THE DUSTMONSTER 100 I-Cat’s DustMonster product line creates an ultra-fine mist that attracts dust, encapsulating airborne particles and driving them to the ground
Johannesburg-based environmental management company I-Cat Environ-mental Solutions in October formally launched its largest-ever misting cannon at global diversified mining major Anglo American business unit Kumba Iron Ore’s Sishen mine, in Kathu, Northern Cape.
I-Cat Environmental Solutions environ-mental services and water solutions head Lourens van Rensburg asserts that the Dust-Monster 100 (DM100) is the largest dust-suppression cannon system of its kind in operation anywhere in the southern hemisphere.
“I-Cat’s DustMonster product line provides outstanding results by creating an ultra-fine mist that attracts dust, encapsulating airborne particles and driving them to the ground,” he states.
The system is deployed in full mining oper-ational conditions at stockpiles and loading areas, entrapping dust during blasting.
“The custom design and development of the DM100 were commissioned by Sishen mine management earlier this year to deliver a specific solution to problem areas at the mine,” says Van Rensburg.
“Effective dust suppression is a complex equation and the DM100 was specifically designed to deliver a custom solution for working areas of opencast mines or large quarries,” he states, adding that the new dust suppression offering has a superior reach to cover material stockpiles and loading areas with heights of between 30 m and 60 m.
Further, Van Rensburg explains that the system’s large atomised misting unit stands about 5 m tall on its trailer and is completely self-contained with an 18 000 ℓ water tank and generator.
He states that the DM100’s 44.13 kW motor and user-definable 359° oscillation, with a throw of more than 100 m, enable the machine to cover 2.6 ha.
“To put the DM100’s capabilities into perspective, one machine can cover the area of five rugby fields with its dust-trapping atomised mist,” he points out.
Van Rensburg says the machine’s compon-ents are specifically engineered to ensure optimal performance efficiency, further pointing out that the DM100 was designed with input from some of the world’s top mining companies, with data collected from several site visits, “where visibility around large working areas can be profoundly impacted on by dust”, he says.
The DM100 unit was developed specifically for large-scale opencast mining, such as iron-ore and coal operations, as well as bulk materials handling.