APS brings quarry back to life

A quarry which had been dormant for six years has bounced back into productivity with support from high performance washing plant supplied by Aggregate Processing Solutions APS.

Aggregate Industries, which supplies a wide range of building materials to the construction industry, has invested in a purpose-built CDE system from APS for its Little Paxton Quarry in Cambridgeshire, to wash sand and gravel for concrete aggregates.

The highly-engineered CDE system has been configured to a bespoke layout, bringing together standard modular relocatable units to create a solution specific to the quarry’s exact requirements.

The plant features a S2910 static feed conveyor, AggMax 252SR Logwasher assembly and a Prograde P2-42 twin deck washing screen, as well as a H1565 transfer conveyor and Evowash 151 triple cyclone sand unit.

Other elements include six C1565 stockpilers, a ProGrade rinsing deck and sizing screen and a Trackstack 8042 TSL sand stockpiling unit.

APS – the specialist washing arm of the Finlay Group of companies – has introduced each of the components so they all work in tune with each other, to deliver maximum performance.The plant has also been designed to comply with the stringent guidelines for the site, in accordance with its location next to Paxton Pits Nature Reserve, which is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI).

This includes measuring up to specific height and noise restrictions, as well as being coated with a ‘Moorlands Green’ colour, which is designed to blend in with the environment.

Now in operation for eight months, the plant is currently powering through 200 tonnes an hour to produce a +75mm, a 75mm-40mm, a 40-20mm, 20-10mm and a 20-5mm product as and when required, as well as soft and sharp sand.

Aggregate Industries has a long-standing relationship with APS – which sells complete systems as well as contracting and hiring of processing equipment.

Duncan Hayden, assistant site manager at Little Paxton Quarry, said: “As a company we’ve been working with APS for around ten years and they always meet our needs.

“The whole experience has been very good and we’re extremely happy with the new plant.”

Aggregate Industries currently has four contracts nationwide with APS, and the plant at Little Paxton operates on a ‘price per tonne’ basis.

John Dunne, managing director of APS, said: “It’s great that the quarry is back up and running and I’m happy to see how pleased Aggregate Industries are with their new washing system.”

A video of the washing system in action can be seen at https://youtu.be/3Zau3osQ0zE