TRANSFORMING MINING'S TOUGHEST WASTE

FENNER CONVEYORS AND TYRECYCLE HAVE TEAMED UP TO TURN ONE OF MINING'S MOST STUBBORN WASTE STREAMS INTO A CLOSED-LOOP RESOURCE.

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M ining is an industry built on movement, IN with conveyor belts providing the basis for ore transportation from one cog in the value chain to the next.

When belts reach the end of their service life, the question of what to do with them has, until now, been met with few viable answers.

This is changing thanks to a new partnership between Fenner Conveyors and Tyrecycle.

The two companies are combining technical expertise, specialised equipment and national reach to recycle used conveyor belts for alternative product streams including new conveyor belts.

Years in the making, the initiative takes advantage of significant new local infrastructure investments by both businesses in Western Australia.

Fenner's soon-to-be-commissioned rubber mixing facility at its Kwinana manufacturing hub, paired with Tyrecycle's East Rockingham processing plant, creates a powerful co-located recycling ecosystem.

Under the program, Fenner's service teams remove old conveyor belts during scheduled changeouts or from existing storage areas, utilising in-house belt handling equipment developed specifically for harsh mining conditions.

These are then transported directly to Tyrecycle's facilities in either Port Hedland or East Rockingham..

Tyrecycle processes the belts using high-powered Danish-designed equipment, capable of handling the largest steel-cord belts that have historically been too difficult to recycle.

The recovered rubber polymers and steel can be sold to domestic and international markets or, in a first for Australia, be returned to Fenner's new rubber mixing plant to be reintroduced into the manufacturing of new conveyor belt.