Injection Moulding
A+ PLASTICS is a family-owned injection moulding business based in Minto, NSW.
Since 1973, the company has manufactured a wide range of plastic products.
One of its more recent innovations is Geohex, a ground stabilisation paver which perfectly suits the harsh mining environment.
All minesites face challenges through erosion, and the safety hazards it creates.
The constant flow of machinery and personnel creates ruts, corrugation, potholes and soil erosion.
These factors combine to create surfaces which are hazardous to both walk or drive on safely.
The normal solution is to cover these surfaces with concrete or bitumen which is high cost to install, and very expensive to remediate at end of mine life.
As well, the environmental impact of hauling hundreds of tonnes of concrete across vast distances is significant.
A + Plastic offers a better solution. Geohex is a heavy duty soil stabilisation system comprising of a unique hexagonal reinforced polymer paver which clips together to prevent soil subsidence by enhancing soil stability.
It’s Australian-made from recycled plastic.
And it’s light, which means the cost to transport to site is significantly lower, and doesn’t create manual handling issues during install.
It is easy to lay in any weather, and does not require specialised labour or machinery, with minimal ground preparation.
The Geohex system is designed to carry the heaviest machinery (rated to 1200 tonnes per m2), and can be used for pedestrian walkways, carparks, hard stands, lay down areas or anywhere a flat, level surface is required.
It can also be custom manufactured in a range of colours, enabling clearly defined zones to be established (ie. pedestrian right of way, LV only, no vehicle access, etc).
The next time you are asked what you are doing to minimise the environmental impact of your mine, you could reply: “We are eliminating the need to haul hundreds of tonnes of concrete to site, and replacing it with Geohex — a lightweight Australian-made recycled plastic paving system.”
More information: https://geohex.com.au.