Tag Archives: Callide

Golding to add second 600 t excavator and 220 t haul truck to Jellinbah East fleet

NRW Holdings Limited’s wholly owned subsidiary, Golding Contractors Pty Ltd, has signed a variation to its existing five-year mining services agreement with Jellinbah Mining Pty Ltd at the Jellinbah East coal mine in central Queensland, Australia.

The scope of the variation includes operating and maintaining a second 600-t excavator and 220-t rear dump truck fleet to mine pre-strip overburden, increasing the full scope of the agreement to two 600-t mining fleets.

The variation is valued at approximately A$160 million ($105 million) and will commence in April 2024 using existing owned fleet and supplemented with hire equipment, NRW says.

NRW subsidiary Action Drill & Blast Pty Ltd has also been awarded the following contracts in Queensland:

  • Blasthole drilling services for Batchfire Resources at the Callide coal mine. The contract, valued at circa-A$52 million over five years has commenced and will use a workforce of some 40 personnel;
  • A 12-month extension to supply agreement with Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific Pty Ltd for a Bowen Basin mine valued at A$30 million; and
  • A services agreement involing drilling for a central Queensland mine. This has a contract term of three years on an agreed rates basis with an estimated value of A$28 million.

These contracts will also use existing ADB-owned equipment where applicable, the company said.

New Cat 994K wheel loader improves ROM productivity at Batchfire’s Callide mine

Batchfire Resources says the arrival of a new Cat 994K wheel loader has brought with it a 150% improvement in material movement efficiency and reduced carbon footprint at its Callide coal mine in Queensland, Australia.

The operation recently retired its old Cat 994 after 100,000 hours of use, replacing it with a more efficient, safer, high-productivity Cat 994K.

The upgrade was made under Batchfire’s joint initiative with Hastings Deering to modernise its pre-strip mining fleet, future-proofing its operations with the latest technology.

The new 994K was customised with an oversized bucket, offering a 14 cu.m capacity, generating 150% more material movement without increasing carbon emissions, the company said.

Batchfire Resources Superintendent Mobile – Engineering and Maintenance, Daniel Boal, said: “There’s a huge difference in payload. It used to take us 10 buckets to load a Cat 789 truck on the run of mine. With the new 994K, we can do that in four.”

Batchfire has already seen a reduction in emissions, as well as a lower cost per tonne on the run of mine, despite the 994K featuring 500 horsepower (373 kW) more power than its predecessor. The unit also offers greatly improved operator comfort with its new high-cab design, air-suspended seat and lower noise emissions, the company says.

The 994K takes safety to another level at Callide, offering improved access, visibility and reducing tailpipe emissions – improving air quality and keeping the mine site safe, the company says.

Boal said the investment in new machinery ensured a more sustainable and efficient run of mine operation.

“On a ROM, what you need is a reliable loader, it’s probably one of the most critical parts of the mine,” he said. “We’ve got 500 hp more in the new 994, so we can do it quicker and more efficiently.

“This journey started in 1993. The old 994 has pretty much been in service the whole time. The way Caterpillar build things, they are made to last; they’re built for a long-term investment. It was an easy decision in the end to go for the new 994K loader.”

Batchfire invests in six new electric drive Komatsu 930E-5 trucks for Callide mine

More than 60% of Batchfire Resources’ pre-strip mining fleet is now made up of electric drive dump trucks, after six new Komatsu 930E-5 ultra-class vehicles arrived at its Callide coal mine operations in Queensland, Australia.

The latest investment in six haul trucks maintains Batchfire’s policy of growing the proportion of electric drive machines within its overall fleet capacity, it said. The two draglines operating at Callide in central Queensland are electric powered.

Passing the 60% electric drive milestone significantly reduces the amount of carbon dioxide generated during pre-strip mining activities, according to the company. The new Komatsu 930E-5 dump trucks come with around 8% less emissions intensity than the older diesel-mechanical models being phased out, it said.

In addition, these new dump trucks will enhance productivity and deliver improved safety outcomes for Batchfire’s team of experienced operators, it said.

“Continuing to reduce the Callide Mine’s environmental impact and carbon footprint is a key priority for Batchfire Resources,” Allan Fidock, CEO of Batchfire, said.

“Batchfire is an agile business which places sustainability at the heart of our operations. We are constantly seeking new opportunities to reduce our overall emissions and this is reflected in our procurement policy.

“The Komatsu 930E-5 provides us with clear advantages in emission control, productivity and safety so investing in this market-leading model is the right solution for our business.

“In addition to these new machines, we expect to add a further three 930E-5s in the coming months, allowing us to phase out some of our older diesel-mechanical drive models.

“Maintaining our fleet’s high standards of reliability and efficiency, while increasing the size and capacity of the machines we operate, will result in productivity gains that benefit our entire business and emissions reductions that benefit the world in which we operate.”

Fidock emphasised that the procurement of diesel-electric drive machines was one aspect of a broader sustainability strategy at Batchfire.

“Our dedicated ESG and Development team is working with the board to strengthen ESG practices and identify opportunities to further reduce our emissions,” he said.

“This includes progressing the renewable energy projects, which are a central pillar of our transitional energy business model.

“We have also reduced fuel consumption across the diesel-mechanical drive and diesel-electric drive pre-strip and coal mining fleets by investing in MaxMine and other smart solutions. This data-driven approach to operations has improved our operations efficiency.”

MaxMine’s sensors and cloud-based processing system (MaxCube) extract and process 10,000 times more data from mining equipment and operator behaviour than incumbent systems, according to the software company, driving efficiencies and productivity.

The coal that Batchfire produces for the domestic and export market is the lowest fugitive emission energy coal mined anywhere in Queensland, according to the company, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in power generation within Australia and overseas.