Peppertree project

The Boral Peppertree Project located 180 kilometres south west of Sydney at Marulan South in the New South Wales southern highlands, has implemented an innovative in-pit crushing solution, as part of a drive to increase efficiency, as well as to improve safety standards and sustainability, in its new Peppertree Quarry. The quarry is expected to begin production in 2014. This innovative move will make Boral a world leader in best practice for in-pit crushing.

The Boral Peppertree Project is to Take up the Slack as the Penrith Lakes Scheme Reserves Decline
The Boral Peppertree Project is being undertaken to allow Boral to supply the metropolitan area of Sydney and the greater New South Wales construction industry generally, with up to 3.5 million tonnes of aggregate a year. The Peppertree quarry is part of Boral's Sydney Aggregate Project that will take up the future slack expected to be experienced as currently available raw material reserves decline at the century old Penrith Lakes Scheme.

The development of the Peppertree Project will ensure Boral continues to be a leading supplier of Quarry products in New South Wales for many years into the future, as there are over 80 million tonnes of proved aggregate resource at the Peppertree quarry and more than 1.8 billion tonnes of inferred resource on company land in the Peppertree vicinity. The project also includes a new railway infrastructure in and around the quarry, as well as a new rail transfer terminal at the Maldon Cement Works near Picton and a new manufactured sand plant at South Marulan.

Boral Peppertree Project Commenced in 2011
The Boral Peppertree Project began in July 2011 following more than 10 years of planning. The selection of in-pit crushing was chosen as being the preferred method after a risk assessment of the crushing process showed it to be the most efficient and safest option to be included as part of the new plant. Boral was looking for a way to optimise its quarrying process so it could avoid the traditional load and haul method that requires a number of trucks and personnel moving between the blasting site and a fixed crushing plant.

Boral Peppertree Project In-pit Crusher an Australian First
The mobile in-pit crushing solution to be implemented at the Boral Peppertree Project significantly reduces the mobile fleet that would otherwise be used in the quarry as well as creating a reduction in fuel costs, maintenance requirements and safety issues. In-pit crushing has been a growing trend in Europe for many years but is relatively new in Australia.

Boral's next step was to choose a crusher that was capable of handling their planned production rate and for this purpose they chose a Metso Lokotrack LT160 along with a Lokolink mobile conveyor system. The Metso Lokotrack LT160 weighs 285 tonnes. It is 12 metres high and 25 metres long, the largest mobile crusher in the southern hemisphere.

Boral Limited is a multinational company that mainly operates in the supply of construction and building materials industry. It was founded in Australia and now has extensive operations in Asia and the USA. Boral employs more than 13,000 people who work at more than 600 sites around the world.
In 1999 Boral separated its building and construction materials business from its energy businesses. Boral's energy business became known as 'Origin Energy Limited.' The former 'Blue Circle Southern Cement
Limited' became 'New Boral' and took over all the company's building and construction material responsibilities. New Boral was listed on the ASX (Australian Securities Exchange) as 'Boral Limited.'
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