Aggregates Manager

November 2013

Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine

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OPERATIONSExperience ILLUSTRATED Voices of Hershel Geeo H t ershel Geeo knows a thing or two about erecting and operating a modular plant. Several years ago, he worked as general manager for a plant in Oklahoma that needed to replace its aging primary jaw. Along with one of the operation's principal owners at the time, Geeo chose to replace the old jaw with a modular jaw plant. "This location was essentially mining out a mountain from the top down," he says. "In addition to quick startup with the initial installation, we wanted to have the option of moving the primary to a lower level someday, rather than continue to haul material up to the primary." He says, with a modular plant, the move would be comparatively easy versus a complete teardown and rebuild of a traditional stationary jaw plant, and cheaper than abandoning the jaw and buying new. "To combat downtime (in moving the plant), we could create additional surge piles, and be set up and running in a new location in about seven days," Geeo adds. Today, Geeo is the principal at Geeo Systems Limited, a domestic and global mining consultant based in the Dallas area. There are a couple of operational interests he is pursuing, as well. The sites under consideration are sand and gravel operations in and outside of the United States. Is he considering going with a modular setup? Absolutely. "Sand and gravel deposits in this day and age can be massive, in that they cover a lot of acreage," he says. "It's a continual haulage process to get material to the plant. If you have, say, a couple thousand acres with a dredging operation, you can't pump it that far economically. With a modular design, you can move the processing plant to get closer to the material. You can be up and running again in a shorter period of time. It makes a lot of sense for a dredging operation." Because they are already "field" tested, the plant modules themselves assemble quickly. In fact, the electrical work and piping for a wet operation will actually take longer than erecting the plant itself, Geeo explains. Comparatively, even the best-engineered stick-built plant will always require modifications. "With a modular plant, the issues are already worked out," he says. The biggest piece of advice Geeo has for producers considering the installation of a modular plant is to put time into planning. "Know what you're putting up, how you want it to work, and what you want it to do," he says. "If you plan it out well enough, it should go together without a hitch." Mark Crooks I t s there any one type of producer that becomes a modular plant customer? According to Mark Crooks, modular product line manager for Terex Minerals Processing Systems, almost every customer he's met has had a different reason to choose a modular plant. "I would say that for a few years now, we've seen a lot of customers who are looking for the advantages of a portable plant, with the features of a fixed plant," he says. "Customers like that the modular plants combine aspects of both types. They are easy to set up and move, compared to a fixed plant; and they are more robust than portable and mobile plants." According to Crooks, the modular plants are growing in popularity with international customers because, from a logistics standpoint, the modules can transport in shipping containers and also travel as standard freight on the road. When shipping benefits combine with the ease and speed of the modular plants' setup, the plants become ideal for both international customers and those with remote sites. Crooks says that modular plants also make economic sense when the operator looks at the big picture. Comparing the onsite civil engineering, plant design work, permitting process, and erecting of the plant, the overall cost is often less for a modular plant than for a traditional "stick-built" plant. "These plants are economical because they are pre-engineered. They are designed to be 'plug and play.' We match a plant system to the application. Customers can choose modules they want, or they can choose to go with a system package. The plant modules ship easily, set up quickly. Then you just bring electric power to the plant, and it can be up and running," he says. Often, international customers need plants to process materials in new, unknown markets. A modular plant allows an operation to quickly and economically set up a small plant and begin producing material. The producer can assess the market and, if necessary, move the plant and/or install a larger, fixed plant later, Crooks says. In an existing operation, a modular plant can enhance production or help create a new product, allowing a producer to enter a new market. A modular plant can allow a producer to upgrade a machine without having to add on to the existing plant or change the footprint where the plant resides. "That's the beauty of these plants," Crooks notes. "They are pre-engineered, but they allow a producer to be flexible with new markets or within a specific site." Aggregates Manager OperationsIllustrated_AGRM1113.indd 20 10/17/13 1:57 PM

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