Minimizing Corrosive Wear in Ore Transport

Transporting ore in hot and humid climates can have a devastating impact on the wear resistance of conventional wear-resistant steels. Australian manufacturer Bruce Rock Engineering is well acquainted with the challenges faced by its dump truck bodies when transporting iron ore in Western Australia.

The Root of the Problem

Iron ore contains small amounts of acidic salts. To suppress dust during transport, the ore is often sprayed with water. Salt and water are already a bad combination, but when combined with temperatures that typically reach 45 °C, they create an extremely corrosive environment. This leads to the formation of iron oxide on the steel surface, which makes the steel more susceptible to abrasive wear.

The same corrosive wear also occurs with other minerals such as lithium, nickel, copper concentrate, and coal. Even in dry or non-corrosive environments, conventional wear-resistant steel wears out quickly when transporting loads with a low pH value or loads that contain chlorides or sulphates. Such conditions are anything but rare in both open-pit and underground mining.

The Solution for Bruce Rock

Bruce Rock Engineering is a family-owned business in Western Australia, home to some of the world’s largest iron ore mines. The company offers a wide range of transport solutions and prides itself on delivering equipment with the lowest tare weight in Australia. This helps maximize customer profits while minimizing maintenance and operating costs.

Since the company’s founding, Bruce Rock has been building dump truck bodies using wear-resistant Hardox® steel. For many years, Hardox® 450 was the preferred grade in their operations.

Several years ago, SSAB approached Bruce Rock with a proposal to test our new wear-resistant steel grade, specifically designed for acidic and corrosive environments.

This steel – Hardox® HiAce – is capable of resisting corrosive wear, significantly extending equipment service life by reducing the formation of less durable oxides on the steel surface.

Hardox® HiAce is engineered with a nominal hardness of 450 HBW, the same as Hardox® 450.

Studies show that in corrosive environments, the service life with Hardox® HiAce can be extended by a factor of two to three compared to a 450 HBW steel.

Source and Photo: SSAB AB