Minroc, an Australian-owned and Queensland-based supplier of mobile equipment to the quarrying industry, has gained international acclaim for developing solutions to help build the artificial archipelago of Palm Islands, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Minroc engineers are working with Nirox R&D and product development teams to design and manufacture large custom trommel plants for one of the most unique environments in the world.
The team of Minroc engineers are manufacturing the equipment for the Palm Island project, ensuring quality and timely delivery of the customised Nirox product.
{{image2-a:r-w:200}}All plants for the Palm Islands are designed and made to order to suit the customer?s specifications and production rates. UAE operations have appreciated the flexibility of the modular or mobile design for post-use and can see a wide range of uses for years to come on a variety of projects.
?The Nirox has performed beyond anyone?s expectations in a harsh environment, in temperatures of 56 degrees celsius for most of the year with 97 per cent availability with the same barrel,? said a local spokesman. ?Minor hard facing is done on a regular shutdown schedule and we are now only changing the barrel for a new one for a new size specification for a large project in Abu Dhabi. We intend to do a hard facing of the old barrel and have it ready for other production runs.?
The Nirox RG 902 trommel was installed in 2008. As of June 2012, it had produced 14 million tonnes of aggregate for various Dubai projects. The forecast is for greater tonnage in years to come.
{{image3-a:l-w:200}}Construction on the Palm Islands began in 2001. Divers surveyed the seabed and workers constructed a crescent-shaped breakwater from blasted mountain rock. The crescent of Palm Jumeirah stands a little over four metres above low tide sea level and sits in 10m of water at its deepest point.
Sand, covered by an erosion-preventing water-permeable geo-textile, makes up the breakwater?s lowest layer. A tonne of rocks cover the sand and two layers of large rocks, weighing up to six tonnes each, cap the structure.
A ?toe? placed by a floating crane sits inside the crescent. The breakwater also has two 100m openings on each side to eliminate stagnation in the 16 narrow, deep channels. These gaps allow water to circulate every 13 days.
The constant development of the Nirox product in a large number of locations around the globe, coupled with the expertise of the Minroc team of engineers, ensures quality and fast build times.
Source: Minroc/ICON Visual