Qualter Hall wins Boulby Mine contract

Firm will design, install and commission and new polyhalite processing facility

Barnsley-based engineering company Qualter Hall has been awarded a new contract for Boulby Mine, as part of the continued upgrade of the site in North Yorkshire.

Qualter Hall will design, supply, install and commission a new facility to process the polyhalite found underneath the potash reserves into speciality fertilisers and industrial products.

The scope of works is to build a new crushing and screening facility within the curtilage of the mine. It includes a 1000te/hr x 300mm diameter pipe conveyor leading from the round house transfer tower into the run of mine stockpile shed which comprises of tripper conveyor, loading trunk, 12,000 tonne stockpile bay, drawdown chutes and uncoaler feeders.

Then the process cell which includes nine process conveyors and five bucket elevators, two 100 tonne storage bunkers, two vibrating feeders, four megatex screens, process pipework, impact crusher, dust extraction and oil coating system. Followed by the finished product shed with three product storage bays, three stockpile conveyors and loading chutes, drawdown chutes, uncoaler feeders and finally discharging to the rail outloading system comprising three new conveyors and gantry with upgraded rail loader.

Qualter Hall are also responsible for all civil works and electrical control works, with the whole process being fully automated and computer controlled.

George Orton, Qualter Hall’s managing director, says: “Given our own breadth of engineering expertise, particularly within the mining sector, combined with the excellent rapport we have with the Cleveland Potash team, we are confident of meeting the demands of this challenging project.”

The contract win follows Qualter Hall’s successful replacement of the Boulby Mine’s headgear in 2013 and the round house transfer tower in 2014.