McLanahan help Mount Compass expand business

12 August, 2023

Mount Compass Sand and Loam produce quality sands for use in the landscaping and construction industries

First published in the August 2023 issue of Quarry Management as Mount Compass increase product range

Australian sand producer enters new markets with help from McLanahan UltraSAND plant

Mount Compass Sand and Loam, located some 60km south of Adelaide, in South Australia, were established in the early 1980s. Current owner and director Rodney Miller purchased the business in 2007 and, since then, has endeavoured to expand the company’s product range. Mount Compass produce quality sands for use in the landscaping and construction industries, including an oval mix, top dressing, speciality sands, and beach sands.

The challenge

Mount Compass originally used a dry screening method to separate out their sand products; however, the number of products the company could make this way was limited. To make their superior products, Mount Compass had to purchase sand from other suppliers, which, as Mr Miller acknowledged, made the cost of doing business higher.

In 2012, a McLanahan representative visited Mount Compass and pointed out new ways in which the company’s sand could be used, uses that Mr Miller had not even considered. Mount Compass has a unique sand that meets the American Petroleum Institute’s specifications for frac sand – the sand particles are round, spherical and very hard.

‘It opened our eyes to the opportunity that, down the track, we could look at a wash plant that would enable us to exploit those markets,’ said Mr Miller.

Mount Compass have upgraded their earlier dry screening process with a McLanahan UltraSAND plant

The solution

As Mount Compass considered their options, McLanahan offered support by recommending various solutions that would help the company meet its production goals. In the meantime, McLanahan formed a partnership with Lincom to represent their aggregate wet processing line in Australia. Lincom already had a relationship with Mount Compass through the dry processing side of their business.

Ten years after the McLanahan representative’s first visit, Mount Compass finally upgraded their dry screening process with a McLanahan UltraSAND plant, through Lincom, in order to produce speciality sands and increase production.

‘From the very beginning, McLanahan have supported us by looking at various options over the years,’ Mr Miller explained. ‘We’ve been very slow to make this large investment, but they were with us all the way over 10 years, looking at the best options available for the products we wanted to produce.’

The UltraSAND plant is a sand-washing solution that consists of a sump, pump, hydrocyclones and dewatering screen in a compact modular system for ease of delivery and rapid set up.

‘The plant came in a couple of containers which were very easy to offload,’ said Mr Miller. ‘I guess it’s really just like putting together a big Meccano set. With the support of McLanahan’s installation team and our boys, it was a very simple operation to put together.’

Mr Miller was equally pleased with the equipment training and service his team received from McLanahan and Lincom as Mount Compass ventured into their new washing operation. ‘The support we received to get the plant up and running was exceptionally good,’ he said.

The UltraSAND plant offers the flexibility to wash and dewater up to two sand products on the same screen.

‘The plant enables us to wash two products at one time, which, with the landscape products, allows us to have a very high-quality product as well as an oval construction product,’ said Mr Miller. ‘The wash plant has given us the opportunity to wash out the clay and silt, taking all the impurities out of the sand.’

The McLanahan UltraSAND plant has allowed Mount Compass to increase their product range

The results

With the McLanahan UltraSAND plant producing washed and dewatered sand products, Mount Compass no longer have to buy sand from other suppliers to create their superior products. They have also reduced the three-step dry screening process into a one-step process.

‘It’s making a fine, clean sand, which will enable us to look at other options down the track,’ said Mr Miller. He added the plant is simple to operate and his operators find it easy to use. ‘It’s better than we expected.’

Not only is the UltraSAND plant enabling Mount Compass to create clean, high-quality sand products, but the efficiency of system is allowing the company to see additional benefits too, such as pursuing the production of speciality sands.

‘The McLanahan UltraSAND plant has enabled us to increase our product range, as well as the production of our oval mixes,’ said Mr Miller. ‘The production of the oval mixes is a more efficient operation using the new plant.’

He added: ‘Having an efficient wash plant has not only enabled us to enter into new markets, but has also made some of our existing products more affordable to produce, giving us a better margin overall from a business perspective.’