Grit Return Screw at Kandos Cement Works, overhead, the ducting twists and bends through the structure - a later addition.
Grit Return Screw at Kandos Cement Works, overhead, the ducting twists and bends through the structure - a later addition.

Grit Return Screw

Provenance

Camera
NIKON D7000
Lens
14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Settings
14mm · f/8.0 · 1s · ISO 100
Paper
Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

Rust coats the grit return screw at Kandos Cement Works. Its massive helical blade stands still, a silent relic of decades processing raw materials within the now decaying plant.

Edition
Open edition

Open edition
Printed to order, no fixed quantity. Each print is hand-signed by the photographer.

Limited edition
A fixed number of prints exist. Once sold, the edition closes permanently. Each print is individually numbered and signed.

$100.00 AUD
Size
Type
Colour
✓
Signed, numbered, with COA. Made to order in 10 to 20 business days (framed). Shipped in protective packaging with edition certificate, paper-stock reference and a printed care guide.
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In situ

Grit Return Screw at Kandos Cement Works, overhead, the ducting twists and bends through the structure - a later addition.Grit Return Screw at Kandos Cement Works, overhead, the ducting twists and bends through the structure - a later addition.Grit Return Screw at Kandos Cement Works, overhead, the ducting twists and bends through the structure - a later addition.Grit Return Screw at Kandos Cement Works, overhead, the ducting twists and bends through the structure - a later addition.Grit Return Screw at Kandos Cement Works, overhead, the ducting twists and bends through the structure - a later addition.
01 PROVENANCE

Print datasheet

Title
Grit Return Screw
Series
Kandos Cement Works
Catalogue
KCW-015
Process
Giclée
Captured
13 February 2016
Camera
NIKON D7000
Lens
14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture
f/8.0
Shutter
1s s
ISO
100
Focal length
14 mm
Paper
Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm
Paper size
290 × 200 mm
Location
Kandos, New South Wales, Australia
Authenticity
C2PA verified provenance →
Recognised by
National Trust of Australia (NSW), 2016 Heritage Award, Multimedia
02 LOCATION

Kandos, New South Wales, Australia

Map · Mapbox · OpenStreetMap

03 THE STORY

About this print

A grit return screw at Kandos Cement Works runs along the underside of a separator housing, carrying coarse particles back into the grinding circuit for further reduction. The screw conveyor is enclosed in a long steel trough, its lid bolted along the full length. At each end the trough is flanged into the connected housings: the separator above at one end, the mill feed at the other. The drive motor sits at one end on a short concrete pedestal, coupled to the screw shaft through a reduction gearbox. Cement dust has crusted on every external surface of the trough. The motor housing carries an old maintenance tag tied to the cable terminal box. The whole assembly hangs at chest height, supported on bracketed steelwork from the floor below.

In a closed-circuit grinding system, separators classify the ground material by particle size: the fines pass through to the cement product, while the coarser particles, the "grit", are returned to the mill for further grinding. The return path is the screw conveyor in this photograph. The system runs continuously while the mill is operating, keeping a steady recirculation between the mill and the separator. Kandos Cement Works ran circuits like this one across the operational life of its later cement mills. The plant closed in September 2011, after 95 years of continuous cement production. The screw has not turned since.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

The grit return screw was a crucial part of the milling process, cycling coarse material back to the ball mill after separation. Overhead, the ducting twists and bends through the structure - a later addition, fabricated locally to meet the plant’s needs.

Brett Patman

Kandos Cement Works

The series

Kandos Cement Works

2016 · 40 photographs

Kandos Cement Works ran for ninety-five years in the central west of New South Wales, from August 1916 to September 2011. The town was named after the works, an acronym of the original director surnames forced into its current spelling by the Postmaster General in 1915. The plant was the sole cement supplier to the Sydney Harbour Bridge between 1928 and 1932.

View all in this series →

05 SIZE GUIDE

Print sizes

The anatomy view shows what this finish is as a physical object: paper margin, mat band, frame depth, acrylic profile. The comparison strip shows how each size sits relative to the others at true scale. Click a size or a finish to update both.

Anatomy · true ratio
07 MORE FROM KANDOS CEMENT WORKS

39 other prints in this series

All prints
Number Six Raw Mill at Kandos Cement Works, a ball mill sits heavy in the half-light, its riveted steel drum tilted toward.
Number Six Raw Mill $100.00
Clinker Shed at Kandos Cement Works, steel trusses span the full width of the shed, supported by heavy columns streaked.
Clinker Shed $100.00
Cyclonic Separator at Kandos Cement Works, steel mesh grating covers the floor, open to the darkness below.
Cyclonic Separator $100.00
Number Six Ball Mill Drive at Kandos Cement Works, the motor and gearbox that once drove the ball mill, now sitting.
Number Six Ball Mill Drive $100.00
08 BY POST · NO SPAM

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