Cannington reduces fugitive air emissions with train washing system

Our Cannington operation consists of a silver-lead-zinc mine and processing facility, road-to-rail transfer facility, and a concentrate handling and ship loading facility at the Port of Townsville. We have invested A$2 million in a train wagon washing system at the concentrate handling and ship loading facility, which aims to mitigate potential air emissions from the transportation of our products.  

Cannington uses train wagons to transport lead and zinc concentrate to the Port of Townsville where it is loaded onto ships for export to customers around the world. The new train washing system uses a high-impact water spray to wash the wagons, removing fugitive1 dust and build-up that may accumulate during handling. The train washing process takes place immediately after the wagons are emptied, minimising the risk of spreading fugitive emissions during their 800 km return journey to the road-to-rail transfer facility. 

Since installing the system in May 2022, Cannington has reduced fugitive lead emissions by over 75 per cent on average and fugitive zinc emissions by 64 per cent on average. 

Cannington continually looks for ways to optimise water management practices and improve operational water efficiency. Runoff water from activities at Cannington Port is used in the train washing system and after being reused in a number of train washes, the water is processed through a water treatment plant and reused in operational activities at site.  

The train washing system also helps to reduce waste, as it separates and recovers concentrate build-up which is loaded onto vessels and sent to our customers.