CATERING TO NEEDS Geotextiles ensure mine access roads can withstand heavy loads
South African manufacturer and supplier of geosynthetic products Fibertex has supplied high volumes of heavy-grade nonwoven needle-punched geotextiles for the ongoing road construction at a major gold mine in Ghana’s Akyem mining region.
This project involves continuing the construction of an access road to the openpit, where mining excavation is taking place.
“A major challenge was the formation of a durable road structure, with sufficient bearing capacity to withstand [the] required loads, including dump trucks carrying in excess of 250 t of ore a trip. “Continuous heavy wear and regular rainfall in this region necessitated a robust road formation, with prolonged service life and minimal maintenance requirements,” says Fibertex export sales manager Chris Powell.
The Fibertex nonwoven geotextile’s porous structure prevents the migration of weak subsoils into the high-quality engineered fill and also inhibits the loss of high-quality aggregate into the weak subgrade below. In this process, the geotextile also provides stability to the base layers. The tension membrane effect provides the required compaction of the road aggregates and, thus, increases the bearing capacity of the road to withstand continuous heavy traffic loads.
Geotextiles, with excellent hydraulic filter properties, have sufficient permeability to allow free movement of water. This will provide long-term stability of the foundation layers and ensure an extended life of the new road. Another advantage of using geotextiles in this project is the significant reduction of fill material required during construction. By reducing the amount of engineered fill required, the installation is simplified, which leads to time and cost savings.
Fibertex nonwoven geotextiles are engineered to have high mechanical stability, not only for in-field performance, but also for damage that occurs during the installation process. Geotextile mechanical stability is achieved by having a high elongation and high tensile strength to resist failing under load.
Other critical durability features include the geotextile’s stability over a pH range of 3 pH to 12 pH and its resistance to fungal attack and biodegradation – an inherent quality of the polypropylene polymer the geotextile is produced from.
An extensive range of geotextiles is manu-factured at the Fibertex manufacturing facility in Hammarsdale, in KwaZulu-Natal, according to stringent international quality, safety and environmental specifications. This involves line testing for a consistent high-quality product and quality control testing to ensure all nonwoven products meet every customer’s requirements.
Fibertex industrial nonwoven fabric products are manufactured for use in a diverse range of industries, including automotive, filtration, furniture and flooring applications.