Coonarr creek

The Coonarr Creek silica sand mine at Coonarr Creek, about 20 kilometres south of Bundaberg, Queensland, covers an area of 426 hectares. The sand is filling a niche market in both Queensland and New South Wales supplying swimming pool sand as well as a product highly sought after that is used as a pebble finish in concrete pools.

Coonarr Creek Sand is 99.8 Percent Pure

The Coonarr Creek sand mine produces a pure white sand from its lower and upper levels. The sand consists of 99.8 percent silicon dioxide with small traces of iron and aluminium oxide. A feature of Coonarr Creek sand is that there is no sodium, potassium, magnesium or calcium present in the material. This makes it an international standard pure product.

Coonarr Creek Sand Mine has Reserve of 480,000 Tonnes

It has been estimated that the amount of course sand available at Coonarr Creek is in the vicinity of 480,000 tonnes. A major feature of the deposit is that it has sand below 250 microns as well as pebbles of up to five millimeters. The on-site sand processing plant is able to produce up to 100,000 tonnes of high grade blended silica sand a year.

Earth Commodities Pty Ltd Acquired Coonarr Creek Mine in 2006

The Coonarr Creek sand mine was acquired by Earth Commodities Pty Ltd from Sunstate Sands (Aust) Pty Ltd in 2006. It was one of many sand mines and quarry sites that were part of a long term plan to build up a formidable group of independent pits and quarries able to produce quality materials for the world, national and local market.

Raw sand mined from the Coonarr Creek sand mine is taken from selected areas. The selected sand is then taken from the mine site and loaded into hoppers that feed a wet processing plant. This wet plant removes all foreign objects from the sand and carries out an initial segregation that divides it into various sizes. The sand is then taken to the dry facility. It is here where it is taken through a rotary dryer and spread across different screens and shakers in order for it to be graded, this allows it to meet the customers individual specifications.

The sand in the mine is itself graded into three major types of material. This grading is based on layers. Superfine sand comprises the top layer with the very course material either at, or below, the water table. After the sand is processed it is sold to the company's customers in either bulk tippers or bulk tankers. It is also sold as a packaged product in individual bags, or as bags on pallets.

Coonarr Creek Mine Established in 1996

The Coonarr Creek sand mine was established in 1996 by Sunstate Sands to feed a pilot plant that was capable of producing around 12,000 tonnes of washed and dried sand a year. The sand was primarily sold to the epoxy and foundry industries as well as for use as architectural coatings, decorative finishings and for use in swimming pools.

The pilot scheme proved the demand for the product as it quickly found use in niche markets. It was decided to expand the project in late 2000 with the building of a new processing facility. The new plant was completed in early 2001. The Coonarr Creek processing plant was designed and constructed by R.J. Robbins and Associates.