Mining Equipment Painting & Protection

Mining equipment we work on

We work on fixed equipment in the concentrator and the shaft, and on mobile fleet equipment, in place or in a shop. The service is part of our industrial and protective coatings, our core business.

Fixed equipment:

• Conveyors: frames, galleries, transfer chutes and covers.
• Crushers, screens and mills: bases, guards and feed hoppers.
• Flotation cells, thickeners and slurry tanks: walls, walkways and mechanisms.
• Hoppers, chutes and bins: surfaces exposed to ore and abrasion.
• Headframe structures, process buildings and pipe supports.

Mobile equipment:

• Underground loaders (LHDs) and surface wheel loaders.
• Production and development drills, rock bolters.
• Haul trucks, underground trucks and service vehicles.
• Boom lifts, scissor lifts and tool carriers.

The service is for mining and industrial sites only. Work is carried out by our crews and qualified subcontractors.

Mining equipment refurbishment, step by step

Mining equipment refurbishment follows five steps, from receiving the unit to its return to service.

• Cleaning: pressure washing or hydro blasting to remove mud, packed ore, oil and grease. Blasting a greasy part spreads the contamination instead of removing it.
• Blasting: abrasive blast cleaning to the specified grade, usually SSPC-SP 6 or SSPC-SP 10 depending on the system (abrasive blasting). Sensitive components (cylinders, seals, wiring harnesses, glazing, nameplates) are removed or masked.
• Repair: cracks, thinned plate and worn areas are recorded and shown to the client before going further. Mechanical repairs and rebuilding of worn surfaces fall under maintenance and rehabilitation.
• Painting: primer, intermediate and finish coats chosen for exposure and use, with a stripe coat on edges and welds.
• Colours and safety marking: fleet colour, marking of pinch points, guardrails, anchor and lifting points and hazard zones, to the mine's colour code.

Before handover, film thickness is measured and recorded, and removed components are refitted.

Paint or wear protection: which system to choose

The system depends on what attacks the surface: the atmosphere, process water, reagents or sliding ore. Paint protects against corrosion; it does not stand up to ore sliding across it. Wear zones need a wear-resistant lining, often combined with painting the rest of the equipment.

• Zinc-rich primer, epoxy and polyurethane: structures, frames and bodies outdoors, the usual system in ISO 12944 category C4 or C5 (ISO 12944 explained).
• High-build epoxy: concentrator equipment and bases exposed to moisture and slurry splash.
• Novolac epoxy: contact with reagents or acidic solutions.
• Polyurea: surfaces that take impact, and jobs where return to service is urgent (polyurea coatings).
• Ceramic-filled epoxy: rebuilding and abrasion protection of chutes, pump casings and cyclones.
• Bonded alumina tiles: hoppers, transfer chutes and high-throughput chutes, where a spray-applied lining wears too fast.

Wear-resistant products are supplied and installed through our supply and installation service. The thickness and compatibility of each coat come from the manufacturer's data sheet.

Thickeners, flotation cells and tailings tanks

Thickeners, flotation cells and tailings tanks are treated as immersion tanks, not as structural painting. The interior is in constant contact with abrasive slurry, sometimes carrying reagents; the lining has to withstand immersion, abrasion and drain-and-fill cycles.

• Walls and floors: thick epoxy or ceramic-filled epoxy over steel blasted to the grade the product requires, usually SSPC-SP 10 or SSPC-SP 5 (tank lining).
• Thickener mechanisms and rakes: wear zones protected locally, removable parts treated in a shop.
• Walkways, handrails and exterior: standard atmospheric painting.
• Concrete structures: protection against acid attack and abrasion.

This work is done during concentrator shutdowns. It requires draining, cleaning, ventilating the vessel and following the site's confined space entry procedure (industrial tank lining selection).

At surface, in the shop or underground

We work where the equipment is, and the method changes with the location. The choice is made in the quote based on the size of the equipment, its availability and access.

• In the shop: the unit or part is transported, then blasted and painted under cover. It is the most controlled option for loaders, drills and removable parts.
• At surface on site: concentrator, conveyors, headframe and tanks, inside a temporary enclosure that holds abrasive and overspray, heated in winter (cold-weather epoxy application).
• Underground: underground garages and shops, pump stations, shaft structures. Ventilation, the choice of low-solvent products, storage of flammable products and handling of spent abrasive and wash water are planned before the job starts.

Underground work is planned around the mine's own rules and Quebec's Regulation respecting occupational health and safety in mines, or Ontario Regulation 854 (Mines and Mining Plants). Hot work permits, lockout, cage access, ventilation zones and blasting schedules are coordinated with the mine's departments (ventilation, maintenance, health and safety) before each shift.

Inspections and standards

Every refurbished unit goes back with its records. Inspections follow the mine's specification or, failing one, these reference standards:

• ISO 12944: corrosivity category and system selection.
• SSPC-SP 6, SSPC-SP 10 / NACE No. 2 or ISO 8501-1: surface preparation grade (NACE No. 2 surface preparation guide).
• ISO 8503 or ASTM D4417: surface profile measurement.
• SSPC-PA 2: dry film thickness measurement.
• ISO 4628-3 or ASTM D610: rust rating on existing equipment, to decide between spot repair and full refurbishment.

Ambient conditions (substrate temperature, relative humidity, dew point) are recorded for every coat. Immersion linings get a holiday test before return to service. These checks are described in detail on our coating inspection and quality control page.

Pricing: by quote

Mining equipment painting and refurbishment are priced by quote, because the cost depends on the condition of the equipment and where the work is done. Five factors drive it:

• The type and size of the equipment, and the complexity of its shape: a drill needs more masking than a hopper.
• Starting condition: contamination, rust, wear and repairs needed.
• Location: shop, surface or underground, and transport if any.
• The system: paint only, or paint plus wear protection.
• The work window: planned shutdown, night shifts, winter.

Send photos, the model or dimensions and the location with your quote request: we reply within 24 business hours.

Where we work

Induscoat works on mine sites across Quebec and Ontario, from LaSalle. Each regional page sets out the conditions specific to the territory, including the mines of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Côte-Nord and Ontario:

• Montreal and Montérégie
• Quebec, for the province as a whole
• Abitibi-Témiscamingue
• Côte-Nord
• Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
• Mauricie–Centre-du-Québec
• Ontario

When paint is not the right answer

Paint is not the right answer when the equipment is losing metal to wear or its structure is damaged. A paint film on a chute worn down to the plate is gone at the first pass of ore; a crack in a crusher base is repaired before it is painted.

• Abrasion or impact wear: wear protection or rebuilding of the surfaces, through our maintenance and rehabilitation service.
• Part worn beyond repair: replacement, with the new part coated before it is installed.
• Recurring rust or peeling with no known cause: a failure diagnosis comes before a new system (strategic advisory).

Conversely, equipment whose paint is still well bonded with only localized rust can get by with spot repairs and a finish coat, without full blasting. The survey decides.

Typical Problems We Solve

• Rust and peeling paint on frames and bodies exposed to mud, water and road salt
• Chutes and hoppers worn through by ore, where paint does not last
• Faded or missing safety marking on guardrails, pinch points and lifting points
• Underground work constrained by ventilation, flammable product rules and cage access

What You Receive

• Technical quote stating the location of the work, the system coat by coat, wear protection and planned inspections
• Equipment cleaned, blasted to the specified grade, repaired where agreed and painted to the data sheet
• Fleet colours and safety marking applied to the mine's colour code
• File with ambient condition and dry film thickness readings, data sheets, batch numbers and photos

Timeline

Standards & Certifications

• ISO 12944: corrosivity categories and paint system selection
• SSPC-SP 10 / NACE No. 2 and SSPC-SP 6 / NACE No. 3: blast cleaning grades
• SSPC-PA 2: dry film thickness measurement
• ISO 4628-3 and ASTM D610: rust rating of existing paint

Industries We Serve

• Gold and base metal mines: concentrators, conveyors, crushers, flotation
• Iron ore mining and pelletizing: chutes, hoppers, conveyors, thickeners
• Underground mining: loaders, drills, trucks, underground shops and pump stations
• Quarries and aggregates: crushers, screens, conveyors, mobile equipment

Service FAQ

Technical guides

• ISO 12944: corrosivity categories and system selection
• NACE No. 2 / SSPC-SP 10 surface preparation
• Industrial tank lining selection
• Cold-weather epoxy application and winter shutdowns
• Coating failure modes and diagnosis

Related applications

Concrete industrial use cases where this service is applied.