Founded in 1931, Goonvean Aggregates is a family-run aggregate supplier operating from St. Austell, Cornwall. Serving a wide range of sectors – from construction and highways to leisure and agriculture – Goonvean Aggregates is a vital part of our Reprocessed segment. Building on a longstanding partnership, Goonvean Aggregates turned to process solutions provider McLanahan to assist with enhancing their site operations.
Driving towards sustainability
Goonvean Aggregates processes granite-based secondary aggregates at its Melbur Quarry. Secondary aggregates are the byproducts of other processes and are suitable for use as fully compliant alternatives to primary aggregates, making them very valuable as they promote a circular economy and sustainable construction practices.
Historically, after processing secondary aggregates at the quarry, a portion would be returned to the original supplier, and then taken to landfill. However, because sustainability is so important to each member of Goonvean Group, Goonvean Aggregates were determined to find a way of utilising all the material supplied to them, with nothing going to landfill.
Goonvean Aggregates and McLanahan team up
Goonvean Aggregates approached McLanahan with a brief to design a wash plant that integrated water recycling capabilities. Their solution was a combination of an UltraWASH Modular Wash Plant, UltraSAND Plant, and 10m EcoCyle High-Rate Thickener.
The process starts with material entering the UltraWASH directly from the crushing process, or through a feed hopper, which then washes and separates the material. The UltraSAND Plant washes the remaining product, which is then incorporated into one of the other sand products.
The EcoCycle Thickener then takes the waste streams from the UltraWASH and UltraSAND plants and separates the slurry into solids and liquids, capturing reusable water simultaneously. This water is reused in the wash plants to clean the aggregate material, adding to the sustainability of the process.
A ‘zero to tip’ result
Following the installation of the McLanahan plant, Goonvean Aggregates have experienced a marked increase in productivity and efficiency. They are now able to process every part of any secondary aggregates, allowing them to offer additional products to their customer base. The streamlined process produces zero waste with no materials going to landfill – Goonvean Aggregates can now proudly claim their company has achieved ‘zero to tip’.
Celebratory open day
In October, Goonvean Aggregates hosted an open day that included site tours and practical demonstrations of the new plant. Attendees learnt more about how the site has increased productivity, efficiency, profitability and, of course, sustainability. McLanahan held educational sessions throughout the day, with topics including water management, construction, demolition and more.
Matt Penny, Managing Director of Goonvean Aggregates and Darren Lightfoot, Quarries Manager, led an insightful Q&A session discussing the issues and challenges that led to their partnership with McLanahan. Matt Penny commented; “Since we chose McLanahan as a partner, we’ve been productive in the way we’ve been able to reutilise and adapt the plant to our bespoke nature for the product we’re looking to produce. Our goal is to become more sustainable in every facet of how we operate as a business. It’s an ongoing process, and we’re looking to reduce our carbon footprint.”
