Since its introduction onto the Australian market in 2012, Australia-based container solutions company Intermodal Solutions Group’s (ISG’s) pit-to-ship materials handling solution has been implemented at various ports worldwide, owing to its efficient delivery of materials handling with minimal product loss.

The system was first used in Australia to transport copper con- centrates from Australia. Since then, the system has been implemented at South Australia’s Flinders port, New South Wales’ Port Kembla, the Republic of Congo’s Pointe Noire, Mozam-bique’s Maputo port, Chile’s Port Antofagasta and Argentina’s Port of Rosario. At these ports, the materials handling of dust-prone commodities such as copper ore, mineral sands, iron-ore, coal and grain has been successful.

ISG MD Garry Pinder tells Mining Weekly that the company’s pit-to-ship solution is inexpensive compared with conventional materials handling solutions currently used at ports, adding that ISG’s system can be erected faster than conventional systems.

“Our system can be set up and operational in just six months, while conventional storage-shed and conveyor systems usually take five years to become fully operational,” he boasts.

Pinder adds that the container system emits less pollution and can operate in adverse weather conditions, which usually bring other materials handling procedures to a halt. “With a sealed unit, like ISG’s unit, no dust gets in or out, so if it is raining or there are high winds, it won’t be a problem,” he says.

He further highlights that ISG’s product has been implemented in Australia to load dangerous copper concentrate Class 9 materials onto a ship, “next to pristine beaches and yacht clubs”, without dust residual outside the ship’s hull.

How It Works
Containers transported by ISG’s materials handling system are loaded at the mine site, sealed and transported by road or rail to the port for exporting. At the port, the containers can be block-stacked until the ship arrives.

“Depending on how cranes are used and congestion in the port, a rate of 1 200 t/h is achievable with our system,” says Pinder, adding that most ports use two cranes.

ISG’s containers have been cycle-tested to last ten years, but Pinder suggests they can last up to 15 years, if not longer, depending on how the containers are used.

ISG’s materials handling solution uses existing port infrastructure, such as cranes at bulk or container ports, and requires ISG’s patented tippler device that attaches to a crane for the handling of specialised containers.

For bulk ports, forklifts may be required for short-distance transportation of containers, where they are stored on the quayside of the port.

ISG’s tippler device works by securing the container for lift-off from the quayside of the dock and transporting it to the ship’s cargo hold. Once inside the cargo hold, the tippler lifts the container’s lid and rotates the container 360° to dump the material.

After completing its full rotation, the tippler replaces the container lid and returns the container to the quayside of the dock to be stored and returned to the loop cycle to collect more materials from a mine.

The tippler can be attached to land-based cranes, ship cranes or overhead cranes.

Blending Made Easy
ISG’s solution ensures that mined materials can be sampled at the mine, with the miner assured that the product will not be contaminated or tampered with during its journey to port, says Pinder.

He explains that certain blends of mined material can be block-stacked at the port, so blending can take place within the ship after the containers have been grouped into predetermined quantities that need to be loaded at different times onto the ship.

ISG containers are tested and certified in accordance with BK2 and ADG7 ISO standards, with frequent cycle tests performed by ISG. The comany has full finite element analysis reports on its entire range of containers.

ISG has

a patent on its tippler lid and lid-lifter, as well as a patent pending on other features of the materials handling solution, including a corner casting design that stops product from flowing into corner castings of the container. The casting design also reduces crane downtime and product spill on the quayside.

Further, the bathtub design of ISG’s containers reduces product hang-up during offloading procedures.

Meanwhile, ISG tells Mining Weekly that it has developed a bulk container for iron-ore that diversified resources group Exxaro uses in the Republic of Congo. This container has a 40 t capacity – significantly more than most bulk containers, which usually have a 32 t capacity.

Pinder explains that there is no standard container for all commodities as each product type has specific gravity characteristics.

“These characteristics determine the height of the container, while the tippler is designed to use gravity to assist in the turning cycle, with the container’s product height critical to this operation,” he says.

ISG boasts copper and mineral sands containers, which were its flagship container solutions, as these commodities are at the high end of the mineral-value price range.