Designed in Australia by Kent Neal over two years ago, the Q-mix is a system that ensures fluid is mixed accurately and reliably.

Quaker Australasia general manager Harold Kraus said the majority of longwall fluid failures occurred due to incorrect fluid make-up, but was an easy problem to fix by addressing the type of fluid, make-up water quality and the type of fluid/water mixing system.

Kraus said the importance of correctly mixing longwall fluid meant that Q-mix was offered to its customers at cost, with no profit margin to Quaker.

Simple in its design, the system provides accurate and reliable fluid make-up through several smart features which include alarms, locked-in mixers, concentration confirmation, redundancy and 48 hours of mixed fluid availability.

Kraus said the system’s success in Australia meant Quaker was now looking to introduce it into the US.

In other news, Quaker said it had recently employed Danny Chapman to manage its longwall customers in Queensland. Chapman has spent 18 years maintaining and relocating longwalls.