Our company is active in tailor-made dust control using additives that are applicable in various situations. We would like to investigate the need for these additives in the mining industry, as we do not wish to give the answer 'dose more additive' when the customer demands a better performance.
For what dust-emitting activities would you wish a solution would become available? What additives are you using now for dust control? What are the drawbacks of those additives? What can be done better (apart from price)?
Thanks in advance for any answer! Best regards,
Jacco Korver
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dear Korver
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Some years ago when I was on an assignment at Bulyanhulu mine in Tanzania, molasses stillage was used for dust control on the roads there.
Attached an article of the usage of this molasses stillage on a gravel road in Zimbabwe. Comparative Road Dust Suppression - Molasses Stillage.pdf
Hi Harald, thank you for your input and the link to the article. Molasses indeed perform quite well and they are biodegrable. Disadvantages I could think of would also be its water solubility and efficiency after rainfall (will not be such an issue in Zimbabwe, I would presume...) and that molasses sometimes can produce an unpleasant odour.
Dust suppression on mine sites is a product that has historically been a challenge to get real control of. MagChloride is certainly the front runner, yet every maintenance manager hates the stuff due to the corrosive nature on the equipment. Operations teams are frustrated with it as it becomes slick when it gets wet thus reducing the speeds they can achieve during haulage. Many processing plants fear it getting into their process at the plant and causing metallurgical problems. Environmentalist despise it because it kills everything in its path or its water basins. It would be good to have a product that lasts 30 days, can be sprayed on instead of requiring it to be worked into the road base consuming operations time and attention. I know about the dosing products that do work but as you rightly said if the mine wants more dust suppression the solution is always "dose more". There is a time and place for dust suppression and a soil stabilization product like MagChloride, but it is certainly NOT the solution for all aspects of the mine dust suppression. The effort it requires to install is massive and with the changing dynamics of the mines haul roads on an annual basis, another robust low-cost solution needs to be made available for our industry. I might be asking for a "Golden Pill". I look forward to hearing the responses.
Hello Neal, thank you for your response! Another drawback of MagChloride I can think of would be that it is very water soluble and that it will easily leach out after occasional rainfall. Solutions of MagChloride could be equipped with a corrosion inhibitor to protect the tanks and equipment, but I guess that the stuff will still be corrosive to all metals on and around the roads.
Application of Hydroscopic compounds to control haulage dust. Magnesium chloride and hydrated lime maybe the best for any haulage roads so as to maintain moisture on roads.
Thanks for your response, Trevor. Will the use of hydrated lime not give corrosion and safety problems?