Crosslands’ Jack Hills uses “one-off” dust suppressant

The chemical suppressants marketed by these companies vary widely in their composition. Some suppliers use polymer-based formulae, others opt for starch-based products, and some tout green products with mystery natural glues.
Marketing aside, all players in the market realize that cost is a paramount consideration, both for the chemicals themselves and for the water with which they are diluted.
In a recent development, iron ore miner Crosslands Resources has implemented a dust control treatment using a chemical distributed by Yanmar Soil Australia. The latter company says that the treatment is a “one-off”, eliminating the ongoing use of water and constituting an Australian first.
The chemical in question, Soiltac, was developed by and is manufactured by Soilworks LLC, a US company based in Arizona.
Soilworks describes Soiltac as an “eco-safe, biodegradable, liquid copolymer”. It says the product uses nanotechnology and is being used by the US military for rebuilding efforts in Iraq.
“The eco-friendly, water-resistant product suppresses dust, stabilises soil, reduces erosion and improves operational safety,” said Soilworks’ promotional literature. “Soiltac is simply diluted with water and applied to soil in the same way a lawn would be watered. The product does not cure chemically, but cures as the water evaporates.”
Perth-based Yanmar Soil Australia is the Australian distributor of the product, which it was originally using for dust control on haulage roads.
“The innovation came about through Crosslands Resources wanting to apply the product onto its stockpiles and it progressed from there to using the product on its crushed ore,” said Yanmar’s Peter Rogers.
The product is traditionally applied using water cannons or dribble bars, but Crosslands commissioned Yanmar to design and construct portable automated dosing units, which mix and apply the product based on varying crusher throughput.
Crosslands started trialing the product in November 2008 and Soiltac has since been implemented at the miner’s flagship Jack Hills iron ore mine in Western Australia’s Mid West. There it is used on iron ore stockpiles, crusher cone stacks, and access and haulage roads at the site.
“The difference between this and other products that are available now is that this is a one-off treatment that can last anywhere from one week to seven years, depending on the application,” Rogers explained.
“The water saving for this particular mine site has been huge because there’s no ongoing water being used to suppress dust during the transport or handling process of the product.”
According to Yanmar, Soiltac has already shown results at the Cuddingwarra stockpile north of Cue and the storage and loading facilities at the Port of Geraldton.
“The problem with iron ore is that during the transport and handling, unless it’s constantly wet, the iron ore will crush and produce its own dust, so the environmental effects are ongoing unless some sort of treatment has been put in place,” Rogers said. He said the Soiltac product can allow companies to load more ore onto ships, because the moisture content had been reduced.
“By using this process, we’re able to ship larger quantities, giving bigger revenues,” he said.
Yanmar also found that ports and stockpiles have benefited environmentally.
“We’ve seen the results from putting dry, untreated ore into storage areas and are now putting treated ore where they’re getting no dust at all or very little dust,” Rogers said. “Visiting government authorities have been impressed by the low levels of dust onsite and workers have noticed immediate improvements.”
Crosslands’ road contractor, Mitchell West, also observed the improvements, which have been sustained since the product was implemented in 2008.
“There are no other products out there that are doing this,” Rogers said. “This is a first for Australia and certainly a first for WA.”
Yanmar had received expressions of interest from other resources companies, but some were hesitant due to the systems they already had in place.
“We would obviously like to see other companies take the initiative to use this technology,” Rogers said. “A lot of the companies have already got the infrastructure in place to use water sprays whereas this is an automated system which is done at the actual crushing and stockpiling process of the mine site.
“So if companies already have that infrastructure in place, it is possible to incorporate the Soiltac product into those existing infrastructures so that it can be utilised right throughout the handling process if need be.”
Jack Hills currently produces 1.7 million tonnes of iron ore per annum and a bankable feasibility study into a stage 2 development will be completed before the end of the year.
The proposed stage 2 operation will see production increase to 25-35Mtpa from 2013.
As the expansion gets underway, Crosslands said it would look to form further technical alliances to minimise environmental hazards.
Crosslands is owned by Murchison Metals and Mitsubishi Development.
Contact: Peter Rogers, tel - 0428 942 384

Are you a distributor or manufacturer of chemical dust suppressants for the mining sector?
Australian Journal of Mining and Australian Bulk Handling Review will shortly publish a detailed feature on the various dust suppressants available to Australian mines and bulk handlers. If you would like to be included, contact the editor Charles Macdonald on charles.macdonald@informa.com.au