Following collaborative laboratory and field-testing trials, Papyrus Australia entered into a CAN$4.2 million agreement in November last year to supply TBS Mining Solutions Pty Ltd, an Aquirian Limited company, with a biodegradable version of its Collar Keeper® product. Several hundred of the collars have now been produced and made available to TBS for larger scale field testing.
A simple but integral device in blasting activities in open-cut mining, the collar is inserted into drill holes to protect the integrity of the holes before blasting takes place and to improve blast efficiency. A collar is inserted into each hole with the lip well above ground level to prevent excavated material from falling back into the hole due to drilling vibrations, or environmental factors, which would result in blast charges detonating at fluctuating depths. Papyrus has produced an initial shipment of blast collars which will undergo final customer acceptance testing in the field.
Every year, the Australian banana industry produces many thousands of tonnes of organic waste, mostly the disused stems, stalks, and leaves that end up decomposing in the field, which contributes to the release of methane (CH4) into the atmosphere estimated to be the equivalent of many thousands of tons of Carbon dioxide (CO2). It is a sector that is ripe for investment into circular economy initiatives.
Papyrus Australia CEO Daniel Schmidt said that the biodegradable collar advances the business’s mission to provide sustainable alternatives to a wide variety of industries and demonstrates the durability and versatility of banana plant fibre.
“The Biodegradable Collar Keeper® will be manufactured using our proprietary technology which is designed for low impact conversion of the plantation waste material into a valuable fibre resource,” explained Mr. Schmidt.
“For the banana industry, Papyrus Australia also represents a viable opportunity to help the industry utilise its plantation waste,” added Mr. Schmidt.
Aquirian Managing Director Greg Patching said that the signing of the contract with Papyrus Australia in November last year was a significant milestone development that is now coming to full fruition.
“This is an exciting step forward in our commitment to sustainable innovation with a multi-use biodegradable Collar Keeper – a greener, smarter alternative for our industry. Blasthole stabilisation is fundamental to the Drill & Blast process, and our Collar Keeper is central to this protection. This biodegradable variant advances our Bootless Bench® vision, reduces environmental impact, and sets a new benchmark for responsible blasthole quality management.”
Papyrus Australia is chaired by SA innovator and commercialisation expert Al Jawhari and was recently awarded a CAN$250 000 matched funding grant from the Australian Government Industry Growth Programme to support the early-stage commercialisation of its proprietary banana fibre processing technology from concept to commercial scale. The grant provides funding for access to the Rapid Prototyping and R&D Facility at Adelaide University.
The prototype facility will serve as a collaboration and innovation hub, linking growers, manufacturers, and technology stakeholders to support product development, testing, and commercial application.