Archive for the ‘March’ Category

Publication: The Mining Chronicle
Date: 25 March 2011

Gold Coast-based mining solutions provider Reynolds Soil Technologies has scored a major contract in South America, pushing the company closer to establishing a new manufacturing plant in Chile or Colombia to cope with rising demand.

Reynolds Soil Technologies (RST) has been appointed sole dust suppressant provider to the Pascua Lama gold, silver and copper mine on the Chilean and Argentinean border.

RST, which is using its RT9 product on the open-put mine which produces more than 300,00 tonnes of ore a year, exports more than 120,000 litres of its dust-suppression product into the region each month. The Burleigh Heads company’s rapid expansion has seen it establish an on-the-ground agent in the region and RST said it was investigating the possibility of manufacturing product directly out of Chile and Colombia to support the fast-expanding market.

Technical and development director David Handel said RST was exporting the product as quickly as it was producing it.

“They want the product quickly – we can get it to them in 32 days but we would like to better that,” Mr Handel said.

“If we could set up to manufacture product in the region, it would obviously prove more logistically efficient but would also open us up to ore market opportunity.”

RST’s latest South American deal comes on the heels of the company establishing a new manufacturing arm in Brazil less than a year ago.

As part of its South American business development strategy, Mr Handel said RST was positioning to continue growth in what was the company’s biggest market outside of Australia.

“We have been introducing our technology and solutions to this market for the past three years, with initial trials proving very successful,” Mr Handel said.

He said the offshore manufacturing and distribution centres enabled the company to reduce its carbon footprint.

RST director Peter Parkinson said it was a “top priority to ensure RST and their clients commit to environmentally friendly solutions to dust control”.

“Our clients already have strict environmental guidelines in place and we assist by helping them to meet these guidelines.

“We also consciously choose to operate in the best interests of the environment and we are always looking for ways to reduce product livels and minimise export costs.”

RST specialises in dust management, soil stabilisation and erosion, water and and agricultural solutions.

The company is headquartered at Burleigh Heads and also has a presence in Western Australia.

Publication: The Mining Chronicle
Date: 21 March 2011

Mining resource company Reynolds Soil Technologies (RST) is seeing its proven Superskin technology work its magic on some of the most volatile environments across the country.

The most recent project involved the sealing of a major tailings dam on a remote gold mine near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, which saw RST assist in the care and maintenance of a 100 hectare tailings dam, effectively sealing the dam until required for future use.

The Kalgoorlie project follows studies undertaken by independent testing body Introspec Consulting, which has shown Superskin to be environmentally friendly, logistically efficient and cost-effective.

Where traditional long wearing veneer crusting agents would use up to 60,000L of product for the Kalgoorlie project, Superskin used only 6000L to achieve the same result.

The revolutionary concept is setting a new benchmark for veneer dust suppressants across the industry by conserving more water, decreasing transport costs and cutting emissions.

RST business development manager Robert Baker said Superskin applications were now complete on the tailings dam, with everyone on site completely satisfied with the results.

“We started applying the Superskin agent and virtually the following day we began to see results,” said Mr Baker.

“From the point of application we began to see the dust eliminating.

“It then began to form a crusting on the surface, eventually losing full moisture and drying out. Ultimately, it did exactly what it was meant to do.

“We’ve applied the technology to over 100 hectares.

“Being such a large scale project, we were very pleased with the results.”

Traditional veneer treatments are designed to crust large areas for prolonged periods, requiring large volumes of product, excessive transport, storage and logistics on-site.

The Superskin studies were conducted in laboratories at the Tunra Bulk Solids Handling Research Associates center at the University of Newcastle. Introspec researcher John Planner said the results of the Superskin technology during testing were impressive.

“The studies were conducted by setting up a series of wind tunnels simulating air flow over a stockpile or rail wagon, imitating operational transport,” said Mr Planner.

“We prepared a sample at a dosage rate nominated by RST and applied one litre of product per square metre to the area, measuring dust lift off for the duration of the testing. It was effective at sealing the surface and was resistant to wind impact, resulting in no airborne particles.”

RST technical and development director David Handel said the results shown by the Introspec studies are a huge vote of a confidence for potential and existing clients.

“These findings are confirming what we already believed Superskin had the power to do and it gives much credence to support Superskin,” said Mr Handel.

“We are now starting to see these proven results on site, which is fantastic. There are a lot of areas that require this kind of product and there is certainly great potential for more jobs to come from the Kalgoorlie area.”

Publication: Queensland Business Review
Date: 10 March 2010

Less than a year after launching an additional manufacturing arm in Brazil, Queensland mining services provider Reynolds Soil Technologies (RST) has landed a lucrative contract on the Chilean and Argentinean border.

Continuing its success in the South American market, the Gold Coast-based company has been appointed sole dust suppressant provider to the Pascua Lama mine. 

RST is using its RT9 product on the open-pit mine which produces more than 300,000 tonnes of gold, silver, copper and other minerals and now exports more than 120,000 litres into the region each month.

Located in the Frontera District in Chile’s Atacama Region and spreading across to Argentina’s San Juan Province, the Pascua Lama mine is up to 5,200m above sea level and began operation in 2009.

RST’s rapid expansion has seen it establish an on-the-ground agent in the region and the directors are now investigating the possibility of manufacturing product directly out of Chile and Colombia to support the fast expanding market. 

Technical and development director David Handel says RST is exporting the product as quickly as it is producing it. 

“They want the product quickly – we can get it to them in 32 days, but we would like to better that,” Handel says.

“If we could set up to manufacture product in the region, it would obviously prove more logistically efficient, but would also open us up to more market opportunity,” he says.

With more than 20 years experience in total dust control and soil erosion solutions, RST has been operating across mines in Australia and overseas for several years, designing innovative and holistic dust suppression solutions.