The setting
Copper mine in South America. The solvent extraction area is where copper is pulled out of solution using organic solvents — a process that happens in large open cells with an organic layer floating on top of an acid solution. Operator access platforms run directly above these cells. The atmosphere carries a constant sulfuric acid mist, and the presence of organic solvent vapours means the whole area is classified for fire risk.
What was going wrong
The original wood decking on the access platforms was causing two problems at once. The sulfuric acid mist was degrading the timber, so boards needed regular replacement — a steady drain on maintenance hours. But the bigger worry was fire: wood decking directly above solvent cells is an ignition risk that no amount of procedure can fully eliminate. Steel wasn't a clean answer either — the acid mist would corrode it. The mine needed something that wouldn't burn, wouldn't corrode, and could be dropped into the existing support structure.
What we installed
We replaced the timber boards with FRP grating panels manufactured with a fire-retardant resin — the kind that self-extinguishes when the flame source is removed. The support structure underneath was switched to hollow FRP box sections, dimensionally stable and chemically inert to the acid mist. The panels were fabricated to the exact bay dimensions of the old timber boards, so the swap was mechanical — unbolt the wood, bolt in the FRP.
What changed
Bottom line: The fire risk carried by the old timber decking is gone. After five years of continuous sulfuric acid mist exposure, there have been zero maintenance interventions — no board replacements, no coating, no corrosion repairs. The platform looks the same as the day it went in.
Fire risk eliminated. Zero maintenance interventions over 5 years of continuous acid mist exposure.
How it compares
Timber decking over solvent cells carries an inherent fire risk that requires administrative controls, regular board replacement from acid degradation, and eventually full redecking. Steel would corrode in the same acid atmosphere and potentially spark if struck. The FRP option eliminates the fire hazard at the material level and stops the maintenance clock — there's simply nothing in the acid mist that attacks the resin or the glass.
In mining, platforms that don't burn and don't corrode pay for themselves in avoided downtime. For more on the design approach, see our platform systems overview. Similar heavy-industry installations are documented under FRP platforms in mining operations.