Tag Archives: Western Australia

Duratec banks Rio Tinto Western Australia work at Robe River and Dampier Salt

Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , ,

Australian engineering, construction, and remediation contractor, Duratec Limited, has recently been awarded A$30 million ($20.4 million) in mining and industrial (M&I) segment work with Rio Tinto across the major miner’s iron ore and salt operations.

Key project awards within this total consist of the structural integrity remediation and Bins 3-5 life expansion works at Robe River’s West Angelas mine (A$19 million), which will commence
immediately and is due for completion by the end of the June quarter of 2025, and Dampier Salt’s Lake Macleod jetty structural integrity works bays 10 to 11 (A$6.8 million), which will commence immediately and is due for completion by the end of the calendar year.

Structural integrity projects consist of blast, protective coating and the structural remediation (including welding and steel strengthening) of a client’s assets. This, Duratec says, strongly aligns with the company’s remediation expertise and proven track record in delivery of similar packages through the company’s M&I segment. The A$30 million in M&I segment work since mid-May 2023, including these two key project awards, demonstrates Duratec’s ability to strengthen its annuity style contract awards with key strategic clients, which remains a key focus and growth area of the company.

Duratec’s Managing Director, Phil Harcourt, said: “I am elated with the company’s efforts in converting tangible opportunities to our orderbook and with the ability of our company to present itself as the contractor of choice with our key clients. The M&I segment currently represents 25% of our overall orderbook, and the outlook for this segment remains very strong, which Duratec is well positioned to capitalise on – in line with the business strategy.”

K2fly and BHP extend Ground Disturbance solution agreement

Explosives and blasting, Mine operation news, Mining services, Mining software, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , ,

K2fly Limited says BHP has extended its existing one-year contract related to K2fly’s Ground Disturbance solution covering its Western Australian Iron Ore (WAIO) operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The new three-year agreement comes with a total contract value of A$1.99 million ($1.35 million), according to the ASX-listed company, and follows an initial one-year engagement signed in May 2022.

BHP’s WAIO is an integrated system of four processing hubs and five mines, connected by more than 1,000 km of rail infrastructure and port facilities in the Pilbara region of northern Western Australia. It produces over 245 Mt/y of iron ore, making it one of the top five producers of iron ore globally.

Sitting within K2fly’s Natural Resource Governance area, K2fly Ground Disturbance solution is a cloud-based Software as a Service platform for applying, approving, tracking, reporting and submitting closure of permits and rehabilitation commitments surrounding ground disturbance activities, K2fly explained.

Nic Pollock, CEO of K2fly, said: “Our Ground Disturbance solution is the only commercial off-the-shelf solution available in the market globally and speaks to how our customers are increasingly attributing value to the importance of proper resource governance on land and protecting their license to operate. We are delighted to extend our contract into a three-year term with another global Tier 1 client.”

Komatsu opens A$6 milllion training centre to address WA skills shortage

Automation, Careers in mining, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , ,

Komatsu has opened a new A$6 million ($4.1 million) state-of-the art training academy in Western Australia as part of the OEM’s plans to address a critical skills shortage in the state.

The opening of the training academy in the Perth suburb of Welshpool coincides with Komatsu doubling its annual investment in training to A$12 million dollars, it says.

Construction of the recently completed Perth training academy includes advanced workshop training rooms, a 30 t crane heavy lifting bay, and labs dedicated to hydraulics and electronics.

Regional General Manager, Glenn Swift, says the purpose-built facility is Komatsu’s response to a critical skills shortage, particularly in Western Australia’s resource sector.

“Skills and labour shortages are a significant challenge for the resource sector,” he said. “We need to invest in training and upskilling programs to ensure that our workforce is equipped with the necessary skills to meet the demand for these industries.”

Komatsu’s training centre offers both apprentice and post-trade technical training in mining and construction industry jobs with a focus on diesel mechanics, auto electricians and fabricators.

Company research shows upon completion of Komatsu’s apprenticeship program, Komatsu’s customer-facing employees will be approximately one year ahead of an equivalent conventionally-trained apprentice who has completed an apprenticeship outside of this system, it says.

This, the company says, is down to its training methods incorporating VR/AR and its highly proficient educators. Komatsu also recognises the importance of equipping apprentices with important life skills, such as mental health awareness, public speaking, road safety and fatigue management, drug and alcohol awareness, and a variety of business skillsets.

In addition, Komatsu maintains an 84% retention rate, far exceeding industry standards by up to 30%, it says.

Komatsu General Manager Training and Capability, Janine Gurney, says apprentices gain experience in next-generation technology including telemetry and driverless trucks as well as learning essential life skills.

“It’s about fitting into the broader company culture where we focus on safety, community, career progression and access to the latest technologies,” she said. “Our aim is that the apprenticeship is the first step in a lifelong career with us.”

Gurney said the company aims to train 600 apprentices by 2025.

Women filled nearly half of the 2023 intake of 75 places, and the 2024 intake will open in July.

Gurney said Komatsu is a pioneer of autonomous haulage systems, and a leader in smart construction via integrated technology as it builds a workforce of the future.

She concluded: “We want to help ordinary operators become fantastic operators so that when they are cutting or digging trenches, for example, their precision is to the exact millimetre and a lot of our current technology does this for them.”

DB Schenker joins engineering team for Albemarle’s Kemerton lithium expansion project

Energy minerals, Mineral project development, Mining services, , , , , ,

DB Schenker says it has been awarded the contract to provide comprehensive project construction freight forwarding and logistics services to Albemarle’s Kemerton lithium expansion project (KEP) in Western Australia, supporting engineering contractor will be Hatch Australia.

The KEP is DB Schenker’s first foray into the rapidly growing battery metals mining industry, with the plant approximately 150 km south of Perth, Western Australia, near the the Port of Bunbury and close to one of the world’s largest hard-rock lithium deposits, the Greenbushes mine.

The work will be supported by the DB Schenker Project Control Tower office, in Perth, in conjunction with the company’s global network of project offices specialised and accustomed to the unique logistics service requirements of the industry, it says.

“We have a proven track record of working safely and efficiently, even on the most remote sites and mega projects in the world,” Frank Vogel, VP Global Projects & Industry Solutions APAC, said.

The Kemerton plant initially consisted of three production trains, each producing 20,000 t/y of lithium hydroxide, with a potential expansion to five trains that will see production increase to 100,000 t/y by around 2025. The plant will be supplied with lithium concentrate produced at the nearby Greenbushes mine.

Bellevue Gold appoints NRW Holdings Limited as open-pit mining contractor

Mineral project development, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , ,

Bellevue Gold says it has awarded the open-pit mining and tailings facility construction contract for its namesake mine in Western Australia to a subsidiary of NRW Holdings Limited.

The contract has a total value of circa-A$24 million ($16 million), which Bellevue says is in line with the pre-production capital expenditure forecast.

Mining at the Vanguard open pit is set to commence in late March-early April 2023 and will offer Bellevue the opportunity to generate early cashflow via a toll treating arrangement, it says. Once mined, waste material from Vanguard will form the basis of the tailings facility.

Vanguard is scheduled to provide approximately 10,000 oz of gold, which will be available for processing in mid-2023, well in advance of the completion of the Bellevue processing facility. The company is exploring toll treatment options with mining companies in the region and discussions remain ongoing.

As part of the company’s plan to accelerate underground development and bring on additional ore sources, commencement of the Tribune boxcut will also be brought forward to open up the Tribune mining front.

The addition of the Tribune ore source will increase the number of active working fronts to five in the first year of production, further de-risking the production outlook by providing another independent mining area. Strategically, this will also provide options for drilling the southern extensions of the orebody from underground and allow for a top-down mining method, which will provide the most efficient method of accessing the orebody, according to Bellevue Gold.

The Tribune boxcut is scheduled to commence immediately after completion of the Vanguard open pit. This will create a considerable saving on de-mobilisation and mobilisation costs of the open pit mining fleet.

Construction of the 1 Mt/y nameplate processing facility, being built by GR Engineering, continues to advance on schedule and budget, meanwhile. Bulk and detailed earthworks for the processing plant site have all been fully completed, structural concrete on all critical infrastructure foundations has also been completed with only very minor concrete works remaining. The erection of structural steel for the crushing circuit is well advanced, while both secondary and tertiary crushers are on site and ready for installation. Work is continuing on critical path carbon-in-leach tanks, with five now at full height and well ahead of schedule.

The first two delivery lots of the three for the ball mill and components have landed in Perth ready for transport to site with a third due to land this quarter, well ahead of critical path requirements.

Underground development remains on track with full ramp up of the third jumbo achieved during January 2023. All three jumbos maintained full shift production, achieving >300m per jumbo per month on mostly capital development. Ore development is underway at the Armand work area, while capital development continues to advance towards the Bellevue South/Viago, Deacon Main and Marceline production areas.

Grade control drilling activities are ongoing with two underground diamond rigs operating at the Armand, Marceline and Bellevue South areas. Recent drilling has continued to reinforce the geological model and further de-risk the resources ahead of mining. A third underground rig has commenced targeting resource/reserve growth mainly at the Deacon Lode.

BHP and bp collaborate on HVO mining equipment trial at Yandi

Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

BHP is trialling the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) to help power mining equipment at its Yandi iron ore operations in Western Australia.

Supplied through a collaboration with bp, the renewable diesel made from HVO will be used in haul trucks and other mining equipment over an initial three-month trial period, the miner says.

BHP Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) Asset President, Brandon Craig, said: “About 40% of BHP’s operational greenhouse gas emissions come from using diesel fuel, and this is a core focus of our decarbonisation strategy. Ultimately, our aim is to have fully-electric trucking fleets at our sites, but alternative fuels like HVO may help us reduce our emissions in the meantime while the electrification transition takes place.

“This collaboration with the teams at Yandi and bp is really exciting to see, given the potential application in our WAIO business and BHP’s operations globally.”

bp President Australia, and SVP Fuels and Low Carbon Solutions, Asia Pacific, Frederic Baudry, said: “bp’s ambition to be a net-zero company by 2050 or sooner, and to help the world get to net zero, recognises the crucial role bp has to play in the energy transition.

“Globally, bp plans to increase its investment in low-carbon energy. Forging strategic partnerships with companies like BHP enables bp to create solutions that satisfy the increasing demand for lower carbon fuels in sectors like mining and transport.”

BHP has a medium-term target to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30% by its 2030 financial year, from an FY2020 baseline. Approximately 40% of BHP’s operational emissions in its FY2020 baseline year came from diesel-powered equipment.

The HVO is to have internationally recognised certification as being sourced from more sustainable feedstocks such as waste products.

Perenti secures largest ever Australia surface mining contract at KCGM’s Fimiston mine

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Perenti Limited says its Ausdrill subsidiary has been awarded a new surface miningcontract at the Northern Star Resources-owned Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) Fimiston open-pit gold mine in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

The new circa-A$160 million ($110 million), 60-month contract incorporates activities that commenced March 1, 2022, and will continue to March 2027.

Ausdrill has been contracted to provide up to 14 production blasthole drill rigs to support ongoing operations.

Given the scale and quality of its existing Ausdrill fleet, Perenti does not expect any new capital outlay to support this contract, it said.

Mark Norwell, Managing Director & CEO of Perenti, said “We continue to remain focused on supporting the families, friends, and colleagues of Trevor and Dylan following the tragic incident at the MMG-owned and Barminco-operated, Dugald River mine in Queensland last week. However, over the weekend Ausdrill executed a material contract and in-line with our disclosure obligations, we are providing the market with an update.

“We have secured our largest ever surface contract in Australia, which continues our relationship at one of Ausdrill’s first ever projects. We are very proud to be part of Kalgoorlie’s history and we look forward to continuing to deliver certainty and value for Northern Star, our employees and business partners.”

He added: “Since the release of our operational update on 19 December 2022, we have continued to deliver on our strategic objectives and while we have seen some strengthening of the Australian dollar relative to the US dollar, we have seen overall margin improvement and continued to win or extend existing contracts, positively resolve commercial negotiations and further simplify our business. Market conditions continue to remain favourable into the second half of financial year 2023 in support of further delivery against our 2025 strategy. We look forward to providing additional details when we release our first half 2023 results tomorrow.”

Paul Muller, President Contract Mining at Perenti, said “Ausdrill began with two drill rigs in 1987 at the Fimiston mine. Since then, Ausdrill has continued to expand its services to include blast hole and grade control drilling, utilising a fleet of drill rigs specifically designed and manufactured (in-house) to meet the unique specifications required by the Fimiston open-pit mine.

“We look forward to continuing to provide our value-add expertise to the KCGM operations while extending our long-standing relationship with our local and regional stakeholders.”

Duratec to carry out structural works at Rio Tinto Pilbara ops

Mine operation news, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , ,

Australian engineering, construction and remediation contractor Duratec Limited says it has been awarded A$34 million ($24 million) in Master Service Agreement (MSA) projects with Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd, a Rio Tinto subsidiary.

These projects consist of the structural integrity remediation at the Tom Price operation (A$18 million) and the structural integrity remediation at East Intercourse Island (A$16 million), both of which are projects that require Duratec’s specialist service offering, it says.

These contracts also demonstrate the company’s strategic growth into annuity contracts within the resources sector.

These notable project awards, coupled with a record high level of enquiry into Duratec’s service offering through its Pilbara, Goldfields, Northern Territory and Queensland Mining & Industrial operations, have contributed to Duratec’s Mining & Industrial (M&I) orderbook strengthening to A$124 million, it said.

Duratec’s Managing Director, Phil Harcourt, said: “It is pleasing to see the company’s efforts to strengthen its orderbook by targeting opportunities with key repeat clients in the M&I segment being rewarded. M&I now represents 23% of the company’s overall orderbook, which will ensure it is positioned strongly for the current financial year and beyond – in line with the business strategy.”

ZERO Automotive brings newest ZED70 Ti BEV to IGO’s Nova project

Base metals, Environmental, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , ,

ZERO Automotive has delivered what it refers to as an ultra-safe ZED70 Ti battery-electric converted utility vehicle, using LTO battery technology that does not suffer from thermal runaway, to Independence Group’s Nova nickel-copper-cobalt operation in Western Australia.

This is the second convered vehicle, and the first dual cab, for Barminco, the contractor at Nova.

Like the first delivery, this conversion also allows for ultra-fast charging and maintains the highest torque rating for a mining-spec battery-electric vehicle by a factor of one-and-a-half times, the company says. Site integration activities with charging infrastructure and data capture will be the focus in the coming months, with the installation of the Geotab GO9 telematic device allowing for vehicle monitoring and tracking.

This is the third vehicle delivered with METS Ignited support previously awarded to ZERO Automotive. It also forms part of the trials being undertaken by Barminco in its role as lead of the Electric Mine Consortium light and auxiliary vehicle working group, of which ZERO Automotive is also a participant.

The next conversion for Barminco will be its upgraded production platform, which will provide available torque of 267% greater than its closest competitor, and allows for faster charging, ZERO Automotive says.

Minnovare’s Production Optimiser gold output, sustainability benefits highlighted by Gangemi

Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , ,

One of Australia’s leading decarbonisation and sustainability experts says Western Australian gold producers are not moving fast enough to reduce carbon emissions.

“Some are leading in the carbon space, but most are slow in implementation,” Adam Gangemi, Managing Director of Super Smart Energy, an environmental services company based in Perth, said. “It is time to see more action.”

Gangemi says there are cost-effective solutions to reduce emissions on mine sites that will impact the bottom line, but mining organisations aren’t taking advantage of the technology options that are available on their doorstep.

Speaking on a recent webinar, Gangemi said a Western Australian innovation, Minnovare’s underground drilling optimisation technology, the Production Optimiser, was increasing drilling efficiency, resulting in reduced CO2 emissions, and enabling companies to drill faster, cheaper and more sustainably.

“Minnovare’s Production Optimiser is one of the better solutions that’s come across my desk,” he said. “Even small projects can get big bang for their buck. This drilling solution is one example where a small investment can deliver a 10-fold return through increased production, and significantly avoid those mine site emissions simultaneously.

“Not having to haul or process waste material is a smart way to do this and it is delivering huge results not only from an emissions perspective (thousands of CO2 per year) but also increasing production. If we start to look at opportunities that will both increase production and have the benefit of reducing emissions, this will be a no brainer for underground mining companies.”

Gangemi compared a range of Western Australia Goldfields producers and found that most could be saving anywhere between 1,000 to 8,000 t of CO2 emissions each year by using the Minnovare technology.

“By using the Production Optimiser on site, you drill more accurately and that means more gold on the trucks, less waste and a significant reduction in emissions,” he said. “If we talk about avoiding even 1,000 t of emissions, a WA gold producer could be taking the equivalent of 300 Hilux utes (utility vehicles) off the road every year.”

To demonstrate the emissions savings, Minnovare has launched a new Environmental Impact Calculator, allowing mining companies to quickly compute the emissions they could avoid on site by using the technology.

The Minnovare calculator shows how CO2 emissions are reduced through improved drilling accuracy and uses the company’s own data to forecast emission savings across an operation.

Gangemi’s benchmarking of Australian gold miners showed a greenhouse gas emissions intensity range between 0.2-1.7 t CO2-e/oz of gold.

Mick Beilby, Director and co-Founder of Minnovare, said: “We know the industry wants sustainable outcomes. Through using our technology, companies will achieve less dilution and deviation from an increase in drill quality and this results in less waste.”

Gangemi describes the calculator as ‘very accurate’ and encourages Western Australian producers to use the calculator to understand the savings they can achieve implementing technology products such as the Production Optimiser.