Quarry Jul 2020

How quarries can reap the benefits of an OEM’s suite of technology solutions

ALEX FRASER: A YEAR IN REVIEW A recycled aggregates producer reflects on its C&D, glass and asphalt assets

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HIGH TECH SOLUTIONS FOR MODERN QUARRYING

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OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF QUARRYING AUSTRALIA

JULY 2020

STRIVING FOR LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION, ADVOCACY How the IQA’s Strategic Plan is designed to transform the Institute for the next decade

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IN THIS ISSUE JULY 2020

VOLUME 28, ISSUE 07

FEATURES 25 FRIENDLY COMPETITION Two quarries servicing one of New Zealand’s largest road projects have turned to the same model excavator to give themselves an advantage.

40 BESPOKE WASH PLANT BOOSTS OPERATION A new extractive operation has seamlessly taken over the duties of its predecessor, thanks to a custom-designed sand washing plant.

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HIGH TECH SOLUTIONS How quarries can reap the benefits of an OEM’s technology solutions.

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EXCELLENCE IN BULK Quarry-spec machines excel in bulk materials and logistics application.

42 MANAGING THE TOP THREE MAINTENANCE WOES Why maintenance should be foremost on an operator’s mind at the time of purchase of new plant and equipment.

44 A NEW WAY OF THINKING ABOUT SAND WASHING An OEM and integrated project supplier is proposing a one-stop-shop approach to its washing solutions.

46 NEGLIGENCE VERSUS RECKLESSNESS Cameron Dean puts Queensland’s new industrial manslaughter provisions under the microscope.

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A YEAR IN REVIEW A recycled aggregates producer reflects on its C&D, glass and asphalt assets.

JULY 2020

OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF QUARRYING AUSTRALIA

ALEX FRASER: A YEAR IN REVIEW A recycled aggregates producer reflects on its C&D, glass and asphalt assets

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QUARRY

How quarries can reap the benefits of an OEM’s suite of technology solutions

WATER MANAGEMENT Pressure is on operators to employ technologies that reuse water responsibly.

How the IQA’s Strategic Plan is designed to transform the Institute for the next decade.

JULY 2020

www.quarrymagazine.com

HIGH TECH SOLUTIONS FOR MODERN QUARRYING

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48 ATTAINING LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION, ADVOCACY

STRIVING FOR LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION, ADVOCACY How the IQA’s Strategic Plan is designed to transform the Institute for the next decade

COVER ADVERTISER: The Volvo CE EC250E excavator, available from CJD Equipment, combines smart technology with fuelefficient Stage 5 engines to deliver a machine for the modern era of quarrying. Turn to page 17 or visit cjd.com.au

EVERY MONTH 06 FROM THE EDITOR

49 FROM THE IQA CEO

08 FROM THE PRESIDENT

50 GEOLOGY TALK

10 NEWS THIS MONTH

Geologists call for rock sample archive

16 PRODUCT FOCUS

Quarry July 2020 3

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EDITORIAL

STICKING TOGETHER FOR MENTAL HEALTH DURING COVID-19

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common message of this global coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has been the importance of all facets of occupational health and safety (OHS). In other words, just because you need to give extra attention to social distancing and hygiene does not exclude you from observing other workplace safety protocols.

Indeed, COVID-19 was barely a month old when the quarrying industry sadly experienced the first casualty of 2020 (in South Australia).

Further, Queensland has broadened its industrial manslaughter laws to penalise senior officers of mining and quarrying companies for negligent conduct that contributes to workplace accidents. While the effectiveness of the Queensland laws (see pages 12, 46) – and similar industrial manslaughter provisions in other jurisdictions – is yet to be tested in the courts, they are a sober reminder for the extractive industry that it cannot afford to drop the ball on safety.

An international incident has also highlighted another element of OHS that could be overlooked: mental health.

In late May, a French quarry employee was shot by police and hospitalised after he gunned down three colleagues and injured more on-site (see page 15). His motives were unclear but some reports have speculated he was unwell and considered unfit to work. Naturally, there are questions: How long did his condition go unnoticed or unreported by his colleagues? And if he was mentally ill, could the quarry’s management have identified his condition early enough to reasonably counsel him?

Suzanne Desailly, the general manager for MATES in Mining, has provided excellent commentary (page 15) on the importance of extractive operations promoting mental health and well-being support in their workplaces. Indeed, dialogue is encouraged, considering there has traditionally been a risk that other workers could view suicide as merely “a reality of working in the 6

Quarry July 2020

industry” (to paraphrase Desailly).

There is concern COVID-19 could exacerbate Australians’ mental health, not only for those who have lost jobs in the pandemic, but even for those still actively working. The University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre has forecast the suicide rate could surge by 50 per cent this year if the unemployment rate exceeds 10 per cent. The National Mental Health Commission has also reported a decline in the overall use of mental health support services during COVID-19, prompting the Federal Government to pour an extra $500 million into the mental health system.

There is no doubt a “pressure cooker” atmosphere for quarrying and extractive workers at the best of economic times, as sites strive for more productivity and profitability.

This is very likely amplified in downturns, and a pandemic adds more stress and possibly even a little paranoia about others’ hygiene to the mix.

It’s pleasing the IQA has recognised this, with its own fact sheet about managing anxiety (at quarry.com. au), and recommended links to other reputable bodies such as BeyondBlue for further advice.

Mental health and safety, along with broad-based OHS, must continue to be a priority for all quarrying operations during – and beyond – COVID-19.

Make sure you are engaging with your workers, your colleagues, your peers, your mates. Be prepared to give someone a sympathetic ear, and call out patently unsafe, unacceptable workplace behaviours that undermine another person’s confidence, the team dynamic and the organisation’s safety culture. As the old saying goes, we’re all in this together – and will survive this pandemic.

Published by:

THERE IS NO DOUBT A ‘PRESSURE COOKER’ ATMOSPHERE FOR QUARRYING WORKERS IN THE BEST OF ECONOMIC TIMES

11-15 Buckhurst Street South Melbourne VIC 3205 T: 03 9690 8766 www.primecreativemedia.com.au Publisher John Murphy john.murphy@primecreative.com.au

Editor Damian Christie damian.christie@primecreative.com.au

Journalist Nickolas Zakharia nickolas.zakharia@primecreative.com.au

Business Development Manager Les Ilyefalvy les.ilyefalvy@primecreative.com.au

Client Success Manager Ruby Viju ruby.viju@primecreative.com.au

Design Production Manager Michelle Weston michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au

Art Director Blake Storey Graphic Design Jo De Bono Subscriptions T: 03 9690 8766 subscriptions@primecreative.com.au The Publisher reserves the right to alter or omit any article or advertisement submitted and requires indemnity from the advertisers and contributors against damages or liabilities that may arise from material published. © Copyright – No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any means electronic,

DAMIAN CHRISTIE Editor

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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

EMBRACING THE ‘NEW NORMAL’

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fter nearly four months of restrictions on the way we live and work – all necessary to flatten the COVID-19 infection curve – we are entering another period of uncertainty in terms of the immediate economic future for our industry. Stimulus packages from state and federal governments to build infrastructure projects, improve local, regional roads and rail will help.

Recent incentives offered by the federal government to stimulate house construction and renovations to keep local trades employed, will also assist.

To what extent, time will tell.

Our industry is usually the last to go into decline and is the last to come out, as developers and investors in residential and commercial construction wait until economic factors are more favourable. The Australian construction industry was already in decline throughout 2019 and had reached similar levels experienced in 2017, before the impacts of the pandemic.

The total value of work completed declined by 1.4 per cent, from the December 2019 quarter to the March 2020 quarter, and 5.7 per cent, from the March 2019 quarter to the March 2020 quarter, with residential construction declining 2.9 per cent and 12.3 per cent respectively for the same periods. We need federal and state governments to continue to find ways to stimulate the economy as the construction industry employs more than one million people and so many associated industries rely on our sector, which represents around eight per cent of Australia’s GDP. What can we do to manage through these difficult times and take advantage of the upswing in activity when it eventually comes in the months and years to follow? We can maximise our productivity, we can innovate, we can focus on our people’s education and skills development, we can improve safety and the environment, we can

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Quarry July 2020

explore new markets for our products, and we can identify how we help our customers. We have to make these things the “new normal”. It starts with education if we want to make a difference in the future. Education is at our fingertips. I encourage you to visit the IQA website: quarry.com.au From viewing our website, you will be surprised at what’s on offer and what is coming. For example, the recent webinar held by Dr Sean Brady at the end of June explained and discussed the significant changes required of the industry to reduce the rate of fatalities, serious accidents, and high potential incidents on worksites. I am sure this thought-provoking webinar will have been of great help to those who attended and assist them to look seriously at what must change on their sites.

During June and July, we have reached out to all our members and our Industry Pledge partners, seeking their support at such a critical time in the IQA’s history.

The amount of support we have received has been wonderful and encouraging. It is critical that we retain all our members, although we recognise that this will be difficult, given the current environment. Please think about the education, learning and networking that you have enjoyed as an IQA member and look forward to a modern IQA providing an increased range of educational and networking opportunities into the future.

On behalf of the IQA board and administration, I thank you for your continued support, contribution, and participation, to position the IQA as the leading provider of education in the industry.

SHANE BRADDY President Institute of Quarrying Australia

The Institute of Quarrying Australia

Educating and connecting our extractive industry

THE ‘NEW NORMAL’ STARTS WITH EDUCATION IF WE WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE FUTURE

quarry.com.au The Institute of Quarrying Australia’s goals are: 1. To provide world class professional development for the extractive industries.

2. To establish an Australasian Academy of Quarrying.

3. To align service offerings with industry needs.

IQA CONTACTS: Chief Executive Officer Kylie Fahey PO Box 1779 Milton BC QLD 4064 Phone: 0477 444 328 ceo@quarry.com.au Company Secretary Rod Lester Phone: 0408 121 788 rgl@rlester.com.au Finance Officer Gemma Thursfield Phone: 0402 431 090 gemma@quarry.com.au General, membership and financial inquiries should be directed to admin@quarry.com.au or phone 02 9484 0577.

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NEWS

SOUTHERN NSW GRAVEL AND SAND SUPPLIER PROPOSES EXPANSION ‘FRASER EARTHMOVING HAS PROPOSED A RESPONSIBLE OPERATION THAT WILL PROVIDE LOCAL EMPLOYMENT’

RWC’s principal environmental consultant Nicholas Warren told Quarry the huge expansion in operations will provide more job and business opportunities to Howlong, 28km west of Albury. According to the EIS, 10 full time employees and 25 indirectly employed heavy vehicles drivers will be needed under the expansion project.

NICHOLAS

“We feel that Fraser Earthmoving Construction has proposed an environmentally responsible operation that would provide an important source of local employment, including on site and for transport activities as well as a local source of economic activity,” Warren said.

WARREN RW CORKERY

The proposed $5.1 million expansion of the Howlong sand and gravel quarry, off the Riverina Highway in southern NSW, has been submitted for review by the NSW Government.

A $5.1 million expansion of the Howlong Sand and Gravel Quarry in southern New South Wales has been proposed by Fraser Earthmoving Construction. This would substantially expand the quarry’s annual extraction rate – from 30,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) to 330,000 tpa.

In March, Fraser Earthmoving Construction and RW Corkery & Co (RWC) provided an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the expansion to the New South Wales Government.

A combination of activities including flood management earthworks, intersection and private bridge

upgrades, building works, mobile plant and fixed plant will contribute to the $5.1 million cost of the expansion.

The quarry is surrounded by agricultural land and borders the Murray River, along with the nearby Camp Nelson Scout Camp. Due to the agricultural use of the land, very little vegetation clearing is required.

The project includes the construction of levees for flood protection and revegetation of a 100m buffer between the quarry and the Murray River.

“The project would not result in changes to commercial agricultural land uses surrounding the property,” the EIS noted.

“The site is poised to supply important sand and gravel resources locally and regionally at a time when construction activities are ramping up as restrictions from COVID-19 begin to be eased.”

NSW Director of Resource Assessments (Coal & Quarry) Matthew Sprott has requested a submissions report for the application that responds to the issues raised in the submissions before the project moves to assessment and determination.

RWC and Fraser Earthmoving Construction have three months to provide responses to the issues raised in the submissions or advise the Department that they require additional time to complete the task. •

BORAL IMPLEMENTS DRONE TECHNOLOGY FOR QUARRIES With social distancing rules and travel bans prevalent across the country, Boral has deployed a distributed drone network to provide volumetric stockpile measurements across its Australian quarries.

Boral is required to measure stockpiles at its quarries as part of internal and external audits. In previous years it used aircraft but with fly-in, fly-out travel bans in place, it has enlisted drones to provide the data instead.

The aggregates company has partnered with BIRDI, which operates a national network of fully licensed drone operators that capture stockpile data for volumetric measurement specialists to analyse.

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Quarry July 2020

According to Boral Australia national quarries general manager Shane Braddy, drones have offered a cost-effective and reliable way to deliver the data while remaining in compliance with the country’s COVID-19 safety requirements.

“Recent advancements in capture technology and mapping software have resulted in increased accuracy for the purposes of volumetric assessments,” he said. “By leveraging this improved technology, we have been able to improve efficiency and reduce costs.”

Fifty local operators successfully captured 57 of Boral’s Australian quarry sites across a

Boral managed to capture stockpiles in 57 of its Australian sites by hiring BIRDI’s local drone operators.

two-day period. With BIRDI only employing local drone operators, Boral’s drone usage was able to support local employment across the country. •

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NEWS

‘NEGLIGENT’ EXECUTIVES FACE PRISON UNDER NEW LEGISLATION To deter negligence in mines and quarries, the Queensland Parliament has passed new reforms that could impose harsher punishments on company executives for the deaths of their employees.

Under the new legislation, mining and quarrying executives could face up to 20 years in jail if it can be proven that negligence on their part contributed to the deaths of their employees.

Queensland has 50,000 mine and quarry workers, and the new legislation aims to deliver a strong message to those in charge throughout the industry.

“This offence sends the clear message to employers and senior officers that the safety and health of their workers is paramount,” Queensland Mines Minister Anthony Lynham said.

According to Lynham, the new laws will push for safer quarry and mine activity in Queensland.

“Safety on a mine site is everybody’s responsibility,” he said.

“But a safety culture needs to be modelled right from the top and creating the offence of industrial manslaughter is to ensure senior company officers do all they can to create a safe mine site.”

The Queensland Government has in the past 10 months passed a number of industry-related safety reforms, including a maximum penalty of $4 million for offences, powers for regulators to issue fines without going to court and statewide safety reset sessions for workers.

To learn more about the new industrial manslaughter laws, turn to page 46. •

Executives could face jail time under new Queensland mine safety reforms.

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INDEX MAKES SCANT RECOVERY BUT STILL IN THE RED MANY SURVEY PARTICIPANTS CREDIT JOBKEEPER FOR KEEPING THEIR WORKFORCE TOGETHER

The Australian Industry Group’s (Ai Group) Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI) has revealed the nation’s construction industry continued to wear thin in May after bearing more damage from COVID-19.

After sinking to a record 21.6 in April, the Australian PCI saw an incremental rise to 24.9 points in May. While the construction industry remains in uncharted waters, the small boost suggests a slower decline.

The report reflected widespread concern in the industry about COVID-19, with many survey participants crediting the JobKeeper scheme for keeping their businesses and workforce together in May. Activity across all four construction sectors – housing, apartments, engineering construction and commercial construction – was well below the index’s 50-point-mark.

Engineering construction reached a record low 23.8 points in May, while housing (20.2), apartments (15.8) and commercial activity (18.1) all saw

The construction industry index saw a minor 3.3-point recovery in May (c/- of Ai Group).

marginal increases that signals a slower contraction rate.

The report found that construction business operators are blaming activity restrictions, travel and delivery restrictions for a ramp down in activity.

Health and safety requirements have also affected construction business activity due to on-site distancing and delivery times for required PPE equipment.

Commercial construction orders have been revived, moving up 24.1 points to 36.4 points in May, after a score of just 12.3 points in April. •

SMALL BUSINESSES TO INSTANTLY WRITE OFF ASSETS UP TO $150,000 The Australian Government is encouraging small businesses to buy big after announcing an extension to its instant asset write-off tax incentive on assets that are individually worth up to $150,000.

Introduced in March, the tax incentive is available for businesses with an annual turnover of less than $500 million – with the government estimating 3.5 million Australian businesses fall into that category.

Second hand equipment is now eligible for the instant asset write-off under the extension. For assets to be eligible, they must be in use or ready for use by 31 December, 2020.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg hopes the extended timeframe will keep businesses moving forward as the economy begins its road to recovery from COVID-19. “They are designed to support business sticking with investment they had planned, and

The instant write-off on assets worth up to $150K has been extended by six months.

encouraging them to bring investment forward to support economic growth over the near term,” Frydenberg said in a joint media release with the employment minister Michaelia Cash.

Changes to legislation will need to be made to cater for the six-month extension, which is expected to rack up a cost to revenue of $300 million.

The number of small businesses that have claimed the instant asset write-off will remain unknown until tax time. •

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NEWS

METSO, OUTOTEC MAKE HEADWAY IN MERGER COMPLETION Metso and Outotec have announced a board of directors ahead of the two companies’ merger into a combined entity.

The Metso Outotec merger took effect on 30 June and fused Metso’s minerals business with Outotec, which specialises in a range of technologies, into one company.

The new company will aim to deliver sustainable technologies, solutions and services to the minerals processing, aggregates, metals refining and recycling industries and is designed to cater to the strengths of both Metso and Outotec.

Metso Outotec will be comprised of six business areas: minerals, aggregates, metals, recycling, services and consumables.

Metso’s current president of aggregates equipment Markku Simula will serve as the president of Metso Outotec’s aggregates business “I am happy to announce the future structure and executive team for Metso Outotec,” Pekka Vauramo, the future president and chief executive of Metso Outotec, said. “I’m confident that led by this team we will create a strong culture and deliver the benefits of the combination to our customers, shareholders and employees.

“Above all, Metso Outotec will be strong in sustainability. Our extensive combined offering for minerals processing from equipment to a broad range of services will help our customers improve their profitability and lower their operating costs and risks, while at the same time reduce the consumption of energy and water.”

Metso’s mining equipment president Stephan Kirsch will serve as president of Metso Outotec’s minerals business, while Outotec’s president and chief executive Markku Teräsvasara will become the new company’s president of services and deputy chief xxx executive officer. •

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STATE GOVERNMENTS RAMP UP WORKS TO AID RECOVERY EARTH RESOURCES REGULATION HAS DEFERRED ANNUAL FEES FOR VICTORIAN QUARRIES UNTIL 2021

The Victorian Government has promised 3700 jobs by allocating $2.7 billion to new construction works to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on the state’s economy.

As part of the first stage of Victoria’s new Building Works package, $1.2 billion will be slotted into education infrastructure projects, which could create 1600 local construction jobs.

The government has prioritised building projects in progress.

Earth Resources Regulation has also deferred $3.5 million in rent and annual fees for quarries in Victoria until 2021. This will enable the sector’s cashflow to recover from COVID-19.

The Queensland Government will accelerate major infrastructure projects as part of its Economic Recovery Strategy. The strategy pledges more than $50 billion on infrastructure investment across the next four years. This includes $400 million towards Queensland’s Accelerated Works Program, which will deliver sealing works to roads, bridges and pavements. About $200 million in 2020-21 will be provided for a Works for Queensland Program, to

The Victorian Government has deferred annual fees for Victoria’s quarries until 2021.

fund productive building projects to boost employment.

Meanwhile, the Western Australian Government has pledged its support to the building and construction sectors through a $444 million major housing package to support local jobs and stabilise the WA economy.

The stimulus package, which is effective immediately, includes a $125 million Building Bonus package and a $319 million Social Housing Economic Recovery Package. It is expected to support an estimated 4300 jobs.

Building materials producers in WA will also be given fixed royalty rates for the next five years. •

TOOWOOMBA MAYOR NEW CHAIR OF INLAND RAIL ALLIANCE Toowoomba Regional Council mayor Paul Antonio is the new chair of the Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail Alliance (MBIRA), which represents all local governments tconnected by the Inland Rail route.

Antonio, who owns a gravel operation in the Darling Downs region, has been a long-time advocate of linking Toowoomba to the Inland Rail project. He has been regional council mayor of Toowoomba since 2012.

The Inland Rail Project is designed to provide a needed boost to supply chains and refine the national freight network, which will lead to transit times of a day or less via trains between Melbourne to Brisbane.

A total of 13 individual projects will be constructed under the project, making it the largest rail infrastructure

The new MBIRA chair and Toowoomba Regional Council mayor Paul Antonio.

project in the country.

Antonio’s appointment follows the departure of former MBIRA chairman Sue Price, of Moree Plains Shire Council . She has also been pushing for the project to be completed in time, saying the rail network will fix the “outgrowing” freight roads. •

INCIDENT PROMPTS MENTAL HEALTH CONVERSATION

AUSTRALIAN LIME MARKET TO REACH MORE THAN $500 BILLION THIS DECADE There are good signs for Australia’s limestone segment, with the lime market expected to exceed $USD339.5 billion ($AUD511 billion) by 2027, according to a report by Coherent Market Insights.

MATES is supporting mental health awareness in the resources industry.

MATES in Mining is encouraging mining, quarrying and construction workers to seek support for each other’s mental well-being after a tragedy in France.

On 27 May, a man fatally shot three of his work colleagues at a quarry in Saint-Varent, 366km southwest of Paris, before attempting suicide.

Various news outlets, including CNN and The New York Times, reported the shooter was invited to a meeting where he opened fire, killing three and injuring a fourth person. The man had been on extended leave ordered by his employer and had been declared unfit to resume work. At the time, he was due to meet with his employer to discuss his future at the quarry.

According to one report, it is believed the 37-year-old’s mother had died 10 months earlier and it was possible he had not overcome his bereavement.

However, police also insisted he may have had other motives. It is unknown what his current status is since being hospitalised.

conversations about mental health and suicide and to link workers in with specialist support including drug and alcohol and relationship counselling.

“Workforce capacity building is provided through clear pathways of education, training and support – building communities of MATES who can look out for MATES,” she said.

“The program is adapted to mirror safety structures on-site and engages the entire workforce in providing a mentally safer, healthier workplace.”

MATES’s training programs include Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), which teaches additional skills to on-site volunteers to support workers with suicidal thoughts.

“ASIST workers will talk to a person contemplating suicide with the object of making this person ‘safe’,” Desailly said. “Using simple skills, an ASIST worker will listen to the person’s concerns and respond to them appropriately, with the object of developing a contract or a safe plan with the at risk worker.”

The incident highlights the importance of extractive operations promoting mental health and wellbeing support in their workplaces. One of several Australian organisations that aims to open the conversation for mental health and well-being support in the industry is MATES, an evidencebased suicide awareness program that supports the mining, construction and energy industries.

Desailly also highlighted how suicide can impact the construction industry by workers refusing to speak up.

Suzanne Desailly, the general manager for MATES in Mining and MATES in Energy, told Quarry the organisation aims to support the wellbeing of industry workers by building the capacity of the workforce to have

The IQA offers a fact sheet on managing anxiety among workers at quarry.com.au

“For workers in the construction industry, suicide can be a part of the reality of working in the industry,” she said. “Work within the industry is highly transient with most workers employed on a project by project basis, for periods ranging from a few weeks to, at best, a few years.”

Further advice can also be sought from BeyondBlue (beyondblue.org.au) and Lifeline (lifeline.org.au). •

An increase to lime’s demand in the agriculture and the steel industries is expected to drive profits up in the coming years.

“The Australia lime market was estimated to account for $USD290 billion ($436 billion) in terms of value in 2018 and is predicted to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 1.7 per cent during the forecast period (2019 to 2027),” the report stated.

Lime – or calcium hydroxide – is produced by heating limestone, and has widespread use across construction, industrial, chemical, environmental and metallurgical sectors.

Australia produces three types of lime products, including aglime (agricultural lime), quick lime and hydrated lime.

The steel industry, which contributes upwards of $16 billion to Australia’s GDP, requires lime for its activities.

Major players in the Australian lime market include ADBRI (formerly Adelaide Brighton), Boral, Sibelco, Omya Australia, Wagners and Lime Group Australia. New South Wales had the nation’s largest market share of lime at 31.3 per cent in 2018, with volumes predicted to reach 410.5 kilotonnes by the end of 2027. •

The Penrice Quarry is a raw materials supplier for ADBRI’s Angaston lime plant.

Quarry July 2020 15

PRODUCT FOCUS

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METSO NORDTRACK I908S BESTOWS IMPACT CRUSHING EFFICIENCY Metso’s Nordtrack crushing and screening range offers a number of compact, high performance and value-orientated machines for general contractors in the aggregates industry. The Nordtrack I908S mobile impact crusher can become a key asset for kickstarting quarrying operations. Its compact size allows it to be easily transported across site. Fitted with a fuel-efficient, powerful 188kW Volvo D8 engine, the I908S is ready for asphalt recycling, construction waste crushing, concrete demolition and soft rock applications.

More information: Tutt Bryant, tuttbryant.com.au/tutt-bryant-equipment/metso

SCORPION PUGMILL WITH OPTIONAL CEMENT SILO The Scorpion pugmill can mix three products and cement powder simultaneously with optimum moisture content at 300 tph. This is thanks to a programmable logic controller that uses weigh scales on the main product belt to blend the mixture to achieve a homogenous product. It is also fitted with an elevated twin auger pug head with 3.5m discharge height, equipped with 50 reversible wear paddles and single on-board pumps (the pug is available in an optional clam shell design for easier access, cleaning and maintenance). The weigh bin is complemented by the CTS-50 (vertical) or HTS-50 (horizontal) silo cement transfer system, each based on GP cement of 1.2 tonnes per cubic metre.

More information: precisionscreen.com.au

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LOAD & HAUL

HIGH TECH SOLUTIONS TO

MAKE QUARRYING FASTER, PRODUCTIVE While the world may have slowed down courtesy of the global virus crisis, quarries are still reaping the benefits of great strides in technology solutions. A distributor of a global brand of earthmoving plant and equipment tells Nickolas Zakharia what some of these developments are.

I

t can be difficult to keep up in a world filled with the stresses and mayhem of day to day life. In the workforce, it is always crucial to keep up and stay productive on the task at hand. Sometimes this can be easy, and other times quite complex.

Constant enhancements to technology across all sectors are adding productivity, efficiency and simplification to the melting pot of work-related tools to boost performance like never before. The quarrying industry is no exception.

New strides are being made as the sector continually grasps the full potential of a digitalised world. The Industrial Internet of Things (aka IIOT or Industry 4.0) has accelerated the output and productivity of many quarrying and construction sites with data analysis, automation, and sensor technologies, just some of the many areas that the bright minds of companies such as Volvo CE are at the forefront of developing.

E-SERIES EXCAVATORS Volvo Construction Equipment’s (Volvo CE) E-Series excavators were launched in Australia in the past year, combining smart technology with the fuel efficiency of Stage 5

engines to deliver a machine that is ready for the modern era of quarrying.

Off the back of a 28-year partnership with Volvo CE, CJD Equipment is distributing the new E-Series excavator range to Australian customers. CJD Equipment has helped push the industry into a more environmentally friendly space in recent years by providing a range of efficient, productive construction equipment from several major brands.

Lindsay Daniels, CJD Equipment’s national product engineering and training manager told Quarry about what’s on offer with Volvo CE’s new E-Series range and its assist technologies for the construction industry.

“One of the new features that customers can expect with the E-Series are Stage 5 engines which meet the latest Stage 5 European measurements,” Daniels explains.

“They are some of the ‘greenest’ machines on the market at the moment. Most people are still offering Tier 4 Final or less.”

With fuel being a major expense in any quarrying application, Volvo CE have designed the E-Series with efficiency in mind and a reduction to maintenance costs using machine monitoring.

At the heart of the E-Series is Volvo CE’s

Co-Pilot system with Dig Assist technology that is available on crawler and short swing excavator models. Volvo Co-Pilot is intuitively designed and provides real-time information about how a machine is operating.

Using a high definition touchscreen, Volvo CE’s state of the art technology can provide a range of fuel-efficient, uptime and safety solutions through the Co-Pilot system.

This includes Volvo CE’s Dig Assist and Haul Assist for construction and quarrying applications. Co-Pilot only requires a SIM card and a 3G connection to access the smart technology opportunities available.

“The beauty of the Co-Pilot system, which is what these two assist programs are based on, is that it allows these applications to be loaded in a similar way to how you would download an app on a mobile phone,” Daniels explains. “This ensures future programs down the track will be able to be downloaded onto the Co-Pilot system and into the machine and away you go. The apps are driven both by customer demand and vision for the future.”

There are several areas that the Volvo Co-Pilot system can help improve. This includes the ability for operators to trim more Quarry July 2020 17

LOAD & HAUL

accurately in a very short period of time, using the control system. The system also offers the ability to simplify the digging of complex shapes by allowing operators to draw 2D shapes from the cabin. This decreases the time spent checking the accuracy of slopes and provides visual and audible collision and obstacle alerts – all of which improve productivity and safety respectively.

DIG ASSIST Dig Assist ensures Volvo CE’s E-Series excavators live up to their full potential. Dig Assist Start, the basic package as standard for Volvo CE’s 14- to 48-tonne E-Series excavators has the ability to help both beginner and experienced operators deliver productive drilling results through the 2D system. Volvo CE states that the 2D package has a combination of measurement sensors, a laser catcher, two satellite antennas and a smart receive loaded onto the machine.

“All E-Series machines can be fitted with Dig Assist technology,” Daniels says. “The Dig Assist technology is an ex-factory option

because our base Dig Assist system already comes with satellite antennas. Even our 2D system, you can do line, slope and depth with the satellites. Most other systems don’t have the satellite dishes unless they have a 3D system.”

Volvo CE also includes upgradeability of Dig Assist to either Dig Assist In-Field Design or Dig Assist 3D apps.

The In-Field Design app provides strong excavation accuracy, allowing operators to dig complicated shapes using three dimensions, which prevents the need for surveyors.

“With the In-Field design system the operator can actually input simple designs and work to satellite position or work to a laser position because Volvo CE’s 3D system comes standard with a laser catcher as well,” Daniels explains.

The 3D system of Dig Assist has been designed by Volvo CE for complex and large-scale projects. For Volvo CE’s excavators, the 3D option incorporates Topcon or Trimble Earthworks apps to be used with Volvo Co-Pilot.

“In quarrying, it’s the same accuracy that you get with Trimble or Topcon because that’s the system we’re actually using,” Daniels says. “Volvo CE makes the Dig Assist program, but once you go into 3D, you’re actually using the Trimble or Topcon 3D system.”

Dig Assist and the Volvo Co-Pilot system have been designed with user-friendliness in mind.

“It’s a very simple program to use in either the 2D, 3D or the In-Field Design. Volvo has a very good In-Field Design system which is an intermediate step between 2D and 3D.”

HAUL ASSIST Another assist program powered by Volvo Co-Pilot is the Haul Assist, which gives quarry operators more fluid control over their haul fleet with the Map and On-Board Weighing apps.

The On-Board Weighing app does exactly what it is named to do – monitor the amount of material moved. On top of this, useful data and insights on an articulated hauler

WHAT IS VOLVO CO-PILOT? Volvo Co-Pilot is an intelligently designed interactive display from Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) offering real time insight into work performed by select Volvo machines, ensuring the highest standard of efficiency and accuracy in any application.

Volvo CE has developed Volvo CoPilot, a cutting edge on-board display for select Volvo machines. The high definition touchscreen is the operator’s partner in the cab, providing unrestricted access to all the integrated functionality required to unlock a Volvo machine’s full performance potential.

Delivering a range of productivity, fuel efficiency, uptime and safety solutions, the 25cm display gives the operator and owner all of the information they need to ensure highly productive, and profitable, operation.

Whether digging trenches or loading heavy-duty material, Volvo Co-Pilot offers exceptional control, thorough accuracy and uptime across a variety of applications and machines. The interactive display is designed to work seamlessly and simultaneously with Volvo Assist across numerous machines, providing real time operational data for a responsive, harmonious and efficient operating experience. Volvo Assist is

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comprised of Dig Assist for excavators, Load Assist for wheel loaders, and Haul Assist for articulated haulers.

With Volvo Co-Pilot, the operator has simple and easy access to all the unified functionalities of Volvo Assist. With machine, job and material information at their fingertips, operators can do more work per litre of fuel, maximising fuel efficiency and productivity.

In addition to ensuring precise performance, the heavy-duty display is designed to keep production running at capacity. Regardless of the job, Volvo CoPilot and the total synchronisation with Volvo

Assist can help both the operator and the machine to achieve greater uptime to keep the job on schedule and the business profitable.

Not only does Volvo Co-Pilot make light of heavy-duty jobs, but it also minimises interruptions in the workflow for greater onsite safety. The ergonomically-positioned display reduces operator interaction with fewer on-screen menus, helping to keep their focus on the task at hand. When pre-set operating limits are met, Volvo Co-Pilot alerts the operator through audio and visual signals. With this intelligent technology, movement around the machine is eliminated as well as the need for additional on-site personnel, improved safety and operator autonomy.

With Volvo Co-Pilot, the operator can quickly and independently manage all operations with ease. The on-board display is intuitive enough to operate with minimal training and provides on-screen tips, optimising ease of operation and uptime.

Operators can also customise functions and targets in seconds and easily monitor the progress of their work with greater independence and confidence.

All E-Series machines can be fitted with Dig Assist in 2D, 3D or In-Field Design configurations.

is also provided. This enables quarries to deliver optimal payloads and eradicate the stress of over-loading, which can reduce fuel efficiency, and under-loading, which can reduce productivity.

Haul Assist Map gives quarries the ability to monitor their articulated hauler fleet and control traffic across the site through GPS tracking.

Maps can be personalised and edited to suit

a quarry’s loading and dumping areas, speed zones, haul roads, lanes, and more.

Due to the user-friendliness that extends across all Volvo Co-Pilot technology, a Haul Assist Map can be set up in only a few hours. “Haul Assist technology is very simple to use,� Daniels says. “It provides the ability to monitor the load of the machine, and it includes an on-board weighing system. The

advantage of Haul Assist is that it allows the operator of the articulated hauler to know whether he needs to speed up or slow down. “There’s no point for an operator, as an example, belting back from where the dump point is to the load point if the loader is still loading a truck. So he gets to slow down and arrive there on time, rather than using up a lot of fuel to get there in a hurry and having to sit there idle, waiting for his turn.�

Haul Assist will be standard on Volvo CE’s A35G through to A60H haulers, and will be optional on the A25G and A30G models when released into Australia later in 2020.

Retrofitting will also available be on Volvo CE’s F-Series haulers. “Volvo, like all manufacturers, follows customer demand closely and the apps that are available for load assist and dig assist are a reflection of what the customer wants now and what Volvo foresee will be on the customer’s wish list in the future,�

Daniels concludes. •

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2EDUCTION IN NOISE s %ASIEST SCREEN TO REPLACE IN END TENSION MOBILE SCREENS LIGHTER COMPACT AND EASIER TO PLACE INTO POSITION #ONTACT A ,OCKER REPRESENTATIVE FOR PRICING AND ADVICE TODAY

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LOAD & HAUL

QUARRY-SPEC MACHINES EXCEL IN SHIPPING, RAIL LOADING

An ASX-listed bulk materials and logistics giant with expertise in mine and port solutions has in recent years enjoyed enormous success with a suite of earthmoving products encompassing quarry-spec loaders, excavators and dozers. Damian Christie reports.

Q

ube Bulk is part of the greater Qube Holdings Group. It provides comprehensive mine to market and mine resupply solutions servicing mines, roads, rail, storage, ports and shipping. It operates coast to coast across more than 30 mine sites and manages 10 key regional depot locations where there are mining hubs – in effect, from Gladstone, in central Queensland, to Meekatharra and Leinster in Western Australia.

Qube Bulk’s clientele consists of more than 100 customers in Australia, ranging from junior miners (including small mineral sands companies) to larger players such as BHP and Rio Tinto. As Todd Emmert, the director of Qube Bulk told Quarry, the company specialises in mine site services and project consulting, assisting “junior and mid-tier mining companies with their pre-feasibility and bankable feasibility studies, particularly around logistics costs, access to markets and key approvals for export operations”.

Emmert added that part of this work entails working with “environmental regulators, 20

Quarry July 2020

main roads departments who look after road networks, and infrastructure port authorities that deal with access to market and port approvals. We will work with these bodies on behalf of the mining companies we represent as they are setting up their projects”.

On average, Qube Bulk would load and transport more than 85 million tonnes per annum of bulk ores, concentrates, mineral sands, salt, coal and other products around Australia. “Essentially, we’re handling every bulk commodity that you can think of,” Emmert said, “right from battery minerals to industrial minerals used for chemicals, to bedding minerals like iron ore, manganese, through the coal streams to the heavy metal concentrates, such as nickel, lead, copper and zinc. We’re dealing with the whole spectrum of mined materials.”

While it doesn’t service quarries as such, Qube Bulk does deliver pneumatic operations for mining consumable and also road stabilisation programs, including tankers for cement and lime applications and bulk liquid tankers for fuel and sulphuric acid.

“We put in place fuel infrastructure and consumable infrastructure,” Emmert explained, “because our customers need consumables to operate their mines and their minerals processing facilities. We manage bulk ore stockpiles for mining companies.

We do heavy haulage from pit to crusher, rail head, we do haul road maintenance and repairs. We do crusher feed and end crushing services, and we obviously do train and truck loading on mine sites as well.”

Qube’s contract haulage service is particularly impressive. Emmert said Qube Group would be one of the largest operators of off-road haulage, with about 80 200- to 240-tonne conventional C-trains operating nationally. In terms of on-road haulage, it also operates more than 1000 multicombination vehicles.

THE ‘YELLOW’ FLEET Emmert estimates that there would be between 200 and 300 machines in Qube’s off-highway, “yellow” fleet across Australia – wheel loaders, excavators and dozers (Qube

Bulk doesn’t operate dump trucks). Of these, Qube owns more than 30 Liebherr wheel loaders, two crawler excavators and three dozers. The fleet today consists of quarryspec Liebherr L 566, L 576, L 580 and L 586 XPower wheel loaders across Australia.

The loaders are mainly working in port applications, loading in a shed and moving from stockpile to hopper, which transfers the feed from conveyor to ship. The XPowers are also being employed for loading into Qube’s Rotabox containers, which are positioned on the back of a road train. Once the road train reaches port, the Rotaboxes with their contents are then loaded by mobile harbour crane into a ship, and the empty container is returned to the road train.

Qube Bulk has a long-term relationship with Liebherr, as it has bought the latter’s mobile harbour cranes for its port operations for two decades. The extension of that association into earthmoving equipment is more recent and, according to Emmert, was to “optimise our performance. The key drivers

An L 580 is one of 34 XPower loaders in Qube’s nationwide fleet.

for that decision were around fuel burn, and improving the availability of the machine, because they have extended maintenance intervals and their reliability is good”.

Emmert was introduced to Steven Shore, Liebherr-Australia’s accounts manager for Qube Holdings, in 2017 and the pair have worked closely since. Liebherr initially supplied 12 loaders to Qube Bulk, which have subsequently worked in the company’s operations in WA. “The biggest requirement for Qube was for a productive loader that was efficient, reliable and could overall lower the cost per tonne moved, and increase production per hour,” Shore recalled. “The XPower loader achieved all of the above to great

success, by significantly reducing the fuel consumption, and with improvement to tonnes per hour moved, especially with jobsites that incurred long distance travel from stockpile to hopper/truck.”

QUARRY-SPEC MACHINES Although Qube Bulk’s fleet of XPower series wheel loaders are engaged in bulk materials handling, Shore said they are nonetheless very well suited to the quarrying application.

They are equipped with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that can change seamlessly through a continuous range of effective gear ratios, thereby reducing fuel consumption by up to 30 per cent on average and enabling the engine to run at its most

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efficient speed. The rear-mounted engine also acts as an organic counterweight; a more favourable centre of gravity and less counterweight also saves significantly on fuel consumption.

The loaders are also equipped with a mid-mount cooling pack, coupled with an automatic reversing fan, that is well suited to Australia’s hot and drier climates. The low noise emission engine is also ideal for many quarry sites that are close to residential areas and Liebherr in turn can offer a factory noise reduction kit for extremely noisesensitive areas.

In turn, the XPower loaders are fitted with integrated weigh scales, tyre pressure monitoring, and rear personnel and object detection, thanks to autonomous emergency braking.

Shore said Qube’s R 920 Compact crawler excavator, with blade configuration, is best suited to quarries. At Qube Bulk, this machine is remote-controlled to clean out ship holds while the operators continue to operate the crane during vessel unloading.

“This makes the excavator very safe by removing an operator from the danger zone,” Shore explained. “Liebherr worked with RCT Global [an Australian company which specialises in automation and control systems in 71 countries] to remote control the R 920 Compact. The excavator is primarily used for civil works, and jobs that require a machine with little overhang. Therefore, it is perfect for vessel unloading but Liebherr have a very broad range of excavators from 14 tonnes all the way up to 800-tonne machines, so we can offer a machine for any size job.”

Shore said the R 920 Compact was designed for safety, high performance, reliability and easy maintenance. Rear and lateral cameras are provided as standard, and the excavator is fitted with a new platform concept for secure undercarriage access.

The excavator is equipped with high digging and traction forces, along with elevated engine power. The stick and boom design incorporates internal and external welding for longevity, as well as a unique fastening system for hydraulic pipes on the boom which moderates stress from additional welds on the boom and stick. All maintenance points are accessible from ground level and fluid levels are visible in the cab via display.

“All the above are key factors that Liebherr machines offer, especially when choosing a quarry-spec machine,” Shore said of the R 920 Compact excavator. “There are so many safety and performance features to mention.”

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An L 566 in the shed with long carriage boom and bucket.

An L 580 at work in the shed.

MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENTS Emmert said that while Qube Bulk’s earthmoving fleet also consists of other brands, it has purchased “by far” more Liebherr vehicles in the past three years because “they compared favourably with other equipment, in terms of total ownership and asset life cycle cost”. That incorporates initial upfront capital costs, running costs, maintenance costs, and resale value avenues.

“We’ve spent the last two or three years on a loader replacement project,” Emmert said.

“We have about 15 of the Liebherr L 586 XPower loaders now in play, and they’ve definitely delivered the fuel burn in line with the trials we conducted before making the decision to purchase them. They’ve certainly met our expectations in reducing the fuel burn.”

Shore said Emmert’s feedback has been very positive, “especially when it comes to reliability and overall low running costs”.

To ensure that there are no hiccups and to keep improving their business solutions, Emmert and Shore meet monthly to review the Liebherr fleet’s performance, including asset reliability and availability. While Qube Bulk has its own maintenance facilities and personnel, Emmert said Liebherr’s aftermarket service offerings can be invaluable. “Aftermarket servicing is always a challenge when you’re operating in very remote locations,” he said. “It’s fair to say that Liebherr’s aftermarket servicing has been very good and certainly in line with our expectations, in that we’ve been able to keep high levels of equipment availability.

“Steve is always looking for ways to improve

our business, whether that’s through the application of innovation or technology, and in particular if Liebherr has product development coming off-line. He’s always looking at trying to deploy that into our business as early as possible.”

Shore said that he and Emmert often talked about replacements for existing machines, and about new projects, in which Liebherr could offer “off the shelf and tailored bespoke solutions”. He added that Liebherr had taken several steps in the past to ensure Qube Bulk was adequately supported in the maintenance of its fleet.

“A recent contract comes to mind where there was the need for three Liebherr PR 766 dozers on a very remote site in WA,” Shore explained. “The machines are pivotal to the operation and Qube couldn’t afford any downtime. Liebherr worked collaboratively with Qube on a solution by supplying a full-time technician on-site, along with a fully stocked purpose-built parts container to ensure there was no unnecessary downtime.”

The R 936 excavator at Qube’s Whyalla depot in South Australia.

Emmert said he would recommend Liebherr’s earthmoving products to larger or medium-sized quarries and operations.

“Certainly, they are very good for the purposes that we’re operating them for.

I’ve witnessed them operating in European quarries, and those quarry managers seemed to be very happy with the equipment, so I would have no hesitation in recommending the equipment for use.”

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Shore encourages quarry operators to try out Liebherr’s products for themselves.

“Go into your nearest Liebherr branch and experience our machines in person, and bring your operators and your technicians along to experience the operation,” he said.

“The engineering speaks for itself. We would love to show you our family, and hear more about yours.” •

LOAD & HAUL

SUPPLIER INTRODUCES INTEGRATED, MASTLESS GRADE CONTROL OPTION

T

o maintain a competitive edge, grade control systems are a must-have.

Road building and site development contractors can now reap the benefits of John Deere SmartGrade in the highly successful G-Series motor grader line.

SmartGrade reimagines grade control technology, with intelligent features that help maximise productivity. Unlike traditional aftermarket grade control systems, the SmartGrade motor graders offer an impressive range of grade control and hydraulic functions, including intuitive automated features that lessen operator workload and boost productivity.

SmartGrade technology delivers a first of its kind mastless integrated grade control as a factory option on new machines and field kit for equipment already on the job. The system is fully incorporated into the machine’s structures and software, delivering precise grading performance while eliminating vulnerable masts and cables.

“Earthmoving customers already utilise SmartGrade technology integrated into Deere dozers, and many have asked when it would be available on the motor grader line,” said Luke Kurth, motor graders product marketing manager for John Deere Construction & Forestry. “We’re excited to be the first manufacturer to offer this integrated solution to the Australian market. The same machine can now be used throughout the job site, from site clearing to final grade, maximising operator resources and fleet utilisation.”

SmartGrade eliminates external masts and cables from the mouldboard, preventing possible theft or damage. This also removes the need to climb on the machine every day and install blade-mounted sensors and components, reducing set-up time and complexity. By removing the masts and leveraging position sensing, the operator can now run without limitation, using all of the machine functions, like blade pitch, circle side-shift and circle rotate, without risking damage, all while staying on grade.

In the cab, the grade system interface is built into the Grade Pro (GP) controls available in the Deere exclusive fingertip or dual joystick design. SmartGrade also eliminates the 24

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Thanks to SmartGrade, the GP graders can utilise auto-articulation and blade flip, enabling the operator to automatically rotate the blade to a set position without holding the control at the end of a pass.

need for external grade control components that impede manoeuvrability, so final grade machines can be involved earlier and more effectively in site development.

An all new automation suite is included with SmartGrade and is available as an option on all GP graders, helping operators in daily production by reducing the number of controls needed to perform common tasks. The suite boasts auto-articulation, blade flip and operator-selectable machine presets. Auto-articulation combines front steering and rear articulation while blade flip, a Deere exclusive, enables the operator to automatically rotate the blade to a set position without holding the control at the end of a pass. Machine pre-set, another Deere exclusive, allows the operator to activate multiple functions by pressing a single button (return to straight, auto-shift, lights, etc). Up to three positions can be stored in the monitor.

“SmartGrade graders are the latest in a long line of technologies Deere has developed to help customers become more efficient and automate some of the controls

for one of the most sophisticated pieces of equipment on the job site,” said Sean Mairet, the grade control product marketing manager of John Deere WorkSight.

“Whatever machine you have on the job site, Deere’s focus on industry-leading innovations will help operators be more productive and let owners better manage their workloads.”

Fleet managers looking to get the most out of their SmartGrade motor graders can rely on their John Deere dealers to provide support for both the grader and the SmartGrade system. Owners receive pre-delivery and follow-up inspections that include five years of JDLink telematics, machine health prognostics, remote diagnostics and programming capabilities.

In Australia, the dealers for John Deere Construction & Forestry Equipment are RDO Equipment Australia (in all states except Western Australia) and AFGRI Australia (Western Australia). • Source: John Deere Construction & Forestry Equipment

LOAD & HAUL

FRIENDLY COMPETITION AS QUARRIES TURN TO ‘SUPER EXCAVATOR’

I

t was going to be the ultimate in oneupmanship. The two largest quarries servicing the giant $NZD850 million ($AUD800 million) Transmission Gulley motorway project in Wellington, New Zealand – one of the most complex in the nation’s history – were each looking for a way to bring new efficiency to the job and win major business.

For some months, the Transmission Gulley project was up to 50 per cent of the two quarries’ total volume, making a competitive advantage vital.

The answer was in securing an excavator so powerful, with so much capacity and yet so cost-effective, that it would set new standards.

“I went down to Wellington Harbour to welcome my new Komatsu PC850-8EO super excavator when it arrived on the ship from Japan – and there were two of them on board,” Shane Hagai, manager of the Winstone-owned Belmont Quarry said. “I asked who owns the other one but I already knew the answer. There was only one other quarry that would order it.”

Matt Hill, the quarry manager of the Horokiwi Quarry, which operates just seven kilometres from Belmont Quarry, both equidistant from the Transmission Gulley project, chuckles at the recollection.

“Just ask Shane who took delivery first – he’ll tell you it was him, and I reckon it was us,” he said.

In fact, the commissioning occurred simultaneously, although Hagai concedes he was held up for two days, mainly because of some signwriting he wanted done.

For five years both quarries have competed

and shared most of the massive supply of aggregate to the 27km four-lane motorway, which is due for completion at the end of 2020.

Material demand has led to the quarries digging deeper into their resources of hard greywacke rock, made possible by the strength and power of their PC850s – the largest of Komatsu’s construction excavator fleet.

The two Komatsu PC850-8EO excavators have levelled the playing field, to the benefit of their Transmission Gulley client.

Drill and blast to loosen rock has become a thing of the past for both quarries.

“We used to blast once every three months, now not at all,” Hagai said.

“Our PC850 operator can extract more rock with greater efficiency and in far greater comfort than ever before,” Hill said.

Both companies are filling their 40-tonne Komatsu dump trucks with five passes of the PC850, compared to six to seven passes with machinery they were previously using.

Fuel efficiency through a streamlined workload has been increased, compared to previous machines.

Komatsu’s push-to-activate boom power mode has been the key to unlocking more efficient extraction.

Both quarries also share the same service arrangement, using Komatsu-appointed Machinery Specialists. The investment in the Wellington area has substantially increased Komatsu’s local footprint.

Both Hill and Hagai have been impressed that the distributor has even sent out personnel

on Sundays to service the PC850s to keep them competitive.

Hagai estimated his Belmont Quarry has contributed more than 1.6 million tonnes of aggregate to the Transmission Gulley project.

Hill is less specific but said it could be about the same.

“I sit in my office and watch his trucks go by,” Hagai said.

It’s a friendly rivalry – the companies tend to lean on each other to ensure they both service the project, made difficult by extreme terrain, climate and external factors, like the 2016 Kakoura earthquake which diverted resources for some time.

“We all got together for a beer at Christmas,” Hill said.

Both quarries acknowledge that their new acquisitions have given them opportunity to better service their long-term client base at the conclusion of the Transmission Gulley project.

Wellington is uniquely placed in New Zealand, and the ability for civil and infrastructure projects to be serviced locally, reducing transports costs, is paramount for efficient future development.

According to Hill, even greater earthquake proofing measures had placed increasing demand on aggregates for new building projects. But both also are eyeing off new roadworks programs recently announced in a sweeping $NZD6.8 billion ($6.3 billion) commitment by the NZ Government.

“One of them is just up the road from here, right between us,” Shane said.

The rivalry, it seems, will continue. • Source: Komatsu Australia

Quarry July 2020 25

RECYCLING

ALEX FRASER: A YEAR IN REVIEW

In 2019, Alex Fraser Group, one of Australia’s largest recycled aggregates producers, officially flicked the switch on two glass recycling and sustainable asphalt plants at its Laverton site.

Damian Christie spoke to Peter Murphy about the site’s recycled aggregate operations on the first anniversary of the opening.

O

n 31 May, 2019, Alex Fraser Group formally opened a high recycled technology asphalt plant and an innovative glass recycling plant, originally estimated at $20 million. The glass recycling plant was- believed to be the first of its kind in the world to separate contaminants from glass waste during processing.

A year on, the fully operational plants are supplying recycled road base, aggregates, sand and asphalt to Victorian road and rail projects. The plants have complemented a decade-old construction and demolition (C&D) recycling facility in the heart of the 34ha Laverton North site that processes up to one million tonnes per annum (tpa) of recycled concrete, asphalt and glass for use in major road projects, suburban road upgrades, level crossing removals and civil construction applications throughout Melbourne.

Use of these materials is contributing to significant commercial and environmental savings across the Victorian construction materials industry – including reductions in landfill, heavy vehicle movements, and the carbon footprint of new infrastructure projects. It is estimated that about 50 per cent of Victoria’s recycled C&D materials originate from Alex Fraser Group’s three Victorian sites in Laverton, Clarinda and Epping.

GLASS SAND RECYCLING The bespoke 875m2 glass recycling plant was the culmination of more than a decade’s work. It was designed to produce up to 800 tonnes of high specification sand per day by “dry screening” the problematic glass waste streams – up to a billion glass bottles per year – that are frequently co-mingled with other materials, such as paper, plastics, metals and organics.

26

Quarry July 2020

The glass recycling plant consists of crushers, two feed bins, 16 conveyors, two large screens, magnetic separators, air knives and other sorting technology.

The magnets and knives remove kerbside contaminants from the glass such as metals and plastics. The waste glass, depending on how contaminated the raw material is, goes through between six and eight passes of cleaning and sorting before crushing.

Peter Murphy, the managing director of Alex Fraser, told Quarry that while the plant has performed well in the past year, it is not without its challenges.

“This is a really challenging stream of material to process,” he said. “If anything, over the past 12 months the material has become more difficult to sort. The people working on the plant have done a great job of learning how to operate and maintain it efficiently. They’ve also been persistent at implementing incremental improvements to improve productivity. This will continue over the next 12 months.

“We set a target of 100 tonnes per hour, and the material type makes this very challenging,” Murphy added. “We aren’t consistently there yet but it is improving and will continue to improve as we make refinements.”

The end product of the recycling plant is Alex Fraser’s “Green Roads” recycled sand, which is designed to directly replace quarried sand and reduce the need for trucking virgin sand long distances into Melbourne, substantially reducing heavy vehicle movements on congested roads.

The glass sand is used in road base and pipe bedding in metropolitan civil construction applications, and for the manufacture of energy-efficient, warm mix asphalt – notably the VicRoads-certified

Glassphalt and PolyPave, generated by Alex Fraser’s recycled asphalt plant.

ASPHALT, C&D PLANTS Like its glass recycling counterpart, the 40-metre high sustainable asphalt plant, designed and installed in conjunction with global asphalt equipment manufacturer Ammann Group, was the result of an intensive global assessment of asphalt production technology. The plant produces high quality materials using recycled content as its main input and only supplements virgin materials where necessary. Instead of raw materials being trucked in from up to 100 kilometres away, Alex Fraser Group’s raw materials come from a mere 100 metres away.

Unlike the bespoke glass and sustainable asphalt recycling plants, Laverton North’s C&D recycling facility has been relatively conventional, operating much like any other plant set-up that would be found in a regular quarry – but it is nonetheless still an important

Laverton North’s C&D recycling facility is relatively conventional, operating much like any other quarry plant set-up.

contributor to the Laverton site’s output.

Indeed, the C&D plant has in recent years set records – in May 2019, it despatched more recycled products than in any other single month in its first decade of operation.

The C&D recycling plant has employed an Astec Industries/Johnson Crushers International (JCI) Kodiak K400+ cone crusher for secondary concrete, brick and rock crushing. Earlier this year, Alex Fraser purchased a JCI Kodiak K500+ to take over the duties of its predecessor; the K500+

now acts as a secondary crusher in the processing circuit when being employed for concrete and brick crushing, and can also process rock when the plant is in that configuration. The K400+ is still active and is now positioned as a secondary unit behind the jaw crusher.

Combined, the C&D and glass recycling plants give the Laverton North site, according to Murphy, “a capacity of well over a million tonnes a year”. This, he says, is “in addition to the high recycled technology asphalt

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plant”, which has a potential output of 500,000 tonnes of recycled asphalt products per annum (tpa). Upon coming online in May 2019, it was thought the glass recycling plant had the potential to produce up to 200,000 tpa of recycled glass sand.

DUAL BENEFITS This capacity in excess of one million tonnes of recycled raw materials per annum is potentially good news for the quarrying industry and the environment alike.

It means there is enormous potential for virgin materials to be conserved for other infrastructure purposes, there are less demand and supply pressures on quarry producers – particularly as a new wave of construction projects are expected to ramp up post-COVID-19 – and up to half a million tonnes of raw waste materials every year (glass, brick, concrete, asphalt, stone) is diverted from landfill and reused in infrastructure.

“Each tonne of recycled material replaces at

The bespoke 875m2 glass recycling plant at Alex Fraser’s Laverton North plant processes up to 100 tph of glass waste, which is cleaned as part of the manufacturing process.

least one tonne of virgin material,” Murphy said. “In fact, the density advantage means that to replace a tonne of recycled material, you often use a bit more than a tonne of virgin material.”

As demand continues for governmentsponsored infrastructure projects around Australia to comprise a specified proportion of recycled aggregates, and with Victoria particularly focused on its Recycling First program, Alex Fraser Group’s contributions to civil construction projects

will very likely increase. That will mean upgrades to plant and equipment as needed across all of its sites, including at Laverton.

“We have consistently invested in all our sites and there’s always improvements to be made to safety, productivity, and housekeeping,” Murphy said. “Our immediate focus on the [Laverton] site is further improvements to traffic management, equipment storage, working at heights and some simple productivity improvements.” •

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ADDITIVE BINS THE ANSWER

TO PROCESSING 200 MILLION BOTTLES A new glass additive bin at Alex Fraser’s Clarinda recycling facility is boosting its reprocessing capacity by 40,000 tonnes a year. Holly Keys reports.

P

rior to the Victorian Government’s February 2020 announcement that it would roll out separate kerbside glass bins from 2021, several councils had proactively implemented similar measures.

The rationale largely stemmed from an understanding that glass waste in the mixed recyclable bin is problematic – contaminating material when it inadvertently shatters.

In addition, while most recyclable materials face the challenging problem of end markets, the demand for glass waste reprocessed into road base is stark and significant.

Delivering on end market demand is a central focus for Alex Fraser, with the company’s Clarinda recycling facility currently processing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of recycled products for use on road construction and maintenance projects across Victoria.

“Both glass fines and brick are priority and problematic waste streams, and our Clarinda recycling facility is a perfectly positioned outlet for these recycled products,” Alex Fraser Group’s managing director Peter Murphy said. “We are not only reprocessing waste materials but ensuring that the material is recycled into a valuable resource that is needed and contributes toward Victoria’s growing circular economy.”

In late 2019, Alex Fraser was among 13 recipients of the Victorian Government’s $4.67 million Resource Recovery Infrastructure Grants program. It used the $336,500 grant towards the construction of new glass and brick additive bins at its Clarinda recycling facility. The bins are used to blend recycled glass sand and brick into a new, sustainable roadbase product.

This single piece of recycling infrastructure is markedly increasing the distribution of recycled glass and brick into road and rail projects throughout Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs.

Murphy said the project will help reduce the landfill and stockpiling of problematic glass by 40,000 tonnes per year – the equivalent of 200 million bottles.

The glass and brick additive bins at the Clarinda recycling facility are used to blend recycled glass sand and brick into a new, sustainable roadbase product.

“By reprocessing this priority waste into high quality sand, we’re able to supply rail and road projects with a range of high spec, sustainable materials that cut costs, cartage and carbon emissions, and reduce the strain on natural resources,” he said.

“We’re pleased to be working with the Victorian Government to overcome one of the state’s biggest recycling challenges.”

Matt Genever, the director of resource recovery at Sustainability Victoria (SV), said SV recognised the Clarinda recycling facility as an important site for resource recovery in Melbourne.

“Processing up to one million tonnes of recycling per annum, the site serves a dual purpose, both as a hub for C&D waste in the southeast and through supply of aggregate and sand into new construction activities,” he said.

“We are acutely aware of the shortage of quarried materials to supply the state’s significant infrastructure program and having a site of this scale located in close proximity to these major projects is essential in ensuring ongoing supply of recycled construction products and materials.”

LEVEL CROSSING REMOVAL UPGRADE Recently, the Southern Program Alliance opted to utilise almost 200,000 tonnes of Alex Fraser’s recycled materials on the Mentone and Cheltenham Level Crossing Removal Upgrade (LXRA).

The project, expected to be completed in early 2021, is set to save 170,000 tonnes of material from landfill and will reduce the strain on natural resources by 185,000 tonnes.

Alex Fraser’s support on the LXRAs is coupled by the supply of major roads projects like the Mordialloc Freeway, Monash Freeway and Western Roads Upgrade – which include millions of glass bottles from kerbside collections.

With the additive bin now in full operation at the Clarinda Recycling Facility, Alex Fraser is increasing its handling of priority recovered materials – like glass fine and brick – to around 800 tonnes per week.

“Glass is a high volume waste stream, so it is imperative its recycling facilities are well located close to the point of generation and close to its end markets,” Murphy said.

He added that as inner metropolitan quarries deplete, natural sand is being trucked up to 100km, driving up costs, Quarry July 2020 29

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traffic congestion and emissions.

The additive bin will not only help with Melbourne’s glass waste problem, it will provide an inner city supply solution that reduces these impacts.

Alex Fraser’s Clarinda facility has the capacity to recycle a million tonnes of construction and demolition (C&D) waste each year. Murphy explained that the reprocessed material typically goes out to road and rail projects as recycled aggregates, road base or asphalt.

“With the new additive bins, we are able to blend recycled glass sand and brick into a product that meets VicRoads specifications for most road bases which are being used in huge qualities on municipal works and Big Build projects throughout the southeast,” he said.

When C&D waste material arrives at Clarinda, often as huge slabs of concrete, it is crushed by an excavator before moving to the processing plant.

The plant then crushes the material even

The blended recycled materials create a VicRoads-specified Class 4 road base.

further into an aggregate size. From there, it is transferred to a conveyor that moves the material under the new additive bins.

The additive bins slowly release the recycled brick and glass into the mix in a ratio approved by VicRoads.

“It then goes through to a pug mill where the moisture content is adjusted to meet VicRoads specifications and the specified percentage of cement is added,” Murphy said. “Projects demand high volumes, to accurate specifications, on tight timeframes, and these bins help achieve that.”

The facility is not simply reprocessing 40,000 tonnes of glass waste per year, but recycling 40,000 tonnes of glass waste that cannot be otherwise recycled. It is shifting the

material from a low value, high volume waste stream destined to accumulate in stockpiles or landfill into a product of immense environmental and economic value.

Murphy said Alex Fraser is well placed to manage a likely influx of material from the forthcoming Victorian kerbside glass bin rollout. “There will always be a significant portion of glass waste that cannot be recycled back into bottles or containers and we are already seeing an increase in glass arriving at us for recovery,” he said.

“While that may increase or decrease depending on what measures are put in place, whatever happens, Alex Fraser has the capability to manage it.” •

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All CDE equipment is designed to allow plug-and-play operation. It is pre-wired and pre-tested before despatch, designed for rapid assembly and set-up and can start processing material within days of arrival on-site.

WATER MANAGEMENT

IN THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES Pressure is on extractive operators globally to employ technologies that reuse water responsibly.

Business development managers for a sand washing manufacturer discuss the challenges, costs and logistics of developing a washing plant that satisfies local and international regulations.

I

t’s incomprehensible for most — the notion that around the globe we face issues arising from water stress on a planet whose surface area is made up of more than 70 per cent water and whose total water volume – a staggering 96.5 per cent – is contained within our oceans. Whether for consumption or sanitation, clean water in some parts of the world is taken for granted, as we fail to recognise the processes and infrastructure needed to maintain a clean water supply or neglect to acknowledge that basic access to clean water is not universal.

In 2017, 785 million people lacked a basic drinking water service. This number included 144 million people that were dependent on untreated surface water, 206 million who had access to an improved water source but were required to make a 30-minute trip for collection, and 435 million who were extracting water from unprotected wells and springs.1 While at the most extreme end of the scale more than two billion people live in countries

experiencing high water stress,2 almost twothirds of the world’s population experience severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year.3 Essential for life, water is also vital for economies and climate regulation. It is of utmost importance, therefore, that our water resources are protected – even regulated.

The mining and quarrying, manufacturing and construction sectors accounted for 10.6 per cent of total water use in Europe in 20174 and the industry compounds water scarcity, water efficiency and wastewater management challenges the world over.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development5, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 associated targets and 230 indicators, which are an urgent call to action by all countries.

CDE recognises that the benefits arising

from sustainable practice and processes are two-fold: they are economically advantageous and minimise our impact on the environment. Indeed, they are green from both perspectives. To that end, among the SDGs adopted by CDE is number six: Clean water and sanitation.

All corners of the globe are facing unique challenges. Parts of Romania and Poland are experiencing the worst drought in a century, with the Czech Republic facing its worst in five centuries. In Australia, more than one million fish are estimated to have died between December 2018 and January 2019 in the lower Darling River with drought and over-allocation or precious water resources cited as the main causes6; and in the most remote locations of North and Latin America materials producers are responding to the growing challenge of materials wet processing.

Water scarcity and management is central to each of these challenges, and is echoed

by CDE customers around the world, as Quarry July 2020 31

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According to CDE, the AquaCycle enables operators to extract maximum value from available resources and drive down operating costs.

four of its regional business development managers from across Australasia, Europe, and North and Latin America discuss.

COMMON CHALLENGES Innovations in the washing sector and the continued advancement of CDE’s pioneering wet processing solutions are supporting quarry operators and materials processors alike to overcome the challenges stemming from water management: cost-effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and regulatory.

CDE’s modular wet processing equipment can contribute to the easing of water scarcity issues arising from the materials processing industry’s consumption of water resources, greatly improve water efficiency, and better wastewater management practices. The development of technological solutions to tackle these mounting challenges is paramount for many materials processors seeking to boost the profitability of their operation by minimising the consumption of costly water resources.

Daniel Webber, CDE’s regional manager for Australasia, and Stefan Hunger, CDE’s business development manager for Europe and Russia, report of increasing regulations governing the responsible use and management of water in the industry, including those aimed at protecting marine environments and water sources from pollution and over-abstraction.

Webber said the Australian mining industry has adapted to more regulations about its water usage than most other industries.

“Each stage of the mining cycle requires permits, including, among other utilities, water permits,” he said. “The impact of an operation is also subject to strenuous environmental assessments to evaluate the management and use of water resources 32

Quarry July 2020

and the processes that will be employed to prevent the contamination of groundwater.”

In terms of sector, agriculture remains the largest user of water in Australia, accounting for almost 70 per cent of the total water footprint. Industry, however, including mining and quarrying, is on the rise at a time when water storage levels hit a 10-year low in 2019-20.7 “Pressure on Australia’s water resources is mounting on account of population growth,” Webber added. “With this comes greater demand within the agricultural and industrial sectors to support such growth and urbanisation. We’re finding mine and quarry operators are in effect competing against the needs of urban populations, farming, and the environment in terms of water demand which is why governments are taking greater action to regulate its use.”

It is therefore increasingly important for materials processors to invest in an effective water management strategy that ensures a steady supply of clean water to their plants through cost-effective means.

“It’s important to acknowledge that water is renewable when its usage is regulated and managed responsibly, but it is also a finite resource,” Hunger said. “Not only does water recycling make sense from a global environmental perspective backed up by increasingly stringent legislative requirements, but it also ticks all the right boxes in terms of return on investment.”

In Europe, there are about 26,000 aggregates sites, nearly 60 per cent of which are involved in materials washing activities.8 While laws governing water vary around the world, it is a resource that is absolutely essential to the extractive industries and is therefore increasingly under the water management microscope.

In early 2020, in the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided further clarification to its Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule which aligns with the Clean Water Act, as Darren Eastwood, CDE’s business development director for North America, explained.

“Confusion caused by the 2015 WOTUS rule resulted in many aggregates businesses across North America incurring significant costs due to the uncertainty around when federal permits were required,” he said. “Its reclarification provides a clear regulatory framework to which aggregates producers can align. Its new definition clarifies that pits and water treatment basins are not subject to additional federal regulation.”

WATER ECONOMICS Water as a resource delivers economic value to a range of industries. Within the extractive industries the value of materials is significantly increased when washed, but wet processing in mining and quarrying operations is dependent on water availability and processing plant efficiency.

Bruno Paladino, CDE’s business development manager for Latin America, says the combination of regulatory and environmental considerations with economic factors presents a major challenge for operators washing sand and aggregates.

“Water supply is a key determining factor when assessing the viability of a new project or when considering expanding operations at an existing site,” Paladino said. “Insufficient water supply, particularly in arid regions, will drive up operational expenditure costs significantly in an industry where energy prices already represent 20 per cent of these costs due to the investment in water infrastructure to ensure an adequate supply

THE CLEAR CHOICE TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR DUST! of clean water is pumped into the plant.”

Research shows energy usage by water pump systems accounts for a significant proportion of global energy consumption across all industry.

Growth, Paladino said, is capped without the capacity to wash and grade sustainably.

“Environmental regulations are becoming ever more stringent. An operator must demonstrate how their project is sustainable and compliant. This becomes increasingly difficult to evidence when adequate water management and treatment is missing from the project.”

Hunger said customers do want to wash but the “footprint, particularly in urban settings, is prohibitive. This is precisely why CDE has invested significant resources into the design and development of compact and modular equipment that can be commissioned in urban areas while also offering the ability for future migration of the plant to where opportunities lie.”

“More often it’s water availability and access that prevents producers getting into the washing business in the first place,” Webber added. “That, and the uncertainty around typical top-up water requirements which, in the case of CDE water management solutions, are very low.

The focus is on recycling and recirculating as much water as possible through the system.”

In the Americas, customers using settling ponds to recycle water often encounter significant operational and logistical challenges.

“These require constant maintenance as they accumulate sludge, silt, and other solids that must settle and separate from the water before its removal,” business development director Darren Eastwood said. “Not only do these limit the water storage capacity of the pond but they incur significant maintenance costs. Further still, the limitations of settling pond systems often result in the loss of valuable fines, one of the key considerations in the design of CDE water management solutions.”

Settling ponds also pose significant health and safety risks, too.

“Overflow to account for periods of sustained heavy rainfall, safe access to pumps for maintenance, the strength and integrity of its walls, and the positioning of the pond to mitigate against breach or failure that could pose threat to nearby structures; these are all vital health and safety considerations associated with settling ponds systems,” Eastwood said.

Paladino stressed the importance of safe water management in all regions, but highlighted the urgent relevance of such practices in Latin America.

“Over the past few years, mines in Latin America are looking for new and sustainable ways to continue their exploration, ways that are less impactful on the environment and surrounding communities,” he said. “The use of water is a key factor, as is overall footprint and energy usage. CDE’s modular plant design with water recycling system is the perfect fit to help mines meet these new challenges.”

RECYCLING PROCESS WATER CDE consistently invests in research and development with the aim of enhancing the capabilities of its premier water recycling and management equipment. At the forefront of its water recycling systems is the AquaCycle, a single, compact, and user-friendly unit that can be applied to high and low tonnages across many markets.

Delivering competitive advantage to its customers, CDE’s AquaCycle accelerates return on investment by maximising production efficiency, minimising the loss of valuable fines, and reducing water and energy costs.

An alternative to water extraction and the costly process of pumping water to the plant, CDE’s AquaCycle is a highly efficient water management solution that minimises costly water consumption by ensuring up to 90 per cent of process water is recycled for immediate recirculation.

After feed material has been washed and classified, waste is sent to the AquaCycle thickener tank. Here, a small amount of polyelectrolyte flocculant is added to the water via an automatic dosing station which forces fine particles to settle on the bottom of the thickener tank. The clean water on the top overflows the weir and is stored in the AquaStore tank before being recirculated around the plant. The result is a highly efficient water recycling system that requires only a 10 per cent supply of top-up water.

Waste sludge is discharged into a buffer tank where a motorised rake in constant rotation ensures the material does not settle and solidify. If further dewatering is required, a filter press or decanter is added to the wet processing solution to eliminate the need for settling ponds.

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theory, it is, in practice, much more complex.

Water thickeners are not born equal and their efficiency is the result of years of dedicated research, development, and refinement.

Every aspect of its design is carefully considered so that the system is responsive to the site-specific needs of its owner.

“We sweat the small stuff,” said Kevin Vallelly, CDE’s director of engineering. “CDE has been co-creating with customers for more than 25 years to deliver collaborative, imaginative and unique processing systems, and this process has been informing and refining our water recycling technologies.”

All CDE equipment is designed to allow plug-and-play operation, that is, the equipment is pre-wired and pre-tested before despatch, designed for rapid assembly and set-up and can start processing material within days of arrival on-site. These design considerations and factory acceptance tests significantly reduce install time and accelerate return on investment.

“Fast return on investment is a very real proposition when the CDE AquaCycle thickener is introduced to a washing operation,” Vallelly added. “It boosts the efficiency of the wet processing plant by maximising the settlement of solids which reduces the quantity of flocculant required, cuts running costs, and optimises the overall efficiency of the plant.”

Return on investment with a CDE AquaCycle is typically achieved in just six to nine months.

Settling ponds are known to be the source of significant revenue losses, not only due to high maintenance costs, site footprint, and downtime, but also because high value fines can become lost and trapped at the bottom of ponds.

“By recycling up to 90 per cent of process

CDE Global’s Australian business development manager Dan Webber.

water, the requirement for settling ponds is greatly reduced,” Vallelly continued. “With the addition of a filter press tailings management system that need is completely eliminated.

When combined with a CDE filter press custom-built fines management system this figure increases to 95 per cent, removing the need for settling ponds altogether.”

LONG-TERM BENEFITS Water management systems are becoming a “must have” for mine and quarry operations to comply with environmental regulations.

Matters concerning the protection of finite resources on the planet will only become more prevalent, too.

“The benefits of the CDE AquaCycle significantly outweigh their initial investment, not only for the short period until return on investment is achieved, but for the preparedness it offers,” Vallelly concluded.

“Water management and water recycling are prevalent issues that will only become more tightly regulated and monitored in years to come. The AquaCycle ensures operators stay

ahead of the curve while extracting maximum value from available resources and driving down operating costs.”

The AquaCycle system is available to operators globally and is ready to complement wet processing applications in five sectors – sand and aggregates, mining, construction and demolition waste recycling, environmental applications, and industrial sands. • Source: CDE Global REFERENCES & FURTHER READING 1 World Health Organisation. www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/ detail/drinking-water 2 United Nations. www.unwater.org/app/uploads/2018/12/SDG6_ SynthesisReport2018_WaterandSanitation_04122018.pdf 3 Mekonnen MM, Hoekstra AY. advances.sciencemag.org/ content/2/2/e1500323/tab-figures-data 4 EEA. www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/annual-andseasonal-water-abstraction-7#tab-dashboard-02 5 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. sustainabledevelopment.un.org 6 Murray Darling Basin Authority. www.mdba.gov.au/managingwater/drought-murray-darling-basin/fish-deaths-basin/fish-deathslower-darling 7 Australian Department of Agriculture. www.agriculture.gov.au/ abares/research-topics/water/water-market-outlook-march-2020 8 UEPG/UNPG. www.uepg.eu/uploads/Modules/Publications/ uepg-unpg-water-management-brochure.pdf

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REPLENISHING CONTAMINATED SOILS IN RECYCLED AGGREGATES APPLICATIONS

T

his summer, Australia faced devastation from harsh weather conditions, having experienced some of the worst bushfires on record, extreme dust storms across New South Wales, flash flooding in Queensland and long periods of drought.

Every day we are living with the reality of climate change and witnessing its impact on our environment – and without stark intervention, the consequences of global warming on our climate will be felt for decades to come.

Indeed, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported temperatures could rise by 1.7oC by the end of 2100 and sea levels could continue to rise globally.

There lies a delicate balance between climate and its impact on our soil, and the rate of change is having a profoundly negative impact on contamination levels.

Contaminated soils are a key contributor to hazardous waste in Australia, yet the full extent of soil contamination is not yet fully known.

This is due to variants in reporting between jurisdictions and a lack of historical reporting.

The Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC CARE) reports of more than 160,000 contaminated sites nationally. Of these, it’s estimated less than 10 per cent have been remediated.

Australian soil has been contaminated with conventional and emerging contaminants for decades, including heavy metals, hydrocarbons, organic matter, and manmade chemicals.

Increasing soil temperatures from climate change and recent bushfires have led to increased soil toxicity and greater bioavailability. These weather patterns are having devastating effects on soil and will unearth years of historical contamination.

In fact, research has shown the long-term effects of climate change, with increasing floods and drought conditions facilitating the movement of soil-based contaminants and soil erosion.

A study by CRC CARE found soil erosion at a rate of 70 to 300 tonnes per hectare (tph), compared to what were defined as typical losses in the region of 60 to 80 tph.1 Our changing weather is causing the level

CDE Global has, through its modular washing solutions, demonstrated considerable experience in the remediation of contaminated soils.

of soil erosion to increase and dust storms will accelerate the spread of toxic pollutants in exposed soil. Indeed, according to data from DustWatch, dust storms are happening much more frequently.2 The movement of contaminants in dust storms presents huge health and environmental risks, as pollutants enter the air and water before finally settling into the soil again. Many contaminants such as lead, mercury, and arsenic can enter the food chain and be ingested by humans and with dust storms there is even more risk from breathing in harmful toxins.

Exposure to toxic contaminants can have a devastating impact on our health so we must find ways to diminish the risk.

Many argue contaminated soil sites surrounding our waterways and agriculture lands are those which urgently require remediation. Our peers in the waste industry and local government are determined to clean up years of contamination and have already successfully remediated inorganic and organic materials.

Yet we cannot do this alone, we need more to join us as we try to make Australia’s soils safe again.

Successes have been reported. Notably, it was revealed in the Commonwealth Government paper Soil: Formation and Erosion, Australia State of the Environment 2016 that soil erosion rates are “equal to soil formation rates”.

However, it remains to be seen how recent and unprecedented bushfires will affect this ratio, or by how much it will set remediation efforts back.

So how can CDE’s bespoke soil washing solutions support this soil remediation effort?

CDE’s technologies utilise a suite of mechanical, chemical, and biological processes for recovering washed solids such as sand and aggregates. Contaminants are transferred into the water phase which is effectively treated to produce recycled water for reuse within the process.

CDE’s bespoke solutions can be tailored based on tonnage and level of contaminants to ensure maximum efficiency within every project it delivers. These systems provide savings on landfill charges, prevent extra investment in waste storage equipment, and introduce new materials for reuse.

We can no longer ignore soil contamination; we must utilise remediation technology to help us eliminate potential risk to human health and to protect the world around us.

Dan Webber is the regional manager for Australasia at CDE Global.

FURTHER AND RECOMMENDED READING 1. The Lead South Australia. Climate change threatens to expose deadly soil contaminants. http://theleadsouthaustralia. com.au/industries/environment/climate-change-threatens-toexpose-deadly-soil-contaminants/ 2. ABC News. Dust storms happening with record-breaking frequency. https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2019-12-06/duststorms-happening-with-record-breaking-frequency/11768306

Quarry July 2020 35

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PARTNERSHIP PROVIDES RECYCLER WITH A SUSTAINABLE DIVIDEND

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ocal Mix is a privately owned, vertically integrated construction materials company, which started servicing Geelong, in Victoria, and the surrounding region when it was established in 1971 by Trevor Richardson and other partners. From an initial concrete operation, the company has grown to include a fleet of concrete agitators, pumps, tip trucks, front end loaders, excavators, dump trucks, drill rig, scraper and fixed and mobile crushing/screening/wash plants. In 2006 Richardson became the sole owner of the company comprising of Local Mix Quarries and Local Mix Concrete. Richardson is the managing director of the company with sons Stuart, Steven and Mark, holding key positions in the organisation.

The organic growth at Local Mix has seen the company expand from being a purely Geelong district concrete company to now providing a wide range of quarry products, recycled concrete and mobile crushing services to its clients. Its locations and operations include concrete batch plants at Moolap and North Shore, concrete recycling, maintenance and administration at Moolap, a basalt quarry at Anakie and a sand and gravel resource in Moriac.

Local Mix prides itself on providing that extra bit of service that other concrete and quarry companies do not. The company has a large established client base of customers located in Geelong and regional Victoria. It has been quarrying, mobile crushing, and recycling construction and demolition waste in the Geelong region for 30 years, recognising the importance of producing high quality end products to meet customers’ requirements. It has developed both equipment and working procedures to ensure its customers obtain these benefits.

Local Mix’s relationship with Metso’s Lokotracks began with a Citytrack C80R jaw in 1998. To be more productive and reduce double handling during crushing, Local Mix purchased an LT100GPB mobile cone and screen combination plant in 2000 to support its quarry materials processing. A Metso LT1213 impact crusher was added to the fleet in 2008 to provide operational flexibility in the quarry, concrete recycling or contract crushing service offering.

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Quarry July 2020

The cured concrete is put through a Metso LT106 jaw crusher (left) and then a Metso LT100GPB mobile cone and screen combination plant.

Two LT106 jaw crushers were added in 2010 and 2012 to provide primary crushing operations with high crushing power and reliability. The new model LT1213S, with the larger screen box and on-board recirculating conveyor was delivered directly to its first contract crushing project in Melbourne. This latest purchase rounds out the fleet to five over a 20-year period of high availability crushing.

When Richardson was approached to discuss Metso’s Lokotracks a few years ago, his response was that he had only ever bought “Metso mobile crushing equipment and will only buy Metso”.

In 1999, Richardson’s sons identified an opportunity in the re-use of their own concrete returns and clean cured concrete. They developed a simple process of managing these forms of concrete to extract the aggregates for re-use in their ongoing ready mixed concrete mixes. The cured concrete is put through a Metso LT106 jaw crusher and then a Metso LT100GPB cone crusher with a screen. These crushers break down the hardened concrete to provide a minus 14mm concrete run which can be reintroduced to the concrete batches as a complete run, screened into different sized products or sold as an individual product. The crushing process also enables the Moolap site to produce several Class 3 products for construction site materials. These products include 20mm brick, 20mm Class 3 concrete, 14mm Class 3 concrete as well as 14mm Clean concrete.

The returned concrete is treated via the

reclaimer and coarse and fine aggregates are separated, re-stockpiled and blended with natural aggregates and siliceous sands. The water is harvested for batch water. Aggregate quality is clearly not an issue as the proportion of recycled aggregates in fresh concrete can be up to 50 per cent and used in concrete grades right up to 50MPa. The process has proven so successful that Local Mix’s Moolap site has arrangements in place with other local ready-mixed concrete manufacturers to receive their concrete returns.

This initiative has had many benefits for Local Mix’s business, the largest being environmental, thanks to the re-use of a non-renewable resource in the form of its aggregates. The recycling of the aggregate portion of the concrete continues through several cycles as the materials are reduced from 20mm down to fine sand in multiple process cycles. The recycled aggregate production reduces the carbon footprint and the crushing and transportation costs associated with normal quarry supply to a concrete plant. The life of Local Mix’s Anakie quarry and sand resources has been extended by years, simply by the reduction of new aggregate consumption. This, in turn, reduces the quarry’s ongoing development costs.

Tutt Bryant Equipment (TBE) is pleased to assist Local Mix with its ongoing parts and service needs. TBE is the Metso Lokotrack distributor for Australia. Visit tuttbryant.com.au/ tutt-bryant-equipment/metso • Source: Tutt Bryant Equipment

RECYCLING

GLASS RECYCLING: THE POTENTIAL TO ‘SHATTER’ THE MARKET

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ith glass and glass product manufacturers making up nearly a third of the sand and gravel market in 2018-19, producers have increasingly used recycled glass materials in their processes, reducing demand for silica sand from the industry.1 As crushed glass is being transformed into recycled glass and sand for construction, the benefits of glass recycling have sustainable and efficient advantages for the environment, saving energy and natural resources. For example, a glass bottle in landfill can take up to a million years to finally break down but a recycled glass bottle takes only 30 days to leave your recycling bins and become a new glass container in the supermarket, without

A regional Victorian quarry operation is employing an Astec GT200DF cone crusher and a GT205MF multifrequency screen in its glass recycling process.

loss of purity or quality.

In addition to becoming new glass vessels, recycled glass is also being utilised in many other areas such as reflectors in paints, as

well as in roads. Due to the benefits of the process and product, there are an increasing number of sites taking up glass crushing and screening, particularly with suitable mobile

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RECYCLING

The feed material of glass bottles and other glass items, containing sizeable pieces.

Proficiency Testing Australia (PTA) offers scheduled and customised proficiency testing programs for construction materials testing laboratories: • Coarse and fine aggregate • Rocks • Soils • Concrete • Cement

For more information, please contact PTA at ptaenquiry@pta.asn.au

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equipment, to optimise this industry.

With a team specialising in crushed glass applications and knowledge, Astec Industries was an exhibitor at the Australian Waste and Recycling Expo in 2019, which featured equipment suitable for crushing glass. With one of the largest bluestone producers in Tasmania processing glass as a side project at 30,000 tonnes per year with Astec Equipment, a major processor in country Victoria has also come to the fold.

This country-based site in Victoria crushes and screens glass bottles in a dry closed circuit at an output of 80 tonnes per hour to produce a manufactured glass sand. The mobile equipment it is employing in in this glass recycling process is an Astec Industries GT200DF cone crusher and a GT205MF multi-frequency screen.

The GT200DF at the feed end in the process flattens the plastics (eg lids and straws) and delivers a clean product to the screen. This is in contrast to a vertical shaft impact crusher which would alternatively shred the material, requiring new bar tips approximately every four weeks from this wear. Comparatively, the manganese liners on the cone crusher have worn at a rate of once every 12 weeks.

The style of cone crusher the customer uses is a roller bearing machine. Working with this style gives producers a greater level of accuracy about settings and product specifications with a greater loading capacity than some alternative cone designs.

In the case of a roller bearing machine, its hydraulic tramp iron relief (TIR) system would identify an “uncrushable” object, opening up to allow this uncrushable piece to pass and then reset itself. The TIR system also minimises crusher overload impact shock loads that would be transmitted to the crusher components.

The roller bearings themselves are designed for a P90 of 20,000 operating hours (P90 is an industry measurement whereby 90 per cent of the bearing should last 20,000 hours or more - the other 10 per cent of failures are caused by a variety of different factors).

Finally, plastics, wood and other incompatible materials are screened off at apertures of 15mm to 18mm, with a manufactured sand product of 4.5mm or smaller being cleanly stockpiled. The discharged products are used as a sand replacement in asphalt, crushed rock products and pipe bedding material. The magnetic head drums on both of the side conveyors collect stray metals that are sent for further recycling.

From individual machines to complete turnkey solutions, Astec Industries offers creative and accurate solutions from equipment installation to complete turnkey engineered systems with advanced automation controls. • Source: Astec Industries.

REFERENCE & FURTHER READING: 1 IbisWorld B0911. https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au

RECYCLING

LARGE TRACKED MOBILE SCREEN JOINS SUCCESSFUL FAMILY FIRM

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ean and Carolyn Kropf’s family business, DINO Trucking, has come a long way since they bought their first dump truck and started hauling aggregate for southwestern Ontario producers in 1975.

“Carolyn and I started out with one dump truck in Stratford, Kitchener and Waterloo,” Dean said during a tour of his gravel pit in Petersburg, Ontario, Canada.

The couple operated with a single hauler for five years before deciding to expand the business.

“We started out hauling other people’s gravel,” Dean said. “By 1980, we bought a second truck. By ’87, we were up to eight trucks. Got into a pit we paid royalties on in ’87. We bought our first tri-axle in ’82, then again in ’84 and ’85. Now nobody runs tandems, just tri-axles.”

“He was the first person in Ontario to own triaxles to haul maximum payloads,” Chad Kropf added, one of Dean and Carolyn’s three sons (Derek, Chad and Trevor) who now operate the family business.

In 1989, the company invested in the producing side of the business, purchasing its first Powerscreen Commander equipped with two side stackers and a larger stacker. In 2002, Dean and Carolyn purchased a second gravel pit in the New Dundee, Ontario area. Then 10 years later, they expanded again, purchasing the Petersburg pit along with an S190 tripledeck McCloskey screening plant.

“We started here seven years ago,” Dean said, referring to his company’s most recently acquired pit. “I was here running it for five years before retiring. Derek, Chad and Trevor have been running it ever since.”

All three sons got into the family business at young ages, obtaining their licences as teenagers. Derek has been working in the family business for 25 years, while Chad has put in 24 years with the company, and Trevor and has been there for 21 years. When Dean decided he was going to retire, the company already had a succession plan in place for the transfer of ownership over to his three sons that was implemented over a 15-year period. Dean wanted to make sure the company would turn a healthy profit before handing it over to his sons. To help prepare his sons for taking over operation of the family business, Dean had

Derek, Chad and Trevor Kropf in front of the McCloskey S250 screen. Their family business, DINO Trucking, has come a long way since their parents bought their first dump truck in southwestern Ontario in 1975.

Derek, Chad and Trevor run the business for the winter months starting in 2004. Since the three brothers took over the company, it has grown exponentially.

“The company 10 years ago was one-fifth of the size it is now. We’ve really grown,” Chad said.

The company currently crushes year-round, as long as the temperatures are -10oC or warmer in the daytime, and screens in the summertime. It typically has production volumes ranging from 350,000 to 400,000 tonnes per annum. It produces upwards of 20 products on site, including recycled concrete and asphalt products. The company blends recycled asphalt products into some of its aggregate products for roadbuilding applications. With Granular A and type 1B products, 30 per cent recycled asphalt products are permitted.

To ensure the company had the right technologies for optimising production, the three brothers travelled to Las Vegas for CONEXPO-CON/AGG in 2017. It was there they first saw the McCloskey S250, and they were so intrigued they flew to Ireland to see it in action.

“It’s a new machine, so it’s more reliable. Sizewise, it’s 30 per cent bigger, so we’re definitely getting more product out of it,” Chad said.

“If we ran over 70 per cent [with the old plant], it would flood. The new machine is longer and wider. It definitely carries more on every belt. We can load the jaw up to 85 to

90 per cent without flooding the deck.”

Chad said he’s now happy with the current size of the operation, and has no plans for any more expansion in the near future. In peak season, the company has upwards of 15 employees. Dean and his sons all agree they have good people but they still have their hiring challenges. “The crew we have is great,” Chad said. “But it is hard finding new guys that meet the expectations that our guys already meet. It’s hard, long days, pretty dusty and seasonal. It’s hard to find qualified drivers.”

Fortunately, they have some key employees that have been around for a long time. In 1980, when Dean bought the second truck, his brother Byron drove it. “He is still driving loaders in the pit today,” Dean said. “Our second longest employee would be Leon, our shop mechanic, who started in 1988.”

Although Dean and his brother ran the haul trucks, they’re not the only people Dean credits with the successful start-up and growth of the family’s second generation business.

“I always say that without Carolyn’s help looking after the kids this may have not happened,” Dean said. “She always did the bookwork and helped answer the phones.”

In Australia, McCloskey products are available through MSC Group (eastern states) and 888 Crushing & Screening Equipment (WA, NT). • Andrew Snook is a feature writer for Rock to Road (Canada). Visit rocktoroad.com

Quarry July 2020 39

SAND WASHING

The complete washing circuit at CEMEX’s new West Deeping Quarry in the UK’s East Midlands.

BESPOKE WASH PLANT BOOSTS NEW QUARRY OPERATION

A new extractive operation in England’s East Midlands has seamlessly taken over the duties of a neighbouring exhausted pit operation, thanks in part to a custom-designed sand washing plant.

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new quarry at West Deeping, Lincolnshire, UK has begun supplying high quality sand and gravel into the local market, including to CEMEX UK concrete and asphalt plants within an 80km radius, and will also stock a new on-site bagging plant.

The new site at West Deeping, which has replaced the now exhausted Manor Pit operation, has reserves which will secure the site for several years. It features a new Terex Washing Systems (TWS) plant which has been supplied by DUO (Europe), the English and Welsh dealer for TWS. West Deeping is now one of three large processing operations within the CEMEX UK central area, with the others being Rugeley and Swinderby. The Manor Pit operation, which is about 6km away, had an operating life of 20 years and is now being restored.

“The old plant at Manor Pit was very large, with a totally different computerised blending system to the new plant that DUO have installed, so it’s a complete ‘sea change’ for our operating team,” said Philip McComb, West Deeping’s quarry manager. “Although we are still in the commissioning stage, after one month we are achieving the optimum tonnes per day. Early indications suggest the new plant will be more efficient and reliable.”

A BLANK SHEET The Manor Pit site contained a significant 40

Quarry July 2020

The bespoke feed system is fed by a wheel loader, via a feed hopper that incorporates a remote control tipping grid.

amount of ironstone. The deposit at West Deeping is very similar but cleaner with a mixed deposit in bands with clay seams in the gravel, which is efficiently dealt with by the new processing plant.

“We have been very lucky that we started with a blank piece of paper and benefitted from previous experience with other plants supplied from various manufacturers,” McComb said. “We are very fortunate to

have a plant that has been through a design process and eliminated issues we have experienced in the past. “Working with the CEMEX engineering department we arrived at what was required on-site and after various consultation and site visits DUO designed us a plant based on the TWS Fines Master FM200C, which was accepted, and they were subsequently awarded the order.”

The Fines Master FM200 can operate at

up to 220 tonnes per hour (tph). The plant consists of a bespoke feed system fed by a wheel loader, via a feed hopper which incorporates a remote control tipping grid.

Material is then fed up the inclined feed conveyor onto the 6m x 2m three-deck rinsing screen which utilises individually controlled spray bars on each deck, which are fitted with polyurethane modular media.

Acting as a protection deck, the top deck removes any rejects up to +90mm and clay to stockpile and any +40mm oversize is sent to a further stockpile. The bottom deck provides the feed to the Fines Master 200C to produce the required sands.

Built as a static sand recovery unit on one chassis, the FM 200C features a centrifugal slurry pump, a 4m x 2m dewatering screen and twin hydrocyclones that produce two-in-specification sands.

A specially designed rubber-lined underflow box allows blending to take place so that an acceptable coarse and fine sand ratio can be achieved. These sands are then delivered to separate radial conveyors and stockpiled.

“Originally the radial arc was going to be two equal runs, but as we produce more sharp sand naturally, we decided to install a split arc with most of the arc utilised by the sharp sand conveyor to allow us a larger stockpile,” McComb explained.

SECONDARY PROCESSING Any remaining gravels off the first screen are then fed onto a second inclined transfer conveyor which feeds onto a triple-deck part rinser which takes out and provides feed to 6mm, 10mm, 14mm and 20mm stockpiles.

“This second split also features the option of redirecting the feed to the -6mm conveyor only, through a set of flaps,” McComb added.

“This is an event we schedule every couple of weeks to produce a 04/20mm for our concrete plants. This is, along with sharp sand, our main seller, although currently 4/10mm is in demand and as our material is very clean, the 2/6 and 4/10mm also have added value as they can be potentially sold as decorative gravel.

“The final specification included lattice conveyors with a full walk around for complete access and all bearings were specified by SKF. Overall, we are very happy with the plant to date, it’s producing inspecification material and providing us with much more control and flexibility over our production, enabling us to efficiently satisfy the demand.”

The FM 200C features a centrifugal slurry pump, a 4m x 2m dewatering screen (rear) and twin hydrocyclones (foreground) that produce two-in-specification sands.

The 6m x 2m three-deck rinsing screen utilises individually controlled spray bars on each deck, which are fitted with polyurethane modular media.

TWS provides cohesive solutions for all material and mineral washing needs through its English and Welsh dealer in DUO. Focusing solely on providing solutions to the quarrying, aggregate, mining and C&D recycling industries, TWS is dedicated to providing reliable, high quality and very productive equipment with ease of transport and fast on-site installation.

This is achieved through a broad product portfolio which offers modular, mobile and

static wash plants with the ability to work in many applications. Meeting individual materials and mineral washing needs to achieve today’s stringent specifications of clean material is at the top of the agenda.

In Australia, TWS is distributed through Terex Jaques in the eastern states. OPS Screening & Crushing Equipment is the TWS distributor for WA and NT. • Source: Terex Washing Systems

Quarry July 2020 41

SAND PROCESSING

Weir Minerals’ engineers have developed touchscreen technology for some of its key products.

TOP THREE MAINTENANCE WOES – AND HOW TO AVOID THEM

Maintenance is often thought to be performed every few thousand hours - well after the extractive operator purchases the equipment. As Steve Barnett contends, maintenance should be foremost on the operator’s mind when it considers the purchase of new plant and equipment.

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aintenance downtime and labour costs are the main pain points for many quarries. Increases in operational expenses and the pressure to produce more product faster have driven quarry operators to seek out new methods of reducing downtime.

“When I speak to new customers for the first time, they often ask how they can improve their maintenance process,” said Steve Barnett, the national sales manager of sand and aggregates at Weir Minerals Australia.

“I always tell them that the most effective improvements come well before maintenance is required, at the time of the purchase decisions.”

The three major maintenance challenges for quarries are as follows: • Access to your supplier.

• Superseded (or obsolete) equipment.

• Non-optimised plant.

ACCESS TO YOUR SUPPLIER One of the most costly mistakes when purchasing machinery is ignoring where the supplier is located. “It is very tempting 42

Quarry July 2020

when purchasing equipment to just look at the capital cost and bypass things like equipment origin and the supplier’s presence in the area,” Barnett said. “A low capital cost looks good on paper, but how easy is it to get in contact with the supplier after commissioning?”

Much of the on-site maintenance can be done in-house within a quarry, but there is still a large proportion that requires external assistance. Wear parts, service support, product overhauls, process improvements and expert advice can easily be accessible nearby – or effectively out of reach, depending on the choice of the original supplier. A plant can be running well below optimum production or not running at all for an extended period while waiting for a replacement wear part to ship from a distant warehouse. “Customers are seeing the same issue with second hand equipment,” Barnett added. “There is no service support, no spare parts and no warranty.”

Finding a supplier with local service centres and spare parts stock is the best way to ensure that you are never far away from

service support and expert advice. “Being close to our customers is very important to us,” Barnett said. “With 17 Weir Minerals service centres in Australia, including Beresfield, Parkes, Adelaide and Melbourne, we can quickly get to our quarry customers for a full understanding of what they need and deliver it promptly”.

SUPERSEDED EQUIPMENT Meeting customers’ needs for improved safety and efficiency of operations is the primary driver for technology innovation

by OEMs such as Weir Minerals. While the latest improvements in the new generation of equipment may not always be immediately reflected in increased output, they contribute to the significant reduction of downtime and maintenance work hours.

“If a crusher is performing well and meeting the specified uptime hours, it might not seem in need of improvement,” Barnett said. “But when it comes to its regular maintenance, the downtime needed for basic work often takes up more hours than it would for the latest model with new

technology. It can result in hours of racking up labour costs.

“For example, Weir Minerals’ engineers have developed hydraulic push-button technology for some of our key crushers,” Barnett said. “The Trio TV vertical impact crushers can be fitted with hydraulic lid lifters for maintenance access, and our Trio jaw crushers are fitted with hydraulic wedge adjustments as standard.”

Additions like these can significantly contribute to decreased downtime and labour costs and improve site safety.

“The Gemex belt tensioning system is another simple element that can be fitted to most equipment,” Barnett said. “The system makes it possible to change belts on critical machinery in just minutes.”

Innovation is not limited to machinery and equipment; supplier material technology and innovation in wear parts can make a big difference to the bottom line of quarry operators. Linatex rubber products, manufactured using a proprietary patented process, have long been famous in the quarry industry for outstanding wear performance in the toughest wet and dry abrasive environments. “Recently, the Weir Minerals wear solutions team has developed a modular wear system using Linard rubber and other wear-resistant materials,” Barnett said. “The system allows you to change out single panels from chute linings in areas that have greater wear without the need to re-line the whole chute, saving time for maintenance teams and saving money for sites.”

NON-OPTIMISED PLANT Quarries are more than just crushers and feeders. Fluid transfer, wear linings and other equipment are all vital to the success of a plant. It is important that these elements work together consistently for efficient production.

A supplier with a large product portfolio is able to tailor end to end solutions for individual customers to optimise processes, as well as offer a variety of arrangements to meet site needs.

“Weir Minerals is the manufacturer of worldclass brands like Warman pumps, Cavex hydrocyclones and Linatex rubber products,” Barnett explained. “The team has in-depth knowledge about how these products fit together and how to optimise them as a complete solution, to ensure each part of the plant is working to its highest potential.”

Choosing a supplier with a large product portfolio also gives opportunities for upgrades or alterations throughout the life of a quarry

A plant can be running well below optimum capacity for an extended period while waiting for a replacement wear part to ship from a distant warehouse.

A close partnership between the OEM and the producer can be the primary driver for technology innovation.

as the site’s needs change. A supplier that understands how things fit together will be able to offer improvements as they are developed and as your quarry evolves.

Proper maintenance and support is vital to the long-term success of your plant. By incorporating the points above into your decision-making process when buying equipment, you can make your plant safer

and your operations more streamlined.

Consistent, high production is reliant on machinery that is working to its full potential, and well looked after equipment will result in less downtime, fewer replacements, higher production volume and a higher quality end product. • Source: Weir Minerals

Quarry July 2020 43

SAND WASHING

OEM PROPOSES A NEW WAY

OF THINKING ABOUT SAND WASHING Whereas in most projects, suppliers will call on affiliated partners to assist with the final pieces of the plant jigsaw, one European OEM and integrated project supplier is proposing a one-stop-shop approach to its washing solutions and water management.

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atec Industries is an Italian company in the water treatment and filter presses sector that offers a complete folio of services and equipment. In launching Matec Washing Systems and its new “ONE” philosophy, Matec is offering producers a single supplier and a point of contact for complete projects – from feed hopper to total water and fines management.

“ONE” offers extractive producers complete closed loop projects including washing, crushing, water management and filter presses — engineered, produced and installed from one single supplier.

In the past three years Matec has developed and offered in-house solutions for washing systems to operators in a range of different countries and sectors. With investments of five million euros ($AUD8.1 million) and expansion of its dedicated team, Matec has built a dedicated 2000m2 facility for production of its Aggretec and Sandtec lines and later this year will expand with another 800m2 of engineering office dedicated to washing. These departments sit alongside the Matec Industries compound in Massa, Tuscany, where four Matec units cover an additional 1000m2.

The growing demand for washed materials while preserving often limited or controlled water resources needs the utmost care in management of water and reclamation of silts. Matec is now equipped to provide complete solutions with a proven washing equipment range coupled with an extensive capability in water treatment, including its latest generation and complete range of horizontal rake and vertical-type thickeners, polyelectrolyte dosing systems, and patented HPT 16-21-30 Bar high pressure filter presses.

While most suppliers in the washing segment rely heavily on third party solutions for at least some of their project elements – usually the water treatment aspect which is often the key to the whole system – Matec 44

Quarry July 2020

Matec’s experience in turnkey plant, inclusive of water management and filter press systems, is particularly useful within systems handling of C&D materials, now one of the industry’s fastest growing sectors.

can offer numerous first party solutions from the one source. With expertise in water and tailings management, Matec offers everything from in-house design and manufacture: cutting the steel; fabrication; painting and even manufacturing the control systems.

This level of integration, evident from initial customer consultations through to project delivery and complete customer care, is something very special and quite unique in the industry.

One of the flagship items in Matec’s washing portfolio is the highly versatile Aggretec modular washing platform. This unit’s modular bolted sections ensure minimal installation time and facilitate ready relocation for future requirements. All Matec Aggretec units come with the option of remote control and telemetry via internet or other networks, enhancing operational efficiency and allowing for remote diagnostics.

The Aggretec ranges from 50 to 300 tonnes per hour (tph) but larger units can

produce up to 500 tph. Taking feed material as large as 150mm into its 100cm vertical drum, the plant can produce up to four grades of aggregates and one or two grades of sand. The vibrating screen uses a heavyduty components overhead drive system with direct-mounted motors to provide multiple speed and stroke combinations in a compact design and with the right inclination, the material spends more time on the deck for optimal cleanliness.

The plant recycles a huge percentage of water in a closed circuit, using a minimal top-up to compensate for moisture leaving the system within the materials that are produced. The Matec “ONE” system includes vertical thickeners offering efficient primary stage water treatment with minimal polyelectrolyte consumption, with the output treated by a Matec filter press. This efficiently closes the wet-processing loop with all equipment designed and manufactured inhouse by Matec.

WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT There are two key stages in handling the water leaving a washing system. In most cases this is tailings water carrying “waste” fines such as silt/clays. This may also be a commercially viable product, perhaps even the main product. The process is, however, reasonably similar across applications.

Stage one starts with the addition of a flocculant agent (polyelectrolyte) to the water.

This is achieved via Matec’s Bifloc dosing station, in many projects specified with the Doson system to offer a performance feedback loop, ensuring that the correct amount of polyelectrolyte is used and accommodating fluctuations in the feed material. Once mixed into the wastewater flow the settling agent rapidly encourages suspended solids to bond together into “flocs”. By holding the water in an appropriately specified thickener, these flocs quickly settle towards the bottom of the tank, allowing clean reusable water to be immediately returned to the washing circuit.

The filter press reduces the thick sludge product of the thickener to a virtually dry (typically >80 dry solids by weight) and highly compact form, moreover completely removing the need for tailings dams and reducing the need for make-up water to an absolute minimum. Matec’s ability to feed its filter presses at 16, 21 bar and in some cases even higher is a huge element of diversification from the rest of the washing market. This aids processing of even the most difficult materials such as ultra-fines and clay, with a relatively standard machine, where other suppliers may need to rely on the additional complicity and cost of membrane plate systems or with the addition of further chemical aids.

RAPID PLATE OPENING SYSTEM Another example of improved performance is the patented TT2 rapid plate opening system design which significantly reduces the cycle time of the equipment, bringing the opening sequence to a maximum of five minutes even for the larger 200 plates machines.

This enables a smaller volume Matec unit to outperform (and be more cost-effective than) competitor offerings with longer cycles.

These latest advances in the washing sector are helping operators produce high quality, commercially attractive products, often from previously rejected or underutilised potential resources, from overburden to crusher dust and demolition waste.

Where dry screening was often accepted in the past, due to lack of efficient alternatives or the ability to manage process water, washing

The filter press reduces the thick sludge product of the thickener to a virtually dry and highly compact form.

The Aggretec plant recycles a huge percentage of water in a closed circuit.

and scrubbing systems complimented by Matec’s water management abilities are increasingly attractive to a broad range of producers.

Aggretec “One” packages everything required for the majority of aggregate and sand washing projects into a readily installed and versatile platform. For projects where additional process stages are required, for example clay-bound materials, or building/demolition waste contaminated with floatable lightweight materials (paper/wood/plastic), Aggretec can easily work in-line with Matec’s Scrubtec logwashers, units also based on a modular platform concept.

C&D SOLUTIONS Logwashers have seen significant growth in sales across Europe, Australia and beyond in recent years due to their inherent ability to combine high levels of attrition with flotation removal of lightweight contaminants. This makes them particularly useful within systems handling construction and demolition (C&D) waste, now one of the industry’s fastest

growing sectors. This is a sector where Matec has amassed considerable experience, being involved with projects from the early development stages of the C&D segment.

C&D materials brings different challenges to sand and gravel, and most mining applications, given the high variability of the feed materials.

Often the most important aspect of these projects is water management and the filter press in particular. For most of these operators it is an essential device to reduce water requirements and minimise final waste volumes and it is critical that the unit is sized and specified correctly.

Matec’s enviable position as a leader in water management and its initiative to now bring this experience into wash system manufacture is certain to have an impact on the market.

With a growing international footprint offering local advice and service via local entities and offices, from Europe to the US, from Brazil to Australia and the Asia Pacific region, Matec’s new “ONE” philosophy forms a compelling proposition. • Source: Matec Pacific

Quarry July 2020 45

SAFETY

NEGLIGENCE VS RECKLESSNESS: THE AMBIGUITY OF QUEENSLAND’S INDUSTRIAL MANSLAUGHTER LAW

The strictest mine and quarry safety laws in Australia were passed by the Queensland Parliament in May. Cameron Dean from McCullough Robertson Lawyers puts this new legislation under the microscope to anticipate how it will affect the industry. He spoke to Nickolas Zakharia.

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n May, the Queensland Parliament passed the Mineral and Energy Resources Legislation Amendment Bill 2020. The bill amended laws in the Queensland resources industry to create industrial manslaughter offences and penalties for senior officers in the event it can be proven their negligence contributed to workplace fatalities in mines and quarries.

The new provision encompasses laws such as the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999, the Explosives Act 1999, the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999 and the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004.

The new amendments outline that senior officers in quarries can face up to 20 years in jail if it can be successfully proven they have shown negligence or recklessness that resulted in the death of a worker.

An estimated 50,000 people are employed in Queensland’s mines and quarries, with the new legislation pushing a strong message to industry executives.

Queensland already has offences based on negligence and recklessness in the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health 46

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Act 1999, which has sparked scrutiny about how beneficial these tougher penalties are in encouraging workplace safety.

INDUSTRY REACTION Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia’s (CCAA) Queensland state director Aaron Johnstone is one of the industry body representatives who have previously disputed the need for new industrial manslaughter laws. “The quarrying industry aims to have no injuries and no fatalities on its sites,” he said. “While the CCAA questions the need for industrial manslaughter provisions, and has expressed these concerns directly to the Minister and the Parliament, we note that it is a high bar for a prosecution to take place in the unfortunate scenario of a workplace fatality.

“The standard of proof in such a scenario requires a ‘criminal negligence test’. Such a test requires recklessness or gross negligence, and each element of the offence must be proven beyond reasonable doubt in order to convict an individual. We would urge quarry owners and executives to ensure they have the necessary systems

and processes in place, not only to ensure that their workforce is safe, but to ensure they would be protected from the legislation’s penalties in the terrible case of a workplace fatality.”

The industrial manslaughter provision comes off the back of a suite of health and safety reforms to Queensland’s mining and quarrying sectors, including an increase to the maximum penalty for offences to $4 million. Regulators have also been given powers to issue fines without going to court and there have been statewide safety reset sessions for mine and quarry workers.

“This offence sends the clear message to employers and senior officers that the safety and health of their workers is paramount,” Queensland Mines Minister Anthony Lynham said. “Safety on a mine site is everybody’s responsibility. But a safety culture needs to be modelled right from the top and creating the offence of industrial manslaughter is to ensure senior company officers do all they can to create a safe mine site.”

The IQA has been a strong advocate and provider of industry health and safety training for many years. IQA President Shane

Braddy said it was “vital that quarry owners and staff holding positions of responsibility understand the legislation and their responsibility under the legislation.

“This includes understanding the responsibility to have appropriate health and safety systems in place to prevent injury and to ensure workers have the required competencies, and are trained and supervised to perform their roles,” he said.

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE An important facet of the manslaughter legislation is that it does not simply involve mining executives, with the term “senior officer” used for the legislation.

“The intention of that definition is to capture people who are at the highest level of an organisation,” McCullough Robertson Lawyers partner Cameron Dean told Quarry.

“So it’s directed towards people who can influence the management of safety issues and culture at the workplace.

“There’s a range of factors that need to be considered so the mere fact that your title might be ‘middle manager’ doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have the right level of responsibility to be exposed.

“As a general rule of thumb, the lower down the chain you are, the less likely that you are exposed. So if you are truly somebody that is not at a high level of influence and control over how things are managed in an organisation, then you are less likely to be exposed.”

With the new legislation set to be introduced in the coming months, there is still a grey area about what exactly counts as criminal negligence.

“It’s perhaps a bit disappointing in the way the legislation has been put together,” Dean remarked. “When you look at these laws, negligence in this context actually hasn’t been defined.”

NEGLIGENCE VS RECKLESSNESS Dean said the bill’s references to both recklessness and negligence has created confusion around what level of culpability can be given to a senior officer, due to the two terms having different definitions.

“If you go to the explanatory memorandum that was published when the bill came out,” he said, “they talk about the fact this industrial manslaughter offence recognises circumstances of a workplace fatality where an employer or senior officer also has been negligent about causing the death.”

In criminal law, recklessness involves a

“IT’S PERHAPS A BIT DISAPPOINTING IN THE WAY THE LEGISLATION HAS BEEN PUT TOGETHER. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THESE LAWS, NEGLIGENCE IN THIS CONTEXT ACTUALLY HASN’T BEEN DEFINED.” CAMERON DEAN, MCCULLOUGH ROBERTSON

person who deliberately undertakes a course of action without a regard for any dangers involved, whereas negligence involves a failure to behave in a manner that an ordinary person would be expected to.

“When they say ‘negligent’ they mention recklessness or gross negligence,” Dean explained. “The unfortunate part of that is that recklessness and negligence are two completely different concepts. Recklessness imposes a higher standard of culpability. If you’re said to be reckless, you have to have some appreciation of what you’re about to do and the consequences of doing it. But if you proceed regardless of that, that’s reckless conduct.

“Negligence talks about the standard expected of you or that a reasonable person would meet when you fall short of that.

There are existing offences and obligations in the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act that relate to recklessness and wilful behaviour that causes a bad safety outcome, including fatality.”

Clarification for the definition of negligence was never revealed when the laws were being considered, Dean said.

“When the bill was being considered by the Parliamentary Committee, there was a recommendation made that the minister ought in the second reading speech to clarify what that standard of negligence was – but unfortunately we didn’t get that clarification,” he explained.

WORKING CLOSER TO THE GROUND While a 20-year jail term might seem concerning, it is expected to be only applied to a worst case offender.

“To end up with a sentence at the top

end of the range like that, it’d have to be absolutely callous disregard of safety operations that resulted in an obviously avoidable fatality,” Dean said. “It would also require the person who is charged with the offence to have a poor criminal history or a record of past offending to get to that level.

“Somebody who’s never before offended and is otherwise a good citizen is not going to be staring down the barrel of a 20-year prison sentence.”

For Dean, quarrying executives or senior officers who are much closer to monitoring on-site operations are more likely to be exposed. “I think in real and practical terms what we’re likely to see is that those people in organisations that have those executive roles and requisite degree of control over what’s happening on the ground are going to be exposed,” he said.

“The bigger the entity, the harder it is practically going to be to show that element of causation, that something that was done or not done caused the fatality. The closer you are to what’s being done on the ground, the more likely you are going to be shown to have caused the outcome.

“When you’re looking at this type of offence, it’s not just policies and procedures that are going to be considered. What [the judges will] be looking at is around decisions that are made and decisions on whether to do something or to not do something.”

For more information about the amendments to industrial manslaughter offences under Queensland’s resources legislation, visit the McCullough Robertson Lawyers website: mccullough.com.au • Quarry July 2020 47

IQA NEWS FIVE-YEAR PLAN SPELLS OUT AMBITIOUS BID FOR MORE INFLUENCE IN EDUCATION, ADVOCACY The IQA’s Strategic Plan for the next five years – 2020 to 2025 – is designed to transform the Institute for the next decade. IQA President Shane Braddy discusses the Institute’s future goals and objectives.

The IQA’s Strategic Plan for 2020 to 2025 embodies the following vision and values:

learning concept is not just about formal training. It’s about all aspects of learning that we can enable our members to be exposed to. And how we enable individuals to continue that life-long learning through modern media, like IQ Connect,” he added, referring to the global Institute of Quarrying network’s online education program for extractive industry workers all over the world.

ision: Educating and connecting the V extractive and associated industries.

Values: • A safe and sustainable environment.

• Diversity and inclusion.

• Workforce development skills, careers and life-long learning.

• Networking, connection, trust and communication.

The IQA has already commenced a number of projects aligned to its three strategic priorities: 1. Maximise outcomes for industry through education and sustainable practice.

2. Increase its relevance.

3. Operate as a high performing and sustainable organisation.

In an interview for Quarry, IQA President Shane Braddy said it was, to say the least, a unique and uncertain time for the IQA to be setting out a long-term strategic plan.

When the board convened on 25 February for discussion, the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Australia was small and there was little inkling that within a month the whole country – and indeed most of the world – would go into lockdown.

Nonetheless, he said COVID-19 didn’t greatly alter the IQA’s “burning platform issues” for the next five years.

“We have an entirely different environment in which to work now,” Braddy said. “Some of it is not so good, some of it is good too because it builds a platform, a sense of urgency to get things done, not to take things for granted.

That’s how we have approached the strategic plan from the beginning.

“It’s been agreed we cannot keep doing the same things because in 10 years’ time it will be difficult to see how we remain relevant to the industry. That’s not to be critical of the past, it’s just to say how fast things move, in terms of modernisation, technology, interaction. The world has changed and the IQA has to work progressively and aggressively to ensure we are near the forefront of that changed world.”

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Shane Braddy: Development of the Strategic Plan is a credit to the IQA board and administration in unprecedented, challenging times.

EDUCATION, SUSTAINABLE PRACTICE In elaborating on the first priority – to maximise outcomes for industry through education and sustainable practice – Braddy said that while the IQA remains reliant on memberships, the engagement process with individuals across both quarrying and associated industries is broader and the alignment of education to their needs is integral.

“We need to understand what companies require in an educational context,” he explained.

“All our members exist within companies, and if we don’t understand what those companies’ educational requirements are, we won’t be able to develop the material to support them achieve their goals. We are very member-focused but to broaden our line of sight – and understand where companies sit and what their constraints are – it’s about helping to develop the educational materials to support our members to participate and contribute in that world.

“To be part of the IQA means that you can continue to update your knowledge and skills because you have access to information,” Braddy said. “We are thinking of modern ways to keep engaging with this incredible network of suppliers and quarry professionals, and bring network learning to the members in the easiest, most effective ways, so they have it at their fingertips and can access it when they need to.”

INCREASED RELEVANCE The second priority ties into the first – broadening the IQA’s educational offering so that it retains its relevance in the marketplace.

“In terms of increasing our relevance, I’ve touched on this in terms of maximising our outcomes, but it’s about making sure we have an engagement process with all state and territory regulators and stakeholders,” Braddy said.

“Going forward, we want our Pledge Partners, our valued suppliers and other stakeholders to recommend the IQA as the first port of call for their education needs.”

“The key priority of our Horizon 1 platforms is we want to support other organisations like the CCAA in educating the community and the various stakeholders,” he explained.

“Communities and stakeholders may not have a full understanding of what we do, the value that the quarrying industry creates and how important we are for modern communities and our lifestyle. We need to be able to tell that story in a consistent fashion through support of other organisations, and we need to be a key provider in that dissemination of information.

That helps and supports our members in the field, and supports their future employment by having community and the stakeholders supportive of the industry.”

In turn, the delivery of education will incorporate the traditional face-to-face and networking models plus online delivery. “It demonstrates we are adapting to what the market wants,” Braddy said. “The life-long

HIGH PERFORMANCE, SUSTAINABILITY Braddy said the third priority of the strategic plan – being a high performing, sustainable organisation – is all about “our effectiveness,

The Institute of Quarrying Australia

EDUCATION, CONNECTION AND NETWORKING PILLARS OF STRATEGIC PLAN The IQA board has proudly released a revised vision and Strategic Plan for 2020-25. The plan establishes a clear direction for the IQA over the next five years to be the leader in education for the extractive and associated industries.

It identifies clear objectives that will ensure the IQA remains relevant in supporting and connecting suppliers, the industry, regulators and stakeholders to improve outcomes and sustainability for the industry. IQA President Shane Braddy provides further comment on this on the opposite page.

This direction is exciting and will see the IQA develop new education programs and work more closely with associated industries. The IQA has recently developed online courses and will continue to evolve access to learning for the industry through traditional face to face, blended and fully online methods. Industry is evolving and increasing its use of technology.

Access to education must evolve and online content is a priority.

Historically the IQA has facilitated strong networks across the whole supply chain through its branches. This will continue with a strategic focus to broaden networks and work more closely with state regulators to support health and safety, environmental and sustainability outcomes.

and building an organisation that will survive into the future. It’s not just about protecting and retaining our membership, it’s about creating increased value for our suppliers/ partners and ensuring our activities contribute financially for long-term sustainability. We will look at a variety of projects that broadens what education we are offering and how we can work with our suppliers to support their programs and innovations..

“By 2025, we want to be recognised as a high performing, sustainable and relevant organisation. To increase our relevance we will be working with the industry, regulators, government planners, and communities to support the industry to achieve its outcomes.

To that end, the IQA is already exploring relationships with other likeminded organisations and also registered training

FROM THE CEO

Increasingly the industry’s social licence to operate is scrutinised by the community.

The IQA will support the industry to maintain positive relationships with the community and key stakeholders by supporting community education and awareness.

People, strong networks, skills and careers remain firmly at the centre of the IQA’s strategic priorities. Educating and connecting are seemingly simple words, but very powerful when we look at the requirements of the industry to compete for talent with other industry segments, implement technologies that require new skills, manage in a very volatile and competitive market, constantly adapt to regulation changes and meet increasingly higher community demands. With all this, people are at the centre of each quarry, each operation, and each outcome.

IQA memberships are due for renewal. I was very touched by a member who advised the team that he was not renewing, but was retiring. Mike had been a member for 38 years.

His journey with the IQA was a very rich one, including three years with the Australian Capital Territory sub-branch and 35 years with the New South Wales branch. He shared his involvement with the IQA where he found personal reward, challenges, innovation (including launching of

organisations with a view to increase the educational opportunities available to its members and in turn provide a service for other parts of the extractive industry that have educational needs, such as small mines.

UNWAVERING DISCIPLINE Braddy said the development of the strategic plan is a credit to the IQA board and administration in unprecedented and challenging times.

“We had identified the burning platform issues that were upon us as an Institute and then COVID-19 came along,” Braddy said.

“Through this period, the whole strategic planning process, we have not wavered. The national administration have worked hard to advance programs during the restrictions.

“Given the focus on COVID-19 across the

the Gold Hard Hat Award) and the many friendships made with people in the industry.

I share this as the connection, networking and support that is offered can never be undervalued. While the IQA looks forward to delivering a renewed and energetic education program, we understand the value of people, their networks and the roles they play in the industry. I look forward to the journey towards 2025 and building stronger connections with members, suppliers and the industry.

A copy of the IQA’s Strategic Plan can be downloaded from the website: quarry.com.au KYLIE FAHEY CEO Institute of Quarrying Australia

industry, the national administration has made solid progress. We’re really moving through this period of time with a lot of activity, which is encouraging and inspiring. It’s remarkable to see the engagement, to see how positive people are in advancing the cause of the Institute.”

Braddy also thanked the contribution of consultant Peter Berry, who has extensive experience in strategic plan development in a number of businesses over 25 years. “Peter has supported the IQA and helped us with the facilitation of the strategic planning workshop and the subsequent meetings,” Braddy said.

“He also critiqued the end result and he was very impressed with the strategy.”

A copy of the IQA’s Strategic Plan is available for all members to view on the IQA website.

Visit: quarry.com.au • Quarry July 2020 49

GEOLOGY TALK

GEOLOGISTS CALL FOR ROCK SAMPLE ARCHIVE

Geologists are calling for rock samples to be stored and shared in a standardised manner. Image courtesy of iStock.

Geologists around the world are pushing for a standardised approach towards sample archiving to improve knowledge about our planet’s ancient past. Nick Zakharia reports.

G

eologists from Australia, the United States and China have advocated for global access of rock samples for geologists across the globe after publishing their proposal in an article for the Nature journal.

The article states that providing geologists with the same rock samples — rather than answering the same research question using a similar rock from a different location — would allow for more accurate studies.

“Rock samples that are used to tackle the same research question are often collected from different places, where the rocks were deposited at various times and in vastly different environments,” the authors, including Ashleigh Hood, a sedimentology lecturer at the University of Melbourne, wrote. “This can result in completely distinct answers.”

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The group of geologists also seek to bring awareness to the “reproducibility crisis” that can cause contradictions between new and old studies when they are replicated. This includes variation to geography, when the same types of sediment are collected in different environments.

“Mercury enrichments in sediments are used as a tracer of large episodes of volcanic activity and their links to mass extinction events,” the article stated. “However, mercury enrichments can also result from wildfires or from local depositional conditions that lead to heavy metal uptake by sedimentary organic matter.”

Other impacting factors include temperature or oxygen fluctuations in the same types of rocks, how the rock samples have been prepared (eg the method of crushing) and contamination.

Commenting on the latter, the geologists state that: As sediments become rocks, they undergo many processes that can alter the geochemical signals of where and how they formed. Sediments laid down on sea floors or lake bottoms can experience changes in water level or salinity, for example if they are flushed with meltwater.1 This, according to the article, is why geologists and people in related fields should be sharing the same samples through “standardised archival policies” guidelines such as natural history organisations archiving geological samples.

“All best practices must rest on a shared commitment — to ensure that scientific data are not divorced from scientific samples,” the authors argue. • REFERENCE & FURTHER READING Planavsky N, Hood A, Tarhan L, Shuzhong S, Johnson K. Store and share ancient rocks. In: Nature 581: 14 May 2020; 137-139. https://www. nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01366-w

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