The mine accepted the proposal, and around 1 km of previously treated wearing course was ripped up, recovered and reused to construct a new haul road. The result was a smooth, sealed, production-ready surface built with half the new material and dust suppression product that the establishment would normally require.
The project reflects a wider shift in how mines are expected to manage resources. As pits expand, older infrastructure is routinely buried or discarded, and with it the material and product that went into building it. At the same time, operations face growing pressure from regulators, investors and neighbouring communities to reduce waste and show measurable progress on environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments. Reusing what is already on site.
The existing treated wearing course was ripped, loaded and tipped along the line of the new haul road. On site, the recovered material was blended 50/50 with coal discard, then compacted and plate-mixed with Dust-A-Side's DAS LC product. The surface was reshaped and finished with a grader before being sealed.
Because the recovered material had already been treated, the new road needed only half the volume of wearing course and product normally required at establishment, a 50% reduction on both. The finished haul road delivered a smooth, well-shaped and sealed surface, ready for production traffic.
The same thinking applies to Dust-A-Side's own operations. The tanks used to store product on site have to be cleaned out before each new delivery comes in, a process that leaves behind a product residue. Instead of disposing of it, the team saved the residue and put it to work on the road project, using it to repair mine potholes and road surfaces. Depending on the need, it is applied as is or mixed with water and soil material.
Together, the two initiatives show that recovered material, whether from an old road or the bottom of a storage tank, can be repurposed into working mine infrastructure. Each one reduces waste, recovers value from material that already exists and lowers demand for new product.
"DAS-treated wearing course is fully reclaimable and reusable," says Fillipus Masipa, chief technical officer. "Reusing material cuts product consumption and saves the time spent sourcing new material."
For Dust-A-Side, environmental stewardship is not an afterthought. It is integral to how the company does business, from the products it applies to the way it manages haul roads and dust control across each site.
More information on Dust-A-Side's products and services is available on the Dust-A-Side website at https://dustaside.com/. The team works with each operation to assess its roads, surfaces and dust challenges and to put together an approach suited to the site and the season.
