When it comes to developing products that reduce the overall risk profile of a job on mine sites, Dy-Mark’s 50 years of experience in the industry has allowed the development of a specific range of mine marking paints including the global product of choice, Dy-Mark Non Flammable Mine Marking Paint.
Founded in Adelaide in 1964, Dy-mark started in the specialisation of printing, coding and stencilling inks, as well as aerosol marking paints that were supplied to government departments and councils. Dy-Mark has since expanded into mine marking; metal protection; and cleaners and lubricants, developing a global product of choice for mine marking aerosol products. The innovative non-flammable mine marking aerosol cans has positioned them above their competitors in a thriving market.
Dy-Mark is one of the Premium Partners with BSC who take special care in tailoring products to site-specific conditions. Steve Keown, National Product Manager Lubricants and Lubrication Equipment at BSC, discusses the importance of Dy-Mark’s mine marking products and their multipurpose applications on the job site.
“Dy-Mark’s mine marking paint are used for critical applications such as marking out exclusion zones on the ground, for marking environmentally sensitive areas or blast zones, so people can be aware that there are charges in the ground,” says Steve.
The sensitivity of using high quality marking products, as Steve further elaborates, comes from the fact that “for industries such as mining, quarrying and the petroleum industry, exclusion zones are very sensitive. You can be removed from your employment if you don’t follow correct practices. That’s how critical mine marking is. With blast zones or high voltage infrastructure, being at the wrong location at the wrong time could lead to serious accidents.”
Darrin Pierce, National Mining Sector Lead with Dy-Mark, further provided insights into Dy-Mark’s products and testing processes.
“We have two specific products within the mine marking range, standard mine marking paint and our non-flammable mine marking paint which has the highest level of safety features. It passes a series of rigorous testing in order to gain the UN standard of certification for non-flammability. What this means is that unlike a standard aerosol spray that will accelerate a fire, our solvent and the gases we use are both rated non-flammable. This is a critical safety issue from an underground mining perspective. People working in mines appreciate that our product is highly technical and non-flammable because it reduces the risk factor significantly.”
According to Darrin, there are many different components that go into a mine marking aerosol can and each one of these has to pass a series of quality assurance tests. Visibility is of course a high priority, and this comes from the pigments used in the paint.
“The pigmentation is what gives the paint its colour and vibrancy. We use high quality pigmentation so that the paint stays visible for an extended period of time. An important element of our product is the high-quality resin components and it is these resins within the paint that make it adhere to the surface,” says Darrin.
“As you can imagine, underground mines can be wet and dusty, so with all of those environmental factors to consider, a quality resin means not only is the paint more visible, but it bonds to the surface,” says Darrin. “This is what makes mine marking products useful in other civil infrastructure projects such as tunnelling. The cans we use are designed to survive the rough and tumble of those kinds of operations. And the integrity of these cans and how they withstand more pressure is highly important to people working in tunnelling operations,” he adds.
“There are many points to consider besides visibility and withstanding heat, pressure and the prevailing environment. There is the solvent which is the part of the mixture that helps the paint to flow from the can and these additives help keep the resin and pigment in solution.”
Darrin also describes some of the ingenuity to the Dy-Mark mine marking can design.
“We have a 360-degree valve on the can, which means it can be sprayed overhead and on the ceiling. It can be sprayed directly on the floor or horizontally as well. It’s a feature that improves usability, but we also see this as a safety feature. The ability to spray in any direction, reduces fatigue in mines and reduces workplace health and safety risk. We’ve designed handles that the aerosol can be inserted, so when geologists or miners are marking the mine ceilings three or four metres above their head, they don’t have to rely on equipment or machinery. They can perform this process standing on the ground using one of our mine marking accessories.” The can also has a higher than average bar rating, which enables it to sustain high pressure underground increasing the safety factor and combined with the specially formulated quick drying formula, increases the speed of turnaround and reducing downtime in mines.
Dy-Mark Mine Marking products are used substantially on site and distributed across Australia and globally. Darrin says Dy-Mark pride themselves on good partnership models with major suppliers in the mining sector such as BSC, and that has championed their continued success for decades.
Features:
• Available in Standard and Non-Flammable aerosol cans
• High-visibility pigmentation
• Quality resin for lasting application
• Ability to withstand environmental conditions such as heat, wet, moisture, or dry
• Far exceeds the standard 15 bar pressure limit before distortion
• Greatly reduces risk and prioritises the safety of the miners