Alfa Laval decanters revolutionize coal mine tailings management strategy
Rix’s Creek Coal Preparation Plant, Australia
DATE 2023-11-28The Rix’s Creek coal mining operation, part of the Bloomfield Group, set out to improve its onsite coal tailings management as part of its sustainability strategy to reduce water and energy consumption and minimize the surface footprint of waste handling processes.
After evaluating various technologies, Rix’s Creek engineers installed an Alfa Laval decanter centrifuge to dry coal tailings.
The result? Savings in capital expenditures as well as, about 90% recovery and re-use of the process water.
An Alfa Laval decanter centrifuge dewaters Rix’s Creek coal mine tailings, reducing the need for tailings dams while reducing capital investment and water and energy consumption.
Leading the industry in sustainable tailings management
Customer's voice
Based on the test results and a tour of the Alfa Laval service centre in Sydney, we decided to let Alfa Laval recommend a course of action to meet our operating parameters.
Rix’s Creek Project Manager, Robert Booth
Benefits
- Reduction in tailings dam capacity requirement
- Reduced capital investment compared to alternatives
- Dry solids in excess of 60% (by mass) contribute to open cut rehabilitation
- Water savings and water re-use in the plant
- Continuous, enclosed and clean operation
- Minimal operator monitoring required
- Smaller footprint compared to other technologies
