Vibratory screening of mined materials: mesh and maintenance lessons for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on Australian Mining
30 Second Briefing
Higher efficiency vibratory screening in mines is being driven by optimised mesh selection, correct vibrator sizing, and improved access to screen vibrators as critical wear parts. Martin Engineering’s Susie O. Bartoli stresses matching vibration frequency and amplitude to particle size distribution and moisture content, along with using appropriate wire diameters and aperture geometries to reduce blinding and carryover. Ergonomic maintenance access to vibrator assemblies and tensioning systems is framed as essential to cut downtime and manual handling risks on multi-deck screening stations.
Technical Brief
- Screen vibrators are treated as consumable wear parts, requiring scheduled replacement within planned shutdown windows.
- Ergonomic access platforms around multi-deck screens reduce working-at-height exposure during vibrator and mesh change-outs.
- Bolt-on vibrator assemblies allow removal with mechanical aids, limiting manual handling of high-mass components.
- Standardised vibrator models across screening stations simplify spares inventory and reduce change-out time under permit conditions.
- Clear isolation points and lock-out/tag-out provisions at each vibrator are emphasised for maintenance safety.
- Guarding around moving screen components is framed as needing tool-only removal and positive reattachment checks.
- Guidance links screening design decisions directly to compliance with site-specific safe work procedures and risk assessments.
Our Take
Within our 353 Mining stories, Australia-based coverage often clusters around haulage and processing plant upgrades, so a focus on vibratory screening suggests operators are now looking for incremental efficiency gains in secondary circuits rather than only in primary crushing or fleet automation.
Martin Engineering appears mainly in our database in the context of bulk material handling and dust control, so its push into screening efficiency in Australia likely reflects a strategy to bundle safety, spillage control and throughput optimisation as a single value proposition to mine operators.
Among the 725 tag-matched pieces on Projects, Safety and Product, relatively few deal with screening hardware, which means mines adopting newer mesh and vibration configurations can still gain a competitive edge in uptime and maintenance exposure compared with more widely discussed conveyor or truck safety upgrades.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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