Bulk Handling Technologies’ comprehensive design-and-build approach is helping mining operations achieve optimal production capacity.
Bulk material handling is a core task of any mining operation. It takes an extensive fleet of machines to move, store and process extracted materials, with feeders, crushers, screens, stackers and more all having to work together for the best results.
With so many moving parts, reliability and durability become vital characteristics for each link in the chain. If one machine goes down, or even just slows down, the whole operation is impacted.
For Bulk Handling Technologies (BHT), it’s this all-too-common situation that drives its team forward.
The Perth-based company supplies custom designed-and-built equipment all over Australia and internationally, and prides itself on supplying machines that are built to last.
BHT engineering manager Paul Ingleson believes this approach gives the company’s mining clients important peace of mind.
“Standardised, off-the-shelf equipment is often engineered down to a price,” he told Australian Mining. “There are often compromises in quality, and there are definitely compromises in durability and reliability.
“Our ideal customer is someone who focuses on minimising downtime and optimising maintainability. If that’s important to them, we know they’ll appreciate the work we put into making every machine reliable and fit for purpose.”
Bespoke service
Creating a bespoke product that suits each customer’s specific needs and circumstances involves a range of teams all working together.
For Bulk Handling Technologies, the promise is for a full research, design and custom build service, as well as delivery and set up.
“We’ve got a library of resources and skills for designing and building bulk materials handling equipment,” Ingleson said. “When we get an enquiry from a customer about a particular requirement, it’s often something that can’t be done reliably using standard, off-the-shelf equipment.
“We of course have standardised components and some standard designs, but everything we do, almost without exception, is customised in some way. Almost nothing is identical to what we’ve done before.”
A customer’s requirements could be around capacity or feed rates, or they could be about meeting the unique specifications of the local mine site.
BHT customers operate internationally and across Australia. The company has been handling custom equipment for several African-based mining and infrastructure projects in recent years.
A recent project for a lithium operation in Western Australia perfectly illustrated BHT’s bespoke approach. The mine had been struggling with an off-the-shelf hopper and belt feeder system that wasn’t meeting the task of handling the client’s specific operational requirements.
“They were experiencing regular hang-ups and bridging issues that were causing expensive downtime,” Ingleson said.
“They needed a system that could reliably accept feed from their Komatsu WA700 loader without constant interruptions.”
BHT began with a comprehensive site audit and a review of material testing data to understand exactly what the client was dealing with. The lithium ore’s flow properties varied significantly with moisture content, and the client needed a 6m hopper that could ensure uniform drawdown across its entire length.
“Long hoppers present unique engineering challenges,” Ingleson said. “Without proper design, they can preferentially feed from one end, causing reloading delays and premature belt wear.
“Our solution incorporated 70° wall angles, polished Arcoplate liners, and a carefully positioned offset baffle.”
The resulting 225-tonne-per-hour system, featuring a 19m belt feeder, was assembled and tested in BHT’s Perth workshop before shipping. This approach eliminated on-site commissioning problems and ensured the client could achieve full production capacity from day one.
For mining operations where downtime costs thousands, if not millions, per hour, the choice between standard and custom equipment becomes a strategic business decision.
BHT’s approach of comprehensive testing, bespoke design and complete workshop assembly and testing helps to ensure clients receive engineered systems rather than more generic solutions.
As Ingleson put it, BHT’s customers understand that investing in maintainability and reliability from the outset delivers far greater value than accepting the compromises that can potentially come with non-customised alternatives.
This article appeared in the October issue of Australian Mining magazine.
