Through its inspired dredging technology, Dredge Robotics is helping mining companies mitigate environmental hazards.
Just as much as they are important assets on a mine site, lined ponds can also be hazardous waste catchments which, if not maintained properly, can spell trouble for a mining company.
Dredge Robotics has developed a solution to enable the safe dredging of lined ponds without damaging the liner, with its technology able to clean ponds containing all kinds of “exotic liquor”.
“Exotic liquor refers to any liquid that is corrosive, whether it’s high pH or low pH,” Dredge Robotics chief executive officer Antony Old told Australian Mining.
“It’s an encompassing catch-all for anything and everything that’s nasty for the robot to be in, and our tech is designed to keep humans out of those environments, so it’s a good fit.”
Dredge has extensive experience in executing projects in a range of conditions, whether it’s pH 13 lined oxalate ponds or pH 2 conditions including sulphuric acid and pregnant leach solution (PLS) ponds.
Other exotic liquor conditions include the cyanide-rich environments synonymous with gold mining, ferric chloride-rich environments, or alumina, nickel and lithium processing loops.
“There’s a real gamut of environments you can get exposed to, and you’ve got to understand the intricacies of what each one is, and then have gear that’s tooled to handle it,” Old said.
“We ensure our equipment is capable of handling the full spectrum of corrosive environments by building our robots from the highest grades of material, and then using inert materials to supplement parts for specific applications.”
By providing equipment that can navigate all manner of chemicals, Dredge Robotics is helping mining companies navigate complex and potentially costly issues associated with their lined pond systems.
Old explained the conundrum some miners face.
“All ponds need to be maintained to ensure they are functional,” Old said. “For ponds that contain environmentally sensitive material, you have an escalating level of consequence if the pond liner becomes damaged.
“Traditional dredging methods are unable to protect the pond liner, meaning they are unsuitable for sensitive applications. That’s where our unique liner-safe technology comes in, allowing miners to keep their assets online and safely remove all sediment, even from particularly challenging pond types.
There are also key safety advantages to Dredge’s technology.
“In other dredging processes, you typically have a person on a barge, in an excavator or in a pond manually digging with equipment,” Old said.
“This exposes staff to whatever’s in the pond, but given our robotic dredging system is remotely operated, those risks are totally eliminated.”
Image: Dredge Robotics
The liner-safe robot is just as quick, if not quicker, than other dredging methods, due in part to the sophisticated navigation arrays and obstacle modelling capabilities of the machines.
The robots can be fitted with an array of tooling, which can be adapted to different environments, enabling sludge to be removed efficiently from the asset.
Dredge Robotics works closely with several Tier 1 mining companies to ensure their lined ponds are dredged regularly with the right equipment.
“We have clients who have become lifelong converts to what we do, sometimes by learning the hard lessons of using the wrong approach first,” Old said. “And we’ve been through extensive risk management processes with Tier 1 miners to advance to the stage of doing multi-year dredging projects in very challenging conditions..
“Not only does liner-safe dredging technology exist, which can return a lined pond to its original state while the pond remains in full service, but it’s also been checked off and used by Tier 1 miners in high-consequence environments.”
As Dredge Robotics rapidly expands its Australian mining clientele, the company is attending MINExpo in Las Vegas from September 24–26 to further develop international business opportunities.
Dredge has received inbound interest for its liner-safe dredging technology from the US, South America and Canada, highlighting the global appeal and applicability of its solutions.
“Dredge Robotics is ready to move into the broader US market to support miners with their exotic liquor lined pond projects,” Old said.
It appears many mining companies, whether Australian or international, are facing similar environmental concerns, with traditional dredging equipment proving largely ineffective in many dredging situations.
Luckily for that, Dredge Robotics has developed a foolproof dredging solution, capable of handling “exotic liquor” from any commodity or mine site.
This feature appeared in the August 2024 issue of Australian Mining.
