National Group’s strong operating momentum has continued into 2022 with a major new contract for Anglo American Australia about to start. National Group is supplying heavy earthmoving equipment to Anglo’s open-cut coal mines at its Capcoal operation in the Bowen Basin (Lake Lindsay and Oak Park). The equipment includes a fleet of Komatsu 830E dump trucks, a Liebherr R 996B mining excavator, Cat D10T Crawler dozers, Cat 777G water cart, 775G service truck, and a Cat 24M Grader.
“We have an excellent working relationship with Anglo,” says National Group Maintenance Superintendent, Damien Melville. “We understand the site’s equipment needs and have developed a good delivery and maintenance record on this project.” National Group has supplied equipment for Anglo’s Capcoal operation for three years. The latest contract will double the amount of equipment that National Group supplies there and further expand the company’s presence in the Bowen Basin. Up to 30 National Group maintenance staff will work on the new and existing contracts at the Anglo coal mines, operating in six-person crews. Melville, who has over 25 year’s experience in mining, leads the team.
He says the team is busy assembling equipment after several deliveries in December and January. The equipment was expected to be operational from February 2022. “It’s been a hectic time with Christmas and holidays,” says Melville. “But everything is on track to ensure the equipment is ready when the contract starts. We have a close crew that’s working hard on delivering and then maintaining the new equipment.”
National Group says it is positive about demand for mining equipment in the Queensland coal sector in 2022. “We are getting continuing good interest for equipment hire in coal,” says National Group founder Mark Ackroyd. “There’s a lot of activity on the ground.” Ackroyd says the Anglo contract will help National Group create more jobs in Queensland and expand its fleet there. “Queensland coal is a very important market for National Group and a source of growth for us over the years. We’ve made a long-term investment in Queensland coal and remain optimistic about its future.”
As part of its corporate social responsibility program, National Group supports several events in and around the Bowen Basin. “It’s an area we’d like to do more work with, in 2022,” says Ackroyd. “National Group has a growing number of staff in around the region, so we want to support the communities our staff live and work in.” The Anglo contract is the second major new project for National Group in recent months. Newcrest Mining last year awarded National Group with a surface-mining contract at its Cadia Mine in Central Western NSW.
