FRP for Mining & Mineral Processing
Corrosion- and abrasion-resistant FRP for leaching, slurry, tailings and process-water service.
For more than 35 years Crimar has supplied FRP tanks, piping, ductwork, covers, scrubbers, pump barges and custom process equipment to mines and mineral-processing plants on six continents — for operators including Freeport-McMoRan (formerly Phelps Dodge), Grupo México, ASARCO, Glencore, CODELCO, Newmont, Intrepid Potash and Mosaic, working through EPCs such as M3 Engineering, FLSmidth, Jacobs, Hatch, Technip and SNC-Lavalin.
The challenge
Mineral processing is one of the harshest environments for equipment. Leach circuits combine sulfuric acid, chlorides and dissolved metals; slurry lines carry abrasive solids; tailings and process water sit under UV and wide temperature swings; and many operations are remote, where a failed vessel means costly downtime and long replacement lead times.
Carbon steel corrodes, rubber-lined steel needs constant maintenance, and stainless is expensive and still vulnerable to chloride pitting. The equipment that survives is engineered specifically for the duty.
How Crimar helps
Correctly engineered FRP resists both the chemistry and the abrasion at roughly a quarter of the weight of steel — so it ships and rigs into remote sites, installs faster, and runs for decades with minimal maintenance. We select the corrosion barrier, resin and reinforcement for each service, fabricate under ISO 9001 to ASME RTP-1, and — for equipment too large to transport — field-wind and assemble on site anywhere in the world.
What we supply
- Leaching, storage & process tanks — up to 15 m diameter
- Slurry & process piping and ductwork
- Thickener & clarifier covers, launders and feedwells
- Fume & dust scrubbers
- Pump barges, floating walkways and pipe floats for ponds
- Abrasion-resistant liners and replaceable wear sections
Materials & construction
For abrasive, acidic mining duty we build with epoxy vinyl ester (high-temperature, fire-retardant or flexible grades) and isophthalic polyester, reinforced with roving, mat, woven roving and surfacing veils. Where abrasion is severe we add silicon carbide or aluminum oxide to the corrosion barrier, use urethane-modified resins such as Derakane 8084, add Kevlar veils, or design in replaceable wear sections.
Standards
- ASME RTP-1
- ASTM D3299 / D4097 / D2996
- Third-party inspection (Bureau Veritas, Moody, ABS)
Representative projects
A selection of projects that reflect our experience in this sector:
- 48″, 84″ & 102″ FRP duct systems — Phelps Dodge Playas smelter
- 72″ & 96″ duct and butterfly dampers — ASARCO smelter
- 115 FRP tanks for a zinc-recovery plant
- 350,000-gallon field-assembled tank, Arizona
- Stack, ductwork, scrubbers and tanks — Mosaic potash mine
- Compound venturi, quench and duct — Intrepid Potash