Working alongside a star

Gold Rush is a popular reality TV series in the United States. The television location was equipped with the help of BMA America, with a trommel screen for gold mining built by our team.

The trommel has a diameter of just over 2 metres, is almost 10 metres long, and can screen 400 tons of earth per hour. Its steel frame has a built-in pivot arm, allowing the unit to be raised up to 6 degrees. The cylinder is made from AR400 steel and designed to withstand 10 revolutions per minute.

The concept for the unit having been provided, it was designed by BMA America engineers working closely with Todd Hoffman, the star of the show. It was featured in Season 8 of the TV series, which aired in the United States in autumn 2017. The trommel ran very successfully throughout the entire mining season. 

Though quite unusual, this project still showcases BMA’s extraordinary skills in engineering, project management and fabrication. It took just four weeks from drawing board to application.

Mining equipment has been a long-standing capability for BMA America and we continue to provide conveyor, sorting and processing solutions to this market.

Another project that has been met with a good response is BMA America’s new apprenticeship scheme starting this year. In collaboration with city, county and state governments, four young people will receive on-the-job training in all aspects of welding.

Over a period of twelve months, the apprentices will learn arc, mig, tig and oxy fuel welding. The scheme will also include classroom training, providing the necessary skill sets to perform calculations, and an understanding of heat and feed times and measurements.

Those who complete their apprenticeship are offered full-time employment in our company, where they can continue to develop their technical skills and knowledge. BMA America is planning to widen the apprenticeship scheme to include other areas of production, such as plate rolling and press brake operations.