Flexicon Australia’s dedication to collaborative design is supporting the mining industry as global demand for critical minerals increases.
While hazardous materials exist in most industries, they are a common sight when it comes to mining.
Certain chemicals involved in the processing plants for critical minerals are toxic, either as dust or from the fumes they emit. If a worker comes into contact with them, it poses a serious safety risk.
Dust, in those instances, can pose a threat to the entire site, as it is often explosive. One wrong spark can lead to tragedy.
Designing to minimise these risks is vital, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Flexicon’s applications engineering manager in Oceania/Asia, Rob Wallis, said that his team works closely with customers to learn what they are trying to achieve, to find the most economical result.
“Our applications engineers undergo extensive consultative communication with our customers. This approach allows our team to construct the best solution for the project at hand,” he told ABHR.
“We curate and understand the customer’s requirements to design systems that meet their needs, with safety contingencies in place.”
“A focus on understanding the processed bulk material is also fundamental. We’re working alongside customers and their teams to deliver field-tested integrations.” Flexicon specialises in manufacturing custom-engineered bulk handling equipment and integrated plant-wide systems. Founded in 1974, the company has more than 50 years of experience delivering tailored equipment to address complex material-handling challenges. Directly supporting processing plants that require highly accurate, reliable, and long-lasting equipment. Usually, their systems handle the final commodity, loading it into bulk bags for sale or for transfer to a further processor.
Wallis said Flexicon designs its systems to address known issues that arise when working in the critical minerals sector.
“Our systems are generally very dust-tight, making for a clean plant and limiting the release of combustible dusts, which minimises hazardous areas,” he added.
“We’re highly familiar with the industry standards and technically equipped to work hand-in-hand with our customers and their in-house engineering departments to
manufacture equipment that is compliant with required standards.”
Abrasive materials can also cause problems for mining processes. They can cause significant wear, resulting in unwanted downtime.
“Focusing on abrasive applications is something the Flexicon team takes very seriously,” Wallis said.
“We dive into it with our customers to ensure the system is designed with the right level of throughput, but also has an acceptable lifespan.
“This could come in the form of specialised or custom components, the use of specialised coatings and finishes, and ensuring hoppers are designed for correct product flow profiles.”
Critical technology
Removing manual operation from the equation remains a priority for the mining industry. Not only does it reduce manual labour, but it also improves operator safety and increases the system’s efficiency.
One example Wallis used was an application that relied on operators taking 25kg sacks, which would then be cut open and poured into a tank.
This exposed the operator to dust, fumes, and the potential for injury while lifting heavy objects. Flexicon helped design a bulk bag discharger system that utilises one-tonne bags and can be loaded into the frame through a hoist and trolley, eliminating heavy lifting.
“You take this very manual process, [and automate it via] a machine where you enter your desired amount on the control system and hit start. The machine does the rest,” Wallis said.
“From a customer’s point of view, the return on investment is very good because they’ve reduced their labour costs and exposure to risk.”
Accuracy is also important. When dosing chemicals into a leaching process, a site must not use more than necessary – especially when filling one-tonne bags.
Accuracy is also essential across many applications.
Examples include dosing chemicals into a leaching process, when a site must not use more than necessary, or when feeding a high value commodity into bulk bags.
Often, Flexicon needs to dose down to single-digit grams to meet specific standards. By using automatic dosing systems, operators gain precise control while minimising the potential for human error.
Expert support
When asked what set Flexicon apart, Wallis said the “company’s collaborative approach and extensive industry experience.”
“We have a very deep, skilled workforce that has seen and done it all.
“Flexicon Corporation (Australia) is set up in the region with salespeople, application engineers, documentation engineers, spare parts, commissioning, administration, and after-sales support.
“We don’t passively rely on the global multinational arm of the business to provide that; we have full support here, in Australia, to service the region.”
The majority of Flexicon’s systems are scalable and can grow alongside the needs of a customer.
Because they are designed to be modular, customers do not need to start from scratch if they need to expand.
These building blocks are manufactured at Flexicon’s local facility in Brisbane, where everything can be custom-built to meet the specific needs of a particular application.
Wallis said this kind of support, generates a high probability of returning customers.
“Our mining industry customers want modular systems, especially those in remote mining sites such as Port Hedland in Western Australia, or those in far north Queensland,” he said.
“Flexicon will continue to invest locally and globally. We’re always looking to expand our reach, improve our services, and widen our product line with innovations.
“Our team cares about what we do. That gives our customers peace of mind. They know they are in a safe pair of hands.”