Broons’ dump research, hardly a waste

Broons Square Impact Roller is ideal for compaction on waste dumps

Despite the much reported slowdown in the mining industry, Adelaide based crushing and compaction specialists, Broons, is ramping up their commitment to the resources sector by celebrating the official opening of their dedicated research facility at Gillman in South Australia aimed squarely at waste dumps.

Collaboration with the School of Civil, Environmental & Mining Engineering at the University of Adelaide over more than 15 years has resulted in the establishment of a dedicated “Centre of Excellence” to expand research on their Square Impact Roller, widely used for deep layer compaction on waste dumps, tailings dams and haul roads.

More than 20 Honours Students have helped

At the heart of their facility is a test track, using a 1/13^th scale model to make repeated passes over soil samples gathered from the field. The model, which can operate 24/7, replicates the in-field performance of the real life equipment. A variety of testing methods have been applied to measure both density, energy imparted and depth of influence.

Broons Director, Stuart Bowes, explains further. “Comparative testing has shown there to be a very close correlation between results from the test rig and those obtained in the field. This will be particularly helpful when designing capping layers for waste dumps. Without being able to calculate the required compaction for an impervious layer, mines can be ‘flying blind’ in their efforts to secure waste dumps, and cap costs.”

“During second half of 2017 we anticipate we’ll be in a position to commercialise this facility and offer the testing service to mining engineers throughout Australia.

PhD Student Brendan Scott

For information regarding the application of Broons Square Impact Roller on your next compaction project, contact Broons on (08) 8268 1988 or via info@broons.com.