Eco-Road Hero provided technology to help a coal mine struggling to control dust on its haul roads, slashing reported dust in half and saving fuel costs.
Mines across Australia are on the lookout for solutions that can help reduce their carbon footprint and make operations safer for workers.
The excessive dust kicked up on haul roads can create health hazards and have ecological impacts, making it an obvious target for a system overhaul. But the chemicals often used to wet down roads can be harsh on the environment.
That’s why when one major overseas coal mine wanted to reduce the dust on its haul roads, it turned to a solution making a name for itself in the industry for its greener touch.
Canadian-based dust control expert Cypher Environmental’s Dust/Blokr solution is an alternative to traditional road salts and aims to leave no environmental impact behind.
A formulation of sugars and starches made from 95 per cent renewable materials, Dust/Blokr is added to a water truck and sprayed on the surface of a dusty road where its semi-soluble nature minimises the need for frequent re-application.
This helps to maintain dust control on any soil type, even in heavy rainfall or dry spells.
Dust/Blokr’s companion product, Road//Stabilizr, is a biodegradable, non-toxic, non-corrosive biological catalyst-based product mixed into dirt when roads are being made to tackle dust at the source by creating a stronger base.
The products are seeing success in a range of global industries looking to reduce dust and are now being implemented across Australia by sole Dust/Blokr and Road//Stabilizr distributor Eco-Road Hero.
Eco-Road Hero director Ivan Heron said the overseas mine was curious about Dust/Blokr and Road//Stabilizr from the beginning.
“They were having trouble with their road conditions and dust, and called in my local colleagues to help,” Heron told Safe to Work. “The local Cypher distributor team, Road Plus, are close colleagues to Eco-Road Hero.
“They were initially engaged to undertake a site demonstration of their capability.
“They improved a short section of road, and this was assessed by the mine operators. The mine then implemented the improvements more broadly in their road network.”
When determining the best course of action for the mine, Heron said the team worked to gather as much information as possible.
“The local team undertook a detailed geotechnical assessment of the mine roads,” he said. “We worked with the mine owners over a period of 18 months to demonstrate and implement the improvements.
“The implementation was done in a way that minimised disruptions to the mining operation.”
This particular coal mine produces over 20 million tonnes of coal a year and uses 200-tonne haul trucks, creating significant dust challenges that impact air quality.
With such a major operation, downtime spent wetting a road or implementing a time-consuming solution wasn’t an option.
“Roads treated with Road//Stabilizr can be used immediately after application,” Heron said. “The technologies improved the engineering properties of the in-situ road materials and there were significant increases in properties like California bearing ratio [a measure of the strength designed for testing cohesive materials with a particle size less than 19mm] and material density.
“As a result, the roads were more durable and less dusty.”
The results, Heron said, spoke for themselves.
“The mine operator reported a 50 per cent reduction in the dust in the pit,” he said.
“They also measured a fuel saving of 17.4 per cent on their trucks.
“The fuel saving was explained by an improvement in rolling resistance of approximately 0.7 per cent, which sounds modest but is significant in engineering terms.”
Since the implementation of Dust/Blokr and Road//Stabilizr, Heron said the local distribution team has fostered an ongoing relationship with the mine.
“We are a solution provider not just a product supplier,” Heron said. “We work with our customers to develop procedures for the application of the two technologies with their equipment and people.
“We use prudent engineering approaches to road challenges in combination with these technologies.”
When it comes to other mines looking to reduce their carbon footprint and make their operations safer for workers, Heron said Eco-Road Hero takes a holistic approach that considers all facets of an operation.
“There are strong regulator signals for the mining industry to reduce their carbon footprint,” he said. “A road focus can deliver carbon reductions in a way that is very low cost compared to other approaches.
“This approach can be delivered quickly and significantly enhance road, emissions and safety performance.”
This feature also appears in the November-December issue of Safe to Work.