Around 90 minutes’ drive from Kununurra in the scenic Eastern Kimberley region of far northern Western Australia, you will find the Ridges Iron Ore mine site.
Going back almost 10 years, Kleemann was the mobile crushing and screening manufacturer chosen for this project by a previous contractor.
Back then, the plant was an MC120Z mobile jaw crusher (which was later replaced by the larger MC125Z mobile jaw crusher), and three MCO13S mobile cone crushers (with integrated classifying screens).
Fast forward to the present, and once again the contractor at Ridges has chosen Kleemann as the preferred brand of machine, as the distributor could not only provide the right equipment needed to process the material, but also the back-up to provide the continued support during the project lifetime.
Kleemann is a brand of the Wirtgen Group, a John Deere-owned company and a renowned German manufacturer of road and mineral technology machines, including Kleemann, Wirtgen, Vogele, Hamm and Benninghoven.
The customer is Indus Mining, which is headquartered in Perth and has a history of delivering complex projects in remote locations all over Australia.
Indus Mining employs more than 150 people nationally and has been focused on mining and civil infrastructure projects for more than 10 years. The company has extensive experience in pit-to-port operations, including project management, contract open-cut mining, drilling and blasting, mineral and processing facilities, loading and haulage, and port management.
The Kleemann machines selected for the Ridges Iron Ore project in 2020 include the MC120PRO mobile jaw crusher, the MCO11PRO mobile cone crusher and two MS952EVO mobile screens.
The diesel-electric MC120PRO has a feed capacity of up to 650 tonnes per hour (tph). It utilises advanced technology such as a reversible jaw, and the Kleemann constant feed system (CFS) system that ensures maximum production when combined with the intuitive SPECTIVE operation interface. There is also a discharge conveyor mounted “stockpile sensor” that reads the hopper material level of the downstream machine, and allows the MC120PRO to adjust its own production settings accordingly.
The MCO11PRO has a feed capacity of up to 470 tph. This diesel-electric, variable speed crushing unit is also fitted with the CFS system and intuitive SPECTIVE operation interface, coupled with a discharge conveyor-mounted stockpile sensor that reads the downstream machine hopper level to enable self-adjustment of production settings. There is also a machine-mounted and electrically-driven return conveyor, to link up with oversize material from the screen.
The two diesel-hydraulic MS952EVO screens, each with a feed capacity of up to 500 tph, feature foldable side conveyors for fast and efficient transport, and variable speed conveyors for total control over operation during production.
Another feature of these machines is a remotely operated, hydraulically folding grate over the feed hopper, to ensure that no oversize ends up in the screen feed material.
A key benefit of the diesel-electric machines that the producer will appreciate as the project goes on is the fuel economy when compared to competitors.
The MC120PRO is currently averaging around 17 to 18 litres per hour (lt/hr) during production, the MCO11PRO around 23 to 25 lt/hr, and the MS952 around 12 to 13 lt/hr.
Although all of the machines have fast fuel connections installed to reduce downtime and increase safety during refuelling, the fuel economy achieved ensures that these refills can be scheduled to fit production needs, rather than stopping output.
Another feature of the MC120PRO and MCO11PRO (and on selected other Kleemann models) is the Wirtgen Group WITOS system. This enables the owner to remotely:
• Check if the machine is currently operating (and monitor historical operation time).
• Check the exact GPS location of the machine.
• Check current machine hours.
• Check current/historical diesel rpm (useful for variable speed machines such as the MCO11PRO to show operating conditions).
• Check the current/historical fuel usage rate.
• Check for active/historical messages on the machines to assist with fault finding.
• Check for historical messages to monitor machine operation.
• Enable Wirtgen Group technicians (and Kleemann Germany factory technicians) to assist with machine operation and fault finding.
• Receive notification of upcoming scheduled maintenance.
• Receive notification of active faults.
• Receive notification of machine movement outside of a predetermined GPS ring-fence.
The above is only a selection of the many benefits the WITOS system provides to enable the owner to maximise all aspects of running a mobile crushing plant through key material data extraction, including reports and tabulated information of choice.
Bringing all of the aforementioned technology together allows Indus Mining the ability to forward plan production needs.
The low grade ore material from Ridges is then transported via road train to a shipping facility in Wyndham for export.
Wirtgen Australia continues a partnership with Indus Mining comprising Kleemann mobile crushing and screening solutions that is of benefit to all parties.
Source: Wirtgen Australia