Antofagasta expects 2024 copper output at low end of yearly forecast
Antofagasta produced 284,700 metric tons of copper in the first half, down 3.7% from the same period in 2023.
New to the market, Tecpro is pleased to introduce an ATEX certified version of their fog makers that suppresses dust in areas in danger of explosion.
In environments such as mine sites, storage facilities or mills, dust can pose a significant health, safety and environmental hazard – and sometimes an explosive hazard. Certain types of dust are combustible, including coal, sulphur, grain, flour, sugar, sawdust, magnesium, cotton and even powdered metals such as titanium and aluminium.
“Our new ATEX certified fog maker is a fantastic innovation for dust prone environments at risk of explosion,” said Graeme Cooper, Managing Director of Tecpro Australia. “It’s the first to have this certification, and it will be welcomed by those in charge of health and safety across a wide variety of industrial settings.”
The risk of explosion is exacerbated by hot conditions, an ever-present problem in many places throughout Australia.
“Explosions can occur when there is a high concentration of combustible dust and an oxidising agent such as oxygen, and the situation is worse where air temperatures are high,” said Mr Cooper. “In these conditions, the smallest electrical spark can be enough to ignite an explosion. That’s why the arrival of this new ATEX certified fog maker is such an important breakthrough.”
The ATEX Fog Maker available through Tecpro Australia is made in Italy by Idrotech, an internationally acclaimed designer and manufacturer of industrial fogging equipment.
“The ATEX Fog Maker offers a powerful way to combat dust in potentially combustible environments,” said Mr Cooper. “It operates at high pressure 50 bar, and it can propel a fine mist up to 60 metres in the absence of wind.”
With the mouth of the fog maker containing 156 nebulising nozzles, the size of the fog droplets generated is similar to the size of dust particles. When the fog and dust come into contact, they combine readily and fall to the ground, aided by gravity.
The nozzles are mounted in 3 spray rings which can be operated independently giving the ability to change the volume of mist to suit the conditions. In addition to this, there are 10 different capacity sizes of nozzles that can be fitted to the rings to provide even more flexibility in fine–tuning the fog maker to satisfy any situation.
“The fog mist is so fine, it evaporates quickly,” said Mr Cooper. “This eliminates the risk of water pooling or run off, further reducing environmental and safety risk.”
The ATEX Fog Maker has a rotation field of 340 degrees, and it is fitted to a steel platform, making it easy to move and direct the fog stream to where it’s needed.
“In settings where there may be gases or fumes present, the ATEX Fog Maker is ideal,” said Mr Cooper. “It also features a noise barrier which reduces the noise output when it’s operating.”
Tecpro advises on and supplies a wide range of dust suppression solutions throughout Australia and overseas. The company’s expertise was acknowledged when it won the Australian Bulk Handling Review Award for Dust Control, Technology, Application or Practice in 2012 in partnership with the University of Wollongong. The award was for their collaborative dust suppression solution developed for Centennial Coal’s Mandalong Mine.
Enquiries regarding dust suppression can be directed to the technical team at Tecpro on 02 9634 3370.
