Materials handling
the heart of the ore body first.” These satellite mines might have a zero-to-five-year lifespan – far shorter than the larger mine sites that had been the norm in previous decades. As a result, companies are reluctant to invest in infrastructure in these new sites, and were also looking for ways to minimise their environmental impact. “That’s what essentially drove us into the NextGen I,” notes Grey. The first NextGen crushing plant was successfully installed in 2018 at a lithium project in the Pilbara and is still operating today. “The NextGen I plant is still an important component of our business and will be for some time – it has a capacity of around 12 million tonnes per annum (mpta). It is semi-modular – however, it does have in-ground services, and it certainly isn’t plug and play.”
Above: The NextGen II modular crushing plant doesn’t require foundations to be laid ahead of its construction, making it quick to build while having minimal impact on the local environment.
Opening page: Mineral Resources build its own carbon fibre screens, reducing its reliance on the global supply chain.
Then there’s the additional time taken to construct and commission a plant, which can similarly be carried out a lot faster with modular models – unlike traditional plants, they can be mobilised and set up at a mine site within a very short time frame in comparison to conventional builds. “That’s what clients are looking for these days,”Grey notes. “They don’t have the time to wait.”
Uproot the plant 12 million
The maximum capacity in tonnes per annum of the NextGen I crushing plant.
50 million
The maximum capacity in tonnes per annum of the Next Gen II crushing plant.
Mineral Resources 28
Mineral Resources has spent years developing what it calls the “next revolution” of modular crushing plants, in the shape of its NextGen series. Its rapid deployment, demobilisation and relocation capabilities offer many benefits across a wide range of applications. The company’s current modular crushing plant offerings were developed around a shortlist of requirements – being quick to market, quick to build, plug and play, and scalable to any size. They can cater for anything up to 50 million tonnes and beyond, but can start at as low as 1 million tonnes. “We just keep on adding modules,” Grey says, by way of explanation. “And, being modular, with our design there’s no in-ground services. It’s like plugging in an extension cord.” Initially, Mineral Resources started off with trailer mounted crushing plants, which were then followed up with semi-modular plants based on the mobile units. “We used to drive them in with wheels on, pull the wheels off and stand them up,” Grey notes. The company later saw client demands rise due to the increasing proliferation of remote satellite pits being operated throughout Australia, where Mineral Resources is based. Many of the existing mining sites had been in operation for 50 years or so, and deposits had started to run thin at their hub sites.
“A lot of the large mines now are going to the extremities – to satellite pits,” says Grey. “And they have short lives, because they’ve obviously gone to
Much work needed to be done, then, for the evolution of the NextGen II plant – the first of which was installed at with a capacity of 15mtpa at a tier one client site in the Pilbara during 2021. This involved removing the need for the foundations required by the previous model, creating a plant that doesn’t require concrete or cabling in-ground to function. “We literally could just crane [a NextGen II plant] into position, and put the two cords together and turn these things on,” Grey says. Not content to rest on its laurels, Mineral Resources is currently working on the NextGen III plant, which are set to go into production in mid- 2023. They’ll offer capabilities to function at any even larger scale than the NextGen II plants, with crushers and carbon fibre screens that have been designed in-house.
The carbon fibre screens are particularly useful for a number of reasons. Mineral Resources has an innovation centre that predominantly focuses on carbon fibre products, along with polymers and ceramics, which can go hand in hand with some of the screens the company produces. By producing carbon fibre screens themselves, Mineral Resources removes its reliance on the global supply market – a notable benefit given the unpredictability of the supply chain at the moment.
“A steel screen typically lasts for three to five years maximum, depending on its application,” says Grey. “But in that period, you’re always maintaining them because they fatigue – they’re literally shaking themselves to bits every day. Carbon fibre just does not fatigue, does not crack, does not corrode.” Carbon fibre is also used in other parts of Mineral Resources’ modular plants, helping to make the structures lighter and stronger, reducing the environmental impact and the reliance on steel and concrete. “Essentially, we’ve taken the NextGen II, and rather than outsourcing all the mechanical components, we’re building our own,” Grey explains. “NextGen III is going to be really exciting.”
World Mining Frontiers /
www.nsenergybusiness.com
Mineral Resources
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