The Meandu open-cut mine is owned by Stanwell Corporation Limited (Stanwell) and is located in the Tarong Basin, 180 km north-west of Brisbane, in Queensland’s South Burnett region. The mine is the sole supplier of coal to the adjacent Tarong power stations, also owned by Stanwell, with a generating capacity of 1843 MW. Coal is processed in a coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP). Raw coal can be by-passed or washed in a two module jig plant at a rate of 1800 t/h. Currently tailings are thickened and disposed of in a conventional tailings dam. Due to optimisation changes in the life of mine plan, and the significant expected environmental benefits, dry tailings disposal was explored to see if tailings dewatering offered benefits to the operation over the long term. As a long term solution, Meandu has investigated options to dispose of dried tailings with the other coarse CHPP rejects, ensuring that another large tailings dam will not be required for the remaining life of mine. After completing preliminary investigations into various dry tailings technologies, Meandu selected the solid bowl centrifuge technology. Test work was conducted on site, using a pilot scale solid bowl centrifuge, to confirm the suitability of the technology to dewater the thickener underflow. Stanwell engaged Sedgman Pty Limited for the design, supply, construction, installation and commissioning of the equipment. The project was started in May 2017, with acceptance of the first solid bowl centrifuge in late December of the same year. Cake total moisture below 36% with clear effluent has been achieved. Further optimisation of flocculation addition and operation of the Alfa Laval P3-10070 are being progressed. This paper will discuss pilot testing, main components of the plant design and commissioning, as well as the key elements that contributed to the successful outcomes for the project.

Read More Here