Soil Solutions, which has extensive experience in providing engineered, and specifically tailored solutions for dust control in the mining industry devised an effective method of dust control for a main access road at Palabora Mine in Mpumalanga, South Africa.
In efforts to create a safer work environment, increase driving safety, as well as vehicle maintenance and control the dust in an environmentally responsible manner in order to lessen the impact on the local community and the indigenous wildlife, and be complaint with their ISO 14001 environmental management system, Palabora Mining required environmentally safe and effective dust control.
Soil Solutions provided the solution by applying Durasolution® its highly effective wetting agent. This product is an agglomerate, colourless, and is applied neat, requiring no dilution. It offers a sustainable solution, as it starts working immediately and does not require routine applications, rather a minimal maintenance application every 9-12 months. The product works continuously even when then soil is re-worked. This dust suppressant has been formulated to meet the highest standards of environmental efficacy; it is PM10 and PM2.5 compliant, thus meeting the requirements of both the EPA of the USA, and international ISO 14001.
The Mine Management at Palabora took the initial decision to select specific areas within the mine as trial sections to test the performance of the product in areas where dust control posed the greatest challenges. The areas selected were the parking area at the mining offices, the in-plant road and the workshop area.
The selected areas were designated and where possible a grader was used to remove the excess dust and loose aggregate on the surface to be treated. Soil Solutions was on site and did the product application using a pump and spray system which is specifically designed to control the flow and ensure that the proper application rate was applied. Traffic was allowed to flow during the application process so that no down time was incurred. The product was sprayed evenly over the selected areas in two coats applied twelve hours apart which allowed it to penetrate effectively.
The end result was highly effective dust control over all treated areas providing for improved visibility and maximized efficiency.
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