McLanahan’s recent partnership with a major miner has become a critical component in the expansion of a critical minerals project in Queensland.
McLanahan has played a key role in increasing throughput at a major miner’s Queensland aluminium project to seven million tonnes per annum.
Pivotal to this achievement is McLanahan’s wobbler feeder and cross belt sampling system, each designed to address the unique challenges associated with bauxite processing.
Peter Bone, regional manager – wet processing at McLanahan, spoke to Australian Mining about how the partnership began.
“McLanahan worked collaboratively with the mining company and its engineering partner to investigate solutions to improve the scalping of saleable bauxite from their run of mine feed,” Bone said.
“Bauxite is very sticky and highly cohesive. It tended to agglomerate as it passed over the existing vibrating screen, leading to low screening efficiencies and loss of saleable product to oversized reject material.”
To address these issues, McLanahan recommended the use of a wobbler feeder, which can scalp -3.5 inches (89mm) of material from the feed with high efficiency. This not only allows for direct shipment of the product material, but it also reduces the material load sent for further processing.
Traditional screening equipment such as vibrating screens and grizzly feeders often struggle with the wet, sticky texture of bauxite, an issue especially pronounced in Queensland’s tropical environment.
“Bauxite tends to build up on surfaces such as feed and discharge chutes and agglomerates into larger lumps under its own mass,” Bone said.
Image: McLanahan
The wobbler feeder overcomes these limitations with its self-cleaning mechanism. Wobbler feeders feature elliptical bars that rotate at low revolutions per minute (RPM) oriented at 90 degrees to the adjoining bar, agitating the material and releasing fines while preventing clogging.
“Every second wobbler bar cleans the adjacent bar, physically preventing the sticky product from building up,” Bone said.
This helps maintain throughput and minimises downtime, which is especially crucial when operations restart after the wet season.
In addition to the wobbler feeder, McLanahan has also supplied the miner with a cross belt sampling system to enable the company to more easily collect representative samples of the -3.5-inch material to ensure quality standards are met.
Bauxite is primarily used in the production of alumina and, ultimately, aluminium, but it contains multiple compounds that affect its suitability for alumina production.
“Accurate sampling of the bauxite is critical in determining the types and concentrations of the desirable alumina-producing compounds so an accurate value can be determined for the ore,” Bone said.
The implementation of McLanahan’s wobbler feeder and cross belt sampling system at the Queensland mine represents a significant upgrade in the site’s processing capabilities.
“McLanahan equipment is fit for purpose with high-end components used,” Bone said. “The McLanahan customer service team supports our equipment with service centres across Australia and around the world to ensure ongoing performance.”
McLanahan’s partnership with the miner continues to prioritise operational efficiency, positioning the critical minerals mine for sustained success.
This feature appeared in the December 2024 issue of Australian Mining.
