IIuka is a major international mineral sands resource company. It is involved in the exploration, project development, operations and marketing of mineral sands products. Enviro Concepts was assigned to custom build an industrial, heavy vehicle and truck wash bay for their site at Hamilton, Victoria. The project required structural and design customisation and had to be designed to be integrated into an existing plant construction on their mining site.
Site Requirements
Iluka is the largest global producer of premium zircon sands. It is a major global producer of high grade titanium ores, natural rutile and synthetic rutile. The wash bay had to be designed for an existing mine site for wash down of trucks, cranes, heavy vehicles and equipment. The vehicles and equipment had to be washed on a regular basic because of the high amount of dust, mud and grime. Figure 2 shows a photo of the site and the dirty wash down water onsite.
One of the challenges in designing the wash bay is that it needed to be fitted within an existing columns of a building structure. The wash bay would need to have space to wash long and heavy duty semi-trailers along with other heavy equipment. The space provided had the right dimensions, however, it had 3 structural columns on either side that had to be allowed in the design (see Figure 3).
Figure 2
Enviro Concepts Washbays
Enviro Concepts is a leading provider of above ground, modular wash pads and wash bays. The washpads are designed and built in Australia. The structural pads are built with either 2 T, 12 T, 20 T, 30 T and 75 T rating. The 12 T pads can accommodate any vehicle that is legally capable of driving on the roads in Australia including heavy trucks and semi-trailers as long as the weight of the vehicle is evenly divided at 12 T per axle. For Iluka, we proposed putting together 5 x 12 T washpads creating a customised 6.5m wide x 12 long wash bay.
All of the Enviro Concepts wash pads are made of hot dipped galvanised steel. Often we provide steel walls to prevent overspray but it was not needed for this site. However, steel ramps were added to either side of the wash bay to create a drive through configuration, including special ramps customised in rumble grid style to help shake the heavy dirt and mud on the tyres.
For more information on Enviro Concept Heavy Duty Washbays, check out our washbay page. You can also check out our truck wash page for more information.
Figure 3
Production and Installation Benefits
The benefits of wash pad over other designs is that we build the washbay in our factory according to site specifications and we ship the wash bay to our client location. Our wash pads are modular and therefore they can be shipped easily, installed on site and then mobilized at a later date if required. Installation for us typically takes 2 to 5 days. In the case of Iluka, the washbay was installed within 3 working days
The benefits of our modular wash bay are multi-fold – here are 3 key benefits that were highlighted in this project:
- The modular wash pads were cut and constructed according to specific site requirements. We were able to get the design approved, then created a customised washbay to accommodate the pillars without losing the structural strength and integrity of our 12T washpads.
- We were able to provide a heavy duty, permanent washbay for the client site, but with the additional benefit of being completely modular and relocatable. If there is a need to reuse the pads for another location, the option is available to the client.
- Installation was hassle free and quick – we completed the installation and training process within one work week.
Sustainability at Iluka means integrating economic, environmental and social considerations into business practice. Enviro Concepts products are carefully thought through to maintain a small footprint and provide a cost-effective solution to clients for wash bay and waste water treatment projects.
For your wash bay and wastewater questions, contact us. Please feel free to DOWNLOAD our wash bay wastewater checklist that we have created to help clients assess their site and project needs so that we can help them create an estimate that provides the best return on their investment.