Language
Call us on 682 350 0300

CDE Technology Brings New Standards to Australian Market

12 November 2018

 

CDE technology brings new efficiency standards to the Australian materials wet processing market.

 

CDE Australia, working with their world-class engineering team, has delivered complete bespoke plant solutions in six States and Territories in Australia over the last number of years and is now a major player in the materials wet processing industry. CDE has designed, manufactured and commissioned over 1,000 wet processing installations worldwide since 1992, with over 30 reference sites in Australia since its first plant in 2013.

 

$70 billion has been committed by the Australian government to transport-related infrastructure developments in its 2017-18 budget and CDE’s materials wet processing technology fits perfectly with this dynamic sector’s requirements for maximum yield of in-specification stockpiled material with efficient, economical and environmentally-friendly water and energy consumption for quarries, mines, mineral sands, and recycling operations. More recently CDE has also developed its footprint in the Australian Mining Sector with prestigious projects in iron ore with SIMEC Mining and recently won projects in phosphate mining with Centrex Metals.

 

Top Performance Across Mining and Quarrying Operations

CDE’s ‘New World of Resource’ ethos runs through every strand of the business, embedding a commitment to increase efficiencies and reduce waste to turn every ounce of viable natural or crushed material into value. Not only do CDE’s patented technologies allow for clean and energy-saving materials washing operations, but the company’s innovative approach means that our equipment is highly performant across a wide range of applications thanks to modularity and a stringent focus on energy-saving and efficiency.

 

Grading Flexibility for Maximum Market Value at Darwin River Quarries

The CDE wet processing solution at Darwin River Quarries in the Northern Territories presents a typical example of how a company can obtain maximum yield whilst controlling the grades produced to meet market demand as it presents itself and therefore capitalise on production. Darwin River Quarries opted for a full CDE solution to get the most out of its raw 2.36, 1.18, 0.600, 0.300, 0.150 grades containing 10% of clay and fine silt. The brief was to develop a washing solution that would allow for the production of 120 tons per hour of washed sands with the flexibility to make different grades as required.

 

The company opted for a CDE turnkey wet processing plant comprising an M2500 sand washing plant, attrition cells, an AquaCycle™ thickener, and two EvoWash™ sand washing plants including one with CFCU technology for the optimal removal of lightweights and quality of feed stock. A coarse screen and a fine screen, as well as a 16-metre radial conveyor and three product conveyors, complete the installation. The plant solution is producing five sand fractions from the raw feed. 

 

Dan Webber, Regional Manager for CDE Australasia, said: “In collaboration with our client, we aimed at simultaneously producing five high-quality types of sands in consistent quantities that would also be dry enough to be ready for market straight from the belt.”

 

“The complete CDE solution has met all the goals identified by Darwin River Quarries at the beginning of the project, providing a complete tailor-made and high-efficiency washing solution that enables the company to produce five grades of construction and filter sands in the required tonnages.”

 

Water Matters

Water-saving benefits clients’ operations from the word go when a CDE AquaCycle thickener is included in their materials wet processing solution in order to ensure optimal freshwater savings. Typically, after the raw material has been washed and classified, process water containing fine material is sent to the thickener. In the AquaCycle thickener, a small amount of polyelectrolyte flocculent is added to the water from the automatic dosing station which forces fine particles to settle on the bottom of the thickener tank.

 

The clean water on the top overflows the weir and is stored in the AquaStore water tank before being re-circulated back to the washing plant, helping to reduce the amount of required fresh water for top up down to 10% or less. The waste sludge from the AquaCycle thickener is discharged to either a silt pond or to eliminate silt ponds all together, into a buffer tank where the sludge can be processed to completely eliminate silt ponds by means of a centrifuge or plate filter press.

 

Webber says: “This CDE water efficiency technology is user-friendly and requires minimum civils and the smallest equipment footprint. It is also designed for safe access and efficient maintenance to guarantee operators’ protection.

 

“Adding a CDE AquaCycle thickener to a wet processing plant to recycle up to 90% of process water straight back into the system adds a significant edge to an operation as it allows for significant water and energy savings on projects from low to high processing tonnages.

 

“The combination of maximum efficiency and minimum loss of fines to ponds boosts an already fast return on investment. CDE’s water management systems also aid businesses to show compliance when reapplying for water licenses and silt pond expansions”.

 

Embracing a ‘New World of Resource’

With growing opportunities in the Australian sand and aggregates sector, operators require wet processing options that meet market demand in terms of quality, quantity and the range of available material gradings. Webber concludes: “Historically, sand screw and bucket wheel systems have been valuable to the industry but are now being replaced by hydrocyclone technology that is offering next-generation efficiency for a significant increase in materials production, reduced maintenance, reduced manpower, reduced slimes management and continuous operation with water control."

 

“CDE’s modular sand washing systems have been tried and tested in Australia where they are praised for the low amount of civils required and the quality and wide range of grades produced. Fast return on investment, further boosted by energy and water savings, is also a key CDE offering.”

“The complete CDE solution has met all the goals identified by Darwin River Quarries at the beginning of the project, providing a complete tailor-made and high-efficiency washing solution that enables the company to produce five grades of construction and filter sands in the required tonnages.”
Dan Webber, Regional Manager CDE Australia
; ;