Tag Archives: FIFO

Bravus and Skytrans Airlines seal FIFO agreement for Carmichael workers

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Bravus Mining and Resources has signed a new deal with Skytrans Airlines that will see the operator operate two Dash 8 300-series aircraft to exclusively service 24 direct flights a week to or from the Carmichael coal mine in central Queensland and Townsville and Rockhampton.

The average flying time for the Dash 8 300 is just 45 minutes between the Carmichael mine and Townsville, and 50 minutes between the Carmichael mine and Rockhampton. The first of the multi-million-dollar planes entered service this month.

Bravus Mining and Resources Chief Operating Officer, Mick Crowe, said the new aircraft would get Carmichael’s workforce to site and back home again more quickly, safely, and in greater comfort.

“Like every mine, the safety and wellbeing of our people, contractors, and suppliers is always our number one priority,” he said. “Our somewhat unique challenge is the remoteness of our operation. Carmichael is more than a 160-km drive to Clermont, and more than 300 km from Queensland’s east coast.

“So that means fatigue risk management and maximising quality of life for our workforce are top of mind when it comes to getting people to work and back home again safely and efficiently.

“These news planes will do just that. Those of our team who can’t drive in from the Isaac Region will be at work or at home in about an hour. That means less of their R&R lost to work-related travel, more time to spend with friends and family, and, hopefully, happier, safer, and more productive workers.”

Skytrans co-Owner, Johnathan Thurston, said: “From a Skytrans point of view, we are very excited to have the relationship with Bravus. This contract is going to create around 20 new jobs for Skytrans, employing local people in Townsville and Rockhampton, so it is great work from Bravus and Skytrans.”

Skytrans CEO, Alan Milne, said the company would establish bases of operation in Townsville and Rockhampton and recruit pilots and flight attendants who live locally to service the contract.

“This is really exciting news for the workers at Carmichael, who are going to receive an incredible level of service, and for Townsville and Rockhampton who’ll see new jobs and investment,” Milne said.

“Townsville and Rockhampton airports will now be formal bases of operation for us with local pilots, flight attendants and maintenance crews, just like we have in Cairns, Brisbane, and Horn Island.

“It’s terrific to see Bravus Mining and Resources continue to back fully Queensland-owned businesses like ours, and we look forward to building on this successful partnership long into the future.”

Mineral Resources’ FIFO staff to gain Swift Access to entertainment, engagement services

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Swift Networks says it has secured a new three-year agreement with Mineral Resources Limited to service its nine mine sites with Swift Access.

The contract comes with a subscription value of A$3.4 million ($2.1 million), with revenues expected to commence in second half of the company’s 2023 financial year, it said.

This contract represents ongoing subscription revenue for Swift Access: Swift’s premium entertainment and engagement solution powered by its proprietary technology developed specifically to enable a reliable service within low bandwidth environments, Swift’s local 24 hour support and other additional channels, Swift said.

Installation and upgrade work, which is additional to the A$3.4 million subscription revenue, will be performed by Swift’s in-house infrastructure team across MinRes’ portfolio on a site-by-site basis.

Swift’s flagship product, Swift Access, will be installed in over 2,000 accommodation rooms and common areas. Swift Access will allow staff to cast their favourite streaming apps from their mobile device straight to their room’s TV, all while maintaining user privacy and offering smart device setup and management to improve efficiencies for facility staff, Swift says. As part of the agreement, Swift Access will provide Mineral Resources staff with Swift’s full content library including first release movies and sector-specific mental health and indigenous education resources.

Swift Access also allows facility managers to easily upload and distribute site information such as inductions, health and safety messages and more directly to TVs across the site.

The entire Swift Access experience is managed by Swift’s unique bandwidth management platform and includes support services over the three-year term.

Swift CEO, Brian Mangano, says: “For the past five years, Mineral Resources and Swift have enjoyed a strong partnership based on the mutual values of innovation and high-performance outcomes. MinRes was the first mining company to trial Swift Access at its Wonmunna camp (the mine site pictured above) in Western Australia earlier this year. This latest collaboration is a natural next step in Swift’s mission to assist MinRes in providing an outstanding workplace experience.

“We are excited to grow a Swift and MinRes partnership and look forward to working together to create new, innovative solutions to address the challenges of the FIFO lifestyle.”

Mineral Resources kicks off work at ‘dust free’ iron ore project in the Pilbara

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Mineral Resources has commenced early works at its Onslow Iron project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, a project that, according to Chris Ellison, will be “dust-free from pit-to-port”.

The early works at Onslow, formerly known as the Ashburton project, will support first ore on ship around December 2023, MinRes says.

Onslow Iron will unlock stranded deposits that would otherwise remain undeveloped in the West Pilbara region, using MinRes’ innovative and proprietary equipment designed to process and move bulk commodities at lower costs and with a reduced environmental footprint, the company said.

Following receipt of preliminary approvals, project preparations are on track and early construction activities including bulk earthworks have commenced at the Port of Ashburton, south of Onslow. At the nearby Truck Maintenance Facility, installation of the temporary construction village is underway, with first buildings to be installed from early September.

Mine development activities have also progressed at the Ken’s Bore Deposit, east of Onslow, with construction of the A320-capacity airport and the installation of two camps to support drilling and early construction works.

Recruitment for the construction phase of Onslow Iron is also well underway alongside a continued focus on community and stakeholder consultation.

In line with the project schedule, long-lead items have been ordered including the first transhippers, which will be used to load capesize vessels that will be anchored offshore from the Port of Ashburton. Each transhipper has a 20,000-t capacity, is fully enclosed to avoid dust pollution and has a significantly lower environmental footprint when compared with the major dredging activities that would be required to construct deepwater berths at the port, according to the company.

Onslow Iron will be one of the largest iron ore developments undertaken in Western Australia, delivering substantial benefits to the state including thousands of construction and operational jobs, billions of dollars of direct local investment through capital expenditure and billions of dollars of state and commonwealth royalties over the life of the project, it added.

Mineral Resources Managing Director, Chris Ellison, said: “Onslow Iron will be transformational, not just for MinRes but for the State of Western Australia. This project will be the cornerstone of our iron ore strategy to deliver low-cost, long-life operations with project economics that are compelling through commodity price cycles.

“We’re looking forward to delivering thousands of jobs for Western Australians and investing billions in the economy.

“Importantly, our innovations will drive lower emissions across the project. Onslow Iron has been designed with a low environmental footprint and will be dust-free from pit-to-port.

“We’re also setting a new FIFO standard with our industry first, resort-style accommodation to ensure the physical and mental safety of our people and to encourage more women, and couples, to live on site.

“It’s in our DNA to aim higher, push the boundaries and forge new paths, which is why Onslow Iron really represents a new paradigm for mining in Western Australia.”

On top of the dust-free innovation and FIFO aims, MinRes has mooted it will run autonomous road trains between the pit and the port at Onslow Iron.

Qantas looks to acquire Australian FIFO airline Alliance Aviation Services

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Qantas says it has reached an agreement to fully acquire Australia-based operator, Alliance Aviation Services Ltd, enabling the national carrier to better serve the growing resources sector with fly-in fly-out options.

The agreement, which is subject to a vote from Alliance shareholders and competition clearance, would see Alliance become a wholly-owned part of the Qantas Group.

There is no change to Qantas’ arrangements with Alliance as a result of today’s announcement given the approvals required, which would take a minimum of several months to secure, the company said.

Alliance has a fleet of 70 jet aircraft that seat up to 100 people each, making them well suited to charter operations. Between these charter services and a small number of passenger routes that overlap with large mine sites, Alliance accounts for around 2% of the total domestic market.

The national carrier is Alliance’s biggest single customer, with a long-term agreement that sees Alliance operate up to 18 newly acquired E190 jets for QantasLink. This arrangement has helped open new direct routes and increase frequency across regional Australia, Qantas says.

Qantas bought just under 20% of Alliance in February 2019 and, at the time, flagged its long-term interest in acquiring 100% of the airline. The ACCC investigated that minority holding for three years and made no findings that it lessened competition.

Under the agreement announced today, the remaining 80% would be acquired through a scheme of arrangement where Alliance shareholders receive Qantas shares worth A$4.75 ($3.44) for each Alliance share they hold, representing a 32% premium to Alliance’s volume weighted average price for the past three months. Qantas would issue new shares valued at approximately A$614 million in a transaction that is expected to be earnings per share accretive for Qantas shareholders, before synergies.

Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce, said acquiring the remaining shares in Alliance would mean QantasLink can better compete in the highly competitive charter segment, particularly given the shared fleet type of Fokker aircraft.

“Alliance’s fleet of Fokker aircraft are perfect for efficiently serving resources customers in Western Australia and Queensland,” he said. “They also have a big inventory of spare parts that would significantly extend the practical life of a combined fleet of around almost 70 Fokkers.

“Keeping these aircraft operating reliably for longer than either carrier could achieve by themselves will help keep costs down, which is ultimately good news for charter customers. There are also benefits from bringing together our operations planning and training facilities.”

He added: “The resources sector continues to grow and any new tender for airline services will be very competitive. It makes a lot of sense for us to combine with Alliance to improve the services we can offer, which is a positive for both airlines as well as the travelling public.”

Just some of the mine sites that Alliance Aviation serves include BHP’s Western Australia Iron Ore operations, St Barbara’s Leonora mine in Western Australia, Incitec Pivot’s Phosphate Hill operation in Queensland and the BHP Nickel West operations in Western Australia.

Cobham confirms seven-year FIFO extension for Murrin Murrin mine site

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Cobham Regional Services has been awarded a new seven-year contract with Minara Resources (wholly owned by Glencore), to provide fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) services to its Murrin Murrin site in the eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.

Minara Resources is Australia’s largest cobalt producer and a major producer of nickel, and a foundation FIFO client of Cobham.

Cobham Regional Services Managing Director, Claude Alviani, said that Cobham had been providing FIFO services to Murrin Murrin since the mine commenced operations in 1996.

“We are absolutely delighted to continue the relationship we have with Minara as their aviation partner of choice,” Alviani said. “The operators of Murrin Murrin were pioneers of FIFO in Western Australia, using an airbridge to connect workers to site well before it became common practice.

“Over the past six months, Minara has transitioned to our modern, lower carbon emission aircraft with the E190 and Q400 now servicing the site.”

Brett Fowler, General Manager, Minara Resources, said: “We are pleased to continue our relationship with Cobham, a long-term partner of the Murrin Murrin operations. We welcome the addition of the lower carbon emission aircraft to Murrin Murrin as we continue to produce the nickel and cobalt that are critical commodities for the transition to a low-carbon economy.”

The new contract comes at a pivotal time for the industry in Western Australia as the State prepares to open its borders.

Cobham’s Business Development Director, Tim Pirga, said that Cobham was well positioned for transitioning to the next phase of living with COVID.

“We have a private terminal which allows us to offer bespoke solutions for COVID screening, health checks and passenger separation,” he said. “Minara will take advantage of our facility and of our experiences operating in other states where borders have been open for some time.”

Aqura Technologies to entertain more Pilbara mine workers

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Aqura Technologies has been awarded a three-year Managed Services Agreement to support accommodation village entertainment networks across 17,000 additional rooms in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

The A$1.4 million ($1.05 million) agreement with DXC Technology for a global Tier 1 miner means Aqura, a Veris Ltd subsidiary, now manages accommodation content access and entertainment networks across some 31,000 accommodation rooms.

Under the terms of the new agreement, which will commence immediately, Aqura will be working closely with DXC Technology as the facilities manager for the respective villages.

The scope of the engagement will see Aqura’s in-house specialists provide remote and field-based support to ensure the efficient operation and upgrades of the end clients Video Entertainment System, network distribution and Wi-Fi networks. In addition, the Managed Services Agreement will see Aqura providing large-scale Managed Wi-Fi, Distribution networks (Fibre-optic and DOCSIS), MATV (free to air TV) and Network management platforms which integrate to provide a seamless, and positive user experience, it said.

Aqura Technologies CEO, Travis Young, said: “This engagement is a significant recognition of Aqura’s capability and specialist skill-set in the management of the efficient operation of large-scale content access networks in remote areas.

“The management of 31,000 accommodation rooms across multiple villages, for a range of end-clients, is a unique position for an Australian business. It is a great reflection of the strength of our in-house product development teams that have developed the technology that enables the optimisation of an in-room end-user complete content access experience remotely.”

Alliance extends Newmont Tanami aviation services agreement

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Alliance Aviation Services has executed a contract extension with Newmont Mining to continue chartering flights for the miner to the Granites Mine Site in the Northern Territory of Australia from bases in Perth, Darwin and Brisbane.

The three-year agreement servicing Newmont’s Tanami mine in the Northern Territory extends the current contract with the miner until 2024.

“This contract is considered by Alliance to be material as it is forecast to represent between 5% and 7% of revenue in the next 12 months,” the company said.

Alliance has been providing services to Newmont continuously for the last nine years, with Lee Schofield, Alliance’s Chief Executive Officer, saying the company is “thrilled” to be continuing this relationship.

“Air charter services to Newmont’s mine site have increased over the last nine years and it is the only site in Australia where we fly into from three different states/territories,” he said.

“This contract extension was won due to the ability of Alliance to continue to operate safe, reliable and cost-effective air charter services for Newmont.”

Newmont says Tanami is a fly-in, fly-out operation in one of Australia’s most remote locations.

Alliance stays in the air with South32 Cannington, GEMCO contract

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Alliance Aviation Services says it has entered a new airline services contract with South32, as agent for each of its Cannington and GEMCO routes.

Alliance will be the sole supplier for these services, according to the company, continuing a relationship with the mine sites that began in 2006.

The extension, from 2020-2030, was won through a competitive tender process and is testament to Alliance’s safety record, on time performance and competitiveness in the marketplace, according to the ASX-listed service provider.

Lee Schofield, Alliance’s CEO, said: “Alliance is delighted to be continuing the provision of these services for both Cannington and GEMCO mine sites from Townsville, Cairns and Brisbane. This new contract will see Alliance flying a minimum of 35 sectors per week.

“For the next 10 years Alliance will also be servicing South32’s charter requirements from Darwin. This will result in a significant increase in our permanent presence in the Northern Territory, which in turn should provide significant new opportunities for Alliance, particularly in tourism.”

GEMCO, in the Northern Territory of Australia, is an open-cut mining operation, producing high-grade manganese ore that is shipped to South32’s Tasmania manganese alloy plant and around the world.

The Cannington underground silver-lead mine, in Queensland, is made up of a 3 Mt/y underground mine and processing plant (pictured).

Australia fly-in fly-out specialist bolsters aircraft fleet

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Alliance Aviation Services says it has entered into a binding purchase agreement with Swiss airline, Helvetic Airways AG, for the purchase of five Fokker 100 aircraft and the entirety of Helvetic’s spare engines, parts and tooling offering.

This acquisition continues to build on the strategic rationale of Alliance’s purchase of 21 Fokker aircraft from Austrian Airlines, in December 2015, the company says, enhancing the company’s ability to expand its fleet as more opportunities present themselves in Australia and the South Pacific. This is particularly so in contract aviation and wet lease services, the company said.

Alliance has several aviation contracts in place with mining companies with operations in remote parts of Australia that have a fly-in fly-out service for their employees.

The rationale for the deal, according to Alliance, includes boosting the economic life of Alliance’s fleet and reducing future capital expenditure requirements by securing low cost major components; reinforcing Alliance’s position as the largest supplier of engines and spare parts outside of Fokker; and further diversifying Alliance’s revenue streams.

Scott McMillan, Managing Director for Alliance Airlines, said: “Since the 2015 fleet purchase, we have increased our operational fleet by 11 aircraft to meet the needs of a resurgent resources sector, satisfy the demand for wet-lease services and service the growing opportunities within the tourism sector. We have also successfully on-sold several of the Austrian fleet as well establishing ongoing engine leases and we continue to sell increasing amounts of spare parts to all the major Fokker operators in the southern hemisphere.”

Alliance and BHP Nickel West extend air charter services agreement

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Alliance Aviation Services Limited has extended the air charter services to BHP Nickel West for a further five years.

This service, which has been operational since November 2006, was Alliance’s initial service in Western Australia and has become the cornerstone for the company developing a large presence in the state, the company said.

Lee Schofield, Alliance’s CEO, said: “Alliance has worked with BHP Nickel West as a partner in the provision of these services accommodating changes during the resources downturn and now we are experiencing growth of up to 17 charters per week as economic conditions continue to improve.

“As with our other resources customers throughout Australia, we are seeing growth in the number of charters as the current demand for resources is maintained and production increases.”

In July, Alliance won a three-year extension to its aviation services contract with St Barbara’s Leonora gold operations in the state.

BHP Nickel West, meanwhile, has recently signed a mining services contract extension with Thiess, part of the CIMIC Group, to continue operations at the Leinster underground mine.