ADAM DAUNT

Quarries need reliable equipment that can handle intense conditions. High temperatures, freezing cold, heavy material and constant use can put extreme pressure on components. 

This is why Oli Vibrators Australia is fully stocked and on standby to assist Australian quarries. 

Many quarries are also located in remote areas, operating almost 24 hours per day. They can’t afford a breakdown.

Sean Brewer, sales executive at Oli Vibrators, told Quarry this is why the vibration motor specialist remains fully stocked and on standby.

“Having our Australian subsidiary and warehouse located in Melbourne is perfect for the many customers we have in the quarry and mining sector,” he said.

“There’s so many OLI vibrators out there in Australia’s crushing, scalping and dewatering screens and a lot of them are purring away 24/7 and getting a real workout. The push for higher productivity and minimal downtime is factored in to all the quarry managers budgets.”

“We’re not just down the road from our manufacturing plants in Italy and Malta, so the need for a fully stocked local warehouse is crucial to our customers and distributors. As such we need to ensure that our local Melbourne warehouse is well stocked not only with all our faster moving smaller vibrators, but also our big bangers like our six & eight pole motors with huge kilograms of force and proven reliability.”

Oli Vibrators specialise in industrial vibration technology, providing high-quality, European-built industrial electric and pneumatic vibrators, frequency converters, flowaids and aerators. The company has operated in Australia for more than two decades and has built up expertise in providing the right tools for the job.

Oli Vibrators manufactures its product in Italy, where its head office is located, and Malta. Here, the equipment goes through rigorous testing and quality control to ensure they can handle the extreme conditions.

The Melbourne-based branch liaises with the European manufacturing facilities to ensure it has the core items required for quarries.

Brewer said this is important, as several local quarry plant equipment manufacturers and designers incorporate Oli vibrators into their designs.

“They need reassurance so that when they get a call from a stressed quarry manager looking for a quick supply turnaround time, we’ll be able to assist quickly and not to let them down,” he said.

He added that while much of the plant equipment found in Australian quarries was imported and not locally manufactured, it was good to see a lot of it comes with Oli vibrators as original equipment.

“Ideally, we would love to supply mainly local manufacturers with our product out of the Melbourne warehouse but realistically our European colleagues are pushing just as hard to get the Oli vibrators on to their own locally produced quarry equipment bound for Australia,” he said.

“We’re happy to offer the after sales support and advice once it’s here. We are also happy to swap out our competitor’s vibrators for the OLI as happens quite a bit, because we have the stock on hand.”

Brewer spends the bulk of his workday talking with customers, many of whom are the procurement and plant maintenance managers for quarries.

With such a wide range of applications to cover, he helps them find the right size and placement for the company’s range of equipment. Small aerators and fluidisers are often deployed for cement powder, lime, and fly ash applications, while heavy-duty vibrators are installed on hoppers and bins. Even the delivery trucks can make use of the equipment.

Oli Vibrator’s specialists work closely with the site team, using drawings and site visits to help pick the right tool for the job.

Brewer said feedback has been positive.

“They love that we can solve problems for them quickly,” he said. “A site might have a blockage or reduced flow. They give us a phone call or email, and we can work together to get things moving.”

“Oli Group worldwide for many years has strived to stand by our mantra of ‘When You need it, where you need it’, and I think with the huge range of large size and brute force vibrators that we keep on the shelf, combined with the local logistics network we have finely tuned over the years, we live up to that.

“There is also a vast number of maintenance companies in Australia that specifically service the quarry sector, so they look to us to provide solutions with fast and reliable supply times. I get great satisfaction when I’m presented with a problem where our products can help and when the call comes back to me saying problem solved.” •

To learn more, visit olivibra.com/oli-australia/
or call 0458 444 200.

ALEXANDRA EASTWOOD

Western Australia is set to see a renewable energy boost with Horizon Power’s purchase of a vanadium redox flow battery.

Vanadium is a metal found in mineral deposits. Currently, there is only one vanadium mining lease granted in Queensland, located in the North West Minerals Province. The Saint Elmo vanadium project began construction in 2022.

Australia’s first commercial vanadium flow battery was completed in South Australia in June this year.

The WA vanadium flow battery is expected to arrive in Perth in 2024. Western Australia Energy Minister Bill Johnston said the delivery will help the state lead the way in clean energy technology.

“Vanadium redox flow batteries are specifically designed to deliver energy over a long period of time, which is crucial for achieving the high levels of decarbonisation we are after,” Johnston said.

“If the pilot is successful, there is potential to expand the use of long-duration, 100 per cent renewable energy across Horizon Power’s 2.3 million square-kilometre network.”

The 78-kilowatt battery will provide Horizon Power will key learnings around how renewable energy can be integrated into the grid system.

Horizon Power has signed an agreement with VSUN Energy, a subsidiary of Australian Vanadium Limited, for the purchase, installation, and commissioning of the vanadium battery.

OLIVIA THOMSON

Fenix Resources has completed the acquisition of Mount Gibson Iron’s Mid-West iron ore, port and rail assets.

In June 2023, Mount Gibson reached a conditional agreement to divest its Mid-West hematite iron ore mining and infrastructure assets to Fenix for $25 million. The deal comprised of $10 million in cash and 60 million Fenix shares and additional options.

The agreement makes Mount Gibson the single largest shareholder in Fenix with an approximate interest of 8.6 per cent.

The assets acquired by Fenix include:

• the Shine iron ore mine, an operational iron ore mine currently on care and maintenance with a mineral resource estimate of 15 million tonnes at 58 per cent
• two storage sheds at Geraldton Port that are on-wharf infrastructure consisting of Shed 4 with storage capacity of 120,000 tonnes and Shed 5 with storage capacity of 240,000 tonnes both with in-loading access via truck or rail
• the two mid-west rail sidings, Ruvidini and Perenjori rail sidings, providing access to the main Mid-West rail network connecting to Geraldton Port and assembly locations for product storage and blending activities
• assets at the Extension Hill iron ore mine that are large scale operational crushing and screening plant, associated equipment, and interests in an operational 138 bed mining camp, all currently on care and maintenance.

The acquisition is expected to provide Fenix with opportunities such as reducing the cost of its Iron Ridge project located approximately 600 kilometres north-northeast of Perth, Western Australia, as well as expanding the project’s production.

Fenix chairman John Welborn said the acquisition of Mount Gibson’s Mid-West iron ore and port assets is a game changer.

“This transformational event for Fenix will drive material economies of scale, provide flexibility to expand iron ore production and operate new projects concurrently,” Welborn said.

“In expanding a mine-to-port logistics solution for ourselves and other producers in the Mid-West, we also create employment opportunities which will strongly support regional economic growth and create exceptional shareholder value.”