Tag Archives: Thiess

Thiess, WesTrac and Cat collaborate on ‘world-first’ autonomous drilling feat

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In what WesTrac says is a world-first for autonomous drilling, mining services provider Thiess has successfully rolled out a system that involves three Cat® drill rigs being remotely operated by a single operator.

The solution is part of an ongoing program, also involving original equipment manufacturer Caterpillar® and specialist Cat equipment and service provider WesTrac, to ultimately achieve full autonomy. The current solution involves a single operator, working from a remote on-site operating centre, issuing commands to the three drill rigs simultaneously to instruct them to commence single-row autonomous drilling.

Apart from the operator instructing the rigs to move to the next row and commence drilling according to the pre-defined pattern, all operations are carried out using Cat autonomous technology. Ultimately, the program will see drill rigs completing entire drill patterns across multiple rows in fully autonomous mode.

Since the program went live earlier this year at a project in New South Wales, Australia, Thiess has reported a 20% improvement in drilling performance, including increased rig utilisation with operating times above 20 hours per drill per day, according to WesTrac. Accuracy has also improved with no re-drilling required since the solution was rolled out.

According to WesTrac Project Manager, Joanne Henry, the project involved an iterative rollout and collaborative approach between Thiess, WesTrac and Caterpillar that included phased development and implementation of various new technologies.

“As the OEM, Caterpillar, developed the drills and the technology layer to a certain point, but, as a development partner, Thiess drove a lot of the requirements for ongoing improvements and there’s been constant collaboration throughout the project,” Henry said.

The phased approach allowed Thiess to progressively upskill workers, verify the technology in stages and move smoothly towards the desired final outcome, WesTrac says.

Starting with a single drill rig and staged implementation of technology, Thiess progressed from manual operation to Operator Mission Assist (OMA) functionality that still involved an operator being stationed in the cab but introduced a range of automated functions. This allowed operators to build their understanding of new functions before the next stage – removing them from the cab and locating them in the remote operating station – was implemented.

Following successful evaluation of the single rig operating in autonomous mode, a second rig – albeit a different size to the first – was fitted with the same autonomous operating technology and Thiess operators were able to simultaneously control both rigs. A third rig was fitted out with the technology earlier this year, enabling Thiess to have three rigs working in unison. This has seen one multi-pass MD6250 rig and two single-pass MD6310s operated simulataneously from a single remote operator station.

According to Thiess, there were multiple benefits in relocating operators from the cab to the remote station. The obvious one was reduced risk by taking those operators “out of the line of fire”, however improved fatigue management also occurred as operators were freer to take short breaks and move around without impacting drill operations.

“Thiess also realised a higher level of engagement because team members had the opportunity to upskill,” Henry said.

“That has the potential not only to drive retention of existing staff, but to attract younger generations who see the appeal of working with world-leading technology.”

Another beneficial outcome derived from the collaborative approach was the development of new strata visualisation software that allows operators to see a 3D view of each hole profile they have drilled.

“That’s another piece of technology that in itself could revolutionise the way drilling operations are carried out,” Henry said.

“But, more importantly, it is a powerful addition to the overall solution that’s enabling Thiess to realise significant people, technology and process benefits.”

Thiess Head of Asset Management & Autonomy, Matt Petty, said: “We’ve been on our autonomous drilling journey since 2019, when we mobilised our first Caterpillar MD-series drill, equipped with OMA technology, moving through to ‘single-row’, with the goal of full pattern, multi-pass autonomous drilling using multiple drills at a time with one controller.

“Our close collaboration and a controlled, phased rollout of the technology with operational insight has meant piloting, implementation and refinement of the technology has been safe, efficient and successful.

“We’re now looking to expand our application of autonomous drill technology, ultimately graduating to off-site remote operating centres, from which controllers can operate multiple drills across multiple projects.”

Thiess in leading position to take over fellow contract miner MACA

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Thiess looks like winning the acquisition tussle for fellow contract miner MACA after an increased all-cash offer was recommended by the MACA Board and NRW Holdings said it would no longer be pursuing a potential deal.

Thiess recently increased its offer price from A$1.025 ($0.71) of cash per MACA share to A$1.0751 of cash per MACA share, with the increased offer price representing a premium of 49.2% to the MACA one-month volume weighted average price as at July 25, 2022.

This followed a merger approach from NRW Holdings in August, which implied a consideration of A$1.085/share, valuing the equity of MACA at A$375 million. MACA said it did not consider this merger proposal as superior to the existing Thiess offer, continuing to recommend shareholders accepted the offer from Thiess.

Following this latest increased offer from Thiess, NRW confirmed it no longer intended to pursue the acquisition of MACA.

Including the acceptances received from MACA founders and MACA directors, Thiess’ total relevant interest in MACA is currently 15.9%.

Thiess, in its initial Bidder Statement, said it intends to operate MACA in materially the same manner supported by MACA’s workforce, brand and assets, and to continue its highly regarded community partnerships.

The proposed acquisition of MACA by Thiess is consistent with its diversification strategy, with a particular emphasis on increasing its presence within metals and minerals hard-rock mining operations in Western Australia, it says.

To this point, the company’s Western Australian hard-rock mining exposure has consisted mostly of work with BHP’s Western Australia nickel assets, in addition to a recent contract award at the Covalent Lithium Joint Venture project.

MACA has exposure to the state’s iron ore sector thanks to contracts with Fortescue and BHP; the burgeoning gold segment through contracts with Regis Resources, Ramelius Resources, Capricorn Metals and Red 5; and nickel and lithium exposure from the Ravensthorpe mine and Pilgangoora project, respectively.

Thiess also said in its Bidder Statement that it sees “a significant opportunity to combine the operational capability of both companies to continue enhancing service quality, particularly in relation to technical solutions such as deploying autonomous machinery or reducing the carbon emissions of mining services on project sites”.

Back in March, MACA announced a partnership with SafeAI to form an MoU to retrofit a mixed fleet of 100 mining trucks across multiple locations with autonomous mining technologies.

With the satisfaction of the ACCC condition on August 26, 2022, the Thiess offer is only subject to FIRB approval, no Prescribed Occurrences, no issue of convertible securities, derivatives or other rights and 90% minimum acceptances, Thiess says.

Thiess’ revised offer is scheduled to close on September 12 unless otherwise extended.

Thiess named preferred mining services provider for Rex’s Hillside copper-gold project

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Thiess says it has been named preferred mining services provider for the Hillside copper-gold project on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia.

Rex Minerals Ltd, owner of the project, has notified Thiess of its intention to enter into exclusive negotiations to finalise the terms of a five-year mining contract.

Subject to a contract being concluded, which Rex says is expected to occur by the end of the year, Thiess is expected to deliver mining services and operate and maintain mining fleets to support the greenfield copper operation.

Rex says it plans to mine the open-pit orebody in five stages with selective ore mining and stockpiling. Average total rock movement from the open pit is expected to be 60 Mt/y.

Thiess, Rex says, has shown genuine willingness to join the company and drive down project costs, including:

  • Developing appropriate and flexible mining equipment options;
  • The early integration of personnel to assist with the project planning including optimal mine infrastructure area (MIA) layouts, and;
  • Use of Thiess’ proven HSE systems to further de-risk the project with a planned commencement in early 2023.

Thiess Executive Chair & CEO, Michael Wright, said: “We are delighted to be taking the next steps towards a partnership with Rex Minerals on the Hillside project. In line with our strategy to diversify our commodities and services, we are positioning Thiess at the forefront of sustainable mining. We share Rex Minerals’ belief in the significant contribution that metals make to a renewable future, and to the local communities and broader economy.”

Thiess Executive General Manager for Australia West, Spencer Jose, said: “We look forward to collaborating with Rex Minerals, the Narungga People, local businesses and the community to deliver safe, strong operational performance and sustainable outcomes for all of our people and stakeholders.”

Mining services are expected to commence in July 2023, subject to finalisation of contracts.

Thiess targets WA hard-rock mining sector expansion with MACA offer

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Thiess looks like gaining further market share in the key hard-rock mining market of Western Australia after having a bid accepted for fellow mining contractor MACA.

The all-cash offer to acquire 100% of the shares of the company at A$1.0251/share represents a 42.2% premium to the MACA one month volume weighted average price as of July 25, 2022.

MACA’s Board has unanimously recommended that its shareholders accept the offer in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to an independent expert concluding, and continuing to conclude, that the offer is favourable to MACA shareholders.

Thiess says it intends to operate MACA in materially the same manner supported by MACA’s workforce, brand and assets, and to continue its highly regarded community partnerships.

The proposed acquisition of MACA by the Thiess is consistent with its diversification strategy, with a particular emphasis on increasing its presence within metals and minerals hard-rock mining operations in Western Australia, it says.

To this point, the company’s Western Australian hard-rock mining exposure has consisted mostly of work with BHP’s Western Australian nickel assets, in addition to a recent contract award at the Covalent Lithium Joint Venture project.

MACA has exposure to the state’s iron ore sector thanks to contracts with Fortescue and BHP; the burgeoning gold segment through contracts with Regis Resources, Ramelius Resources, Capricorn Metals and Red 5; and nickel and lithium exposure from the Ravensthorpe mine and Pilgangoora project, respectively.

Thiess also said in its Bidder Statement that it sees “a significant opportunity to combine the operational capability of both companies to continue enhancing service quality, particularly in relation to technical solutions such as deploying autonomous machinery or reducing the carbon emissions of mining services on project sites”.

Back in March, MACA announced a partnership with SafeAI to form an MoU to retrofit a mixed fleet of 100 mining trucks across multiple locations with autonomous mining technologies.

Michael Wright, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Thiess, said: “We believe our offer is an attractive opportunity for MACA shareholders as it provides certainty of cash, a strong premium and an ability to achieve liquidity for their entire MACA shareholding. We are pleased to have the support of the MACA Board for our Offer.

“The proposed acquisition of MACA is an important part of Thiess’ strategy to diversify its operations across commodities, services and geographies. Thiess has a high regard for MACA’s service quality, and we believe our industry experience positions us well to enhance MACA’s value proposition to clients and employees. We recognise and intend to maintain and grow MACA’s strong brand and presence in the Western Australian market. Thiess also looks forward to supporting MACA to meet the evolving needs of its client base through promoting further investment in low emission and technology-led solutions.”

Thiess to return to Central Kalimantan with new mining, rehab and port management contract

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Thiess says it has been awarded a life-of-mine contract to provide mining, rehabilitation and port management services by PT Kapuas Tunggal Persada and PT Tempirai Inti Energi in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Thiess will operate the adjacent Kapuas Tunggal Persada (KTP) and Global Bara Mandiri (GBM) mines and will deliver turnkey operations, including mine design and planning, drill and blast, overburden removal, load and haul, asset maintenance and management, haul road maintenance, water management, rehabilitation and port operations, it said.

Commencing from July 2022, with revenue of A$1.7 billion ($1.2 billion) over eight years, this contract marks Thiess’ return to Central Kalimantan.

Thiess Executive Chair & CEO, Michael Wright, said: “We’re excited to work with our new client who shares the same passion for sustainable mining practices and outcomes as we do.

“This new contract is an opportunity to continue our record of delivering excellence for our clients in Indonesia, with a clear focus on safe, responsible production and industry leading rehabilitation.”

Thiess Executive General Manager Asia, Cluny Randell, added: “This contract is recognition of our team’s ability to deliver long-term performance and productivity gains for clients.

“We look forward to working together with our client and the local communities to deliver long-term social, environmental and economic value.”

A day earlier, Thiess confirmed that its mining services contract at Peak Downs Mine in Queensland, Australia, had been extended for another five years by BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA).

Located southeast of Moranbah, Peak Downs is an open-pit mine producing high-quality steelmaking coal and is one of Australia’s largest mines by recoverable coal reserves.

Under the contract, Thiess will continue to operate and maintain mining equipment to move additional overburden at the mine and support BMA’s production requirements over the next five years. Starting from July 2022, revenue to Thiess is worth over A$700 million.

MES dual- and tri-fuel tech to equip miners with decarbonisation tools

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Leading mining contractor Thiess is looking at diesel abatement options across its fleet of haul trucks, which is where the company’s recent agreement with Australia-based Mine Energy Solutions comes into play.

This tie-up will see the use of locally sourced methane gas to displace significant proportions of diesel in large mining trucks using MES’ “currently available and proven” dual-fuel technology.

The agreement to bring lower emission, dual-fuel technology to Thiess’ mining fleet represents a first for a mining services provider in the industry, according to the company.

The partnership has commenced with the planned conversion of a fleet of six 240-t class mining trucks and seeks to source coal seam gas from coal seams on site in the Bowen Basin of Queensland to allow the removal of the equivalent B Double diesel deliveries from local highways. Thiess said that, longer term, it and MES will seek to expand to full fleet conversion before exploring further opportunities both within Australia and Internationally.

MES’ CEO, Adrian Abbott, said in the announcement last year: “We’re proud to partner with Thiess and apply this technology in the Bowen Basin. Our focus is to use locally-sourced gas through the capture and use of fugitive methane contained in the coal resource to enable the average mine site to reduce their greenhouse gas footprint by more than 550,000 t of CO2-e per annum.”

MES’ High Density Compressed Natural Gas (HDCNG®) technology was previously trialled at the New Acland coal mine in Queensland, Australia, with help from New Hope Group and well-known heavy equipment specialists, Hastings Deering Group. This saw a Cat 789C haul truck converted from diesel use to dual-fuel operation using natural gas as the dominant fuel through sequential gas injection.

Graham Box, Business Development and Project Facilitation Lead at MES, says the project at New Acland enabled the company to develop an “industry-ready product” that was safe, reliable and delivered equivalent performance to full diesel operations while also driving reductions in the carbon footprint of the truck.

“There are a number of process and procedures taken from almost two years of the New Acland work related to safe and efficient operations as well as regulatory compliance that have formed the basis for establishing an execution plan for this Thiess project,” he told IM.

“The equipment we are using has evolved to a further level of sophistication resulting in a most efficient and robust solution.”

While the truck and engine models might have changed compared with the work carried out at New Acland – Thiess and MES are installing the dual-fuel technology on Cat 793F trucks with C175-16 engines, while the New Acland trial involved Cat 789s and Cat 3516B haul trucks and engines, respectively – the objectives remains the same.

“We’re continuing to demonstrate the pathway to decarbonisation and the steps that can be achieved with current technology,” Box said.

The plan with the Thiess project is to have a “familiarisation truck” up and running in August to allow all site personnel to get trained on the new system, with the five follow-on trucks coming online before the end of the year.

At the same time as Thiess and the mine site owner are familiarising themselves with this technology, MES will be running haul truck engine simulations with tri-fuel technology.

This solution – which incorporates diesel, methane and hydrogen – will see the “green” hydrogen blended into the methane, providing a “zero emission component” of the gas blend, Box said. With both tri- and dual-fuel, more than 70% of energy will be derived from non-diesel sources.

The company plans to start running simulations with this technology on its 3,500 hp (2,610 kW) dynamometer fitted to a large-format engine in the September quarter.

Image capture of an operating dyno simulating mine circuit operations using a circuit data file provided by one MES client

Box expanded on this: “We have a state-of-the-art dyno facility where we are able to operate the engine to its full rated power as if someone is physically operating the truck. We oversee that from a control room and run simulations based on actual circuit data that our mining clients provide us. This includes the haulage cycles their trucks are running, the grades and declines experienced, load profiles and many other operating parameters and conditions.

“All of our development work is carried out with this circuit simulation capable dyno and we then put it into a field-operations environment as we are about to do with Thiess.”

MES intends to field test its tri-fuel program in the first half of 2023.

Thiess to deliver mine planning and engineering services to Tata Steel

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Thiess says it has entered into a business cooperation agreement to deliver mine planning and engineering services to Tata Steel.

Under the agreement, the contract miner will also collaborate with Tata Steel to deliver competitive integrated business solutions to the global mining industry.

Tata Steel is one of the world’s most geographically diversified steel producers, providing fully integrated steel operations – from mining to the manufacturing and marketing of finished products.

Thiess Executive Chairman & CEO, Michael Wright, said: “With a shared focus on value creation and sustainability, this agreement is the foundation for a strong partnership and complements our efforts to diversify our services and accelerate our growth across commodities and geographies.”

Tata Steel Vice President (Raw Materials), D.B Sundara Raman, said: “We have been in the mining business for more than a century providing various exploration and mine planning services to our captive mines for sustainable mining. We are pleased to start offering our mine technical services commercially through Tata Steel Industrial Consulting to the mining industry outside Tata Steel.

“This agreement with Thiess will complement our capabilities and capacities to raise the standards of such services in India in particular and internationally in general for more scientific and sustainable mine development.”

Tata Steel will work closely with the Thiess India Engineering Hub, which provides technical support to Thiess’ global operations, including geotechnical and mine engineering, technology service delivery, business process automation and learning & development services.

Thiess wins three-year extension at Harum Energy’s Mahakam Sumber Jaya mine

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Thiess says it has been awarded a three-year contract renewal to provide mining services at Harum Energy’s Mahakam Sumber Jaya coal mine in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Under the contract extension, commencing from April 1, 2023, Thiess will continue providing mine design and planning, drill and blast, overburden removal, load and haul, asset maintenance and management, rehabilitation, water management and haul road maintenance services.

Thiess Executive Chairman & CEO, Michael Wright, said: “Thiess is proud to continue its longstanding relationship with Harum Energy at MSJ, where we’ve worked with our client to deliver sustainable mining services since the mine was developed in 2008.

“This contract enables us to continue our record of delivering certainty for our client, with a clear focus on safe and sustainable production and rehabilitation.”

Thiess Executive General Manager – Asia, Cluny Randell, added: “This contract renewal is great recognition of our team’s ability to partner and grow together with our client and deliver long-term performance and productivity gains for Harum Energy.

“We look forward to continuing our strong relationship with our client and the community of Kutai Kartanegara, where we’ve worked together during COVID-19 to provide vaccinations for the local communities.”

Thiess to deliver mining services to Mount Holland lithium mine JV

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Thiess says it has been awarded a four-year contract by Covalent Lithium to deliver mining services at the Mount Holland lithium mine in Western Australia.

Covalent Lithium is a joint venture between Wesfarmers and Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM), one of the world’s largest lithium miners.

Under the contract, Thiess will deliver drill and blast services, mining of overburden and ore, and equipment maintenance with a strong focus on community development and environmental protection, it said. Thiess commenced mobilisation and early mining operations in January.

Thiess Executive Chairman and CEO, Michael Wright, said: “We are very pleased to be selected by Covalent to undertake mining at the Mount Holland mine. This award recognises our team’s ability to deliver sustainable mining solutions and deliver enduring value for our clients across diverse commodities.

“We look forward to working with Covalent Lithium to safely position their operations for optimal efficiency, productivity and cost performance, and contribute strongly to a clean energy future.”

The Mount Holland Mine produces lithium-bearing ore that is concentrated and refined to produce lithium hydroxide, a mineral used to enable electric vehicles and battery-based energy storage systems. EPC contractor, Primero, is currently constructing the Mt Holland concentrator to process ‘run of mine’ ore at a rate of circa-2 Mt/y and produce an output of circa-400,000 t/y of spodumene concentrate to feed the company’s integrated lithium hydroxide conversion refinery situated in Kwinana.

Liebherr R 9350, R 994B shovels arrive at Anthill copper project in line with Thiess mobilisation

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Thiess says its Australia team has made major strides to mobilise at the Austral Resources-owned Anthill copper project in Queensland, Australia, following the award of a three-year mining services contract in December.

The scope of works includes loading and hauling waste and ore to meet the client’s growing development and production needs. Anthill Site Manager, Glen McDonald, recognised his team’s efforts, with the support of Thiess’ functional teams, to safely assemble people, equipment and support services over the past two months.

“We’ve consistently delivered on project milestones – safely, efficiently and with pride,” McDonald said. “This is recognition of our team’s ability to deliver and embed Thiess’ principles into how we work.”

He also recognised members of the team in Western Australia who flew to the project to support early creek diversion works.

“As a global business we are fortunate to be able to draw on expertise within and across state and international borders,” McDonald said. “Their multi-commodity knowledge and experience ensured we were able to complete the works on time and budget.”

The Thiess Anthill team is moving into the final stages of mobilisation recently welcoming new team members and a second fleet to the project.

“We’ve quickly mobilised and commissioned two excavators, including a Liebherr R 9350 and Liebherr R 994B, to support the site’s production requirements,” McDonald said. “This has enabled us to commence waste stripping and the construction of the ROM stockpile ready for ore mining in the coming months.

“These efforts are also ensuring our client is on track to produce 10,000 t of copper cathode from mid-2022.”