Bradken: A century of experience

Bradken combines a century of experience with intelligent modern technology to deliver solutions to its customers.

The global mining industry is rapidly changing, emphasising the importance of working with partners who can help operations achieve productivity improvements and optimisation.

And that’s where Bradken comes in.

Bradken is a manufacturer and supplier of wear products for the resources sector. Its engineering team employs a solutions-based approach, working with customers to adapt its products to meet a range of needs and issues.

A typical situation begins with collaboration. Bradken works with a customer to identify a problem, and then pulls from its team of experts and decades of experience to discuss solutions the company has implemented elsewhere.

Such was the case when Bradken was engaged to optimise a large copper mill in North America that was seeking to improve the output and profitability.

“The client reached out to us and asked, ‘How can you help us achieve our goal?’” Bradken product lead in North America Matt Hazell told Australian Mining. “Collaborating with the site, we identified constraints in the AG mill, impacting the efficiency of the concentrator plant which we could improve.

“We found the mill was not discharging efficiently and there was an opportunity to leverage Bradken’s global experience, analytical capabilities and modelling tools to resolve the issue.”

Bradken provided a full mill redesign to suit the site’s operation.

But suggesting a complete redesign isn’t always easy.

“Many sites are risk-averse, especially when proposing major departures from their current designs – even if the potential reward could be significant,” Hazell said.

Customers need certainty, and Bradken delivers.

“We work to be as transparent as possible in predicting the success of our proposals,” Hazell said.

“Typically, customers first want to know if proposed designs have been proven in the field. This is where Bradken’s global wealth of experience adds value.”

Bradken also adds validation through advanced numerical modelling tools and discrete element method (DEM) simulations to evaluate particle motion and collisions within the mill.

In other words, Bradken runs engineer-reviewed simulations to validate design features and potential outcomes on-site performance before ever installing a part.

This is exactly the technology Bradken employed to help secure the go-ahead at the copper mill site in North America.

“Using DEM, Bradken was able to analysis the results of several designs to ensure the optimal package was implemented to suit sites operation” Hazell said.

“Beyond that, we have made some incredible developments in our digital tools to accurately predict performance. Bradken was successfully able to forecast the mill performance over a 12-month period and guarantee a five per cent increase in production.”

The project outcome exceeded the original forecast, resulting in a further five per cent improvement over the agreed benchmark.

As valuable as it is in the moment, a big part of Bradken’s service is its after-sales support.

“We don’t really treat ourselves as a product supplier – we’re a solution provider,” Hazell said. “The products are the tools we use to craft those solutions.

“So that means the collaboration and service continues beyond those products being installed. It’s about making sure that they continue to perform as expected.”

Bradken designs and manufactures its own products, allowing the company to tailor its offerings to each customer and provide the optimal solutions.

“We challenge ourselves to continue to improve. This is seen in our development of new materials, products and digital solutions,” Hazell said.

“We choose to continually innovate.”

As a manufacturer, Bradken invests in the research and development (R&D) of its range. Its optimised products help customers hit their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals by running more efficiently.

Bradken is incorporating circularity in its mining consumables, improving its management of emissions throughout the product’s lifecycle to provide a holistic path to zero emissions manufacture.

The company’s R&D efforts, supported by government research programs, have resulted in improved production efficiencies and reduced emissions.

The company also provides a comprehensive liner recycling program, significantly reducing waste a mine site would otherwise have to deal with. Once removed, 98 per cent of the metal liners are recycled and put back into the chain of production.

Through its broad range of experience in its teams, range of materials and products, along with intelligent simulation modelling, Bradken is helping customers optimise their operations. 

This feature appeared in the May 2023 issue of Australian Mining.

Australian Mining.

copper