helps sticky products# OK to remove partial empty.

In process work with powders,batches of product may be temporarily stored in IBC’s,t h e n s a m p l e d f o r Q C . When loaded onto a discharge station, product may be metered or dumped directly into the next process.

Complete Powder Handling SystemsComplete Powder Handling Systems

Features:

System Design:

Head Office VIC - Tel: (03) 9457 8240 e:sales @kockumsbulk.com.au

Comprehensive website: www.kockumsbulk.com.au


The Milford Qubit UN is a 1000L intermediate bulk container (IBC) designed to hold hazardous liquids within a disposable

plastic lining.It can fold, when empty, into a unit a third of the size, mean-

ing three can be stacked in the space usually taken up by one full container, for a return trip.

The cost of a return trip for an IBC, along with costs associat-ed with cleaning an IBC which has contained a hazardous liquid, often result in a ‘one trip’ scenario for hazardous liquid IBCs, according to Milford.

One alternative in the past has been to construct IBCs out of resistant, quick-clean metals, but this in itself is an expensive process, and return transport costs are the same, if not higher due to the excess costs of moving a heavier IBC.

Looking to find an innovative, economical solution, Milford IBC has designed the first UN-certified IBC in its Qubit range.

A protective, disposable lining, which the Qubit UN is de-signed to house, is aimed at tackling cleaning costs. The fold-ability of the containers, once they’re empty, makes a return trip more economical, too.

In fact, the foldability of the Qubit UN means that 126 of them can be crammed into a standard forty-foot shipping con-tainer, while just 21 erect ones would fit in the same space.

It’s that efficiency that can be achieved on the return leg of a logistics chain that Milford says it is looking to exploit with the Qubit UN.

“The movement of hazard-ous liquids has traditionally been an expensive operation,” Milford IBC says. “Moving prod-uct over vast distances in many cases makes the return of the IBC either too costly or involves complex washing processes making it economically unviable to return IBCs when they have only completed a single trip.

“The need to remove all chemical residues from the IBC be-fore return trips, (as is required in some cases), further exacer-bates the costs associated with the logistics operation.”

Milford says it spent time talking to customers to help identi-fy the shortcomings in existing IBC options in the transportation of hazardous liquids, before trying to find a solution.

Once it had designed the new container, Milford set about getting UN certification.

That involves passing an independent and rigorous testing program, including a barrage of drop, stack and pressure testing, to ensure the final design of the IBC is capable of safely carrying a range of hazardous liquids.

“Early into the design and testing phase of the Milford solu-tion it soon became apparent why the dangerous/hazardous goods industry does not have access to a wide choice of folding UN certified IBC units,” Milford says.

“Although it seems that they would be the obvious solution to the identified problems of hazardous liquid logistics, the testing levels which must be achieved are in most cases a barrier to most IBC manufacturers.”

After several years of design and testing, the Milford Qubit UN received its accreditation certificate in December 2013.

“The life cycle of the Milford Qubit UN … offers the strength of steel with the benefits of plastic, so the user has the confi-dence that the Milford product will last for many years in a haz-ardous liquids environment.”

54

Milford’s first UN-certified Qubit announcedFoldable container manufacturer, Milford IBC thinks it’s solved the complex issue of hazardous liquids transport.

IBCs

Contact: Ian Millhouse, email: [email protected]

JAC 038

Jacmor Engineering stock a range of Mild Steel and Stainless Steel Toggle Clamps. Initially designed to secure lids on screw conveyors to allow easy access. Jacmor's adjustable Toggle Clamps are now used in literally hundreds of other applications.

ToggleClampsSafe, Simple

& Effective

Victoria Head Office20-22 Macquarie Drive Thomastown Vic. 3074 AustraliaTelephone: 61 3 9463 0888 Facsimile: 61 3 9465 8788

E-mail: [email protected]

FreeCall 1800 334 005 Web Site: www.jacmor.com.au

A front view of the Milford Qubit UN. At middle bottom is the valve of the unit’s disposable internal lining.

On the left is an empty Qubit UN, and on the right are three units, folded and stacked.


NEW PRODUCT

Latest Busch pump suitable for pneumatic conveying

With 950 cubic metres per hour for operation at 50Hz, and with 1150 cubic metres per hour for 60Hz operation, the

Mink MV 1202 A is now the top end of the Busch line of vacuum pumps, which now numbers eleven separate sizes.

The new addition to the line achieves an ultimate pressure of 200mbar, making it suitable for many industrial sectors and fields, according to Busch.

“The main areas of application are pneumatic conveying, clamping of work pieces onto CNC processing machines in the woodworking industry, and degassing or forming processes in the plastics industry,” Busch says.

“Generally, this new size can also be used as a module in cen-tralized vacuum systems.”

Busch believes its line of Mink vacuum pumps finds a com-petitive advantage over competing products thanks to a sophisti-cated claw vacuum technology, which helps achieve a high level of efficiency, resulting in a positive effect on energy consump-tion and performance.

“In practice, this means potentially great energy-savings and a consistently high performance compared to conventional vac-uum generators,” Busch argues. “An additional benefit of claw

vacuum technolo-gy is the virtually maintenance-free operation due to the non-con-tact operating principle; none of the moving parts inside the vacuum pump come into contact with one another, mean-ing there is no wear at all.”

In this way, Busch says, the need for maintenance work, such as the inspection or replacement of worn parts, is completely eliminated.

Mink claw vacuum pumps are air-cooled.

Contact: www.busch.com.au

Pump supplier Busch has expanded its range of Mink claw vacuum pumps, with the addition of the Mink MV 1202 A, the largest industrial claw vacuum pump yet from the manufacturer.

Pumping speeds of up to 950 cubic metres can be achieved with the new Mink MV 1202 A claw vacuum pump.

NEWS

In late 2013, German-headquartered manufacturer, Busch Vacu-um Pumps and Systems, celebrated its fiftieth year since start-

ing business in 1963.Dr Karl Busch and his wife, Ayhan, launched Busch with the

idea of designing simpler, more effective and more user-friendly industrial vacuum technology, the company said in a statement.

Fifty years on, Busch comprises 57 companies in 39 coun-tries, and employs around 2,300 people.

“The company prides itself on having an extensive global pres-ence while having considerable local expertise from employing local people to run the overseas businesses,” Busch said.

To celebrate the anniversary, Dr Busch embarked upon a world tour, visiting several international branches, including the

Busch office in Broadmeadows, Melbourne, in October.Dr Busch was met in Melbourne by the mayor of Hume City,

Geoff Porter, and its chief executive, Domenic Isola.Busch currently has five branches within Australia, having

started off Down Under in 1985, and holds interests in key mar-kets including food, medical, chemical, environmental and oil, gas and mining.

Busch celebrates 50 years


Dr Karl Busch and his son, Kaya. A cake from the 50th anniversary celebrations in Melbourne.

BLOWERS

For bulk handling of cereals and grains, metals and minerals, cement and

sand, manufacturers traditionally use positive displacement blowers.

Invented over a hundred years ago, they have not changed much. However, if a company seeks to improve efficiency of the blowers to answer the demands of the 21st century, it is still possible.

Here are some tips:Keep a backup bareshaft blower on

the shelf for maintenance purposes. It mitigates risk of extended downtime, and allows sufficient time for regular blower maintenance to be conducted. It may also be worth using two blowers in-stead of one, splitting the duty to increase reliability.

How old is the blower – would re-placing the motor to a more efficient one make a difference? How long ago have you overhauled it? Bringing the blower back to customer specifications can low-er energy consumption.

Investing in variable speed driven control options can result in significant

energy savings in variable flow appli-cations. If the blow-er is operating on a fixed speed, heavy duty cycle there is signifi-cant excess energy being con-sumed during low flow periods.

Is the blower sized correctly? Does it consume too much power and make too much air? A correctly sized blow-er may be cheaper than the one you bought 10 years ago, and it will also be cheaper to run.

How much does it cost to maintain? An aging blower with high maintenance costs can be constantly causing down-time and wasting precious energy. It may cost you next year as much to run as buying a new one – it may be time to say “goodbye” to this old unit!

If you consider investing in a new blower, here are some questions to ask a manufacturer:• Longevity of blower – would it last at

least 20 years?

• Maintenance – how easy and how often does it have to be checked and serviced?

• What’s the warranty?• Would the model range be extensive

to find the model that perfectly suits your desired duty?

• Is the blower robust and fit for harsh Australian climate conditions?

Advice on positive displacement blowers

Hurll Nu-Way product manager, Ben Rowlinson, offers his advice on how to save energy, and increase the reliability of positive displacement blowers.

Contact: www.hnw.com.au

A GE blower.


BLOWERS

CAPS says it sought a deal with Pedro Gil after it decided the Spanish company’s blowers were well suited to perform in

Australia’s harsh environment.“Pedro Gil blowers are truly the perfect fit for our conditions,”

Sri Srinivasan, CAPS’ product manager for blowers, said. “The Pe-dro Gil range has thrived in some of the hottest and [most] humid environments in the world, and has numerous operational advan-tages over competitor blowers we have distributed previously.”

Advantages of the Pedro Gil range, CAPS says, are a small footprint, the potential for savings in piping and electrical instal-lation costs thanks to an integrated base/floor for the blowers, and easy maintenance through front access panels.

On top of that, CAPS says, Pedro Gil’s blowers are capable of complying with Australian workplace health and safety standards when it comes to sound, thanks to a specially designed acoustic enclosure.

Srinivasan continued: “The range has many great smart de-sign features, including large enclosure ventilation fans to ensure reliable operation even at high ambient temperatures, check and relief valves mounted inside the enclosure, belt guards included as standard, and an optional electronic control panel.”

The electronic control panel displays various maintenance indications and allows for monitoring of operating parameters from the customer’s plant PLC.

CAPS to distribute Pedro Gil blowers

Contact: www.capsaust.com.au

Air compression equipment supplier, CAPS Australia, is now the exclusive Australian distributor for Pedro Gill, a Spanish manufacturer of positive displacement blowers.

A technician inspecting a Pedro Gil positive displacement blower.


NEW PRODUCT

The conveyor is intended for the gentle transfer of friable mate-rials including virtually all beans, cereals, coffees, dried fruits,

frozen vegetables, grains, nuts, beans, pet foods, seeds, snack foods, spices, teas and other fragile/friable food products, Flexicon says.

Typical non-foods recommended for use in Flexicon’s tu-bular cable conveyors include bulk chemicals, minerals, prills, chopped fibreglass, microspheres, regrind, pellets of all types, tobacco and other fragile products.

The aim of the tubular cable conveying system is for low-fric-tion, high-strength polymer discs to slide materials gently, quiet-ly and dust-free through smooth stainless steel tubing, which can be routed horizontally, vertically or at any angle, through small holes in walls or ceilings, and over short or long distances.

The system can be configured with single or multiple inlets that are metered and/or non-metered, and discharges that are valved or open, Flexicon says.

A drive wheel at one end of the cable-disc assembly pulls it through the circuit, while an automatic cable tensioner at the opposite end keeps the cable taut.

“All housings and ancillary metallic components are of 304 or 316 stainless steel with continuous welds ground and pol-ished to food, pharmaceutical or industrial standards,” the man-ufacturer explains.

“In addition to galvanised cable, discs are available affixed to stainless steel and Nylon-encapsulated stainless steel cable for sanitary applications. Wet or dry cleaning accessories can be quickly attached to the cable to minimise downtime between

changeovers, while Clean-In-Place (CIP) accessories allow auto-mated sanitising of the system.”

Flexicon offers the conveyor system in either a standalone format, or integrated as part of a system with upstream and downstream equipment.

Flexicon debuts 15cm tubular cable conveyor

Flexicon has expanded its line of tubular cable conveyors with the addition of a 15cm diameter system, which can handle more than double the capacity of the bulk handling manufacturer’s recently introduced 10cm diameter conveyor.

A cutaway diagram of Flexicon’s 10cm and 15cm tubular cable conveyors.

Contact: www.flexicon.com.au

According to its suppliers, cordless technology eliminates issues concerning the air hose length on standard pneumatic pendants and rope lengths on cord con-

trol models making procedures more simple and time efficient.It also improves reaction times to less than 150m/s, and increases the operating

range to a 100m line of sight.The cordless pendant remote is also available as a multi system, which means up

to four hoists can be operated using one handset.Cord control, pendant control and remote control are all interchangeable which

allows for more dynamic application. According to Kennards Hire and Pacific Hoists, the remote system exceeds Aus-

tralian standards, and is the first example of this technology to be seen in the do-mestic market.

Cordless pendant on JDN air hoist

The German made J.D. Neuhaus Air Hoist now features an optional cordless pendant control which has been custom made by Pacific Hoists for Kennards Hire - Lift & Shift.

Contact: www.pacifichoists.com.au Cordless pendant on JDN air hoist.


NEWS

Bulk handling equipment supplier, Kockums Bulk Systems has expand-

ed office space at its Heidelberg West premises from 320m2 to 500m2. Further works will see old office space redevel-oped into, amongst other things, a con-ference room.

The expansion has incorporated various energy savings measures, includ-ing lighting by low energy LED panels throughout.

A gas powered Janmar air condition-ing system provides heat and cooling.

“Running on piped gas, the Janmar system does not add to the elec-trical load of the facility and being an internal combustion engine running at constant speed, it achieves great efficiency,” explained Francois Steyn, chief executive, Kockums Bulk Systems.

Large windows provide natural light further reducing heating and lighting costs, while a new IP phone system uses the company’s industrial fibre optic

broadband connection to provide low cost calls.

“We have been on this site in Heidel-berg West for 15 years, and the present continuing upgrade should set us up well for the foreseeable future,” conclud-ed company co-founder and KBS chair-man, Ivan Price.

Kockums upgrades office space

Contact: www.kockumsbulk.com.au

Inside and outside Kockums’ new office space.

Sydney (02) 9765 8118 | Melbourne (03) 9720 4411 | Brisbane (07) 3373 9600 | Perth (08) 9479 4879Email: [email protected] www.teco.com.au

Proudly distributed by Teco Australia

since 1987

ELECTRIC • HYDRAULIC • PNEUMATIC • CONTROLS

Driving the vibration industry for over 50 years

30 years in Australia

TECO TPH+Bleed MJ13_2.indd 1 27/05/13 10:41 AM


GRAIN HANDLING

Hockey announced his decision to prohibit ADM’s takeover of Grain-

Corp in December, under powers vested in him by the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975, saying that such an acquisition by an international firm would be “contrary to the national interest.”

Two days after Hockey’s announce-ment, the Prime Minister stepped in to bat for his Treasurer.

“I accept that some people have been anxious about [Hockey’s deci-sion],” Abbott told reporters in Bris-bane. “Two points – we are one of the world’s most open economies, and I doubt that there would be any other G20 economy where a large foreign business would have been able to pur-chase an effective monopoly of a major industry here in Australia.

“So while I accept that there were arguments on both sides of this issue, I think the Treasurer has very much made the right decision.”

Hockey’s decision to knock back ADM’s bid was the first time he had re-jected a foreign investment application, having accepted the first 130 brought across his desk.

The treasurer explained that the deci-sion had not been an easy one to make, calling it “one of the most complex cases … [and] one of the most significant pro-posed acquisitions of an agricultural busi-ness in Australia’s history.”

Hockey’s opposing number, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen, described the de-cision as “pathetic,” saying Hockey was sending the wrong message to the inter-national market.

“Today Joe Hockey has sent a message to everybody who’s thinking of investing in Australia,” Bowen argued, “and that message is, ‘I’ll only tick it off if it passes the popularity test’.

“Joe Hockey sent a message today to foreign investors around the world that he is weak Treasurer who is not able to ensure that investment in Australia is wel-comed,” he continued. “Today, Joe Hock-ey said Australia is not open for business.”

Also critical of Hockey’s decision was ADM chief executive officer and chair-man, Patricia Woertz.

“We are disappointed by this deci-sion,” Woertz said after ADM’s bid was

rejected by the government. “We are con-fident that our acquisition of GrainCorp would have created value for sharehold-ers of ADM and GrainCorp, as well as growers and the Australian economy.

“Throughout this process, we worked constructively to create an arrangement that would be in Australia’s best interests and made substantial commitments to ad-dress issues that were important to stake-holders,” she said.

The carrot held out to growers by ADM earlier this year was an investment of $200m into infrastructure throughout the GrainCorp network, if an acquisition went through.

Typically only about $20m is spent on GrainCorp’s infrastructure each year, so the promise of an injection of around 10 times that was a juicy one to sharehold-ers, who approved of ADM’s takeover bid, passing it on to Joe Hockey and the For-eign Investment Review Board.

While Hockey rejected the bid in the end, he has allowed ADM the option of

taking up a 24.9% share in GrainCorp – a 5% increase on its current share of roughly 19.8%.

ADM is yet to act on that opportunity, but is rumoured to be planning to make a fresh bid next year, once the political environment in Australia is more settled.

The rejection of the bid has not only upset ADM, it has led to the resignation of GrainCorp’s own managing director and chief executive officer, Alison Watkins.

“I had planned to leave the company at the time con-trol passed over to ADM,” Wat-kins said. “Given last week’s un-expected de-velopments, I feel it is in the best interests of GrainCorp, our people and customers that I move on now

ADM bid rejected as GrainCorp chief resigns

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has defended the government’s decision to deny US-based agribusiness firm Archer Daniels Midland’s $3.4bn bid for GrainCorp, saying Treasurer Joe Hockey “showed a lot of character” in rejecting the takeover.

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), a massive American food-processing and commodities trading company, tried unsuccessfully to buy Australian grain handling giant, GrainCorp.

Federal Treasurer, Joe Hockey, who had final say on shutting down ADM’s bid for GrainCorp.

Former GrainCorp chief executive officer and managing

director, Alison Watkins, who stepped down following the failed takeover bid by ADM.

Tel +61 (3) 9587 9244 Fax +61 (3) 9587 9344 www.kinder.com.au [email protected]

and allow the board to find new leader-ship to take the business forward into its new phase.”

Following the resignation, GrainCorp said it would start the search for a new chairman, and would also look to ration-alise its existing network.

Company chairman, Don Taylor, said: “What is recognised is that our country, network, storage and logistics will need some work done on it. That will require some rationalisation.”

GrainCorp’s eastern Australia grain network includes 280 sites, which combine for 21mt of storage capacity, as well as seven bulk ports, two pack-ing facilities for grain containerisation

and around 20 grain trains (four com-pany-owned) with more than 5mt of freight capacity.

One man sure to be happy with Hock-ey’s decision is federal senator for NSW, Bill Heffernan, who has campaigned staunchly against ADM’s takeover bid since early in 2013.

Heffernan was a driving force in the federal inquiry held earlier this year into the bid – and the inquiry informed the re-view board in its decision making process.

Speaking with Alan Jones in July, Hef-fernan said: “Here we are worrying about what we’re going to do to wages in Aus-tralia and we’re letting the large multina-tionals just take the revenue overseas to a

low taxing regime and get away from it.“It’s almost time for farmers to march

I think. It’s not a reasonable go and this episode now with ADM – there are too many risks involved,” he added.

“Farmers don’t want to die the rich-est people in the cemetery. They just want to hand the farm over to the next generation with the gate swinging and the sheep in good order and that’s the pleasure you get out of life. I’ve noticed Alan, some characters in the corporate farming world; they want to die the rich-est person in the cemetery. But funny when go to the cemetery and walk along the graves you can’t tell the rich ones from the poor ones.”

GRAIN HANDLING

Improved productivity via larger vehicle access to GrainCorp’s Red Bend silos

will be the target of $1.9m in funding as part of the NSW state government’s new Fixing Country Roads program.

NSW roads and ports minister, Dun-can Gay, announced the funds in Decem-ber last year, saying they would ‘kick start’ the program, which is designed to improve road freight productivity and connectivity in regional NSW.

The state government will contrib-ute $1.5m to the project, while the local Forbes Shire Council will support that with $400,000 of its own funding.

GrainCorp’s Red Band silos are a ma-jor intermodal terminal for grain, pro-cessing on average 60,000t each year from surrounding farms across central western NSW. However, only smaller combinations of heavy vehicles can cur-rently access the site from the nearby Newell Highway, leading to increased trips and running costs.

“More movements of grain trucks result in added ‘wear and tear’ on state and coun-cil roads, bridges and culverts,” Gay said when he announced the funds. “Providing greater access to modern road trains and B-doubles helps to reduce this problem.”

The project funds will complement $800,000 of future works within the silo facility by GrainCorp.

Gay said the Fixing Country Roads program is about partnering with local councils and industry to identify impor-tant infrastructure upgrades needed on local roads, allowing country communi-ties to be better connected to the state road network.

“A strong regional economy equates to a strong NSW economy and we’re committed to supporting regional infra-structure projects that help deliver goods faster and more efficiently to market.”

GrainCorp’s Red Bend first beneficiary of road fixing scheme

Tel +61 (3) 9587 9244 Fax +61 (3) 9587 9344 www.kinder.com.au [email protected]

OVERHEAD


A number of improvements can be made to minimise supply chain losses and improve efficiencies, Chong says, including

increasing yields, improving road and rail logistics and creating economies of scale.

“While we currently hold an advantage into the key Asian market because of our favourable sea freight costs, this is threat-ened by increasing volumes coming out of low-cost producing nations such as in the Black Sea region,” he says.

“To retain this advantage and make headway into new mar-kets, the industry needs to develop a unified strategy that ad-dresses productivity along every stage of the supply chain.”

Chong says that if no action is taken to identify and then ad-dress the inefficiencies in the grains supply chain, Australia’s competitiveness will be eroded.

In his report, Australian Grains – Competitive Strains, he out-lines changes that can be made on the farm, in storage, handling, and logistics, and gives an idea of the challenges Australia’s grain industry will face in the future.

On the farmWhile Chong says Australian producers have been embracing technologies to lower their cost of production, their input and labour costs are amongst the highest in the world.

“On a per tonne basis, the variable cost of producing a tonne of wheat in Australia is about US$6 per tonne more than wheat grown in the US,” he says. “And that is not taking into considera-tion any subsidies.

“When you look at emerging competitors in the Black Sea region and South America – countries such as the Ukraine and Argentina –their costs are substantially lower.”

Chong says one way Australia can maintain its competitive-ness in the grain market is to boost the amount of subsidies made available to Australian producers of grain. He says fewer subsi-dies for Australian producers – relative to some of the world’s other grain producers – often mean a relatively higher cost of production and higher crop production risks (see figure 1).

Production subsidies, Chong argues, “play a significant role in global grain competitiveness.”

These subsidies can come in a number of forms, ranging from rebates for fertilizer and crop chemicals to government-backed subsidies on crop insurance premiums.

Speaking of fertilizer: the majority of variable cost for wheat production is made up of energy, fertilizer, fuel and crop chemi-cals, with fertilizer costs often making upwards of 30% of total variable costs.

Global urea prices have risen by around 140% in the last dec-ade, far outpacing grain price growth, Chong points out.

“Australia imported over 2.7mt of fertilizer in 2011, or over 60% of the amount of fertilizer required for the year,” he says.

“Australia’s position as a large net importer of fertilizers and chemicals from regions such as the Americas, Asia and the Middle East comes with significant freight costs, which contribute to a higher farmgate cost of production for Australian grain growers.”

On top of variable costs like fertilizer, labour costs play a large part in the total supply chain costs, the Rabobank report highlights.

According to US Department of Agriculture figures, US farm labour costs are between US$9.50 and US$12.70 per hour. Com-pare that to rates often higher than US$15.00 for farm labour in Australia, and that gives a good indication of where Australia’s higher farmgate production costs are coming from.

Chong says increasing farm labour costs in Australia have been exacerbated by strong competition for labour from the mining industry – resulting in an average increase in labour costs of 4.4% per annum over the last decade. By comparison, labour costs in the US have only gone up 2% per annum over that timeframe.

One benefit of higher production costs, which does give Aus-tralian grain a competitive advantage, however, is the high qual-ity grains Australia produces.

“The ability to produce, store, segregate and blend high qual-ity grain is a significant advantage for the Australian export mar-ket,” Chong writes. “Quality segregation enables Australian grain exporters to match niche demand with supply, providing the ability to tailor export cargoes to meet the desired specifications demanded by end users.”

Chong says Australian grain producers will need to maintain these high quality standards while continuing to adopt best-prac-tice to minimise costs of production if they are to remain com-petitive in the global market.

“Increased competition from low-cost producers is changing the global grain export landscape, as key producing nations in-vest in improved farm practices, as well as improving their yields and their supply chain.”

Significantly lower yields (in tonnes harvested per hectare) also restrict Australia’s wheat cost of production versus other ma-jor exporters.

Efficiency the key to keep Australian grain competitive

Rabobank senior analyst, Graydon Chong, says the key focus of the Australian grains industry should be on improving efficiencies along the supply chain, if Australia is to maintain competitiveness in the global market, Oliver Probert writes.

GRAIN HANDLING

The paper’s author, Rabobank senior analyst, Graydon Chong.

For further information contact:Aerobelt Australia Pty Ltd Unit 5, 8-10 Technology Drive, Appin NSW 2560

Phone (02) 4631 2919 Mobile (0419) 279 566 • Fax (02) 4631 2915 Email [email protected]

• Lowpowerconsumption• Reliability• Lowwear&tear• Lowmaintenance• Highcapacity• Lightweightbelt• Steepanglesofinclination• Highbeltspeeds

• Dusttight• Completesettlingof

materialonbelt• Truebelttracking• Simpleconversion

fromopentoclosedconveyor

• Awardwinningtechnology

Aerobelt TM TM TM

®

www.aerobelt.com.au

Both belt and product are carried on a cushion of air

Air-cushion belt conveyor

MONEY SAVING FEATURES...Products

Film of airBelt conveyorFan

Return idler

Aerobelt A4+Bleed_JJ12_FINAL.indd 1 26/06/12 1:49 PM


Contact: www.rabobank.com

The national average wheat yield in Australia over the past 10 years is just 1.7t/ha – significantly lower than all other major producers, especially those countries in the emerging Black Sea region (i.e. Ukraine, where yields are 2.8t/ha).

Storage, handling and logisticsImproved efficiencies are required not only on the farm but right across the supply chain – from domestic storage, handling and logistics right through to the export logistics, sea freight and as-set utilisation – Chong says.

“Given the vast distance that grain travels to port, there is much that can be done in the more immediate term to reduce ‘slippages’, which are the inefficiencies stemming from sub-optimal operations – such as, weight and speed restrictions on poorly maintained rail infrastructures or unnecessary multiple port loadings for bulk export cargoes.”

Slippages can quickly erode margins in an industry like grain handling, Chong says.

“For example, while Australia holds a sea freight advantage into Asia, it can be as little as US$10 to US$15 per tonne – which can be lost if there are additional supply chain costs,” he says.

Cost slippages, put simply, are inefficiencies which result from sub-optimal operations, such as weight and speed restrictions on poorly-maintained rail infrastructure or unnecessary multiple port loadings for bulk export cargoes, Chong details.

This is a key aspect of Australia’s global competitiveness in the grain market, as the average tonne of grain in Australia travels over 300km before it is loaded onto a vessel.

“Given the vast distances involved, the mode of transport and the associated costs become critically important to overall cost competitiveness.”

Chong joins an ever-growing group of experts advocating the use of rail over road for long-distance freight transport. He esti-mates that a tonne of grain costs 13c to move, per kilometre, when moved by road – roughly 30% more than if it’s moved by rail.

As a case study, to fill a 60,000 tonne Panamax vessel takes 1500 truckloads of grain (at roughly 40t per truckload), at a cost of 13c per tonne, per kilometre. If the grain is travelling 250km to get to the port, it essentially costs $1.95m to move that grain to the port.

In contrast, to move that 60,000 tonnes of grain to the port by rail – which rates at around 9c per tonne, per kilometre – would cost just $1.35m. That’s a saving of $600,000, or $10/t.

“The economies of scale offered by rail logistics undoubtedly limit handling slippage in the supply chain,” Chong says.

However, it’s not as easy as just flicking a switch and shifting all grain transport to rail, he stipulates: “Grain movement exclu-sively by rail isn’t always the most cost efficient or practical form of transport in Australia … For instance, in areas where there are large distances between rail infrastructure and storage facili-ties, it is often more economically viable to utilise road transport rather than move the grain to the nearest rail terminal.”

Road transport can also be more cost-efficient for grain trav-elling a short distance. But more should be done, Chong argues, to make sure grain is moved to port in the most optimal way.

“The challenge for the Australian grains industry and govern-ment longer term is determining the optimal level of infrastruc-ture investment required to maximise efficiencies in grain logis-tics,” he says.

“Competitors such as Brazil are already investing heavily in infrastructure to help relieve some of the logistical bottlenecks in grain supply chains and increase efficiency and competitiveness.”

As a result of this action by competitors, Australia’s grain in-dustry needs to focus on maximising economies of scale and us-ing the right mix of road and rail infrastructure, and needs to invest in that infrastructure, he concludes.

The futureThe Black Sea region is expected to be a particular source of increased competition for Australia’s grain industry in the future.

“The dramatic increase in exports we are seeing come out of the Black Sea region is changing global trade dynamics. While we have seen it displace Australian wheat into markets through-out the Middle East and North Africa, it has the potential to take market share in Asia.”

With 70% of Australian wheat exports currently destined for the Asian market, Chong says, remaining cost competitive will be critical to maintaining market share.

“Building strategic alliances with end users and reinforcing the quality and reliability of Australian wheat exports will be important,

but most important will be the reduction of costs throughout the supply chain,” he says

“If managed correctly, this has the poten-tial to increase returns to participants along all parts of the supply chain and strength-en Australia’s position as a key supplier of wheat into Asia and other key markets.”

Figure 1: Australia is among the most expensive places to produce grain (compared to other major grain producing nations), but it is among the cheapest places to transport that grain to port. Rabobank’s report says the industry should work on reducing the cost of production, while also maintaining a low cost of transport through investment in both road and rail infrastructure.

Figure 2: Low average yield rates hurt Australia’s production volumes, but can result in higher quality products.

GRAIN HANDLING

Demag, a subsidiary of Terex Mate-rial Handling, worked with CBR –

itself a subsidiary of the Heidelberg Ce-ment Group – to create the new system, which also includes a Demag process crane with a load capacity of 9t.

Lutz Dowy, Terex Material Handling’s vice president of sales and product man-agement, took ABHR through the devel-opment of the automation process.

“We modernised the store operated in Lixhe by CBR with a strong solution based on rugged crane systems and smart control modules,” Dowy said. “The result will ensure a continuous ma-terial flow thanks to consistently high handling rates.”

Heidelberg Cement looked to address three clear goals with the project: in-creased productivity, sustainable improve-ment in process reliability and a higher level of occupational health and safety.

To meet these requirements, a fully automated crane was installed and a warehouse management system was im-plemented in the existing store.

About the plantThe Lixhe plant is one of the oldest loca-tions operated by the cement manufac-turer. With an annual capacity of some 1.4mt of clinker and 1.5mt of cement, CBR’s plant in south-east Belgium is the largest cement works in the Benelux countries.

Besides the calcareous sand which is quarried locally, three grades of coal as well as ferric oxide are kept in the raw material store at the plant.

The storage area measures 86x24m in size and has five compartments that are divided into eight storage zones. Since the store is served by a bridge crane, the owner benefits from full utilisation of the available space, as the crane can reach virtually any point in the store. This work was previously performed by a manually operated 9t overhead travel-ling crane.

Bertouil Hugues, who is responsible for maintenance at the Lixhe plant, ex-plains: “The old crane installation had to be replaced because the electric equip-ment no longer met current standards

and the structural design of the crane had to be revised. The crane also needed to be used in continuous 24/7 operation. This was no longer economically feasi-ble with a manually controlled crane.”

Rugged crane systems for continuous 24/7 operationAn automated Demag double-gird-er overhead travelling crane that is equipped with a 3.2m³ powered


CEMENT HANDLING

Cement manufacturer automates material storage facility

Belgian cement manufacturer CBR has automated the raw material store at its Lixhe plant and has built its new operation around a Demag warehouse management system.

Automated Demag 9t process crane and Demag warehouse management system.

The dredging approval, which opens the door for work to begin on the

long-term development of extra coal loading facilities at Abbot Point, was an-nounced alongside the approval of the Adani T0 project, also at the Queensland port, in December last year.

Adani’s project would see the construc-tion of a coal terminal at one of the three dredging sites.

Also approved were a pair of projects by gas giant Arrow Energy on Curtis Island, in Gladstone, to build an LNG facility and gas transmission pipeline.

The approval of the dredging projects limits the amount of dredged material to just 3m cubic metres of sediment per an-num – significantly lower than the pro-posed 38m cubic metre limit proposed by the previous Labor government.

Other conditions imposed under the ap-provals include water quality requirements,

Abbot Pt dredging approval sparks environmental debate

Federal minister for the environment, Greg Hunt, has approved the capital dredging program for the three new proposed coal terminals at the Port of Abbot Point in Queensland. Oliver Probert reports, with additional reportage from ABHR’s sister publication, Lloyd’s List Australia.

CEMENT HANDLING

NEWS

Abbot Point will soon be the site of more coal export terminals thanks to the new dredging approval.

The public response to the decision to allow dredging was mostly negative. A strong social media outcry was

led by activist group, GetUp!, which shared this image on its Facebook page.


clamshell grab is now used for handling the raw materials.Like its predecessor, the process crane has a span of 24m and

a load capacity of 9 tonnes. The crane’s components are designed for continuous operation in the harsh environment.

Efficient operation of the crane is also supported by high speeds (long-travel motions at 100m/min, load dependent lifting motions up to 90m/min) and integrated load-sway damping. The crane installation is primarily used for clearing the tipping pit and for filling the chutes with the required blend of materials, which is ensured by crane weighing devices.

Continuous measurement of fill levels by scannersThe blend and order in which the material is added is controlled by the Demag warehouse management system, which controls the feed schedule to the kilns and facilitates transparent inven-tory management.

Scanner systems were installed on the crane installation to measure the height of the aggregates. The scanners fitted below the crane bridge continuously track the height contours of the

stored bulk material each time the crane travels over it.The software in the crane control centre uses the informa-

tion to determine a constantly updated height profile and visual-ises the fill levels in all storage areas, including the minimum and maximum values.

In addition, the control centre shows the current status of the crane with all relevant status messages. Customer-specific storage strategies can be added via the user-friendly interface at any time.

Some six months after the installation entered service, Ber-touil Hugues made an initial assessment: “The automation of the processes has enabled us to boost the efficiency of our raw mate-rial store. Besides the higher handling rates provided by the crane system, its continuous operation without the need for any breaks has also contributed to the result. In addition, we have consider-ably enhanced the stability of our processes and further improved the safety of the working environment for our employees.”

Contact: www.demag.com.au

$89m of imposed contributions to the con-servation of the Great Barrier Reef, and measures for the protection of marine spe-cies in the region.

But despite imposing what he called “some of the strictest conditions in Austral-ian history” on the projects, the raft of ap-provals announced by Hunt have infuriated environmental bodies, who have suggested that the moves place the already struggling reef under further threat.

“The Abbott government is doing ex-actly what the World Heritage Committee told us not to do,” Greens senator, Larissa Waters, told ABC radio on the morning fol-lowing Hunt’s decision.

Australian Marine Conservation Society marine ecologist, Dr Liss Schindler, told the Australian Associated Press she thinks the Australian government does not have its priorities in line with the people.

“This is something the government could have stopped by simply saying no,” Schindler was reported to have said. “The state and federal governments have both made it very clear where their priorities lie regarding the Barrier Reef, but the Australian people feel very strongly about its protection.”

GetUp!, a not-for-profit community ad-vocacy group, which says it “aims to build a more progressive Australia,” is rallying its followers to write to the environmental minister via a campaign on its website and on social media.

“The pressure [Hunt] has been facing is huge,” GetUp! says on its website. “Gina Rinehart, Clive Palmer and Indian mag-nates Guatam Adani and GVK Reddy all have plans to develop mega-mines in the Galilee Basin. They were counting on Min-ister Hunt – but so were we.”

The initial post made on Facebook by the organisation was shared by nearly 11,000 of its followers within the first 24 hours following its posting.

Despite the response from environ-mental groups, Hunt says his decision to ap-prove the dredging projects is significantly better for the local environment than any alternatives.

“We are drawing a line in the sand,” Hunt said yesterday. “Today I am announc-ing new plans to protect the long-term fu-ture of the Great Barrier Reef.

“I have advised the Queensland Gov-ernment that it is my intention that the first priority for all future capital dredging pro-jects within the Central and North Queens-land coastal zone will be for shoreline, near to shore or land reclamation disposal.

“The conditions I have put in place for these projects will result in an improve-ment in water quality and strengthen the Australian Government’s approach to meet-ing the challenges confronting the Reef into the future.”

A wide range of environmentally-related conditions have been attached to the proposal approved by Hunt. These include measures to limit the effects of underwater noise on protected types of turtles, dolphins, dugongs and whales by stopping construction if any members of these species are sighted in a given area.

Other measures include requiring Adani, as port operator, to develop a ma-rine and shipping management plan to protect the Great Barrier Reef and its en-vironment along with a variety of listed marine species and their habitats.

Several requirements key to the shipping industry will be imposed on Adani, including a 10kt speed limit, a mechanism to implement best practice for ship loading, and water ballast man-agement measures.

Other measures to protect the marine environment include a 150% net benefit requirement for water quality, achieved by a proposed long-term net reduction of fine sediments entering the Marine Park from land-based sources.

Welcoming the announcements was Queensland Resources Council chief ex-ecutive, Michael Roche, who congratu-lated Hunt.

“The staged dredging of a commercial trading port 40km from the Great Barrier Reef has been painted by fossil-fuel oppo-nents as the end of a global icon,” Roche said.

“Minister Hunt’s decision confirms what we have known for the past 38 years of industry co-existence with the reef. We have the wherewithal in Australia to protect world heritage and environmen-tal values because we have a standard of living that affords us such choices.”

Roche argued that the trading ports working alongside the Great Barrier Reef are responsible for the export of com-modities worth $40bn a year to the Aus-tralian economy.

“North Queenslanders are also look-ing to them to play a bigger role in sup-porting inbound tourism, particularly the cruise ship industry,” he added.

“The alternative proposal from en-vironmental activists is to shut down

shipping along 80% of the eastern Queensland coastline, effectively hang-ing almost 1m people out to dry.

“The conditions set out today for both projects by Minister Hunt show the Federal government is serious about pro-tecting the outstanding universal values of the Great Barrier Reef and he can be assured of the continuing cooperation of industry stakeholders of meeting environ-mental and community expectations,” Roche said.

Greens senator, Larissa Waters, who holds her seat in Queensland and is a for-mer environmental lawyer, condemned the announcement, however.

“The Abbott government has sacri-ficed the climate and the Great Barrier Reef for overseas mining companies with its approval [last night] of the world’s largest coal port and another CSG plant in our Great Barrier Reef,” Waters said in an immediately released statement.

She continued the next day in the senate.

“I rise with great sadness to talk about the fate of the Great Barrier Reef after the so-called minister for the environment last night approved the world’s biggest coal port at Abbot Point in the Great Bar-rier Reef World Heritage area,” she said.

“I think it is a crime to prioritise the private profits of offshore mining compa-nies ahead of the beauty of the reef and ahead of those 63,000 Australians who need that reef for their livelihoods and for their families’ livelihoods.”

Waters said she shares the Australian Marine Conservation Society’s concerns – that the dredging approval will see the reef moved to the World Heritage Con-vention’s list of sites in danger, an event that could, eventually, see its removal from the Convention’s list altogether.

“We know what a blow a World Herit-age in danger listing would be to our tour-ism sector and we know it would recog-nise the peril that the reef is in,” Waters said. “Why is this government courting that outcome? Why is it daring the UN to downgrade the reef’s status to World Her-itage in danger?”

NEWS

Federal minister for the environment, Greg Hunt, who approved the dredging.

Greens senator, Larissa Waters, has been strongly opposed to the dredging.



The transportation of product from the bottom of a pit can be one of the most challenging operational tasks in open pit mining.The main determinants of finding the most suitable bulk mate-

rial handling method in open pit mining are cost, safety and time. By weighing up these factors, operators can decide between the two key methods of moving material from the bottom of an open pit, to the surface: haul trucks and pocket belt conveyors.

In order to perform a comparison between trucks and a pocket bell conveyor, I assume an open pit mine 200m deep and transport capacity of 2500 t/hr of ore from bottom of the mine to surface. By using an example truck carrying a 180 tonne load and engine power of 1500kw, the technical comparison will be as belows:

Haul trucks• 14 trucks with 180t load• Together are able to transport 2500tph from the bottom of the

pit to the surface• Each truck weighs 150t unloaded• Fuel consumption is 250L/h for each truck, with a total cost

of $5180/h

Pocket belt conveyor• Capacity of 2500tph from pit to surface• Belt speed of 3m/s• Belt width of 1500mm• Power consumption of 1500kW (calculated by performing

power calculation for conveyor belt)• Electricity price of 0.3 kWhr is $450/h

While truck manufacturing companies do not welcome this idea and comparison, by performing an economic comparison between these two means of transportation, we find the pocket belt cost is $450 per hour, and haul truck cost is $5180 per hour, in terms of energy costs alone.

Other advantages of utilizing pocket belt conveyors:• Lower initial capital investment – pocket belt conveyor would

cost around $500,000, while 14 trucks would cost in the re-gion of $1.2m each, totalling just under $17m in capital invest-ment for this operation.

• Less operational personnel – unless automation is used, 14 personnel are needed for the haul truck operation, while gen-erally only two are needed to operate the pocket belt.

• Reduction in energy consumption has an environmental benefit.• More safety for operational crew and reduced safety costs.• Eliminating cost for building roads and trucks maintenance.

Disadvantages of haul truck material handling system:• Diesel efficiency is around 45%, compared to drive unit ef-

ficiency, which is around 92%.• Trucks have to carry the weight of their own body.• Diesel engine efficiency reduces as altitude increases.• Using trucks on mine roads, especially at night, requires strict

safety and human resource practices.

Recognising the advantages of pocket belt conveyors is not enough, however. To truly realize the full potential of this meth-od, the following considerations must still be made:1. If the conveyor is installed vertically, the structure of the

pocket belt needs to be supported from side walls, from the top and also anchored to a concrete wall. However, usually these pocket belts will be installed at an inclined direction in most mines.

2. The structure and conveyor should be designed in a manner that is capable of extending from the bottom of the pit in prep-aration for the time that the mine goes deeper.

3. The length of vertical take-up should be long enough to com-pensate for extending the conveyor length, when the mine gets deeper.

4. It is better to have at least two pocket belt conveyors instead of a single one. In case of any extension of length or other maintenance, the other conveyor belt could do the job.

5. Length of horizontal section of the conveyor on the ground and inside the pit is also flexible and could extend to any length, which is another advantage.

ConclusionUtilising pocket belt conveyors as a means of material handling in open pit mining is a strong option compared to trucks. Pocket belt conveyors have advantages that mine operation companies may want to consider:1. Reduced operational cost compared to trucks2. Increased safety3. Reduced initial capital outlay4. Lower maintenance cost for pocket belt5. Ease of operation6. Better manageability

Trucks vs. pocket belt conveyorsCurrently, trucking is the most common method used for moving ore and overburden from a deep pit to a crushing plant at the surface in open pit mining. But Saviz Nekoufar, who finished his postgraduate study in Engineering Management at the Queensland University of Technology in 2009, says pocket belt conveying could be the way to go for a large portion of operations.


CONVEYORS

The use of haul trucks is currently the most common method of getting product out of an open pit mine. But engineer Saviz Nekoufar says pocket belt conveyors could be a better way of doing things.


ADVERTISERS INDEX

69

Please return to: Natalie Gardner, Subscriptions Co-ordinator, Informa AustraliaPO BOX Q1439, QUEEN VICTORIA BUILDING, NSW 1230 or FAX 02 9299 4622 or CALL our SUBSCRIPTION DEPARTmENT on 02 9080 4447

ABH

R JA13

SUBSCRIBE

(Payable to Informa aUStralIa)

I enclose my cheque for $_______________ BIll my company

Includes six issues of Australian Bulk Handling Review per annum plus our annual Equipment and Services Guide. Additional copies available at $80 +gst ea. Overseas postage $30 extra. GSt does not apply to overseas subscriptions.

TM

A Revolution in Feeder Technology bywww.transmin.com.au

www.BulkHandling.com.auVolume 16 No 7 November/December 2011

Concentrate in containers at Port Adelaide Solving belt tracking issues at NCIG Case study of Zibulo overland conveyor Detailed BULKEX review Dust control feature Intelligent dust management at Carrington Coal Terminal Lawson Lug aids handling of bin liners

SecUrely SUbScrIbe onlIne at subscriptions.informa.com.au

Australia NZ Asia World1 year $170.00 +10% GST = $187.00 $220.00 $280.00 $310.002 years $306.00 +10% GST = $336.00 $396.00 $504.00 $558.003 years $340.00 +10% GST = $374.00 $440.00 $560.00 $620.00

Aerobelt Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Ahrens Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Altra Industrial Motion Australia . . . . . . . . . . 49

AMKCO Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Aspec Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Atlas Copco Compressors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Australian Society for Bulk Solids Handling . . . 45

Belle Banne Conveyor Products . . . . . . . . . 13

Brolton Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 3, 51

Bulk Handling Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Control Technology Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

ConvaTech Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 39

Cortex Engineering Resources . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Flexco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Flexicon Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . (OBC) 72

GEA Nu-Con . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Integrated Bulk Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Jacmor Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 54

Kinder & Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Kockums Bulk Systems . . . . . . . . . (OFC) 1, 53

LINAK Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Muyang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

NORD Drivesystems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Reliable Conveyor Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

SEW - EURODRIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

TECO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Tenova TAKRAF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Transmin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

TUNRA Bulk Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Veyance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Advertiser Page Advertiser Page Advertiser Page

Advertisers Index

Curtin’s Sustainable Engineering Group (SEG) works to promote the

uptake of sustainable engineering re-search and practices in WA, and says it may have helped find a way to use red sand in the construction of roads.

Mining and refining company, Al-coa, produces roughly 48,000 tonnes of red sand bauxite residue every day, as a by-product of alumina production at its three WA refineries. The residue is made up of 30,000 tonnes of red mud and 18,000 tonnes of a coarser sand fraction. Red sand is produced from the sand frac-tion of the bauxite residue.

For a long time, the residue sand was simply considered a useless by-product. But in 2010, Alcoa approached the SEG with the aim of assessing a more effi-cient solution.

“We were approached by Alcoa to conduct this research project,” Dr Wahi-dul Biswas tells ABHR. “They wanted to assess the sustainability of the use of red sand for construction purposes.”

Biswas is the SEG’s senior lecturer.He says red sand can be used to replace

virgin sand and limestone, which are typ-ically used in the layers below bitumen during the construction of public roads.

“The trial showed that red sand gives the same performance as other conven-tional construction materials,” he says.

Using red sand in road construction would significantly reduce the need for quarries to extract virgin sand or lime-stone, resulting in the conservation of land, a reduction in carbon dioxide emis-sions and substantial financial savings, the SEG believes.

Specifically, the group estimates the use of 600,000 tonnes of red sand per year, over a 35 year period, would result in around 66,200 tonnes of carbon diox-ide emissions being avoided.

Around 407 hectare of land would also be conserved, the SEG estimates, and it could also save the construction indus-try $18m over that time.

As well as its suitability for road construction, the SEG assessed the sus-tainability of red sand being used as top dressing in a variety of circumstances, in-cluding golf courses, parks, playgrounds and sports fields.

“Red sand is a good soil conditioner, and it can help retain phosphorus, which can save money by reducing the amount

of lost phosphorus,” Biswas explains.“If the red sand is used, and is replac-

ing virgin sand for soil amendment pur-poses… phosphorus can be retained, and dollars can be saved.”

WA’s Department of Main Roads has conducted successful trials of red sand on a section of Greenlands Road, which connects the Forrest Highway to the South Western Highway at Pinjarra, 80kms south of Perth.

There, trials have shown that it takes

around 1680 m3 of red sand per km to build a road of Greenland Road’s dimensions.

WA’s red sand could be put to use in roadsA research team from Curtin University may have helped find a use for part of the residue left over from alumina production.


Trials of red sand for use in road construction.

Dr Wahidul Biswas is the

senior lecturer at Curtin University’s

Sustainable Engineering

Group, which conducted the

research.

RED SAND


Atlas Copco now have a number of technologies and products to suit any pressure or vacuum requirement in materials handling or process industries

www.efficiencyblowers.com [email protected] 023 469

Our range provides pure, Oil-Free Air to Class Zero.

Whether it be high or low pressure, we have a product to suit your demands.

Atlas Copco’s unique technology reduces noise and harmful vibrations, protecting valuable products as well as conveyor systems.

Innovative design creates superior energy efficiency and a smoother flow.

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

1013-Atlas Copco-FullPage-Bulk Handling.pdf 1 20/09/2013 4:43:12 PM

FLEXICON® Flexible ScrewConveyors transport free- and non-free-flowing bulk solid materialsfrom large pellets to sub-micronpowders, including products thatpack, cake or smear, with noseparation of blends, dust-free at low cost. No bearings contactmaterial. Easy to clean quickly, thoroughly.

SWING-DOWN®, REAR-POSTand TWIN-CENTREPOST™Bulk Bag Fillers can fill one bulk bag per week or 20 per hour at the lowest cost per bag. Numerousperformance options. Available to industrial or sanitary standards.

BLOCK-BUSTER® Bulk Bag Conditionersloosen bulk materials that have solidifiedduring storage and shipment. Variable heightturntable positions bag for hydraulic rams with contoured conditioning plates to press bag on all sides at all heights.

TIP-TITE® Container Tippersdump bulk material from drums(shown), boxes or other containersinto vessels up to 3 metres high.Dust-tight (shown) or open chutemodels improve efficiency and safety of an age-old task.

The FLEXICON® Lifetime PerformanceGuarantee* assures you of a successfulresult, whether you purchase one piece ofequipment or an engineered, automatedplant-wide system. From initial testing inlarge-scale laboratories, to single-sourceproject management, to after-sale support by a worldwide network of factory experts, you can trust your process—and your reputation—to Flexicon.

PNEUMATI-CON®

Pneumatic ConveyingSystems move a broadrange of bulk materialsover short or longdistances, between singleor multiple inlet anddischarge points in lowto high capacities.Available as dilute-phasevacuum or positivepressure systems, fullyintegrated with yourprocess.

BB-1240

FLEXICON® ManualDumping Stations allowdust-free dumping of bulkmaterial from bags and othercontainers. Automatic reverse-pulse filter cleaning allowscontinuous, efficientoperation. Available with integral bag compactors for total dust containment.

BULK-OUT® BulkBag Dischargersunload free- andnon-free-flowingsolids from bulkbags automatically.Allows untying,discharging, retyingand collapsing ofbulk bags—alldust-free. Availablewith weighbatching controls.

FLEXI-DISC™ Tubular CableConveyors gently slide fragilefoods and non-foods throughsmooth stainless steel tubingrouted horizontally, vertically or at any angle, over short or long distances, dust-free. Single or multiple inlets and outlets.

CONVEY DUMP UNLOAD

CONDITION FILL CONVEY

CONVEY SUCCEEDTIP

©2013 Flexicon Corporation. Flexicon Corporation has registrations and pending applications for the trademark FLEXICON throughout the world.*Patents granted and/or pending.

USAUK

SOUTH AFRICACHILE

+1 610 814 2400 +44 (0)1227 374710+27 (0)41 453 1871+56 2 2415 1286

[email protected]

1 300 FLEXICON

BB-1240_Alt with CS-BBC_121013_Layout 1 12/10/13 12:53 PM Page 1

Date post:	29-Mar-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	magazines-bydesign
View:	269 times
Download:	10 times

Australian Bulk Handling Review

Documents