Tag Archives: Roy Hill

WA government, EPA approves BHP’s strategic 50- to 100-year Pilbara mining plan

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The Western Australia Government has approved a 50- to 100-year strategic mining proposal for the Pilbara by BHP, which outlines bold plans for new and existing mines, the state said.

BHP’s Pilbara Expansion Strategic Proposal details a cumulative picture of the miner’s planned and potential operations across the Pilbara, including mining operations, rail, storage areas, dams and associated mine infrastructure.

It mentioned new potential mining operations at Caramulla, Coondiner, Gurinbiddy, Jinidi, Marillana, Mindy, Ministers North, Mudlark, Munjina/Upper Marillana, Ophthalmia/Prairie Down, Rocklea, Roy Hill and Tandanya; alongside future expansions of existing mining operations at Jimblebar, Mining Area C, Newman and Yandi (pictured).

This type of “strategic proposal”, which the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has approved with conditions, “helps reduce red and green tape, allowing the EPA to consider the cumulative impacts of future proposals, rather than assessing impacts on a case-by-case basis, as individual mines or developments are proposed”, according to the government.

The EPA assessed the impacts to flora and vegetation, fauna, water quality and quantity, air quality as well as social surrounds, with the ministerial statement for BHP’s strategic proposal including conditions that may be applied to each development, including environmental management plans, a cultural heritage management plan, a mine closure plan and offsets through contributions to the Pilbara Environmental Offsets Fund where significant residual impacts remain.

“BHP is required to refer future individual proposals outlined in the ministerial statement to the EPA to determine if they meet the high environmental standards set by the strategic assessment,” the government said.

WA Premier, Mark McGowan, said BHP’s plan has the potential to deliver tens of thousands of jobs for Western Australians.

“We expect this Australian-first plan will reduce environmental approval times by up to 50%, while maintaining the highest environmental standards,” he said.

“Industry has been crying out for this type of plan. It recognises the need to reduce unnecessary ‘green tape’ to increase investor confidence, and pave the way for more jobs. It is another sign our economy is improving with the major miner taking a long-term view of its proposals in the state.”

Environment Minister, Stephen Dawson, meanwhile, said: “The Pilbara region holds immense environmental value and a key focus of the EPA assessment was to ensure the proposal did not significantly impact on important regional environmental values, including Karijini National Park and Fortescue Marsh.

“Strategic proposals allow the EPA to take a bigger picture view of the potential environmental impacts the proposals may have, considering the cumulative impacts rather than on a case-by-case basis, as individual mines or developments are proposed.”

GMG members devise mine automation guideline

Automation, Communications in mining, Mining equipment, Mining industry recognition, Mining policy, Mining safety, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The likes of Anglo American, BHP, Barrick Gold, Glencore, Newmont, Rio Tinto, Teck and Vale have collaborated on the Global Mining Guidelines Group’s (GMG) latest guideline on automation.

The Guideline for the Implementation of Autonomous Systems in Mining offers a broad view of the implementation of these systems, which are being used more and more frequently due to their potential for making the mining industry safer and more productive, according to GMG.

Christine Erikson, General Manager Improvement and Smart Business at Roy Hill, said the guideline “covers all aspects of operations, including people, safety, technology, engineering, regulatory requirements, business process and organisation models”. She added: “The guideline considers all perspectives in the industry, making it relevant and practical in implementation.”

The guideline provides a framework for mining stakeholders to follow when establishing autonomous mining projects ranging from single autonomous vehicles and hybrid fleets to highly autonomous fleets, GMG said. It offers guidance on how stakeholders should approach autonomous mining and describes common practices.

“More specifically, the publication addresses change management, developing a business case, health and safety and risk management, regulatory engagement, community and social impact, and operational readiness and deployment,” GMG said.

“There has been an incredible level of engagement in this project since its launch last year,” said Andrew Scott, Principal Innovator, Symbiotic Innovations, and GMG Vice-Chair Working Groups, who facilitated many of the workshops. “The industry interest reflects the growing importance and relevance of autonomous systems in mining and the industry’s need for a unified framework for mitigating risks and managing change while maximising the value of autonomy.”

Chirag Sathe, Principal, Risk & Business Analysis Technology at BHP – one of the project co-leaders alongside Glenn Johnson, Senior Mining Engineer, Technology at Teck – said the guideline is relevant even to those who have already embraced autonomy: “I would say that even though some mining companies have implemented autonomy, it hasn’t been a smooth ride and there are a number of lessons learned. This guideline would be a good reference material to everyone to look at various aspects while implementing autonomy. It is not meant to provide answers to every potential issue, but it at least may provide some guidance on what to look for.”

Erikson concurred, saying, “Roy Hill’s involvement has given greater insight into industry learnings that we have considered as part of our own autonomous projects.”

The guideline also promotes cooperation between the involved parties as a means of easing the implementation process, according to GMG. Andy Mulholland, GEOVIA Management Director at Dassault Systèmes, said: “Mining companies will need to rely heavily on their technology partners.” This guideline “sets down a great framework to be able to collaborate”, he added.

Sathe said: “As technology is moving very fast, guideline development also should keep pace with the change.”

As a result, the guideline will be reviewed and updated on a regular basis, according to GMG.

GMG said: “Although implementing autonomous systems creates new challenges, such as changes to the workforce and the workplace, their successful deployment adds definite value, with improved safety and efficiency and lower maintenance costs. As more operations move toward the application of these technologies, this guideline will be an invaluable asset.

Mark O’Brien, Manager, Digital Transformation at CITIC Pacific Mining, said the process of developing the guideline highlighted “just how much there is to factor into deciding whether to implement autonomy, whether you’re ready for it and what the journey is going to look like.

“Having this all captured in a single, well-considered document is a terrific resource.”

Roy Hill receives training plaudits at Western Australia awards ceremony

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Roy Hill Holdings has been named the Western Australia Employer of the Year at a gala ceremony for the WA Training Awards.

The awards are presented by the Department for Training and Workforce Development, to recognise the outstanding achievement of apprentices, trainees, vocational students and the contribution to training made by trainers, training organisations and employers.

Roy Hill’s acknowledgement as WA Employer of the Year 2018 is in recognition of achieving excellence providing nationally recognised training to its employees, the company said. In addition, this year Tarra Ninyette was also named a finalist in the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year.

Roy Hill CEO Barry Fitzgerald said the award was especially significant given the company is still young and evolving.

“Since Roy Hill’s inception in 2012, we’ve held a passionate belief that by helping our people to continually learn and develop, they can reach their full potential – and we all succeed. We are absolutely committed to the training and development of our people, aligned with our values of Lead, Care, Think and Perform,” he said.

“This year, we have developed and implemented a large number of training and development initiatives for our employees. As Roy Hill accepts this award, we have more than 800 people actively engaged in training programmes, complementing more than 300 staff who have successfully completed an accredited training course in the last two years.

Fitzgerald said Roy Hill allocates additional training days for its site-based operators and trades personnel for their personal development, enabling the development of additional skills for alternative career paths.

“We are also committed to providing people without mining experience, but the right values, attitudes and behaviours with opportunities in the industry, through a willingness to train and develop these people hands on,” he said.

“Our training and development initiatives also extend into the broader community, with the establishment of a curriculum based, learning experience where Year Eight students participate in a hands-on visit to our Remote Operations Centre. This initiative is focused on highlighting both the educational and diverse career opportunities in the mining industry with a focus on science, technology, engineering and maths courses, and opportunities for girls.

Fitzgerald concluded the win demonstrated the company’s commitment to a career enrichment programme of upskilling, providing development and career progression opportunities is not only working, but achieving award winning standards.

Roy Hill operates a 55 Mt/y iron ore operation in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

Civmec readies for first shutdown maintenance campaign at Roy Hill iron ore mine

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Australia-based Civmec Ltd’s maintenance team is about to mobilise to Roy Hill Holdings’ iron ore operations in the Pilbara of Western Australia as it commences the first shutdown campaign of its long-term services contract with the company.

In July, Civmec was awarded a maintenance contract with Roy Hill and the company is now “working collaboratively on planning, drawing experienced personnel from its extensive resource pool to ensure this first phase of a long maintenance campaign is delivered seamlessly”, it said.

Civmec said the outcomes of this first phase of work, due to start this month, will dictate the client’s approach to ongoing maintenance.

The contract includes providing mechanical, scaffolding, electrical, conveyor and shutdown management services, according to the company.

Civmec said this contract, and others recently secured with the likes of Alcoa, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group, was the direct result of investing in dedicated maintenance facilities nationally, together with bolstering its maintenance management team capability, training and recruiting.

Patrick Tallon, Civmec’s CEO, said: “We see the commitment towards the continual growth of a maintenance division as a very strategic move to support the significant requirement to maintain the many new plants that have recently been constructed in the minerals and metals and oil and gas sectors across Australia.”

Civmec has traditionally been thought of as a multi-disciplinary heavy engineering construction company.

Roy Hill is a 55 Mt/y iron ore mining, rail and port operation in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. Civmec previously carried out four contracts as part of the build, included heavy engineering and structural, mechanical, piping and electrical instrumentation packages.

Rio, Roy Hill and ATCO look for data science boost through CORE Skills pilot

Base metals, Careers in mining, IoT, Mining services, Mining software, Precious metals, Steel and iron ore, , , , ,

CORE Skills has formally launched its ‘Geoscientist to Data Scientist’ pilot programme along with industry collaborations, Roy Hill, Rio Tinto, ATCO Australia and academic partners CSIRO, Curtin University and The University of Western Australia.

The launch, which took place at the the CORE Innovation Hub in Perth’s central business district, is aimed at addressing how resources sector leaders, geoscientists and engineers will contribute to “value creation of industry organisations” through data science, the resources hub said.

The CORE Innovation Hub is Australia’s first co-working, collaboration and innovation hub focused on the resources sector, while CORE Skills has been set up to create “skills pathways, harnessing the immersive culture of entrepreneurship, open innovation, collaboration and speed to market”.

Data sciences is one particular area of focus for the programme. There is an urgent skills shortage on the horizon, according to CORE Skills.

CORE Innovation Hub CEO Tamryn Barker said: “Digital technologies and the resulting flood of data promise to re-order the resources sector as we know it. We must learn what it takes to harness opportunities to overcome known resource sector challenges in the Data Science era, and embrace the disruptive context we are in.”

Dr Sophie Hancock, CORE Skills Catalyst and Pilot Lead, said being able to make informed, rapid decisions in the face of over A$1 trillion ($720 billion) in economic impact due to digital transformation will be the ultimate power for an industry organisation in the next decade.

This is where CORE Skills can help, according to Hancock.

“Together, we are building a talent pool with greater data science literacy. If participants think they grasped the opportunities of applying the tools the first time within the programme, it is going to be an order of magnitude more powerful applying the learning in follow on projects back in their organisations.”

The industry pilot is comprised of two specific course products: a one-day executive education programme aimed at a new type of senior leader needed to successfully steer companies through the digital transition, and a 12-week, one day a week professionals programme to repurpose capability effectively to match evolving skills requirements.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore CEO Chris Salisbury said his company was committed to investing in people and was always looking for new ways to help them along the way.

“This pilot is not only a great example of how we can pioneer innovative learning solutions to provide our people with the opportunity to grow and develop in their roles, but it also could become a model for upskilling our people in a number of fields,” he said.

This is likely to benefit Rio and its first ‘intelligent mine’, Koodaideri, he added.

ARC centre on mine asset maintenance receives Australia government backing

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Universities and the mining industry are teaming up to tackle asset maintenance in the resources sector through the use of data science.

The new Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Training Centre will be led by Curtin University in partnership with The University of Western Australia (UWA), CSIRO and the University of Adelaide, and industry partners Alcoa, BHP and Roy Hill, as well as CORE Innovation Hub and the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia.

Curtin University was awarded A$3.9 million ($2.9 million) in ARC funding for the establishment of the centre, with planning for the new ARC Training Centre for Transforming Maintenance through Data Science starting immediately.

ARC Training Centre for Transforming Maintenance through Data Science Director, Professor Andrew Rohl (pictured), from the Curtin Institute for Computation, said: “The effective maintenance of engineering assets underpins the A$205 billion ($151 billion) annual export earnings from Australia’s resources sector.

“However, maintenance management practices have changed little in the last 20 years and are ripe for a digital overhaul that will bring developments in computational methods, statistics, applied mathematics and artificial intelligence to determine how, when and why maintenance is conducted.”

The new centre will enable the development and adoption of new practices to improve productivity and asset reliability for industry and to foster a new maintenance technology service sector for national and international markets, according to Professor Rohl.

UWA Professor Michael Small, CSIRO-UWA Chair of Complex Engineering Systems, said being able to effectively use data to create better systems, develop new technology and transform the way maintenance is carried out across the resources sector is critical and the creation of the new centre will allow industry to take huge steps towards this.