Dust Control and Road Stabilization for Mining

BETTER MINE HAUL ROADS

A well-known fact within the mining industry is that mine hauling costs can account for up to 35 – 50% of the total operating costs incurred by a surface mine. Therefore, any savings generated from improved mine road design and management benefit the mining company directly, resulting in reduced cost per ton of material hauled.

Dust emanating from these roads, as well as tailings piles, can also plague nearby communities; therefore a proper dust mitigation strategy can be an important factor for mines’ CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) policies. Taking these facts into consideration, Cypher Environmental has developed dust control and road stabilization products that can enhance the engineering properties of mine haul roads, improving their stability in all weather conditions, reducing dust and maintenance requirements, with a specific focus on reducing rolling resistance.

DOWNLOAD THE BROCHURE

ROAD//STABILIZR® is a long-term soil stabilization solution for roads and targets soils with high clay content by increasing density and providing enhanced stability and strength. ROAD//STABILIZR® is biodegradable, non-toxic, non-corrosive and is specifically engineered to work on high clay content soils, which would normally be considered marginal in terms of their engineering properties.

61% Reduction in Rolling Resistance

17.4% Reduction in Haul Truck Fuel Burn

Reduction of 10,000 Tons of CO2 Emissions Per Year

300%+ Increase in California Bearing Ratio

Cypher Environmental DUST/BLOKR dust control product

Cypher’s DUST/BLOKR® is a groundbreaking alternative to traditional road salts, offering a superior dust control solution without compromising the environment. Whereas the harmful impact of chloride-based road salts (such as magnesium chloride and calcium chloride) is well known, DUST/BLOKR®’s unique formula is non-corrosive, non-toxic, biodegradable and leaves zero environmental impact behind.

DUST/BLOKR® is US EPA Safer Choice certified and conforms to Boeing BSS7432 standards.

85%+ Reduction in Water Consumption

90%+ Reduction in Airborne Dust

Save on costs while achieving your CSR & ESR commitments

Easily mixed, applied and maintained

Proven results under all weather conditions

Rejuvenates with moisture and non slippery when wet

Reduce maintenance costs through fewer applications

Can be used above or underground

Prolong lifespan of your fleet and equipment

Concentrated formula reduces shipping costs & carbon footprint

Non-Corrosive, Non-Toxic & US EPA Safer Choice Certified

Reduce environmental impact to environment & surrounding communities

Our Solutions

FAQs

How do I reduce operational costs on road management?

It has been suggested that up to 50% of operational costs for open pit mines can be attributed to haulage costs. Therefore steps that can be taken to improve efficiencies in these areas can be paramount to producing operational cost savings. While proper road design cannot be ignored, the use of the correct road dust palliatives and road stabilization agents can significantly enhance the performance of haul roads. Cypher has a variety of solutions, including ROAD//STABILIZR® to provide long term stability of road materials in the subgrade, base and running course layers, as well as DUST/BLOKR® and DUST/BLOKR® Liquid Concentrate, to provide long term reductions in emissions. Better stability of the running course and underlying layers, as well as dust reductions, offers significant reductions in operational costs for road management due to reduced maintenance requirements and higher efficiencies for the haul trucks using these roads.

How to reduce emissions from roads?

It is true that proper road design and the choice of the correct road building materials can have an impact on reducing dust on haul and access roads. However, since these roads are always unpaved, additional measures must be taken to reduce road dust emissions, and the old fashioned method of just using water is highly outdated due to the amount of water being consumed, not to mention fuel burned by the constant use of the heavy water trucks. Therefore a proper dust control product should be applied, such as DUST/BLOKR® or DUST/BLOKR® Liquid Concentrate, to provide for long term dust reductions. Both products are designed to be applied with typical water trucks found at mine sites, and are engineered to withstand heavy and frequent haul truck traffic, providing for long term results.

How can we reduce our the environmental impact of our tailings piles?

Due to the location of urban centres and communities closer to mining operations, a greater focus is being projected on reducing the impact of erosion and dust emanating from tailings piles. Typically the longer a mine operates, the more potential tailings it generates, creating further demand for reducing their impact on nearby communities and the environment. Due to the non-soluble film that DUST/BLOKR® Liquid Concentrate produces once applied, it is the ideal solution to dramatically reduce wind and water erosion of tailings. This minimizes any accidental release of these tailings into the nearby environment, and helps play a profound role in a mine’s CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) plan, by reducing their impact on the environment. Because there is no traffic on tailings piles, DUST/BLOKR® Liquid Concentrate offers a long term solution at a fraction of the cost of road applications, since it is applied in a highly diluted form.

How can we reduce our the environmental impact of our tailings piles?

Due to the location of urban centres and communities closer to mining operations, a greater focus is being projected on reducing the impact of erosion and dust emanating from tailings piles. Typically the longer a mine operates, the more potential tailings it generates, creating further demand for reducing their impact on nearby communities and the environment. Due to the non-soluble film that DUST/BLOKR® Liquid Concentrate produces once applied, it is the ideal solution to dramatically reduce wind and water erosion of tailings. This minimizes any accidental release of these tailings into the nearby environment, and helps play a profound role in a mine’s CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) plan, by reducing their impact on the environment. Because there is no traffic on tailings piles, DUST/BLOKR® Liquid Concentrate offers a long term solution at a fraction of the cost of road applications, since it is applied in a highly diluted form.

How can we save money on how we build haul roads?

Many mines are built in areas with limited resources, in terms of adequate road building materials. In cases where abundant materials that are rich in clay content exist, ROAD//STABILIZR® is very well suited to significantly enhance the engineering properties of these materials. ROAD//STABILIZR® works to stabilize soils with approximately 20% or higher passing the No. 200 (75 um) sieve, which are normally known for swelling when wet, and having characteristically low CBR (California Bearing Ratio) values. The use of ROAD//STABILIZR® reduces this swell potential of the clay material, providing for enhanced performance of the road in wet weather, and for significantly higher soaked and unsoaked CBR values. These high clay content materials are typically much cheaper than traditional road building aggregates, and therefore the use of ROAD//STABILIZR® allows for significant cost savings on materials used to build haul roads.

Mining