Screenmasters Australia Supplying the Kiama Bypass

In February 2004, after a rigorous tender process, Screenmasters Australia were awarded the contract to crush onsite 200 000 tonne of in-situ hard rock by John Holland Contractors for the Kiama Bypass.

The feed material could only be blasted in 3000 cubic metre blocks, as nearby residents were an important consideration. This meant that the blast took place 2 – 3 times every week. A direct consequence of which was that all crushing was to be carried out at a highly efficient rate, in excess of 400 tonne/hour, in order to keep the momentum of the job going.

Obviously downtime was a major consideration, as with any job this size breakdowns had to be kept to a minimum, even though the job site worked 5 and a half days a week. This was achieved by placing Screenmasters service personnel on site at all times, equipped with spare parts enabling them to react within minutes to whatever problems arose, thereby keeping production to a maximum and downtime to a minimum.

“John Holland onsite staff were excellent and very professional in all dealings with Screenmasters Australia” stated Mick Lagan, Operations Director with Screenmasters. “We needed their co-operation everyday. Communication between the two companies was excellent, right down to when the fuel trucks would turn up. You cannot do a job this size, using this many people without adopting a team environment.”

In order to carry out this work Screenmasters chose one of their many Lokotrack crushers, the LT1213 impact crusher. Some may say this was a controversial choice of machine, given the feed size of blasted rock (approx 750mm) and the fact that it was a very hard blue metal. However being fed by a 50 tonne excavator, the machine performed admirably to achieve tonnage in excess of 400 tonne per hour on a regular basis. 2000 tonne by midday was not an uncommon event, indeed during the last 6 – 7 weeks of the project 110 000 tonne was processed.

How was this achieved? Obviously, Screenmasters onsite personnel deserve a lot of the credit, but the machine itself is fitted with state of the art onboard computer. The IC500 intelligent controller gives the machine and operator unprecedented flexibility to monitor and optimize crushing operations. The LT1213 is specially designed for jobs requiring high productivity. The IC500 maximises performance by controlling shut down and start up with the push of one button. The unit can be adjusted automatically for maximum production. The IC500 maintains optimum feed rates and crusher performance, monitors all key functions and unit components to ensure crusher reliability and longevity. Basically, the machine thinks for itself and does everything to look after itself. This is a great asset to any company and is definitely the future of crushing.

These units also come in a closed circuit with a screen attachment. For a working CD-ROM and a variety of applications, call Screenmasters Australia in:
Townsville 0429 917 837
Brisbane 0429 917 838
HEAD OFFICE NSW 0407 935 990/ 0407 935 991