Dugald River Zinc Mine – Fast Supply for Tailings Pipeline Replacement

MMG’s Dugald River zinc mine, 72km north of Cloncurry, sits in one of the world’s largest zinc deposits. It produces 170,00 tonnes of zinc concentrate per year.

The original tailings pipeline was built in 2016 using unlined carbon steel pipe. Within four years, the site’s corrosive slurry was heavily corroding the interior of the pipe, causing leaks.

MMG’s superintendent engaged us to manufacture a new pipeline that could withstand the corrosive tailings. We recommended changing to Abrasiguard slurry piping—our high performance lining system—for more wear resistance when transporting their highly abrasive slurry.

Our Brisbane production team designed and manufactured 400 metres of Abrasiguard polyurethane-lined pipe and Slurryflex mining hose for the project. The pipework was completed and delivered to site within only five weeks in time for the next shutdown. This quick turnaround time helped our customer fix their problem quickly so they could avoid an expensive extended shutdown.