Manufactured Sand Plants for Australian and New Zealand Quarries
Combo plants washing crusher dust into concrete sand for quarries in Australia and New Zealand, supported by CFlo Oceania.
The Combo is a modular washing plant that converts crusher dust into washed concrete sand and graded aggregate at up to 350 tonnes per hour on one chassis. It removes the minus 63 micron fraction, recycles up to 95% of its process water and is engineered to AS/NZS requirements. Certified Partners supply it in Australia and New Zealand. CFlo Europe Limited in Belfast delivers.
Crusher dust as a feed
Every hard rock quarry produces crusher dust or stone dust, the sub-5 mm by-product of crushing. In Britain and Ireland it is called crushed rock fines or quarry fines. It is too dusty and poorly graded to sell as sand, so it is stockpiled or sold as low-value fill.
A Combo removes the minus 63 micron fraction, typically 15–20% of the feed, scrubs off any clay and grades the remainder into concrete sand. The 63–600 micron fraction, where crusher dust is most deficient, is kept in the product.
The same chassis also scrubs, screens and rinses silt and clay from scalpings or reject stone, giving a graded aggregate and a specification sand from a single feed.
Natural sand supply in Australia and New Zealand
Natural sand within economic haulage of the major eastern seaboard cities is becoming harder to find. Deposits close to the cities are worked out or constrained by planning and environmental approvals, and replacement deposits are further from where concrete is poured.
Hard rock quarries already supplying coarse aggregate to the cities produce crusher dust. Washing it into concrete sand replaces natural sand hauled from further away. The same applies in New Zealand, where consented natural sand is limited and hard rock is quarried close to the market.
Concrete sand specifications
Concrete sand in Australia and New Zealand is sold against the national standards for concrete aggregate. For road and bridge works, the state road authority specification also applies, with its own requirements for grading, fines content and deleterious material.
The Screenmax FS86 high precision fines screen holds the top of the gradation and dewaters the product on the same deck. The Vertimax upward flow classifier removes the excess fines and brings the sand inside the envelope.
Wing stockpiling conveyors controlled by a hydraulic cylinder send two sand products to two stockpiles at once, for example a concrete sand and a plaster or masonry sand. The Centriscreen dewatering and sizing system delivers both ready for market.
Combo models and capacities
Nine models cover the range up to 350 tonnes per hour on a single chassis. Higher capacity comes from combining units. Each plant is built for its feed, so scrubbing intensity, cut points and dewatering are set by the material.
| Model | Throughput | Wash |
|---|---|---|
| Combo X50 | 45 to 50 tph | Single |
| Combo X70 | 70 to 100 tph | Single |
| Combo Turbo D90 | 80 to 90 tph | Dual |
| Combo Alpha | 100 to 120 tph | Dual |
| Combo Multi E5 | 100 to 200 tph | Dual |
| Combo X120 | 120 to 140 tph | Single |
| Combo X150 | 150 to 180 tph | Single |
| Combo X220 | 220 to 250 tph | Single |
| Combo Mega E5 | 200 to 350 tph | Dual |
All seven functions of wet processing sit on one patented chassis: feeding, screening, classification, dewatering, water recovery, sludge handling and stockpiling. The plant ships in standard containers, lands on simple pads without anchoring and runs at under 80 dB. CFlo builds the control panel as an accredited panel builder, in a double door stainless steel enclosure for harsh outdoor conditions with a touch screen PLC as standard. Walkways are to the same specification as a static plant.
Water recycling and tailings
The Combo recycles up to 95% of its process water on the same chassis, and the installation runs with zero liquid discharge.
The Hydromax thickener recovers the water. The Easysettle sludge bay manager rigidifies the tailings at the point of disposal, using high performance polymer technology to release water from the treated slurry immediately. Tailings dry faster, the pond footprint is smaller and recycled water returns sooner. Both are standard on every CFlo plant.
GR Infraprojects Combo fleet
GR Infraprojects, a listed Indian EPC company with about $880 million of annual revenue, runs eleven Combo plants across its highway projects. It took its first unit in 2017, five more in 2017 and 2018, and another five since. On the 701 km Samruddhi Mahamarg Expressway in Maharashtra, contractors ran more than a dozen Combo plants, and nearly 45% of the expressway used sand produced by them.
Each plant is relocated between packages in about ten days from shutdown to on-specification production at the next site. Disassembly, packing and loading take about three days. The water recycling system is on the same chassis, so no thickener foundations are left behind. The washed sand complies with IS 383, the Indian concrete aggregate standard.
"M sand made from crusher dust using CFlo is superior to natural sand. Results are better. We save 20–25 kg of cement in M45 concrete. In Maharashtra natural sand costs about Rs 2,000 per tonne; CFlo sand costs about Rs 550 per tonne."
The GR Infraprojects case study has the relocation checklist. Dilip Buildcon operates more than a dozen Combos, one at each of its crusher installations. YTL Cement in Malaysia runs two Combo X70 plants at its Batu Tiga Quarry, converting 0–5 mm crusher dust into graded manufactured sand. See also manufactured sand.
Limestone scalpings at Stevin Rock and Power International
Stevin Rock, wholly owned by the Government of Ras Al Khaimah and operating there since 1975, produces more than 80 million tonnes a year across three sites. Its limestone, dolomite and gabbro reserves exceed 4.5 billion tonnes, and its Khor Khuwair quarry has a capacity above 60 million tonnes a year.
Stevin Rock has ordered a Combo Mega E5 to wash limestone scalpings and mine rejects into washed, graded product. The CE certified plant has been dispatched. CFlo will publish measured results after commissioning. See the project announcement.
Power International, a Bathwal Group company, runs a Combo Mega E5 at its Fujairah limestone mine. It converts minus 10 mm rejects into construction sand and recovers the 5–10 mm fraction as low silica limestone, with 95% of the water recycled. See the Power International case study.
Dry classification with the Aerograder
Washing is required when crusher dust carries clay. Where sand leaves a closed-circuit crushing plant dry and its only defect is excess ultrafines, an Aerograder removes them in air. It uses no process water and has no settling pond, tailings or screen media. Hotmix asphalt plants are the clearest case, because bituminous mixes will not accept a high ultrafine content.
The feed must be below 5 mm and under 2% surface moisture, which an enclosed crusher-to-classifier circuit or an arid site gives year-round. At Samruddhi Mahamarg, Afcons produced a consistent graded manufactured sand this way. On other rock types the result is a measurable reduction in ultrafines rather than a certified grade.
Frac sand plant for the Northern Territory
CFlo's first frac sand project in Australia is a Micrograder rated at 80 to 100 tonnes per hour, in manufacture for a site near Darwin in the Northern Territory. Commissioning is scheduled for early 2027. It will wash and classify local sand into proppant grades for a large oil and gas operator, replacing sand transported by road from more than 1,000 km away.
The plant recycles around 95% of its process water, runs with zero liquid discharge and is built to Australian and New Zealand standards. It ships as containerised modules, so commissioning on site takes days. Ryan Barker, Regional Head of Operations and Delivery at CFlo Europe Limited, oversees delivery. The project announcement sets out the specification.
Sample Study and Pre-Engineering
Feed gradation, clay content and moisture decide the configuration, so sizing starts with a sample. Material is piloted at CFlo's own pilot plant and laboratory in Kolkata, a DSIR-recognised in-house R&D unit, under the Sample Study & Interpretation programme. Pilot units run on bulk samples rather than bench tests, and the washed sand is tested in concrete.
Sampling method and paperwork are agreed first, and the sample is sent to the CFlo works in Kolkata. The report gives the mass balance, grades, yields, consumption figures, a recommended flowsheet and samples of the products. Where the sand is sold against a standard, the testwork follows that standard's test methods.
Pre-Engineering follows if the numbers support the project. While financial clearance is in progress, the plant is designed in full over twelve weeks in four phases: process flow, mass balance, layout and equipment schedule. Long-lead items are identified and vendors pre-engaged, so manufacture starts when the supply contract is placed.
Send us a sample
Tell us about the material and an engineer will come back with how much to send, how to sample it, and what the programme would cover.
Supply and support in Australia and New Zealand
CFlo sells through Certified Partners, who supply the plant to the quarry. The Darwin plant is being delivered through a CFlo Certified Partner in Australia, and a construction sand plant follows the same route. CFlo Oceania provides sales and support for Australia and New Zealand on +61 870 925 996 and [email protected].
Oceania and the UK and Europe are one delivery territory, run from Belfast. Aggregates Business described the partner-led model in a feature in August 2026.
Co-founder of CFlo Europe Limited and its Regional CEO, responsible for the UK, Ireland and Europe, North America and Oceania. Has spent his working life building wet processing plant for quarries in Britain and Ireland, having previously helped build a global wet processing brand.
Information needed to start a Sample Study
We need a sample or a recent gradation of the crusher dust, its clay and silt content, and its moisture as delivered. We also need the required tonnes per hour and the specification the sand has to meet, including any state road authority specification. If you already sell crusher dust, its selling price is useful for the commercial comparison.
Start with the Sample Study, or contact CFlo Oceania to scope the programme with your Certified Partner.
Frequently asked questions
Can the Combo make concrete sand from crusher dust to Australian and New Zealand specifications?
Yes. The plant removes the minus 63 micron fraction under control and grades the remainder into a concrete sand envelope. Compliance with the national standard and any state road authority specification depends on the rock and the crusher setting, which the Sample Study establishes first.
How much of the crusher dust becomes saleable sand?
The minus 63 micron fraction, around 15–20% of the feed, is removed. Most of the remainder becomes washed concrete sand, with the 63–600 micron fraction kept in full. The Sample Study quantifies the recovery for your dust.
How much water does the plant use?
Up to 95% of the process water is recycled and the installation runs with zero liquid discharge. Tailings are rigidified at the point of disposal, so ponds dry faster and take less land. Where a site has no room for ponds, mechanical dewatering can be specified.
Can the plant be moved to another quarry?
Yes. The plant, including its water recycling system, sits on one chassis, ships in standard containers and lands on simple pads without anchoring. GR Infraprojects relocates its Combos between highway packages in about ten days.
Is a dry classifier an option instead of washing?
Only where the feed is below 5 mm and under 2% surface moisture, which an enclosed crusher-to-classifier circuit or an arid site gives year-round. An Aerograder then removes excess ultrafines in air with no process water or tailings. Wet or clay-bearing dust needs a Combo.
Who supplies and supports the Combo in Australia and New Zealand?
CFlo Certified Partners supply the plant. CFlo Oceania provides sales and support on +61 870 925 996 or [email protected], and CFlo Europe Limited in Belfast delivers. Plants are engineered to AS/NZS requirements. Begin with the Sample Study or contact us.
What intellectual property protects CFlo equipment in Australia?
CFlo is a registered trade mark in Australia (No. 2443583, registered to CFlo World Limited). The Combo is protected by Australian patent AU 2017374901 B2.