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New research shows why dust reduction alone isn’t enough to evaluate dust suppressants

Written by Janet Reznicek on . Posted in Article.

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Researchers compared conventional and bio-based dust suppressants using two haul road materials from an operating iron ore mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. In controlled wind-tunnel testing, every commercial suppressant tested reduced airborne particulates by more than 99% compared with untreated soil.

The differences were clear when comparing how the treated materials performed under other stresses that matter on a haul road: abrasion, mechanical strength and exposure to water.

One finding was particularly significant. Abrasion resistance correlated with dust suppression performance, while indirect tensile strength did not.

The results suggest that mines evaluating dust suppression technologies need to look beyond how much dust a treatment initially suppresses and consider how well the road resists processes that cause dust to return.

Haul roads are under constant mechanical stress

Heavy haul traffic continually wears and displaces material at the road surface, while rainfall and runoff can weaken or erode the treated layer.

To understand how these different stresses affect dust suppression, Bind-X researchers developed a testing regime that assessed four characteristics: dust emission, abrasion resistance, indirect tensile strength and water erosion stability.

The research, presented as part of the proceedings at the 2026 Resource Operators Conference organised by the University of Wollongong, University of Southern Queensland and University of Queensland and published in the paper Bio-Based Dust Suppression for Haul Roads in an Arid Australian Iron Ore Mine, tested two Pilbara haul road materials with different characteristics: a sandy clay and a clayey loam.

Three bio-based treatments — Terrabind Select, Terrabind Max and Terrabind Ultimate — were compared with conventional treatments including bitumen emulsion, acrylic co-polymer emulsion and lignosulfonate, with water used as a control.

The objective was to compare treatment performance and determine which characteristics provide the most useful indication of dust suppression performance.

Dust suppression results alone didn’t tell the full story

To measure dust emissions, the researchers placed treated soil samples in a wind tunnel and exposed them to controlled wind speeds while measuring airborne particle counts across different size fractions.

All commercial treatments reduced airborne particulates by more than 99% relative to untreated soil across all measured particle-size fractions, including PM10 and finer particles.

There were still differences. Terrabind Select, Max and Ultimate reduced measured dust to background levels, while detectable particles remained with polymer, lignin and bitumen treatments, particularly among the finer particle sizes.

But the results also highlighted the limitations of assessing a treatment on dust emissions alone.

A treatment can suppress dust while the surface is intact. The question is whether that performance holds once the surface is repeatedly subjected to haul traffic.

Abrasion resistance provided a clearer indicator of dust performance

To investigate this, the researchers subjected treated samples to mechanical abrasion using a rotating-brush testing system capable of simulating loads corresponding to a 700-tonne haul truck.

Here, the differences were more pronounced.

Untreated and water-treated samples lost several grams of material during the test. Lignin, bitumen and polymer treatments reduced that loss, while Terrabind Select, Max and Ultimate recorded less than 0.1 g of material loss.

When researchers compared the abrasion results with airborne particle counts, lower abrasion correlated with lower dust generation.

That relationship matters because abrasion continually creates new loose material at the road surface. Even if a treatment initially suppresses dust, its effectiveness can deteriorate if traffic breaks apart the treated surface and exposes material that can become airborne.

Among the characteristics assessed in the study, abrasion resistance was the best predictor of dust suppression performance.

A stronger surface didn’t necessarily mean better dust suppression

The researchers also measured indirect tensile strength (ITS) to assess the breaking strength of the treated material.

Most treatments increased breaking strength relative to untreated material. But unlike abrasion resistance, ITS did not show a clear relationship with dust suppression. Treatments with similar breaking strength could produce different dust results.

A hardened surface is necessary for dust resistance, but hardness alone does not determine how that surface will behave under mechanical stress.

Layer thickness and cohesion are also important. A treatment may produce a firm surface layer that suppresses dust while intact. But if that layer is thin and susceptible to mechanical damage, cracking can expose loose material underneath and allow dust generation to resume.

The researchers point to previous work with lignosulfonate, where a hardened but thin layer provided dust suppression until it was subjected to mechanical stress.

For a haul road, retaining that structure under traffic is therefore as important as its initial strength.

Wet stability exposed another difference between treatments

The study also assessed whether the treated materials could retain their structure when exposed to water.

Build-in specimens were subjected to 45 minutes of simulated heavy rainfall and runoff, corresponding to water exposure of 10,000 L/m².

Terrabind Ultimate and bitumen emulsion were the only treatments that remained fully intact on both haul road materials.

Terrabind Select and Max provided moderate resistance on the clayey loam, while polymer and lignin showed limited resistance. On the sandy clay, only Terrabind Ultimate and bitumen demonstrated water resistance.

The results show why dry performance alone is not enough to assess a treatment intended for roads that may also experience intense rainfall.

The road material itself also affects performance

The differences between the two soils reinforce another point: dust suppressant performance cannot be considered independently of the material being treated.

The research identifies a range of interacting factors that can influence performance, including soil density and porosity, particle-size distribution, compaction energy, liquid and plastic limits, chemical composition, moisture content, water adsorption, temperature and humidity.

That makes it difficult to take the performance of a treatment on one material and assume the same result elsewhere.

This is particularly relevant when comparing products based on headline performance figures. The conditions under which those figures were produced — and how closely they reflect the road where the product will actually be used — matter.

So what does this mean for mine operators?

There is no single measure that can fully characterise dust suppression performance.

Dust reduction is fundamental, but the Bind-X results suggest mines should also consider whether the treated material can resist abrasion under traffic, maintain sufficient cohesion under mechanical stress, withstand the rainfall and runoff expected at the site, and perform with the specific road material being treated.

Of the characteristics investigated in this study, abrasion resistance showed the clearest relationship with dust suppression performance. The authors report that this relationship has also been observed across several additional soils outside the scope of the study.

Evaluate what happens after the dust has been suppressed

The research points to a broader lesson for mines evaluating dust suppression technologies.

All commercial treatments tested reduced airborne particulates by more than 99%. Yet abrasion, strength and water erosion testing revealed important differences in how those treated materials behaved under stress.

A headline dust reduction figure therefore only tells you how well a treatment performs against one measure.

The more useful evaluation is whether the treated road can maintain that performance under the traffic, road material and environmental conditions it will encounter in operation.

For mines comparing dust suppression technologies, that means looking beyond how much dust a treatment stops initially and assessing how well it keeps the road intact afterwards.

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Why haul roads lose wet stability and what to do about it.

Written by Janet Reznicek on . Posted in Article.

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This article explains why haul roads lose wet stability, where problems usually appear first, and what mines should consider when choosing a stabilisation approach that holds up after rain.

Why haul roads lose wet stability

A wet-stable road should hold firm after rain. It should resist rutting, deformation and washout, and remain trafficable with minimal recovery work before trucks can move safely again.

“One thing I would say confidently is that wet stability is a real test of whether a road treatment is doing its job,” says Julian Musgrave, Head of Business Development Australia at Bind-X.

A haul road can look strong in dry conditions, but rain shows whether that strength remains when the surface is under moisture and load.

Rain affects a mining haul road in two ways: through the immediate condition of the surface and through the longer-term structural integrity of the pavement. The structural effects are often much more significant, and more expensive, than the visible mud and potholes.

Most mine haul roads are unsealed granular pavements. Their strength depends heavily on maintaining the right moisture content. When too much water enters the pavement, it changes how the aggregate, base and subgrade respond under heavy truck loads.

“Sometimes a stabilising product is not suited to the site material. Sometimes the product loading is too low. Sometimes the treatment depth is too shallow for the truck fleet, traffic volume or expected rainfall,” says Julian.

Drainage also plays a major role. If water sits on the road, runs too fast across the surface, or concentrates in low points, it increases the chance of softening, washout and deformation.

Effective stabilisation depends on good road design, drainage, maintenance, material compatibility, treatment depth and whether the stabilised layer has been designed for the loads and moisture conditions it will face.

Surface symptoms of wet instability

On an untreated haul road, the first changes are usually visible at the surface. Friction decreases, reducing tyre grip and increasing stopping distances. Water collects in depressions and wheel tracks, while saturated fines turn the wearing course soft or muddy.

Truck speeds may then be reduced for safety, immediately affecting productivity. Puddles, shallow rutting and potholes can also indicate that water is beginning to enter the pavement and affect the layers beneath it.

This is where the structural damage occurs

When water fills the voids between aggregate particles, friction between aggregate particles decreases. The pavement loses bearing capacity and becomes less able to support haul truck loads. Each wheel pass creates greater pavement deflection, which accelerates the loss of shape and strength.

Rainwater can also infiltrate through the wearing course and enter the base and subgrade. Saturation can dramatically reduce the strength of fine-grained materials, resulting in localised road failures, deep wheel tracks and rutting.

Another common failure mechanism on heavily trafficked haul roads is pumping. Repeated truck loads force trapped water upwards through the pavement. Fine material migrates towards the surface, progressively weakening the pavement structure and making the road rougher.

Flowing water creates a different type of damage. It removes fines and aggregate from the road surface and drainage system. Crowns, crossfalls, batters and ditch lines can deteriorate, while severe storms may wash out entire sections of road.

These failures are more difficult to correct than surface mud or isolated potholes because the road has not only lost its shape. It has begun to lose the structure that supports the fleet.

High-stress areas fail first

Not all sections of haul road cause the same level of stress. Julian explains that corners can be problem areas to maintain because trucks continually push material sideways when they turn. Over time, this creates rutting, channel formation and surface deformation, increasing the internal stresses on the tyres. Wet stability problems usually show up first where trucks place the greatest load, movement and shear force into the surface: corners, ramps, intersections, braking zones and loading areas. Corners are especially difficult. As trucks turn, they push road material sideways. If the surface has softened after rain, that force can quickly create rutting and channel formation.

“If I was designing a haul road treatment program, I would generally treat corners more aggressively than straight sections, because they’re often the first areas to go,” Julian shares.

Autonomous fleets can amplify this effect. While autonomous trucks vary their path slightly on straight sections, they tend to follow very similar lines through corners. The same sections of road receive repeated loading, which accelerates wear in concentrated areas.

The result is a surface that becomes progressively rougher and more difficult to maintain. Those localised defects might seem minor at first, but they create exactly the conditions that increase tyre flex, add additional abrasive material onto the road surface, generate heat, and shorten tyre life.

Once those sections lose stability, traction becomes harder to manage. Wheel spin is more likely, especially on ramps and corners. The tyre grinds against the softened surface, displacing more material and increasing deformation under load.

“Once one truck starts slipping, the whole fleet stops. Everything pauses until they can either grade the road or improve the conditions enough for the trucks to operate safely again.”

Wet roads increase rolling resistance

Even when the road remains passable, wet conditions affect haul truck performance. Tyres sink deeper into the softened surface, increasing rolling resistance and the amount of energy required to keep the truck moving.

As rolling resistance rises, fuel consumption increases and cycle times become longer. Tyre temperatures and wear can also potentially increase, while roughness, rutting and potholes place greater loads on truck suspension and structural components.

A useful rule of thumb in mining is that water almost always translates into higher rolling resistance. Rolling resistance then becomes a direct productivity and cost penalty across the fleet.

Grading can restore shape, but not always strength

After a rain event, the usual response is to send the grader through.

That may make the road look serviceable again and trucks can return to the route. But grading does not always restore the strength of the treated layer.

If the stabilisation has softened, washed out or failed to hold the road material together, the surface may look repaired while still being weak. Once haulage resumes, the same section can deteriorate again.

Julian has described this issue in relation to haul road maintenance more broadly: crews often restore the shape of the road without rebuilding the integrity of the road. That distinction matters after rain.

Where water has reduced bearing capacity, softened the subgrade or caused fines to migrate through the pavement, regrading the wearing course alone does not address the underlying failure.

Why good drainage is key

The biggest determinant of wet-weather road performance is often drainage, rather than road thickness alone. A well-built road must be able to shed water quickly before it infiltrates the pavement or remains trapped under repeated truck loads.

This requires an appropriate crossfall, adequate table drains and functioning culverts/drains, supported by a properly treated and compacted wearing course. A crossfall of approximately 2-4% may be used to help move water away from the running surface, depending on the road design and site requirements.

Where the drainage system is working effectively, the road can shed water and may recover within hours. Poorly drained, untreated roads retain moisture, soften and rut, and may require extensive regrading or rehabilitation before normal haulage can resume.

Drainage features also need to remain functional during the rain event. If table drains, culverts or crossfalls are blocked, damaged or poorly maintained, water will either find another path across or through the road or build up on the road.

Stabilise for wet performance

The answer is to stabilise the road properly for the conditions it will face. That means selecting a stabilisation method that suits the road material, rainfall exposure, drainage conditions, truck fleet, traffic volume and haul road geometry.

Designing haul roads for wet-weather performance

A uniform application across the whole road may not be enough. Straight sections, corners, ramps and intersections experience different forces. They may need different treatment depths, product, product loadings or construction methods.

In the past, a site might have looked to options like bitumen emulsion for high-strength haul road stabilisation. These products can be effective, particularly where the treatment area is limited and long-lasting surface strength is the priority. But product selection is changing.

Sites are now looking more closely at environmental performance, clean-up requirements, rehabilitation obligations and the full life cycle of the treatment, not just whether it can bind the road.

For Julian, today his preference would be a clean biological stabilisation method that can deliver the required strength, while also performing under wet conditions. The aim is to build strength into the road structure without creating unnecessary environmental or operational issues later.

This is how he would approach a road designed for heavy mining traffic. “If I was using Terrabind Ultimate, I might stabilise straight sections to a depth of 150 millimetres, but increase that depth and product loading through corners because they’re higher-stress areas.”

The specific design would depend on the road, material and fleet. Wet performance has to be designed into the road from the start. Engineers should identify high-stress sections early. Drainage needs to be managed. The stabilisation product needs to be incorporated at the right depth and loading for the conditions it will face.

Crews must properly mix and compact the product throughout the treated layer. Choosing an appropriate product is only one part of the system. The road still needs suitable geometry, effective drainage, and construction and maintenance to ensure the pavement remains strong when wet.

Choosing the right stabilisation product

There is no single stabilisation product that suits every haul road. Some products perform well in certain material types but not others. 

“The goal isn’t to choose a product because it’s popular or the lowest upfront cost. The goal is to solve the problem in the right way that also aligns with your site’s operational and environmental objectives,” says Julian.

When weighing up stabilisation options, mines should ask:

  • Has the product been tested under wet conditions?
  • Does it maintain strength after heavy rain?
  • Does it resist washout?
  • How does it perform through wet-dry cycles
  • What treatment depth is required?
  • How does it perform under heavy truck traffic
  • Does it need different loading in corners, ramps or braking zones?
  • How soon can the road return to traffic after application?
  • What recovery work is usually required after major rain events?
  • How often does it need to be reapplied?
  • Does it create equipment clean-up issues?
  • What are the environmental, closure and rehabilitation implications?

These questions help you make a decision based on whole-of-life road performance.

Wet stability affects the whole operation

Large rain events are already disruptive. The aim is to stop road recovery from extending that disruption longer than necessary.

A haul road that holds together during and after rain can support safer traffic movement, more consistent haulage, fewer emergency grading interventions and faster return to production.

It can also help limit the increase in rolling resistance, fuel use, tyre wear, truck loading and cycle times that occurs when the running surface softens and becomes rough.

That is why wet stability deserves attention before the next major rain event. A stabilised road should maintain strength, shape and trafficability when conditions change.

That outcome depends on treating the road as a complete pavement and drainage system. The product, road material, treatment depth, compaction, geometry and drainage all need to work together.

If it cannot do that, your stabilisation strategy needs to be reviewed before the next storm exposes the same weakness again.

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Haul truck on a firm, stabilised haul road in an open-pit mine with clear air above the pit

How modern dust control solutions support responsible mining and ESG targets

Written by Janet Reznicek on . Posted in Article.

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Dust control used to sit with the road crew. It now sits in the sustainability report as well, because the water it consumes, the particulate matter it releases and the communities it affects are all reportable line items.

This article maps dust control onto the disclosures mines are actually asked to complete, looks at where water-based suppression makes those numbers harder to move, and sets out what typically changes when the road surface itself is stabilised.

Dust is no longer just an operational issue

For a long time, dust was treated as a housekeeping matter. A road got dusty, a water truck went out, and the issue was considered closed until the next shift.

That framing has narrowed. Dust generation touches at least four areas that now sit inside formal reporting: water withdrawal and consumption, air emissions, community impact and, on tailings facilities, surface stability. Each of those has a disclosure attached to it, and each of those disclosures is read by someone outside the operation.

The practical consequence is that a decision about dust control is no longer only a decision about roads. It is also a decision about numbers that appear in an annual report, are compared against peers, and are increasingly assured by third parties.

This does not mean dust control has become a compliance exercise. It means the same intervention can now be justified twice: once on operating cost, and once on reported performance. Understanding which disclosures are affected makes it easier to build that case internally.

Where dust control shows up in your water disclosures

Water is where the link is most direct, because water-based dust suppression consumes water that has to be withdrawn, accounted for and reported.

Under GRI 303: Water and Effluents 2018, three of the five disclosures are quantitative: 303-3 water withdrawal, 303-4 water discharge and 303-5 water consumption. All three require a breakdown for areas with water stress. Disclosure 303-5 asks explicitly for “total water consumption from all areas with water stress in megalitres”. Water applied to a haul road is consumed, not discharged, and in an arid region it is consumed in exactly the category that receives the most scrutiny.

The industry guidance points the same way. The ICMM Water Reporting: Good Practice Guide (2nd edition) asks companies to present water metrics twice: aggregated for all sites, and separately aggregated for all sites situated in water-stressed areas. A site in a dry region therefore contributes to a figure that is deliberately isolated so it can be examined on its own.

That matters because of where mining tends to operate. The World Resources Institute found that at least 16% of critical minerals mines and deposits sit in areas already facing high or extremely high water stress, with a further 8% in arid or low-water-use areas, and projects a rise towards 20% by 2050 under business-as-usual conditions.

In Australia, the scale of use is well documented. The Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded 749 gigalitres of water consumed by the mining industry in 2023-24, around 4.4% of national water consumption and a decrease of 7.7% on the previous year. Water use is being measured, published and trended, and the direction of travel is expected to continue.

Major operators have attached targets to this. Fortescue reports a target that at least 80% of water withdrawn at Cloudbreak and Christmas Creek is used operationally or for environmental purposes, and reported 94% for FY25. Once a target of that kind exists, every recurring water demand on site becomes a candidate for review, and road watering is one of the most visible.

We have written about the operational side of this separately in need to reduce water consumption? Start with dust control.

Water truck spraying a wide dirt haul road at an open-pit mine in a dry landscape

The measurement problem most sites hit first

There is a measurement problem worth flagging early. On many sites, water applied to roads is not metered as its own stream. It is drawn from the same source as processing or camp supply, loaded into trucks, and disappears into a general operational figure. That makes it difficult to state a road-watering baseline, and without a baseline any later reduction is difficult to evidence.

Sites that want dust control to count in their reporting usually have to close that gap first. In practice that means recording fill events and volumes per truck, or metering the fill point, so that road water becomes a line that can be trended. It is a small piece of work, but it is the difference between “we believe water use fell” and a figure that can survive assurance.

Where dust shows up in your air quality reporting

The second link is particulate matter, and it is more explicit than many teams expect.

GRI 305: Emissions 2016 covers significant air emissions in Disclosure 305-7. Alongside NOx, SOx, persistent organic pollutants, volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants, particulate matter is named as its own category. Dust from haul roads, stockpiles and tailings surfaces is not a side effect that sits outside the framework. It is one of the listed items.

Australian ambient standards give that number a reference point. The National Environment Protection (Ambient Air Quality) Measure sets PM10 at 50 µg/m³ over 24 hours and 25 µg/m³ annually, and PM2.5 at 25 µg/m³ over 24 hours and 8 µg/m³ annually. A non-binding goal for PM2.5 of 20 µg/m³ over 24 hours and 7 µg/m³ annually applies from 1 January 2025.

International guidance is tighter again. The WHO global air quality guidelines updated in 2021 recommend PM10 of 15 µg/m³ annually and 45 µg/m³ over 24 hours, and PM2.5 of 5 µg/m³ annually and 15 µg/m³ over 24 hours. Those values are not regulatory limits in Australia, but they are the benchmark stakeholders increasingly cite when they assess whether an operation is performing well or merely performing legally.

The contribution of mining to reported particulate emissions is significant. Analysing National Pollutant Inventory data for 2008 to 2018, Hendryx and colleagues calculated that coal mines contributed 42.1% of national PM10 air emissions from NPI-reporting facilities. That figure covers reporting facilities rather than all Australian sources, and it is the authors’ own calculation from the raw data rather than an official NPI statement, but it indicates how visible mining is within the reported inventory.

If PM10 is a number your site tracks, the road surface is one of the few places where it can be influenced continuously rather than episodically.

Why haul road dust behaves differently from a stack

The reason is the nature of the source. Emissions from a stack or a plant are a point source: they are contained, ducted and comparatively straightforward to measure and treat. Haul road dust is a fugitive source spread across kilometres of running surface, generated by every pass of every vehicle, and strongly influenced by weather. It cannot be captured at a single point, which is why treating the surface is one of the few levers with continuous effect.

That also shapes how it is monitored. Deposition gauges record what settles over a period and are useful for boundary and community reporting, while continuous PM monitors capture short-term peaks that align with production activity. The two answer different questions, and a dust control change that is expected to affect reported emissions should be matched to whichever measurement the site actually reports against. Agreeing that before a trial starts avoids the common outcome where an improvement is visible on the road but cannot be demonstrated in the data.

What the tailings standards do and do not say about dust

It is worth being precise here, because tailings and dust are often bundled together in marketing material in a way the standards do not support.

The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management, published in 2020, does not contain explicit requirements on dust, air quality, wind erosion or vegetation cover. What it does contain are requirements that surround the issue: Requirement 5.3 on water balance models and water management plans, Requirement 5.6 on progressive closure and reclamation, and Requirement 15.1 on disclosure of environmental monitoring results.

So the accurate statement is not that GISTM obliges an operator to control dust on a tailings storage facility. The accurate statement is that dust on a TSF surface is captured through other routes: the air emissions disclosures described above, site environmental approvals and monitoring conditions, community complaints, and the water management and closure planning that GISTM does address.

That is still a meaningful set of pressures. A dry tailings surface releases fines, loses material to wind, and complicates progressive rehabilitation. The practical considerations are set out in 4 things to consider for tailings dust control, and one applied example is described in transforming dust management at Rosh Pinah Zinc Mine’s TSF.

The social dimension: neighbours, visibility and a social licence to operate

The environmental column is easier to quantify, but the social column is often what drives urgency.

Mining haul truck driving through a thick dust cloud with clearly reduced visibility

Dust travels. Where an operation sits near a town, a road or agricultural land, dust is the impact that residents experience directly and repeatedly. It is also the impact most likely to generate a complaint record, and complaint records are frequently reportable.

On site, the safety dimension is documented by regulators. WorkSafe WA’s safety bulletin on traffic management names visibility issues caused by dust among the factors in collisions between heavy and light vehicles on mine roads, incidents that have resulted in serious injuries and fatalities in the Western Australian mining industry. The NSW Resources Regulator has separately flagged an increase in heavy vehicle rollovers where poor ground conditions contributed.

Road surface condition and dust generation are linked, so an intervention that improves one can contribute to the other. That is a supporting argument rather than a guarantee, and it is worth presenting it that way internally.

This is the area where language matters most. Dust control can contribute to supporting a social licence to operate. It does not secure one. Communities assess an operation on a long list of factors, and overstating what a surface treatment delivers tends to undermine credibility rather than build it. We looked at the risk side of this in is dust control risking your licence to operate?

Why water-based dust suppression makes ESG targets harder to reach

Here is the tension at the centre of this topic. The default response to dust is water, and water is precisely what several of the targets above are trying to reduce.

Water-based dust suppression works while the surface is damp. In hot, dry, windy conditions the surface dries quickly, dust returns, and another pass is required. The cycle repeats through the shift. The result is a control method whose effectiveness is temporary by design and whose consumption is continuous.

That creates several effects at once:

  • Water consumption stays high in exactly the sites where water-stressed reporting applies.
  • Water trucks occupy haul road capacity, interact with production traffic and add cycle time.
  • Truck movements consume fuel and generate emissions that are themselves reportable.
  • Repeated wetting and drying can work against surface stability rather than for it.

What repeated wetting does to the road structure

The last point is the one most often missed. A haul road relies on a graded mix of coarse and fine material, with the fines binding the structure together. When the surface dries, those fines are lost as dust, the remaining particles move against each other, and defects develop. Watering treats the symptom, and overwatering can create its own problems, which we covered in one of the biggest mistakes on haul roads is overwatering.

None of this means water has no role. It means that a strategy built solely on water tends to hold two of your reported metrics in tension: the dust number improves briefly while the water number does not improve at all. A wider comparison of the available approaches is set out in your guide to dust control methods, and the specific limits of water are examined in 70% of WA mines rely on plain water for dust control.

What changes when the road surface itself is stabilised

Close-up of a firm, compacted haul road surface holding fine particles in place

The alternative is to treat the surface rather than the symptom, so that fines stay bound into the road structure instead of leaving it as dust.

Bio-cementation is one route to that. The process uses naturally occurring biological activity to form mineral bridges between particles, producing a bio-cemented surface layer that holds fines in place. Terrabind™ applies this principle to haul roads and tailings surfaces, and the underlying approach is described in more detail under what we do.

For reporting purposes, the relevant difference is that a stabilised surface changes the baseline rather than the frequency of intervention. Instead of restoring a damp surface several times a day, the objective is a surface that resists dust generation between treatments.

Where that is achieved, several reported figures can move in the same direction:

  • Water withdrawal and consumption for dust control can fall, which is the figure GRI 303-5 and the ICMM water-stressed aggregation ask for.
  • Particulate emissions from the treated area can decrease, which is relevant to GRI 305-7 and to site air monitoring.
  • Fewer water truck movements can reduce fuel burn and associated emissions.
  • A firmer, smoother running surface supports road stability, which has both maintenance and safety implications.

Each of these is a “can”, not a “will”. Results depend on material type, traffic loading, climate, application rate and maintenance practice. What can be said is that the mechanism addresses the cause of dust generation rather than masking it, which is why the effects tend to appear across several metrics at once rather than in one.

What stabilisation does not fix

It is worth being equally clear about what surface stabilisation does not do. It does not remove the need for road maintenance, and it does not compensate for an underlying road that was built with unsuitable material or inadequate drainage. A treatment applied over a structurally poor road improves the surface it is given; it does not rebuild what sits beneath. Nor does it eliminate every dust source on site, since crushing, stockpiles, drilling, blasting and wind erosion on exposed areas each have their own causes and their own controls.

Presenting it accurately matters for the reporting case as much as the technical one. A claim that one treatment resolves site-wide dust invites challenge and tends to collapse under the first audit question. A claim that treated haul roads and treated tailings surfaces show reduced dust generation and reduced water demand is narrower, defensible and still material.

What field applications have shown so far

Numbers are only useful with a project attached, so these are stated with their sources.

At Eramet’s Grande Côte Operations in Senegal, road water usage was reduced by up to 85% following a change to a biological dust control approach. The details are documented in Eramet’s GCO reduces road water usage by 85%.

At an ArcelorMittal iron ore operation, water use on haul roads was reduced by up to 75%, described in ArcelorMittal cuts water use on haul roads. A mining service manager at that site reported reducing water trips from three or four times a day to once every few days, with better road durability, less equipment wear and fewer operational interruptions.

At Dangote Cement, water consumption was reduced by up to 70%, set out in Dangote Cement reduces water consumption by 70%.

These are individual project results, not a standard that transfers automatically to another site. They do, however, illustrate the order of magnitude available where conditions suit the approach, and they are the kind of evidence a sustainability team can trace back to a named operation rather than a generic claim.

Where the evidence stops

It is equally important to be clear about what is not established. There is no credible published figure for the share of a mine’s total fresh water that goes to dust suppression, and the percentages circulating on supplier websites do not withstand checking. The same applies to widely quoted figures on tyre life and road condition. Where a number cannot be traced to a project or a study, it is better left out of a report than defended later.

Why these decisions stall, and who needs to be in the room

There is a structural reason dust control often underperforms as an ESG lever, and it has little to do with the technology.

The cost of dust control usually sits in an operations or road maintenance budget. The benefits are spread across several owners: water sits with environment, particulate emissions with environment or approvals, cycle time and fuel with production, tyre and component wear with maintenance, community complaints with external affairs, and the reported figures with sustainability. The team that pays sees one line of cost, while the value lands in other people’s numbers.

The predictable result is that a change is assessed narrowly, on cost per litre or cost per square metre, and compared against water that is treated as effectively free because it is already being pumped. Assessed that way, almost nothing beats water.

Agreeing the metrics before the trial, not after

A more complete assessment brings the other owners into the evaluation before the trial rather than after it. In practice that means agreeing in advance which metrics will be tracked, who owns each one, and what the baseline is for each. Water volumes applied to the treated section. Dust or PM readings against the site’s existing monitoring. Water truck hours and fuel. Maintenance and grading intervals. Any complaint or safety records tied to the treated area.

None of this requires new instrumentation in most cases; it requires deciding beforehand which existing data will be pulled and by whom. Sites that do this tend to reach a decision faster, because the argument is settled with their own numbers rather than with a supplier’s brochure. Sites that skip it often finish a technically successful trial that no one can convert into a business case.

Questions worth asking before you commit to an approach

If dust control is going to carry weight in your reporting, the assessment needs to cover more than application cost.

Which disclosures does this actually affect? Map the intervention onto the specific line items your organisation reports: water withdrawal and consumption, water in stressed areas, particulate emissions, community complaints, safety incidents. If a supplier cannot help you locate their product in that map, the ESG argument is being asserted rather than made.

What is the evidence behind each number? Ask which site produced the result, over what period, under what conditions and who measured it. Project-specific evidence with a named operation is worth considerably more than a range with no attribution.

What is the full life cycle? Consider application rate, reapplication frequency, maintenance demand, water required during application, behaviour at closure and rehabilitation, and the upstream footprint of the product itself. A treatment that reduces water on site but carries a heavy upstream footprint may not improve the overall position.

How does it behave across seasons? Wet and dry season demands differ, and a method that performs in one may not perform in the other. We looked at that in should your dust control strategy change for wet vs dry season?

Can the result be verified? If a figure is going into a report that may be assured, it needs a measurement method behind it. Agree at the outset what will be measured, how, and against which baseline.

Dust control will not carry an ESG programme on its own. It sits alongside energy, emissions, tailings governance, biodiversity and community investment. What makes it worth attention is that it is one of the few areas where a single operational change can show up in water, air quality, safety and community metrics at the same time, and where the operating case and the reporting case point the same way.

If you want to work through what that would look like for a specific site, the approach is described under responsible mining, or you can get in touch to discuss conditions at your operation.

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Close-up of a haul truck tyre on a rough, dusty haul road

Poor haul road quality is driving up your tyre budget. Here’s why.

Written by Janet Reznicek on . Posted in Article.

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Sites that stabilise haul roads properly and maintain a smooth running surface can extend tyre life by upwards of 30 percent. Across an entire fleet, those savings really add up.

This article explores the connection between road quality, tyre heat and tyre life. And how some mines have reduced fleet maintenance costs just by improving the haul road surface.

Tyres are often the first place road quality costs show up

Tyres wear out naturally over time. That’s expected. What often shortens their life is heat build up.

“Road quality has a direct influence on how much heat a tyre generates,” explains Julian Musgrave, Head of Business Development Australia at Bind-X.

“The smoother the road, the less the tyre flexes, and the cooler it runs.”

Every time a haul truck travels over corrugations, potholes or uneven surfaces, the tyre deforms under load. That movement generates heat within the internal structure of the tyre.

Individually, those movements may be small. But across thousands of haul hours, the effect becomes significant.

Heat build-up also creates safety risks. Tyre overheating events can trigger extensive site response procedures, including exclusion zones, extended down time, cooling activities and inspections before equipment can return to service.

For that reason, tyre temperature is closely monitored across many operations.

Tyres are one of the easiest, yet most overlooked, places to see the cost of poor road quality. But they aren’t the only place it shows up. The same road conditions that shorten tyre life also increase dust, maintenance, water consumption, equipment wear and cycle times.

The most expensive road is often the one that isn’t treated

The financial impact of shortened tyre life is substantial. Julian points to one mining operation that focused heavily on haul road quality and road design. Before improving their road surfaces, their tyres lasted around 4,000 operating hours. After creating smoother running conditions and better road designs, tyre life increased to approximately 5,500 hours.

The exact numbers will vary from site to site, but the principle remains the same. Tyres are expensive and so is the maintenance to look after the fleet.

A haul truck tyre can cost $45,000 before freight and logistics are factored in, depending on the truck model and size. “A haul truck can easily be carrying a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of tyres underneath it,” explains Julian, who has worked in road stabilisation and dust control for nearly a decade.

“Tyres are often viewed as a necessary fleet maintenance cost. In reality, a lot of that cost is determined by the quality of the roads those trucks operate on every day,” he says.

Corners create some of the biggest challenges

Not all sections of haul road cause the same level of stress. Julian explains that corners can be problem areas to maintain because trucks continually push material sideways when they turn. Over time, this creates rutting, channel formation and surface deformation, increasing the internal stresses on the tyres.

Autonomous fleets can amplify this effect. While autonomous trucks vary their path slightly on straight sections, they tend to follow very similar lines through corners. The same sections of road receive repeated loading, which accelerates wear in concentrated areas.

The result is a surface that becomes progressively rougher and more difficult to maintain. Those localised defects might seem minor at first, but they create exactly the conditions that increase tyre flex, add additional abrasive material onto the road surface, generate heat, and shorten tyre life.

The problem starts when roads lose stability

In many cases, road surface deterioration begins with the loss of fines. A haul road relies on a mix of large aggregate, smaller aggregate and fine particles. The fines fill the gaps between larger particles and help lock the structure together. When roads become too dry, those fines are gradually lost as dust.

As the fines disappear, the larger particles begin moving against each other. The road surface becomes less stable, and defects start to develop.

This is when: potholes appear → corrugations form → loose material accumulates. And that rougher, looser surface creates more tyre heat and more tyre wear.

Most people notice the symptoms. Fewer people connect the root cause back to the fines that have already left the road.

As Julian puts it: dust is some of your hard-won profits blowing away.

Watering and grading don’t solve the problem

Most operations respond to deteriorating roads the same way: The grader smooths the surface → the water cart follows behind → the road looks good again.

But the challenge is that appearance and structure are not the same thing. 

“Are you restoring the shape of the road? Or are you restoring the integrity of the road?” he asks. Without addressing the underlying stability of the surface, the same deterioration process often returns within hours or days.

Water management creates a similar challenge. Roads perform best within a relatively narrow moisture range. Too little moisture and fines are lost as dust. Too much moisture and the road can soften, wash out fines and lose structural integrity. Maintaining that balance across an entire haul road network 24/7 is difficult, particularly when a small number of water carts are responsible for servicing a large fleet.

The result is a cycle of watering, grading, deterioration and rework that many operations struggle to escape.

The goal is a smoother, more stable road

The best solution is stabilisation. Whether that’s achieved through mechanical stabilisation, lignins, polymers, salts, bitumen-based products or biological stabilisers, the objective is the same: preserve the integrity of the road structure for longer.

A stable road retains fines, resists deformation and maintains a smoother running surface under traffic. Once that happens, many of the secondary benefits follow naturally:

  • Tyres run cooler
  • Dust generation decreases
  • Water demand falls
  • Maintenance intervals extend
  • Equipment experiences less vibration and wear
  • Visibility and safety improve
  • Cycle times become more consistent

As Julian explains, “The road remains in good condition for longer, it reduces the need for constant intervention, and lowers the damage being done to the equipment using it.”

Choosing the right stabilisation approach to extend tyre life

As we’ve shown, addressing road stability and surface smoothness on your haul roads can have a big impact on tyre costs.

When you’re evaluating stabilisation options, look beyond the initial application and consider the full life cycle of the product.”

Consider things like water use, maintenance demands, reapplication frequency, environmental impact, and rehabilitation requirements, as these all influence long-term value.

Carbon footprint is increasingly important as well. In their reporting, many operations are beginning to assess the upstream footprint associated with the products they use. As Julian notes, decisions made today should be made with the next five-to-ten years in mind, not just the next five-to-ten months.

Many mines now find that biological dust control options like Terrabind address all of these factors and improve road stability.

They treat road quality as both a maintenance issue and an operational performance issue to unlock savings and benefits across their operation.

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Haul trucks on a wide haul road in an open-pit mine

The hidden cost of water trucks on haul road productivity

Written by Janet Reznicek on . Posted in Article.

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The issue is straightforward physics and surface wear. When you continuously dump water onto a fines-rich road surface, you aren’t just dampening dust; you’re creating a slurry. As that water evaporates, it leaves behind a weakened soil structure that quickly turns into potholes and “raveling.”

This surface damage causes a sharp increase in rolling resistance. For a haul fleet, even small increases in rolling resistance mean higher fuel burn and slower cycle speeds. When the road is soft or slippery from over-watering, your trucks lose momentum. Safety comes first, but the resulting bottleneck ripples through the entire production chain.

Beyond the surface, there is a mechanical impact. A water cart weighing over 100 tonnes continuously hammers the road base, contributing to structural fatigue. These carts are “non-productive traffic”, they take up road space and compete with the trucks actually moving ore, effectively shrinking your transport capacity. To maximise productivity, you have to move away from temporary watering and toward permanent structural stabilisation. 

Quantifying the hidden costs

Beyond the economic damage of traditional dust control goes beyond just a rough road; it shows up as heavy operational expenses and lost production time. To understand your true haul road productivity, you have to look at the massive resources burned just to keep a road “wet.”

The first drain on the budget is the water truck fleet itself. These are expensive assets that demand constant maintenance, a deep spare parts inventory, and dedicated labor. But the real “insidious” cost is diesel. Running a 70,000-litre water cart consumes a massive amount of fuel for a result that literally evaporates in minutes. In today’s climate of carbon targets and energy efficiency, burning diesel to move water that disappears is becoming impossible to justify.

Then there is the “Grader-Water Cart Cycle”, a costly loop of constant repair. Water weakens the road’s sub-base, causing structural failures that force graders to intervene. This leads to two types of “maintenance-induced delays”:

  • Active delays: Your haul fleet sits idle while graders work on the lane.
  • Passive delays: Trucks crawl at reduced speeds over damaged sections between maintenance windows.

Losing just one minute per haul cycle to poor road conditions or water-cart traffic adds up to thousands of tonnes of lost material every year. For a high-output mine, this “productivity gap” means millions of dollars in lost revenue. Switching to a more modern approach moves you away from constant firefighting and toward a proactive, long-term stabilisation strategy.

The Terrabind method: bio-based soil stabilisation for high-performance haul roads

Breaking the maintenance cycle requires changing how the road behaves structurally. This is where Terrabind biological soil stabilisation moves away from temporary dust control and introduces a biological approach to road integrity. Unlike traditional binders that just coat the surface or water that only temporarily weighs down dust, Terrabind uses bio-cementation to fundamentally change the dirt road’s physical properties.

Once applied, it triggers a binding process at the microscopic level, “gluing” the fine particles, your primary source of dust, directly into the larger aggregate structure of the road. This forms a denser, more stable surface that that can better withstand heavy haul loads.

On the ground, this stabilisation delivers three major wins for your productivity:

  • Increased CBR (California Bearing Ratio): improves load-bearing capacity so the road can handle heavy trucks with less deformation or rutting.
  • Hydrophobic properties: reduces water penetration into the sub-base, limiting soft spot formation during rain events.
  • Fines retention: prevents loss of fine material, keeping the road surface tighter and reducing dust generation for longer

By treating the haul road as a structural asset instead of a daily maintenance headache, Terrabind supports more consistent, higher-speed hauling with fewer interruptions.

Sustainability and the future of site logistics

Haul road productivity is increasingly tied to your environmental and ESG targets. Moving from high-frequency water spraying to a stabilised surface with Terrabind is more than a logistical upgrade; it’s a shift toward sustainable resource management that actually makes operational sense.

The most obvious environmental drain of traditional dust control is massive water waste. In arid regions, keeping a haul road suppressed can swallow millions of litres of water every month, putting immense pressure on local aquifers. By implementing Terrabind, you can cut water consumption on dust control by up to 90%. This lets you reallocate those water resources to critical processing tasks or preserve local water security.

Beyond saving water, the long-term operational benefits include:

  • Reduced carbon intensity: Every water truck cycle you cut directly lowers your site’s carbon footprint. By eliminating those non-productive vehicle hours, you significantly optimise the total diesel consumption of your mobile fleet.
  • Simplified rehabilitation: Because Terrabind is a biological solution, it’s built to be environmentally safe. Unlike petroleum-based or harsh chemical binders, it won’t leach harmful substances into the soil, making final land rehab much more straightforward and compliant.
  • Less wear and tear: A stabilised surface doesn’t need to be scraped constantly. This extends the mechanical life of your support equipment and simplifies the logistics of managing maintenance teams on active haul routes.

Ultimately, integrating biological binders transforms the haul road from a constant maintenance headache into a reliable, high-performance piece of infrastructure that supports the mine’s long-term viability.

Field-proven haul road stabilisation in mining operations

In many mining operations, it is already well understood that water-based dust suppression does not align with high-throughput haulage. The operational impact is visible on site: higher rolling resistance, increased fuel consumption, and significant water demand, all of which reduce effective haul road productivity. 

At operations where haul road stability has been addressed at the source rather than continuously managed with water, the difference is measurable in day-to-day performance. Sites report fewer road-related interruptions, reduced grader dependency, and more stable cycle times under heavy haul conditions.

Terrabind has been applied in mining environments under these conditions and used as a soil stabilisation approach rather than a surface-level dust control method. 

On treated roads, operators typically see: 

  • Reduced frequency of maintenance interventions and grader passes
  • Lower water cart demand for dust suppression
  • Reduced diesel consumption linked to haul cycle inefficiencies
  • More consistent road conditions under loaded traffic

The operational effect is not a single improvement but a reduction in variability across the haul cycle. When road conditions remain more stable, fleet performance becomes more predictable and less dependent on reactive maintenance.

In practice, this supports more consistent production flow by reducing road-related slowdowns and rework on key haul routes.

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Water truck spraying a wide fan of water beside a haul truck

Why water-based dust suppression fails in dry and windy mining conditions

Written by Janet Reznicek on . Posted in Article.

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The fundamental failure begins with high evaporation rates. In environments where humidity is low and temperatures are high, water sprayed onto the surface does not penetrate deeply enough to create a lasting bond. Instead, it sits on the surface and vanishes within minutes. This creates a “vicious cycle” for mine management: to maintain compliance and safety, water trucks must be deployed in a near-constant rotation. This not only consumes millions of litres of a finite resource but also fails to address the underlying cause of dust generation.

Furthermore, water lacks a residual binding effect. Once the moisture evaporates, the fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) is left in a state often more volatile than before. The constant wetting and drying cycles can actually break down the surface integrity of haul roads, leading to “potholing” and the creation of more loose fines, which are then easily picked up by the next gust of wind or heavy vehicle.

The wind factor: Mechanical displacement and the “strip-off” effect

While evaporation removes the moisture, wind provides the kinetic energy that renders water-based dust suppression completely ineffective in open-pit environments. In windy mining conditions, the surface of a haul road or tailings dam is subject to constant shear stress. Because water provides no physical or chemical structural reinforcement, it cannot prevent the mechanical displacement of fine particles once the surface layer dries.

This leads to what is known as the “strip-off” effect. In high-wind scenarios, even a recently dampened surface is quickly stripped of its moisture-laden top layer. Without a specialised binding agent to create a cohesive crust, the wind effectively “sieves” the material, lifting the smallest, most hazardous dust particles into the atmosphere. These fines are often carried over long distances, impacting neighbouring communities and violating environmental regulations despite the continuous presence of water trucks.

Moreover, the lack of surface crusting means that wind-borne erosion is not just an environmental hazard but a threat to the infrastructure itself. As the wind removes the fine “matrix” material that holds larger aggregates together, the road surface begins to ravel. This creates a loose, gravelly texture that increases rolling resistance for heavy machinery. In a dry and windy climate, water is simply too lightweight a solution to anchor the massive volumes of dust generated by industrial activity, leaving the site vulnerable to constant erosion and diminished visibility.

Operational and economic consequences: The hidden costs of inefficiency

The failure of water-based dust suppression in dry and windy conditions is not merely an environmental or safety concern; it is a significant drain on operational profitability. When a mining site relies on water alone, it inadvertently commits to a high-cost, low-yield logistics chain.

The most immediate impact is found in increased cycle times and reduced productivity. To combat rapid evaporation, water trucks must operate in high frequency. This creates a “congested” haul road environment, where the movement of multi-million-dollar haulage fleets is frequently interrupted or slowed to accommodate the watering schedule. Furthermore, the over-application of water, a desperate attempt to maintain moisture, often leads to “slick” road conditions. This forces operators to reduce speeds for safety, directly impacting the site’s tonnes per hour (TPH) metrics.

 

From a maintenance perspective, the “wet-dry” cycle is destructive. Constant watering leaches out the natural binders in the road material, leading to:

  • Surface degradation: The formation of potholes, corrugations, and rutting.
  • Increased rolling resistance: As the surface softens and loses its structural integrity, fuel consumption for the haulage fleet increases significantly.
  • Mechanical wear: Loose fines that are not effectively suppressed find their way into the air intake systems and moving parts of expensive machinery, leading to premature filter clogs and increased engine wear.

In water-scarce mining regions, the opportunity cost of water is perhaps the most overlooked factor. Every kilolitre of water used for ineffective dust suppression is a kilolitre that cannot be used in the processing plant or for community hydration. In many arid jurisdictions, strict water quotas mean that inefficient dust management can literally cap a mine’s production capacity.

Moving beyond traditional suppression

To overcome the inherent limitations of water, the industry is shifting toward new and proven biological solutions that address the root cause of dust generation. Bind-X specialises in this transition, moving away from temporary wetting and toward permanent soil stabilisation through Bio-Cementation.

Unlike water-based dust suppression, which relies on weight and surface tension, Bind-X methods, such as Terrabind™, utilise biological processes to create a long-lasting, robust surface crust. This process involves the application of organic binders that facilitate the bonding of fine particles into a solid surface layer. This “bio-crust” is specifically engineered to withstand the dual pressures of extreme desiccation and high-velocity winds.

The advantages of Bind-X biologicals:

  • Longer-lasting durability: Once applied, the biological bond is not subject to evaporation. It remains active and effective for significantly longer periods, even in the most intense heat.
  • Significant water savings: By eliminating the need for constant re-application, Bind-X solutions can reduce a mine’s water consumption for dust control by up to 90%*.
  • Erosion resistance: The bio-cemented surface acts as a physical shield against wind. It prevents the “strip-off” effect, ensuring that hazardous fines stay locked in the ground rather than becoming airborne.
  • Operational optimisation: Harder, more stable roads lead to lower rolling resistance, reduced fuel consumption, and fewer maintenance interventions for the haulage fleet.
* These figures reflect outcomes from a project at the GCO mine in Senegal

Optimise your operations with Bind-X

In the modern mining landscape, “more water” is no longer a viable strategy. It is an environmental burden and an operational bottleneck. Bind-X provides the expertise and the technology to transform dust management from a constant struggle into a streamlined, sustainable process. By leveraging the power of biology, we help mines protect their people, their machinery, and their local environments.

FAQ: Frequently asked questions about dust suppression in mining

  • 1. Why is water-based dust suppression considered ineffective in arid mining regions?

    Water-based dust suppression relies entirely on temporary moisture-induced cohesion between fine particles. In arid regions, high evaporation rates remove this moisture almost immediately. Without a binding agent, the dust returns to its volatile state, requiring constant re-application which wastes water and labour without providing long-term stabilisation.

  • 2. How does wind impact dust control on mine haul roads?

    Wind-induced shear forces can exceed the cohesive forces between surface fines, causing particle entrainment and dust lift-off. Through wind erosion, the dry top layer of fines is progressively removed from the road surface. Bind-X solutions mitigate this by creating a bio-cemented crust that physically anchors the particles, making the surface resistant to high-velocity wind erosion.

  • 3. What are the primary environmental benefits of using Bind-X biotechnology over water?

    The most significant benefit is the significant reduction in water use for dust control, often up to 90%. Additionally, by creating a more durable surface, Bind-X reduces emissions associated with water truck operations, fuel consumption, and haul road maintenance frequency. Our solutions are also designed to be environmentally friendly and biologically safe.

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Haul truck in a heavy dust cloud on a mine road

Dust is your road disappearing: here’s why that matters

Written by Janet Reznicek on . Posted in Article.

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Most sites respond by applying water and grading more often. But that approach tends to accelerate the degradation cycle rather than fix it. And as temperatures increase, plain water is less efficient for dust control and it wastes a limited resource.

So, what does dust really mean for your roads, why do mines persist with high-maintenance approaches, and what’s the key to breaking the cycle?

What dust is actually telling you about your road

Julian Musgrave, Head of Business Development Australia at Bind-X, sees the same pattern across sites. Significant effort goes into building and compacting haul roads, only for that work to slowly undo itself in operation.

“Dust is your road surface blowing away. People spend significant money building roads, and every time it dusts up, they’re watching it disappear but they don’t connect the two.”

A well-built haul road relies on a mix of material sizes. Larger aggregate provides structure, while fines fill the gaps and bind the surface together. When those fines are lost as dust, that structure starts to open up.

The surface loosens. Larger stones begin to move under load. What starts as a stable running surface quickly turns into potholes, corrugations, and loose material. From there, the problem compounds. Loose rock spreads across the road and contaminates stable sections. Each truck pass accelerates the breakdown.

Left unchecked, it becomes a self-reinforcing cycle: the more fines you lose, the faster the road deteriorates. The ripple effect impacts safety, haul efficiency and tyre wear.

Two haul trucks working in a quarry

How the road maintenance cycle makes this worse

As conditions decline, maintenance ramps up with more grading and watering. But this is where many sites get stuck.

Under time pressure, grading is often a quick cut rather than a full rebuild. Material is pushed into the windrow instead of being properly reincorporated. This gradually strips fines from the running surface and exposes coarser layers underneath.

The result is a weaker road that breaks down faster and pulls crews back into the same cycle within days.

Water adds to the problem. It delivers short-term suppression, but once it evaporates, dust often returns quickly. This drives repeat application, which further disturbs the surface.

The cycle becomes continuous:

 Wet → dry → dust → reapply → degrade → repeat

Why this shows up across your whole operation

Haul roads are production assets. They should be maintained the same way you would a conveyor or processing system because they directly affect output.

As road conditions deteriorate, rolling resistance increases, haul speeds drop, and equipment wear accelerates.

But the impact doesn’t stop at the road.

“Excessive dust and poor road conditions quickly translate into higher maintenance costs across the fleet. Driving through heavy dust loads clogs air filters and on large haul trucks, those filters are significant components that require constant cleaning or replacement,” says Julian.

At the same time, rough roads increase stress on suspension systems, drive higher vibration through the chassis, and speed up wear across critical components.

If the road is dusty, it’s usually not performing, and that cost shows up across the operation.

Too many mines stay stuck in this loop

In many ways, this is a legacy problem.

As Julian points out, the industry has relied on the same approach for decades. Water was cheap, readily available, and effective enough at the time. As a result, it became standard practice. But the operating context has changed. Haul trucks are now larger and heavier. Production demands are higher. Environments are harsher. And water is now a scarce, contested resource across most mining regions.

Yet the approach to dust control hasn’t kept pace.

Aerial view of a loaded haul truck on a road through an open pit

Dust control should be about stabilising the road

Most dust control methods focus on suppressing dust after it appears. But the real objective should be to stop it leaving the surface in the first place.

There are multiple ways to stabilise haul roads, from mechanical compaction to traditional binders like lignins, polymers, salts, bitumen-based products, and newer technologies like biologicals. What works best depends on the material, climate, and traffic conditions on site.

But the principle is consistent: keep the fines locked into the structure so the road holds together under load.

“Road stabilisation technologies have progressed in recent years,” Julian explains. “Introducing the right additive changes how the material behaves. You want the fines to bind into the matrix, creating a more stable, consistent running surface.” 

Biological stabilisers like Terrabind™ take this a step further. Rather than coating particles or adding temporary cohesion, they trigger a natural biocementation process within the soil. This forms a crystalline structure between particles that strengthens the road throughout the wearing course, not just at the surface.

Loaded haul truck on a mine road

Under heavy haulage, the wearing course holds together, fines stay in place, and the surface resists the breakdown that leads to potholes, corrugations, and loose material.

Operationally, that stability changes everything. Sites grade less because the road isn’t constantly degrading. Water use drops, often from multiple applications per shift to a single pass per week. And with a consistent surface, trucks can maintain speed.

As Julian notes, when you reduce grading, water use, and road damage, the benefits flow across the operation. The sites that do this see lower maintenance hours, reduced water consumption, longer tyre life, less equipment stress, and more consistent cycle times.

Reduce road maintenance with a modern approach

When dust is looked at in isolation, it’s easy to justify short-term fixes: more water, more grading, another pass. But when you consider downstream factors like higher maintenance, increased water use, equipment wear, and lost haulage efficiency, that approach becomes far more expensive than it appears.

Instead of constantly chasing dust, focus on road integrity at the source. It’s then that you’ll start to reduce long-term cost and improve haul road performance.

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Water truck spraying beside a haul truck in an open pit

Why water doesn’t actually work for dust control

Written by Janet Reznicek on . Posted in Article.

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In hot, dry conditions, that water evaporates within minutes. The road shifts from wet, to briefly optimal, to dry and dusty again. To keep up, your operators have to reapply water constantly, chasing conditions that never stabilise.

Over time, that approach wastes water. And from an operational standpoint, it softens the road surface, breaks down the wearing course, and accelerates the loss of fines that hold the road together.

This leads to a cycle of more watering, more grading, and more equipment damage just to try and maintain basic performance.

Here we look at why that cycle persists, what it’s really costing operations, and why stabilising the road, not just wetting it, is the key to breaking it.

Haul truck on a gravel haul road raising dust

What happens on baking hot haul roads

On a hot haul road, the problem isn’t just that water doesn’t last. It’s how quickly it disappears.

“I’ve measured road temperatures in the Pilbara at over 70 degrees,” says Julian Musgrave, Head of Business Development Australia at Bind-X. “You put water on that and it’s gone in minutes.”

Even under good conditions, the window is short.

“You get a short window, maybe 10 to 25 minutes, where it’s perfect. Then it’s too dry again. So you’ve got this cycle: too wet, then just right then too dry. And you’re chasing it all day,” he says.

But it also means conditions are never stable. Dust levels rise and fall throughout the shift, and operators constantly have to react to changing conditions rather than focus on ‘shifting dirt’.

It’s not just maintenance costs

As the road’s wearing course deteriorates, rolling resistance increases, the surface corrugates and haul speeds drop, impacting your production cycle times.

At the same time, the rough surface is harsh on equipment. Loose material and exposed rock increase stress on tyres and components, and you need to grade more often to keep roads serviceable.

Dust adds another layer of hidden costs. Air filters clog more often, and trucks experience more wear when they operate over uneven surfaces.

Water isn’t always cheap, especially when you add up the cost of applying it. At large operations, haul roads alone can consume millions of litres per day just to maintain basic dust suppression. And if your water carts run continuously, labour and fuel costs increase.

Why this approach persists

Water has been the standard for decades because it’s readily available, easy to apply, and delivers an immediate short-term result. Under the right conditions, it’s “good enough” to meet basic dust control requirements.

But today, mining operations have changed.

Haul trucks are now significantly larger, with payloads now reaching 280 tonnes, and the total weights upwards of 450 tonnes. Heavier loads place far more stress on haul roads, while heat and accelerated wear, amplify the impact of surface instability.

Tyres run hotter, surfaces break down faster, and roads are worked harder with every pass.

At the same time, the expectations on mining operations have shifted. Everyone is under more pressure to maximise productivity, while water availability is now constrained in many regions – you have to balance the needs of local communities, Traditional Owners, farmers, and neighbouring mines.

So the plain water approach persists. Not because it’s effective, but because it’s familiar.

Before and after: dusty road beside a bound red road surface

A modern approach: stabilise the road first

Modern dust control methods focus on stabilisation rather than suppression alone.

“When you control the fines, you control the road quality,” explains Julian, who has spent a decade helping mining operations suppress dust and stabilise their roads. “If the fines stay in the road, you don’t need to keep chasing your tail.”

That shift changes how the road behaves under load.

Instead of a surface that constantly breaks down and needs rewetting, the road holds together. Fines remain bound within the matrix, which reduces material loss and limits dust generation at the source while increasing tyre life.

“You may not eliminate road grading completely, but you can make primary haul roads more efficient, which frees the graders up to do a better job elsewhere and helps keep your trucks out of the maintenance bay,” says Julian.

Biological stabilisers, like Terrabind Ultimate, trigger a natural biocementation process within the soil. It forms a binding structure between particles, locking fines into place.

It creates a more wet-stable road surface that performs consistently for weeks and months, without the constant cycle of watering and reworking.

In practice, that means less water use, lower maintenance demands, and more predictable road performance.

Stop chasing the cycle

Water may currently have a vital role on mine roads. But on its own, it doesn’t solve your problems.

It evaporates quickly, fails to retain fines, and with repeated use, degrades the road faster. That’s why many mines use more and more water every year while their road conditions continue to decline.

When you switch your focus to a long-term approach starting with road stability, you don’t have to react to dust control every shift and manage fluctuating results.

That shift reduces water use, improves road performance, reduces downtime and lessens mechanical wear—delivering more consistent results across the operation.

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Haul truck converted into a water cart at a mine site

70% of WA mines rely on plain water for dust control. Is it sustainable? 

Written by Janet Reznicek on . Posted in Article.

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Across Australia, this number climbs to over 1,500 GL per year, a water footprint equivalent to 600 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Between dust suppression, drinking water, and dewatering, the volume of water removed from the ground is significant. Over 70 percent of WA mines still rely on plain water for dust control. This traditional approach, though widely used, is both inefficient and unsustainable in a state where water scarcity is more of an issue every year.

“Dust control doesn’t need to rely on large volumes of water anymore. New technologies can achieve the same, if not better, results while addressing environmental and regulatory challenges,” explains Julian Musgrave, Head of Business Development Australia at Bind-X.

The pressure on water resources in WA mining

One of the biggest challenges facing the mining industry in WA’s Goldfields is water scarcity, according to an article by ABC News, where current shortages are described as a “key limitation on growth”. 

Similar issues exist in the Pilbara, where people have called for a more sustainable approach to groundwater management.

Regions like Kalgoorlie-Boulder and the Pilbara illustrate the urgency of sustainable water use. In Kalgoorlie, the city council recently began reviewing its water contracts with local mines, reflecting rising concerns over equitable water distribution. 

In an interview with the Australian Water Association, GHD Technical Director Bob Kinnell says it’s important to start looking at the impact of the industry’s water use on the catchments in the Pilbara, but also to consider how mining operations manage water in the future.

“The region gets the odd cyclone, but otherwise the aquifers do not get any significant recharge. The volume of water removed is much bigger than the volume of water coming in. Some of the consequences of this movement will last for a long time,” Musgrave explains. 

Dust suppression—an important aspect of mining operations—accounts for a significant portion of water use. In fact, plain water applied to roads, stockpiles, and processing areas is often the largest single use of water in many operations. This approach not only wastes an irreplaceable resource but also fails to address the broader environmental and regulatory challenges. 

Traditional dust control methods are unsustainable

Plain water might seem like a simple solution, but it’s far from efficient. In dry conditions, much of the water evaporates almost immediately, needing frequent reapplication. This continuous cycle leads to significant water wasted while offering only temporary relief from dust. It poses serious environmental risks, including groundwater depletion and the disruption of local ecosystems.  “It’s not going to be replenished. That water you use will eventually be gone and you need to prioritise what to use it for,” explains Musgrave.  “Most of the water used in mining for dust suppression comes from sources that are not sustainable. When you’re pumping millions of liters of water a day, it’s a huge environmental cost.”  And while the amount of water sprayed on mining operations depends on soil and local conditions, on average, a one kilometre road will consume hundreds of thousands of litres of water a day exclusively for dust control.

Musgrave says a slew of economic and environmental implications result, including the expense to keep trucks running and a hefty carbon footprint. Allocating water towards dust control limits the availability of water for vital operations at the mine – to extract and process minerals.   

He refers to examples globally where mining industry water consumption during severe droughts has caused major problems. 

 “In the last few years in Chile, we have seen access to water preventing mines from operating, because there is just not enough water. There are caps on how much water they are allowed to use.”   

He hypothesises that persisting with outdated dust suppression methods will see a future where mining in certain regions is rendered impossible.   

“The access to water will be regulated or just not available,” says Musgrave.   

Dust control is an essential task for mines to ensure road visibility and decrease the chance of workers and the community inhaling airborne particles. However, it is a task that can be completed with greater care for the planet and people by relying on new and proven biotechnology methods.  

New technology: Biological dust control

New dust control technology like biological dust control offers a far better alternative to traditional methods. Developed at Murdoch University in WA, Bind-X’s new and proven technology uses natural, biodegradable, and non-toxic compounds to bind dust particles, significantly reducing the need for water.  Micro-organisms react with dust and dirt and cause sand particles to fuse and create a solid cement-like layer. Mines already applying the product use 90% less water, making it one of the easiest and most impactful steps toward meeting water reduction targets. Additionally, this approach is safer for the environment, as it avoids the use of crude-oil or industrial waste products that can harm ecosystems.  Grand Cote Operations in Senegal trialled Bind-X on their haul roads and now use 85% less water and 60,000 less litres of diesel. 

Broader ESG benefits

The switch to advanced dust control methods extends beyond water conservation.
 Musgrave emphasises, “When mines adopt modern approaches like biological dust control, the benefits cascade across the operation—from water savings to reduced emissions. It’s not just about compliance; it’s about leading the way in sustainable mining.”  For environmental managers, the path forward is clear. Addressing water scarcity is no longer optional, it’s a necessity for environmental approvals, to meet regulatory standards, and keep operations running smoothly. Dust control is an area where immediate and significant improvements can be made. 
 

WA’s mines can reduce their water dependency, protect precious aquifers, and set an example for sustainable mining practices worldwide. As the challenges of water scarcity intensify, the question remains: Is relying on plain water enough? The evidence suggests it’s time for a smarter solution. 

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Water truck spraying a red dirt road, leaving standing water

Your guide to dust control methods 2026. Which is best?

Written by Janet Reznicek on . Posted in Article.

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With global water scarcity on the rise, using billions of liters annually for road maintenance is no longer sustainable or cost-effective. In this comprehensive guide, we compare the leading dust control options and summarize the pros and cons of each to help you find a more efficient alternative.

The status quo of haul road dust control

Globally, we are already seeing mining operations forced to pause due to extreme drought. A trend set to accelerate as water restrictions tighten. Beyond supply risks, traditional water spraying is often detrimental to haul road maintenance. Over-saturating the ground leads to increased mud and road erosion, which can destabilize surfaces and halt traffic.

Fortunately, water is no longer the only solution for industrial dust suppression. Modern, sustainable, and cost-effective alternatives are now readily available. Luitpold Fried, Chief Technical Officer at Bind-X, emphasizes that exploring these innovative dust control technologies is essential for sites looking to improve operational efficiency and long-term stability.

The true cost of water-spray dust control in mining

Historically, water was the preferred choice for industrial dust management because it was perceived as cheap and accessible. Even today, as water becomes an increasingly scarce resource, over 70% of mining operations still rely on it as their primary dust suppression method.

The problem with “cheap” water

The primary issue with water-based dust control is the necessity for constant re-application, often five to 20 times per day. This doesn’t just consume millions of liters of water; it drives up “hidden” operational expenses, including:

  • Fuel consumption for water trucks.
  • Labor costs for continuous respraying.
  • Fleet maintenance: Increased wear and tear on mining vehicles.

Luitpold Fried
Chief Technical Officer at Bind-X

“Most mines focus on upfront costs rather than the expense over the entire life of the mine. When you consider the square meterage and the frequency of application, water becomes a highly cost-intensive solution.”

Global water scarcity and operational risk

The long-term viability of water spraying is collapsing. Water scarcity is already a critical threat in mining hubs like Australia and Chile, where severe droughts forced operational shutdowns for months in 2022. According to a recent PWC report, more than half of global copper mining is currently at high drought risk due to climate change.

Furthermore, the physical impact of water on infrastructure is detrimental. Constant soaking leads to road destabilization and terrain erosion, necessitating more frequent and expensive haul road maintenance.

Comparison: water as a dust suppressant

Pros Cons

Low Initial Cost: Historically cheap and easy to source.

High Operational Drain: Requires constant re-application and labor.

Simple Deployment: Requires no specialized chemical equipment.

Environmental Impact: High water wastage in drought-prone regions.

Hidden Expenses: High fuel usage and increased vehicle wear.

Structural Damage: Causes mud, erosion, and road instability.

Bitumen emulsions for haul road stabilization and dust control

Bitumen emulsions are a traditional choice for primary roads subjected to high volumes of heavy vehicle traffic. The appeal is straightforward: once applied, the emulsion sets rapidly to create a solid, stable, and durable surface. However, according to Luitpold Fried, this extreme longevity is both a functional advantage and a significant environmental drawback.

The environmental toll of oil-based suppressants

While effective at binding surfaces, bitumen is a crude oil-based product that lacks biodegradability. This creates long-term liability concerns for mining sites regarding soil health and decommissioning.

Luitpold Fried
Chief Technical Officer at Bind-X

“Bitumen emulsions do a good job, but they are not degradable. If you get it on your clothes, or in the surrounding environment, you’ll never get it out. It’s a very persistent, harsh material.”

Logistics and chemical toxicity in remote mining

The challenges of bitumen go beyond its base material. Because applying “hot mix” bitumen is often logistically impossible at remote mining sites, the soil must be treated with emulsions that require solvents and other toxic chemicals to remain liquid at ambient temperatures.

Furthermore, while the product remains in the soil for centuries, it has a surprisingly limited shelf life. This creates a significant financial risk; bulk purchases may degrade and become unusable before application, leading to wasted capital and disposal issues.

Comparison: bitumen emulsions as a dust suppressant

Pros Cons
Proven Track Record: An established and trusted method for heavy-duty roads.

Environmental Persistence: Oil-based and non-biodegradable; stays in the soil for millennia.

High Performance: Provides a solid, stable base that handles heavy axle loads.

Chemical Additives: Requires emulsification with toxic solvents for application.

Logistical Waste: Short shelf life makes bulk storage and remote transport risky.

Lignosulfonates: a cost-effective but climate-dependent dust suppressant

Lignosulfonates are a byproduct of the paper and pulp industry, making them a popular, low-cost choice for industrial dust suppression. In specific environments, particularly arid or semi-dry climates, they can be a highly effective binder for stabilizing road surfaces. However, their performance is significantly compromised in wetter regions due to high water solubility.

The challenge of high-volume application

Because lignosulfonates are not water-resistant, they are prone to leaching. In areas with frequent rainfall, the product can wash away, requiring immediate and repeated reapplication. This necessitates maintaining a massive inventory of the product on-site.

Supply chain risks and environmental impact

While historically “cheap,” the affordability of lignosulfonates is tied directly to the proximity of paper mills. As the paper industry evolves and older mills close, sourcing this byproduct is becoming more difficult and expensive due to rising transportation costs.

From an environmental standpoint, there are also long-term soil health considerations. Lignosulfonates can introduce sulfur into the ground, potentially altering soil chemistry and affecting local ecosystems or future land reclamation efforts.

Comparison: lignosulfonates as a dust suppressant

Pros Cons

Low Material Cost: One of the most affordable suppressants when sourced locally.

Climate Sensitivity: Highly susceptible to rain; not suitable for wet or humid climates.

High Volume Requirements: Requires significant storage space and frequent application.

Supply Chain Vulnerability: Availability fluctuates based on paper mill operations and closures.

Synthetic polymers for industrial dust suppression

Synthetic polymers work by binding surface particles together to create a flexible, durable layer that prevents dust from becoming airborne. Unlike traditional methods, polymers are known for their versatility; they perform reliably across a wide range of climates and maintain their integrity even in wet or high-humidity conditions.

The challenge of “white pollution” and performance

While effective as a temporary fix, the industrial use of polymers is facing a decline due to both economic and environmental pressures. Because they typically form only a thin surface film, they are susceptible to wear from heavy machinery, necessitating regular and costly reapplication.

Luitpold Fried notes that the industry is beginning to pivot away from these materials:

“Polymers do not match the heavy-duty performance of bitumen emulsions, yet they often come with a higher price tag. Furthermore, unless you are using specialized bio-based alternatives, these liquid plastics stay in the soil forever, contributing to what we call ‘white pollution.’”

Cost-efficiency and environmental persistence

The primary deterrent for modern mines is the lack of biodegradability. Most synthetic polymers used in road stabilization are long-chain plastics that persist in the environment indefinitely. As ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards become stricter, the “hidden” cost of future remediation is making polymers a less attractive investment compared to newer, bio-based technologies.

Additionally, the operational cost can be deceptive. While the initial application may seem efficient, the requirement for a continuous “re-spray” cycle means that labor and material costs accumulate quickly over the project’s lifecycle.

Comparison: synthetic polymers as a dust suppressant

Pros Cons

Climatic Versatility: Performs well in both extreme dry heat and high-moisture environments.

High Material Cost: Generally more expensive per liter than traditional water or bitumen.

Flexible Binding: Provides a durable surface crust that resists wind and light rain.

Frequent Reapplication: The thin polymer film wears down quickly under heavy axle loads.

Environmental Risk: Contributes to long-term soil contamination and “white pollution.”

Hygroscopic salts for dust suppression: cost vs. environmental impact

Hygroscopic salts, primarily Magnesium Chloride and Calcium Chloride, are widely used in the mining industry due to their low purchase price. These salts work by absorbing moisture from the surrounding air and pulling it into the road surface to keep particles heavy. While cost-effective in the short term, this chemical process can have a significant destabilizing effect on the terrain over time.

Environmental risks and groundwater contamination

The most pressing concern with using salts for industrial dust control is their impact on the surrounding ecosystem. Because salts are highly soluble, they don’t just stay on the road; they migrate into the soil and local water sources.

Luitpold Fried
Chief Technical Officer at Bind-X

“It gets into the groundwater, which is a major environmental issue. However, because it is super cheap, it remains a common choice for operations in regions like Australia and North America.”

This accumulation of chlorides eventually renders the soil toxic to vegetation, making future land rehabilitation nearly impossible and potentially violating stricter environmental regulations.

Logistical burdens and surface instability

While the salt itself is inexpensive, the total cost of ownership is often higher than expected. Like lignosulfonates, salts require high application rates to remain effective. The sheer volume of material needed creates significant transport and storage challenges, especially for remote sites.

Additionally, because salts rely on moisture absorption, they can make the road surface slick or muddy in high-humidity conditions, leading to safety hazards and increased road maintenance requirements.

Comparison: hygroscopic salts as a dust suppressant

Pros Cons

Low Cost: One of the most budget-friendly materials for initial purchase.

High Environmental Toxicity: Poisonous to local vegetation and disrupts soil health.

Groundwater Risk: High potential for leaching into and contaminating local water tables.

Corrosion & Stability: Can cause vehicle corrosion and destabilize the road base.

Biological dust control: the sustainable future of mining roads

Biological dust suppression is the cutting-edge alternative to traditional chemical treatments. Instead of relying on synthetic binders or oils, this method utilizes naturally occurring microorganisms to trigger a process called biocementation. These microbes react with the soil to create a surface layer as durable as cement, providing superior stability across all climates while reducing water consumption by up to 20 times compared to traditional methods.

Seamless integration and operational efficiency

One of the most significant advantages of bio-based dust control is its ease of adoption. Available in both liquid and flexible powder forms, it can be stored for up to two years and requires no specialized machinery.

Luitpold Fried, Chief Technical Officer at Bind-X, emphasizes the low barrier to entry:

“It is applicable with standard equipment, so the mine does not have to change their existing infrastructure. This is crucial for operations that want to improve sustainability without a massive upfront capital investment.”

Performance vs. activation time

While “old-school” fixes like bitumen emulsions set almost instantly, biological solutions require a short “activation” period. The microbes typically need about six hours to turn the soil into a stone-like crust for full road stabilization. However, it is important to note that the dust suppression effect is immediate upon application. The result is a long-lasting, stable crust that is significantly more robust than the thin surface films offered by polymers or salts.

Comparison: biological dust control (biocementation)

Pros Cons

Superior Water Efficiency: Uses up to 20x less water than traditional spraying.

Activation Time: Requires 6 hours for full biological stabilization of the road base.

Eco-Friendly & Sustainable: 100% bio-based with no toxic runoff or “white pollution.”

Training Required: Initial application requires brief staff training for optimal results.

Standard Equipment: No need for specialized sprayers or expensive infrastructure.

Long-Term Stability: Creates a cement-like bond rather than a temporary film.

The future of haul road management: beyond the status quo

The mining industry is reaching a tipping point. As global water shortages drive up operational costs and regulatory pressures mount, relying on the “status quo” of water spraying is no longer a viable strategy.

Whether it’s the environmental persistence of bitumen, the high costs of polymers, or the toxicity of salts, traditional methods all carry hidden burdens. Moving toward smarter, biological dust suppression is a strategic move to improve road quality, protect your bottom line, and keep your fleet moving in an increasingly water-stressed world.

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