Quarries have, in recent years, less frequently employed rotary – or trommel – screens in their operations. However, that may be all set to change with the arrival in Australia of the Nirox TRG 403 tracked rotary grizzly.
The TRG 403, supplied by Nirox Ltd, based in Ballymoney, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, is being distributed in Australia by Index Industrial Brokers (east coast) and by OPS (in Western Australia and the Northern Territory).
Index?s first machine arrived on the east coast in September, while OPS took delivery of its first TRG 403 on the west coast in October. Both distributors will offer the full range for sale and hire.
Nirox has built static and mobile rotary grizzly plants since 2002. Its products have been tried and tested worldwide and are customisable to suit all conditions.
The TRG 403 is intended to fill a gap in the Australian screening market by offering a robust machine capable of handling run of mine material in quarries and pits that otherwise is discarded and pushed aside, due to contamination of the overburden soils and clays. Quarries will be able to clean up their sites, recover all the saleable rock and produce a larger rock specification. Combined with the ability to handle the most difficult damp and clay-ridden applications, the TRG 403 can handle a feed of up to 800mm and produce standard product sizes of -75mm, +75mm, -200mm and +200mm.
The TRG 403 weighs 45 tonnes and consists of a heavy duty Hardox reciprocating plate feeder, 8m3 hopper, rotary grizzly 4.5m x 1.5m media usable length, Caterpillar C4 96kW water-cooled engine pack, heavy duty undercarriage unit with 500m wide pads and 3700mm sprocket centres. The drive is totally diesel hydraulic.
Product sizes can vary when ordering from the factory. The TRG 403 comes with two optional extras: a hydraulically operated tipping grid mounted to the feed bin end to control top end size of product, and a hydraulically operated bin extension arrangement for increased bin capacity.
The usual high specification includes a 5.5m long heavy duty scalping drum, with 1.5m internal diameter that can take a 900m3 lump size. The drum is divided into two screening segments. A 3m scalper/cleanup drum with 230mm x 105mm elongated apertures will remove -80mm material from the feed. A 1.5m sizing drum with 300mm square openings will produce 80mm to250mm gabion and riprap stones. A +250mmstone will come from the discharge end of the drum which can be used for rock armour or clean crusher feed.
Material is fed into a large capacity feed hopper with hydraulic folding Hardox sides, material is then passed over a heavy duty reciprocating tray feeder with variable speed hydraulic drive and limit switch to adjust the length of the stroke. Three on-board conveyors stack the fines, mid-size and over size products. These conveyors hydraulically fold for transport.
HIGH QUALITY AGGREGATE FOR HI-QUALITY
A TRG 403 has been in operation in one of Hi-Quality Group?s quarries near Sydney since 2007. It is totally free running on the track system, making machine movement very fast and simple.
The Hi-Quality Group is a family-owned business that has been operating for over 30 years. Comprising numerous suppliers all related to the quarry industry, Hi-Quality?s major activities include production of natural and recycled quarry products for the construction and landscaping industries, bulk materials transport, and provision of plant and equipment for the quarrying, mining, civil engineering and waste management markets.
Douglas Ewan, the manager of Hi-Quality?s Menangle quarry, stated that since the TRG 403 had gone into operation, the quarry had reclaimed old stockpiles of materials with previously zero value and by scalping out the competent rock, had reclaimed some 70 per cent of saleable product.
?Our company can see many uses, such as gabion rock to foreshore defence rock,? Douglas explained. ?Being mobile, we can now travel between any of our quarries within a day and be set up to start production! We are looking forward to installing a large static machine in our Wallacia operation to produce rock armour for the Sydney market.?
Sources: OPS Screening and Crushing (WA), Index Industrial Brokers (NSW)