eaf

Intec Ltd (ASX code: INL) is pleased to advise that the first containerised consignments of electric arc furnace (EAF) dust from mainland Australia began arriving earlier this week for bulk storage on-site at Hellyer in northwestern Tasmania. All EAF dust handling systems performed to expectations, proving the design parameters applied to the retrofitting of the existing shed on the Hellyer Residues Project site.
From now on, all of Onesteel Limited’s EAF dust produced at its Laverton, Victoria scrap steel recycling plant (consistently grading >35% zinc) and from Onesteel’s mini-mill at Waratah, NSW (grading >40% zinc) will be transported directly to Hellyer. Intec has since 1 August 2007 been receiving EAF dust ‘arisings’ from both of these locations into its stockpile warehouse at Footscray, Victoria, at a rate of approximately 300 tonnes per week. This Footscray stockpile now amounts toapproximately 27,000 tonnes and constitutes a major source of future feedstock for Intec’s Hellyer Residues Project.
The EAF dust is brought to the Hellyer Residues Project site in sealed containers. It is unloaded under controlled conditions into the shed, and then conditioned with 5-10% moisture to improve the materials handling properties prior to transfer to the storage bunkers. The moisture is added after transport to avoid needless expense of transporting contained water.
An open area adjacent to the EAF dust receiving shed on the Hellyer Residues Project site has been levelled to accommodate the storage of up to 25,000 tonnes of EAF dust in a type of temporary storage bunker that is commonly used for bulk commodities, particularly grains. In such applications, it is important that the storage is impervious to infiltration of groundwater and weather, and is thus designed to ensure complete containment of this valuable feedstock.