Palabora Mining Company with the world’s largest known reserves of Vermiculite and the belief in running their operations in an environmentally responsible way has taken the decision to find a way of reducing the generation of dust from those operations. Palabora shares a common border with Kruger National Park and therefore the government, environmental groups, the South African National Parks Board and the local community closely scrutinize the impact of their operations.
In efforts to run their operations in an environmentally responsible way Palabora Mining Company has become certified for the ISO 14001 environmental management system and maintains a plan for the eventual closure of operations including the management of social and environmental impacts on the local community. Their search for environmentally friendly and technologically advanced products for the suppression and control of dust has led them to Soil & Dust Solutions.
EBS represents the world’s most advanced technology in soil stabilization, and as such, has set a new industry standard. When incorporated into a road construction project the benefits will include significant cost savings as well as decreased maintenance costs in terms of future road maintenance; water usage; dust suppression; as well as decreased vehicle maintenance; and tyre replacement. In addition, the environmental aspects of EBS allow for a mine to lessen its environmental footprint as well as decreased closure costs and liabilities.
The mine haul road was swept and cleared of all fugitive dust and debris and then EBS was applied as a surface seal. In order to keep the flow of traffic without interruption to the mining activities, one side of the road was treated at a time allowing traffic to flow on the other side.
