Quarry Oct 2019

IQA ANNUAL CONFERENCE ISSUE 2019

THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC FORECAST TO 2024

Komatsu CEO Sean Taylor outlines why diversity is crucial to the extractive industry

Why the national outlook in construction activity to 2024 is not all ‘doom and gloom’

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A FIRM INDUSTRY VOICE FOR INCLUSION, DIVERSITY

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OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF QUARRYING AUSTRALIA

OCTOBER 2019

CLIMATE CHANGE RISK IN A RESOURCE CONTEXT Why the financial dimensions of climate risk could do more harm than the actual climate

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IN THIS ISSUE OCTOBER 2019

VOLUME 27, ISSUE 10

FEATURES 30 IMPROVING THE REGULATORY PROCESS Victoria’s Commissioner for Better Regulation outlines how the industry can help to fast-track approvals.

38 UNDERSTANDING THE CHAIN OF RESPONSIBILITY What recent changes to the National Heavy Vehicle Law could mean for the quarrying industry.

42 THE IMPACT OF NEW TRENDS IN MINING LIABILITY

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INCLUSION, DIVERSITY Komatsu CEO Sean Taylor outlines why diversity is crucial to the extractive industry.

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OUTLOOK TO 2024 Why the national outlook in construction activity to 2024 is not all ‘doom and gloom’.

Could reforms to manage the liability of resource projects in the remediation phase unduly impact quarries?

50 CONTENDING WITH STOCKPILE SEGREGATION How poor stockpiling techniques can lead to variable end product quality.

60 REVAMP FOR THREESTAGE CRUSHING PLANT A proven performer in hard rock crushing has undergone substantial technical updates.

66 OPTIMISING BELT CLEANER TENSION If done correctly and with the right technologies, conveyor belt cleaning can pay dividends for an operation.

00 34

CLIMATE CHANGE RISK Why the financial dimensions of climate risk could do more harm than the actual climate.

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COVER ADVERTISER: Komatsu’s 63-tonne capacity HD605-8 rigid dump trucks offer low emission Tier 4 engines which reduce fuel usage by up to 7 per cent on previous models. For more information, turn to page 65 or visit komatsu.com.au

FAR EAST STUDY TOUR An IQA member’s journey from Hong Kong’s last active quarry to a ‘groundscraper’ hotel.

76 COMIC BOOKS AND COMPLIANCE Would it be simpler if all construction projects contracts could be translated into pictures, not words?

EVERY MONTH 08 FROM THE EDITOR

80 IQA NEWS

12 FROM THE PRESIDENT 14 NEWS THIS MONTH

Branch news from Queensland and South Australia

20 PRODUCT FOCUS

82 GEOLOGY TALK

79 IQA CALENDAR

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EDITORIAL

RESILIENT, PROVINCIAL CITY SHAKES OFF ITS ‘SLEEPY HOLLOW’ TAG

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elcome to Geelong, the venue for the IQA’s 62nd annual conference!

Geelong is unjustly portrayed – mostly by parochial Melburnians! – as Melbourne’s inferior cousin. Its nickname of “Sleepy Hollow” was coined by jealous Melburnians in the Gold Rush era when the then thriving port and wool city threatened to overtake Melbourne as Victoria’s premier city.

The City of Geelong, however, was a vital Victorian manufacturing base for most of the 20th century. From the 1920s, it was home to a Ford vehicle manufacturing plant, fertiliser plants, wool mills and whisky distilleries.

By the 1940s, the Ford plant had been joined by International Harvester works, and the Shell Australia oil refinery. The Alcoa Point Henry aluminium shelter was built in 1962 and the company’s Anglesea power station opened in 1969.

Quarrying and cement manufacturing was – and continues to be – an important part of the city’s industry. Greater Geelong is surrounded by plains of sandstone and basalt to its north and west. Bluestone from the You Yangs and sandstone from the Brisbane Ranges were quarried for Geelong’s early buildings, and limestone was extracted for cement production at Fyansford (from 1888) and Waurn Ponds (from 1964).

Today, numerous family-owned and small to medium-sized quarry businesses operate in Greater Geelong, the most notable being Barro Group’s Point Wilson Quarry (part of a site visit on day one of the conference) and Boral’s Waurn Ponds cement works. An SME is Newcomb Sand and Soil Supplies (see page 44).

By far, the city’s darkest “hour” was in the 1990s when many institutions downsized or collapsed as Australia underwent a period of fiscal and political modernisation. This stagnation in the Geelong economy was underlined by the collapse of the Pyramid Building Society, which left many local depositors in ruins.

More recently, in October 2016, the Ford motor plant closed after 91 years of

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Quarry October 2019

operation, hailing the end of an era.

Geelong, however, is renowned for its resilience. Despite the erosion of its manufacturing base over three decades, the city has embraced new industries, including the public service and education sectors, and undergone significant urban renewal.

The Port of Geelong is the now picturesque Geelong Waterfront, and many of the inner city precinct’s old wool buildings have been converted to apartments or office buildings. Geelong continues to be a major road and rail hub, with the Geelong Ring Road replacing the Princes Highway (through Geelong from Corio to Waurn Ponds).

After many decades as a defence and commercial airline test ground, Avalon Airport has been upgraded to offer interstate and more recently international passenger travel.

Even the conference venue – GMHBA Stadium – is an exemplar of the city’s vibrant construction activity. It is not only the home of Geelong’s AFL team (the second oldest Australian Rules football club) but it has aspirations to become an entertainment venue.

The Victorian Government has committed nearly $106 million to the fifth and final stage of the stadium’s redevelopment, which will boost its capacity to 40,000, and make it Australia’s largest regional arena.

So, what’s all that baloney about being Melbourne’s mediocre cousin? Geelong is a vibrant, modern town with a rich history, making it an ideal host for the conference – and for this Melburnian, a pleasant diversion from Melbourne’s hustle and bustle!

I look forward to catching up with you at GMHBA Stadium at the beginning of October!

DAMIAN CHRISTIE Editor

quarrymagazine.com Official publication of the Institute of Quarrying Australia Publisher Coleby Nicholson

GEELONG’S NICKNAME OF ‘SLEEPY HOLLOW’ WAS COINED

BY JEALOUS MELBURNIANS IN THE GOLD RUSH ERA

Associate Publisher Angela Han Editor Damian Christie damian.christie@quarrymagazine.com Advertising Sales Toli Podolak sales@quarrymagazine.com

Quarry is published by: Gunnamatta Media Pty Ltd Locked Bag 26, South Melbourne, VIC 3205 AUSTRALIA Phone: +61 3 9696 7200 gunnamattamedia.com info@gunnamattamedia.com Design & Production Manager Jo De Bono art@gunnamattamedia.com Accounts Paul Blewitt finance@gunnamattamedia.com Subscriptions info@gunnamattamedia.com Press releases damian.christie@quarrymagazine.com Copyright: All material appearing in Quarry is subject to copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly forbidden without prior written consent of the publisher.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by authors are not necessarily those of the publisher. All statements made, although based on information believed to be reliable and accurate at the time, cannot be guaranteed and no fault or liability can be accepted for error or omission.Gunnamatta Media Pty Ltd strives to report accurately and fairly and it is our policy to correct significant errors of fact and misleading statements in the next available issue. Any comment relating to subjective opinions should be addressed to the editor where the opposing position may be published to encourage open debate.The publisher reserves the right to omit or alter any advertisement and the advertiser agrees to indemnify the publisher for all damages or liabilities arising from the published material.

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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

MEMBERS, SUPPLIERS EMBRACE ‘THE FUTURE OF QUARRYING’ The Institute of Quarrying

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ell, it’s hard to believe that we’re approaching the end of the year. With the footy season coming to a close and Bathurst just around the corner, it’s an annual reminder that the festive season is almost upon us.

October is also conference month for the IQA. Our annual conference will be held from 1 to 3 October at the prestigious GMHBA Stadium (home of the AFL Geelong Cats) in Geelong, Victoria. The conference theme – “The Future of Quarrying” - has generated a great deal of interest and much effort from the organising committee has gone into designing and executing a speaking program to support this conference theme.

The speaking program includes industry leaders and experts presenting on topics such as the construction outlook to 2024, inclusion and diversity, improving regulation, chain of responsibility, addressing climate change risk and 3D imaging to maximise product yield - just to name a few. The conference program also includes a site tour of Boral Deer Park and Barro Point Wilson and for many the highlights of our conferences are the “sought after” networking and social gala events sponsored by Hitachi, Komatsu and Caterpillar.

The 2019 conference also sees a slight change to the conference format, directly as a result of member feedback from previous conferences, particularly the 2017 conference in Toowoomba.

Being held on a Tuesday to Thursday will allow delegates to travel home on the Friday after the conference or to engage in local business activities in the region with their teams, customers or suppliers.

We are pleased to be able to respond to the overwhelming feedback from

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Australia

conference surveys and look forward to hearing delegate comments on the new format.

The response to this year’s conference exhibition has also been an indication of solid support for the industry and the IQA, with all exhibitor spaces (more than 50) selling out well in advance!

It’s great to see our valued suppliers get behind the conference and support the event by showcasing their products and services and providing valuable information to delegates. With a focus on professional development and the future of quarrying, I’m certain the delegates will get maximum value from their attendance at this year’s conference.

My sincere thanks go to the organising committee for their effort and commitment. Having such a team of dedicated local IQA members involved makes a significant difference to the event and assists in its success. The committee members are: Brad Rooney (chairman), Frank Grech, Jason Rudge, Brad Dawson, Craig Summerfield, Ken Jarvis, Steve Seal, Chris Prowse, Kylie Fahey, Gemma Thursfield, Ryan Spence, Tara Varley-Milgate and Hayley Metcalf.

I look forward to seeing many of you at the conference and catching up over the week. As many of you know, the IQA conference also includes the Presidential handover ceremony and will bring my two-year term as President to a close. Fortunately, I still have the November issue of Quarry to share my thoughts and achievements of the past two years and the future ahead, so this won’t be my last column in Quarry!

Have a safe and productive month!

CLAYTON HILL President Institute of Quarrying Australia

Educating and connecting our extractive industry

quarry.com.au THE ‘SOLD OUT’ RESPONSE TO THIS YEAR’S CONFERENCE EXHIBITION IS A SIGN OF SOLID SUPPORT FOR THE INDUSTRY AND THE IQA

The Institute of Quarrying Australia’s goals are: 1. To provide world class professional development for the extractive industries.

2. To establish an Australasian Academy of Quarrying.

3. To align service offerings with industry needs.

IQA CONTACTS: Chief Executive Officer Kylie Fahey PO Box 1779 Milton BC QLD 4064 Phone: 0477 444 328 ceo@quarry.com.au Company Secretary Rod Lester Phone: 0408 121 788 rgl@rlester.com.au Finance Officer Gemma Thursfield Phone: 0402 431 090 gemma@quarry.com.au Web Maintenance, Graphic Design, ePrograms, IT Support Ryan Spence Phone: 0422 351 831 ryan.spence@quarry.com.au General, membership and financial inquiries should be directed to admin@quarry.com.au or phone 02 9484 0577.

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NEWS

NEW SAND SITE ESSENTIAL TO VICTORIA’S BIG BUILD ‘IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE QUARRY WILL NOT BE PRODUCING COARSE SAND UNTIL MID2021’ DANIEL FYFE HANSON AUSTRALIA

The Grantville Quarry is one of 11 new quarries approved in Victoria in the past year. It will be owned and operated by Hanson Construction Materials, will create 20 new jobs and will produce about 300,000 tonnes of sand per annum.

The operation will be on Hansonowned land in Grantville, 100km southeast of Melbourne. Final approval was received on 5 August

“The projected extraction rate is 300,000 tonnes per annum, with the material sent to our Yannathan or Lang Lang sand quarries for processing and blending. No washing will be undertaken at Grantville.”

The quarry, according to the Victorian Government, forms part of its strategy to ensure there is enough material to meet demand from housing and infrastructure projects across the state.

Hanson has received approval to establish a new sand quarry that will supply the southeast Victorian market.

A new sand quarry is expected to play an integral role in future residential, road and rail projects in Gippsland and surrounding suburbs.

coarse sand until mid-2021,” Hanson divisional landfill and development manager Daniel Fyfe told Quarry.

“We are required to meet several preconditions, including designing and constructing a section of Stanley Road to accommodate quarry truck traffic.

from the Earth Resources Regulator, which is the state government’s authority on earth resources activities.

Coarse sand from the operation will be transported to other nearby Hanson plants to produce concrete for the booming Melbourne and Gippsland construction markets.

This will likely include the foundations of houses in the expanding south-eastern suburbs, new schools, road projects and the $530 million Gippsland Rail Upgrade.

“It is expected that the quarry will not be producing and exporting

The state government estimates the average rock, gravel and sand required per person in Victoria is eight tonnes.

With demand predicted to double by 2050, the state acknowledges it needs new and expanded quarries, and has approved 11 new local quarries in the past year.

“Raw building materials make up 35 per cent of construction costs and up to 40 per cent of major road expenditure,” a Victorian Government spokesperson said. “Transporting heavy materials is expensive and if the distance between quarries and build sites increases, infrastructure will be less affordable.” •

INDIGENOUS-RUN QUARRY TO SUPPLY RIO TINTO MINE BUILD Western Australia’s first Indigenous-owned and operated quarry will supply railway ballast for a $3.5 billion Rio Tinto mine.

have built the world-class iron ore business we have today without the support of local and Pilbara Aboriginal businesses.

Mining support services company White Springs will form the Bea Bea Creek Quarry to provide more than 600,000 tonnes of railway ballast for Rio Tinto’s Koodaideri iron ore mine, 110km from the town of Newman in WA’s Pilbara region. It is the largest contract among $60 million of work awarded to local Pilbara Aboriginal businesses in recent months.

“These contract awards highlight the growing level of expertise that sit within these businesses and we are proud to be partnering with them to help develop our most technologically advanced mine.”

Rio Tinto Iron Ore CEO Chris Salisbury said: “We’ve been operating in the Pilbara for more than 50 years and we couldn’t

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Quarry October 2019

Rio Tinto confirmed the quarry had the necessary approvals, and would supply ballast for the Koodaideri mine’s 170km rail line over a 20-month term.

White Springs director Paula White told Quarry the company had another quarry

Western Australia’s first Indigenous quarry will supply ballast for the 170km Koodaideri rail line.

in Karratha. Once Bea Bea Creek was operational, both quarries would supply their respective ends of the rail line.

White Springs, based near Perth Airport, aims to provide long-term employment and training for Aboriginal people in mining support services across WA.

Hammerstones from Bomen Axe Quarry.

PM VISITS DOWNER ASPHALT PLANT TO TOUT RECYCLING Prime Minister Scott Morrison has toured a sustainable asphalt production plant and detritus processing facility in Western Sydney.

To highlight cutting edge solutions to invigorate Australia’s domestic recycling scene, the Prime Minister visited Downer’s Rosehill facilities on 13 August. He used the visit to announce a $20 million package for collaborative and research-based initiatives to identify new technologies and opportunities for the sector.

Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) is confident its entire Queensland membership met the 31 August deadline for “safety reset” meetings as part of an urgent government/industry response to address ongoing health and safety concerns in the state.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison holds a piece of Downer’s sustainable Reconophalt product while visiting its Rosehill facility.

Reconophalt can vary depending on the client’s requirements. In some projects each kilometre of two-lane road contained the equivalent of 530,000 plastic bags, 168,000 glass bottles and 12,500 toner cartridges.

A sample Morrison held up during his visit consisted of 83 per cent recycled materials, and also included recycled oil and detritus-sourced materials.

“It’s a high performing asphalt that actually performs better than its virgin equivalent,” Appleby said. “It’s made in traditional asphalt plants that have been adapted and have some very clever IP as to how we manage the process and the ingredients.

Traditionally we were heavily focused on virgin materials but we now use and continue to buy asphalt plants that are designed to take recycled materials over virgin materials.”

Appleby said the glass was sourced from the domestic recycling system, while the soft plastic is collected through RedCycle collection bins in Coles and Woolworths supermarkets.

Waste toner comes from the national Planet Ark recycling initiative.

The 50,000-strong mining and quarrying workforce was required to undertake workplace safety sessions in August.

On 18 August, Queensland Mines Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said more than 23,000 workers at 160 mines and quarries had participated in the “safety reset”.

Downer operates an asphalt plant to produce its innovative Reconophalt product at Rosehill, as well as the detritus processing facility. Both are major components of Downer’s “Reconomy” business, which recycles and repurposes waste destined for landfill.

Reconomy general manager Jim Appleby told Quarry Reconophalt was a high performing asphalt containing high quantities of recycled glass, soft plastics and printer toner. It is the first asphalt of its kind to contain high recycled content, and was first laid in May 2018.

MINISTER ISSUES STERN WARNING AS RESET PASSES

Scott Morrison inspects detritus and other waste materials with Downer employees.

Morrison also viewed the Rosehill detritus facility, which can process, separate and clean upwards of 25,000 tonnes annually from everyday waste streams such as street sweepings and stormwater pits. The majority is then converted into useful end products such as sand, gravel, metals and plastic.

The detritus plant, which opened last year, was financially supported via the New South Wales Environment Protection Agency’s “Waste Less, Recycle More” initiative, funded from the waste levy.

Appleby said it was important government bodies supported the recycling sector through investment.

Government, he added, is by far the largest roadworks and asphalt client in the country, and can also heavily influence demand for particular markets.

“We were lucky enough to receive the support which certainly aided the business case for the investment,” Appleby said. “We were the first adopters, and I believe government enabling industry is absolutely critical, whether that be grants, low interest loans or markets to take these materials.”

“That’s a lot of people, but the commitment from companies and unions was that every worker, at every site would attend a reset by the end of August,” Lynham said.

He hinted he would name sites and their operators whose workers had not had resets in the September session of Parliament in Townsville.

The CCAA assisted with facilitating the meetings. It represents about 25 member companies in Queensland, most with multiple sites, including Boral, Hanson, and Holcim.

“Quarry operators have received the safety reset very well and have found it a very useful process,” the CCAA’s Queensland director Aaron Johnstone said. “The feedback from both small and large sites alike is that it’s been a very useful process and a positive experience.”

The safety reset followed a July forum in which industry and government agreed to work together on reforms to strengthen safety culture in the resources sector. This includes sanctions for reckless behaviour and legislative reforms, such as a government proposal to consider the offence of “industrial manslaughter”.

The Queensland Government will recruit three more mines inspectors and a chief inspector of coal mining. Two independent reviews of mine safety will report back by the end of 2019. •

Quarry October 2019 15

NEWS

BORAL BRACES FOR HEADWINDS BEFORE INFRASTRUCTURE BOOM Boral Limited has warned a lethargic residential construction market will impact profits in the coming year. However, it is poised to capitalise on an infrastructure boom beyond mid-2020.

Following the release of full year financial results to 30 June, 2019, Boral CEO Mike Kane forecast a decline of five to 15 per cent in net profit after tax for the next 12 months.

A key factor, according to Kane, is an ongoing slowdown in residential construction activity, which won’t be fully offset by increased volumes in infrastructure projects.

However, he was positive about Boral’s ability to navigate the immediate market headwinds before taking advantage of an infrastructure boom beyond 201920. Boral reportedly has more than $600 million worth of quarries, in which the company has invested to meet expected demand for the next decade.

“Beyond FY2020, Boral is well placed to deliver medium-term and longer-term growth,” Kane said.

“In Australia we expect continued infrastructure growth in coming years, coupled with forecasters’ expectations of a more modest downturn in residential construction relative to past cycles.”

In its full year FY2019 results, Boral reported sales revenue for continuing operations of $5.8 billion across the entire company, up four per cent on the previous year.

This was despite a 15 per cent slowdown in Australian housing starts and a two per cent decline in the US housing market.

“Boral’s full year results demonstrate the benefits of strong infrastructure activity in Australia and the resilience of our underlying businesses, together with implementation of improvement initiatives and cost reduction programs across the company,” Kane said. •

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SETTLEMENT PAVES WAY FOR SAND PROJECT ‘WE ARE NOW FULL STEAM AHEAD AND ACTIVELY SETTING UP THE QUARRY TO COMMENCE OPERATION’ DARREN WILLIAMS NEWCASTLE SAND

Newcastle Sand is set to construct its Williamtown sand mine after reaching a settlement with residents. It already has loaders ready to begin work.

Williamtown Sand Syndicate - trading as Newcastle Sand – will soon commence construction of its 42ha sand mine in Williamtown, 20km north of Newcastle, after it reached a confidential financial settlement with residents that were threatening to launch an appeal in the New South Wales Land and Environment Court.

Under the terms of the deal, Newcastle Sand will make an annual payment to about 15 residents of neighbouring properties while the quarry is operational, with residents agreeing to cease all legal proceedings.

“The approval is now 12 months old, meaning the appeal period has lapsed, and the original consent is active,” Newcastle Sand’s general manager Darren Williams told Quarry.

“So we are now full steam ahead and actively setting up the quarry to commence operation.”

The Newcastle Sand quarry has been approved to extract 3.25 million tonnes of resource at a maximum rate of 530,000 tonnes per annum. It will produce three key products including screened sand, concrete and asphalt sand and sandy loam for the Hunter and Sydney regional markets.

It can trade for up to 69 hours per week, excluding Sundays and public holidays, and has clearance for up to 10 truckloads per hour. Williams added the approved level of truck movements was likely to be well above what was required for the operation.

In May 2018, the NSW Independent Planning Commission approved the quarry. A chief concern among opposing residents was the potential impact that per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances contamination (PFAS) –

emanating from the nearby former Williamtown RAAF Base – could have on human health.

However, the IPC found there was no evidence of PFAS in the extractive material or the groundwater under the project site, meaning the project was unlikely to cause harm. It also ruled that the impact on biodiversity, including koalas, would be adequately compensated through biodiversity offsets, with on-site rehabilitation further reducing the effect.

Despite the IPC’s findings, residents lodged an appeal with the Land and Environment Court, which Williams said largely focused on the environmental impact, as opposed to traffic, noise or dust. He said residents based their argument on the effects on fauna and flora such as koalas, squirrel gliders and vegetation.

“It’s been a six-year process, and we have spent well over a million dollars on the approval,” Williams said. “We have got three to five years’ of significant data on-site with regards to ecology, groundwater and air monitoring.”

He said the company would commence construction of the site by October. Once operational, Newcastle Sand will become the closest sand reserve to the M1 Beresfield interchange, making its products accessible to construction and glass markets as far afield as Sydney.

“Our equipment has been ordered, we have got two brand new loaders in the yard ready to go, we have got our screen there ready to go, conveyors and a weighbridge on order, so we would like to think late this year to early next year we will be open,” Williams said. •

A brief introduction to Montabert’s V3500/V4500 two-speed breakers Montabert breakers are renowned throughout the quarrying and civil construction industries for their innovative design, low operating costs, and high productivity.

Two models ideally suited to quarrying applications – whether mounted on an excavator for in-pit rock breaking, or pedestal-mounted for breaking oversize materials before they enter a crusher – are the V3500 and V4500 two-speed breakers.

They offer two operating speeds with automatic selection: high energy for breaking hard materials and high frequency for softer materials.

They are specifically engineered to provide high energy per blow, surpassing the performance of other rock breaker brands in their class.

Both the V3500 and V4500 are equipped with a heavy-duty housing, the lower part of which is protected with steel wear plates and incorporate soundproofing as standard.

The V3500, with an operating weight of 3500 kg and a 175 mm tool diameter, is designed for carriers from 35 to 60 tonnes.

The V4500 has an operating weight of 4500 kg, a 190 mm tool diameter, and suits 45-80 tonne carriers.

Montabert has always had a strong commitment to offering high productivity, along with enhanced performance and reliability.

Both the V3500 and V4500 achieve these through some innovative solutions such as Montabert’s patented automatic frequency adaptation system – which delivers from the first blow – and a diaphragm accumulator that does not need to be refilled on a regular basis.

In addition, both units have an energy recovery system which increases the strike power using the energy generated by the piston rebound – a feature which is particularly effective on very hard material.

A number of features on both the V3500 and V4500 contribute to longer lasting protection across all aspects of operation.

They include blank firing protection, which helps extend the lifespan of the carrier, breaker, tool and retainers, as well as reinforced suspension that absorbs vibrations transmitted to the carrier, providing added boom protection.

Montabert dealers are specialists who put their breaker expertise at your service, offering advice to help achieve the best performance and to optimise breaker operating costs and lifespan.

Montabert’s commitment to customer service ensures technical support is close at hand to assist with initial breaker set up, operator and maintenance training, and aftermarket support. Our success is driven by the success of our customers.

For more information please contact your nearest Montabert dealer

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NEWS

COMMITMENT TO PROTECTED WETLAND NETS PRESTIGIOUS CAERNARFON AWARD

NATION’S TOP 10 PUBLIC CONCRETE BUILDINGS UNVEILED To mark Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia’s (CCAA) 90th anniversary, a judging panel of Australia’s best known architects and building experts has compiled the first ever top 10 list of concrete public buildings.

Unsurprisingly, Sydney Opera House, which hosted the ceremony, made the list, as did the High Court building in Canberra, the main car park at the University of Melbourne and the Punchbowl Mosque in Sydney.

The other buildings were: the Australian Academy of Sciences’ Shine Dome, Canberra; Australia Square, Sydney; the Gladesville Bridge, Sydney; James Cook University Library, Townsville; the Victorian State Offices, Melbourne; and the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane.

CCAA CEO Ken Slattery, who was a judge, said the list highlighted the aesthetic, environmental, and social contribution of concrete to Australia’s urban landscapes.

“Some of the Top 10 structures sit in harmony with the landscape, while others are proudly uncompromising,” he said. “This list captures the limitless potential of concrete.”

The chair of the judging panel, Peter Poulet, the central city district commissioner for the Greater Sydney Commission, said the 10 buildings were selected from a list of 45 nominations, based on architectural merit, innovation in the use of concrete, and exemplars of their times.

To view the full list of citations for the 10 works, visit ccaa.com.au •

The Gladesville Bridge has been announced as one of the top 10 public concrete landmarks in Australia.

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‘I DIDN’T SET OUT TO WIN ANY AWARDS BUT THIS IS A PRETTY SPECIAL ONE AND I’M VERY HUMBLED’ KERRY REILLY

A Kiwi operator has received the international Caernarfon Award – the prestigious Institute of Quarrying (IQ) award for the best paper at any worldwide IQ event that has contributed to the environmental advancement of the industry.

Kerry Reilly, who operated the former Baldwin’s (now Winstone Meremere) Quarry site, 75km south of Auckland, was presented with the award at the joint Institute of Quarrying New Zealand/Aggregates and Quarries Association joint conference in Invercargill in July.

Engineered wetlands near the former Baldwin’s Quarry site protect the Whangamarino Heritage Wetlands from industrial run-off.

“I didn’t set out to win any awards but this is a pretty special one and I’m very humbled,” Reilly said.

His environmentally focused project involved the design and construction of a wetland filtration system to prevent run-off in the quarry from polluting the nearby Whangamarino Wetland, which was granted world heritage status in 1989.

The idea originated in 2005 when Reilly realised the quarry’s internal eight-pond system could be breached during deluges, potentially sending silt-laden run-off down the hilly terrain, and into the protected wetland.

“I saw a big exposure for my business having deleterious materials entering the waterway,” he said. “I really felt it was going to be a nemesis forever if I couldn’t create something to polish and enhance the water discharge from the quarry.”

Reilly approached his dairy farmer neighbour Peter Buckley, who was also chairman of the local environment council. Together, over the next three years, they devised a mutually beneficial scheme to guarantee removal of sediments from the quarry, as well as nitrates and ammonia from the Buckley dairy farm, prior to the water entering the wetland.

Reilly’s system naturally diverts water from the quarry to a 10ha area of five ponds. Each pond was constructed via an encapsulation method using overburden. Farm run-off is also pumped into the ponds where it converges with the quarry water.

Over time, the system has become

Kerry Reilly, the recipient of this year’s Caernarfon Award.

a man-made wetland, which sees the industrial run-off flow in a circular motion through the chain of ponds.

Each is connected with rocklined culverts, which process the water.

The entire watercourse is 520m, and has the capacity to withstand 75m3 of water per second. The system also works as a stopbank for the quarry, and has withstood major downpours.

“The whole idea is to have the water flowing but as slow as possible, which gives the microscopic particles time to drop out of the water stream before entering the Whangamarino Wetland,” Reilly said.

The end product has produced a thriving ecosystem, including an abundance of native animal life and vegetation.

Reilly hoped the project would demonstrate many quarry operators took environmental management seriously. “I had a vision and a dream, but I never appreciated how well it was going to work until I saw it,” he said. “Now it’s a legacy and it’s going to get better and better.” •

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Sean Taylor says developing an operational interface to machines – whether through a cab operator or remotely – is the key to making machines “sing”.

SEAN TAYLOR:

A FIRM INDUSTRY VOICE FOR INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY Ahead of his address at the IQA’s annual conference, Komatsu CEO and managing director Sean Taylor speaks about the significance of promoting and fostering diversity and higher gender representation in the extractive industry – and how technology advances can reduce the barriers.

S

ean Taylor has more than 30 years’ experience in the earthmoving industry and joined Komatsu Australia in 2004 as general manager of the company’s construction business.

Since 2011 he has been the managing director and CEO of Komatsu Australia Holdings and Komatsu Australia. He is a global officer of Komatsu Limited, a public company of about 70,000 employees registered on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

He is also a director of Komatsu Forklift Australia, Mineware and Immersive Technologies.

Taylor has a clear focus towards diversity and inclusion, where individual differences are recognised, respected and embraced as an opportunity to learn and enhance capability. He is clearly proud that Komatsu Australia fosters collaboration and inclusion.

What is the key message you are hoping to impart to the audience at the IQA Conference?

The importance of diversity for industrial companies in Australia, in particular gender balance. It seems crazy to me that 22

Quarry October 2019

recruitment and things like parental leave and flexible work.

Komatsu Australia CEO and MD Sean Taylor.

in Australia, where all companies have to battle for the available talent, industrial companies are only drawing from 50 per cent of the population. The key is to make our businesses more welcoming and attractive to women. This involves leadership to achieve cultural change, but also hard changes in human resources policy around

You have more than 30 years’ experience in the earthmoving industry, half of that with Komatsu. With regards to personnel, what were the earthmoving/extractive industries like when you first started? Do you believe these industries have made progress on diversity and inclusion in that period?

I think we really haven’t changed very much in this regard. Sure, we are talking about it, but our industries pride themselves on continuous improvement and operational excellence. We see a problem, we gather the data and we fix it. We haven’t done this in terms of gender balance. I feel that my generation has missed an opportunity and we are just going to pass the problem down to the next unless we get serious.

On the Komatsu website, the company talks about the vision of “people-powered technology” and putting people at the heart of the business. Can you elaborate on what the company is seeking to achieve through this philosophy? Does it contribute to

IQA CONFERENCE 2019

fostering more diversity and inclusion?

People are always at the heart of any business and people love new technology too. One of the founding principles of Komatsu almost 100 years ago was around innovation and the adoption of new technology.

Indeed, we honour that commitment visually in the raised “T” in the Komatsu brand mark. For example, Komatsu is leading the industry in the development and application of autonomous haulage solutions in mining and we are further integrating 3D geospatial machine control and other enabling systems into our machines.

Data connectivity to enable digital analysis and workplace visualisation is also a key focus at Komatsu. The aim is to have more productive, cost-efficient and safer operations across every industry we support, from forestry to construction and, of course, mining and quarrying.

Having said that, what I have come to learn over the years is that actually people are always at the heart of the adoption and application of new technology. This is particularly the case in the application of earthmoving machines, surprisingly even autonomous machines.

The operational interface to machines, whether through an operator in the cab or a controller remotely, remains the key to getting machines to really sing. Indeed, that is one of the reasons Komatsu chose to purchase Immersive Technologies recently.

We would like to accelerate this thinking and uptake within the construction and quarrying industries. To do this I think there are probably two main obstacles around people – upskilling and changing tolerance for our existing teams, and, as I have said before, competing for the same talent as the broader economy. Strong diversity and inclusion within our companies are critical

for overcoming both obstacles.

Does Komatsu Australia have any data on the make-up of its workforce? For example, how many men and women are in the organisation (eg percentages/ratios), and in what type of roles? How many people in Komatsu Australia’s workforce would be from non-English-speaking backgrounds (NESB) or have Indigenous heritage?

Business is measured by numbers, so I do think it is important to have a target to work towards. It isn’t a quota, but if we don’t start moving the needle, what’s the point? We are running at about 14 per cent women in our business and we have an ambition to increase that by 50 per cent to 21 per cent, hopefully by the end of 2021. Obviously, 14 per cent is simply not sustainable if we want to become a stronger business.

Actually, most industrial companies in Australia seem to be around the 10 to 15 per

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Reconciliation Action Plan. What are the first steps to making and embedding real change? Consultation and reflection with people within our business, other companies and the communities within which we work is really important, I think. Eventually, we need to make real change here. For example, I also lead our business in New Zealand.

Of course, we all know the history is very different, but I see the strength of Indigenous inclusion in that country.

Women have been among 300 tech-savvy apprentices Komatsu has hired across Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia in the past 12 months.

Taylor says Komatsu is further integrating 3D geospatial machine control and other enabling systems into its machines.

cent mark. This is the status quo. Like any change, getting the first bit of momentum is really the critical issue. I think once we get this rock moving over 20 per cent, let’s say, it will be easier to get to 30 per cent and even 50 per cent in time.

Cultural or national diversity is more difficult to measure, as it relates to how people identify themselves, of course, which can be more subjective. However, it is an area we want to tackle in the future. On the whole, I think NESB diversity in Komatsu is very strong.

It is recognised across industry, and 24

Quarry October 2019

indeed nationally, that we must have a different conversation on Indigenous inclusion. Komatsu is a strong supporter of the Clontarf Foundation [a non-profit organisation that assists in the education and employment of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men] and the Beacon Foundation [a non-profit committed to assisting adolescents with making positive career choices]. Both are working very hard to change the status quo for younger Indigenous citizens.

We are now also considering how, as a company, we can initiate our own

Would you like to see more women, and people of ethnic and Indigenous backgrounds, across all facets of Komatsu’s business – from the workshop floor right through to the board room?

Yes, entry level should be a key part of the strategy for industrial companies. I want to consider our apprentice and graduate programs in particular. The ambition here should be a lot higher than our companywide objective, otherwise we simply cannot move the needle. We are an engineering and technical company at heart, so STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] qualifications are very important. This applies to our engineers and to our tradespeople. It applies to our experienced operators who can move into application engineering as well.

As the distributor in Australia and New Zealand, we are also the customer interface of Komatsu, so great and productive customer relationships built on trust and respect are very important. We are starting to have some real success; more women are applying for and getting apprenticeships and graduate entry, and more women are moving into sales and sales management roles, and more women are becoming branch and service managers.

Critically, we still need to get more diversity in the most senior roles within our business to claim we are going from the workshop floor all the way to the board room.

What advice do you have for young women and NESB/Indigenous people who are interested in pursuing a career with Komatsu or in the broader extractive industry?

It is a fabulous and rewarding career. In Australia and New Zealand we have great global and local companies you can choose from. The breadth of experiences and knowledge you can gain is actually breathtaking and I would say broader than most other businesses in Australia.

So no matter your interest or qualifications

Our rental fleet includes the latest equipment from the world’s leading manufacturers. there is almost certainly a role you could aspire to. Our industry is also at the heart of the economy. We are building our countries, we are creating – and we are at the front line in terms of protecting our environment, too. Our entire business and prosperity relies on our ability to innovate and retain the trust of our communities. So, all in all, we are a pretty cool industry.

How significant will technological advances – eg SmartConstruction, Intelligent Machine Control, autonomous haulage systems and hybrid sources – be in fostering more diversity and inclusion, both within Komatsu Australia and the broader extractive industry?

Clearly, it will be very difficult for us to adopt the kind of technological change we are currently experiencing without stronger diversity and inclusion. These changes are different to past advances in our industry, they don’t exclude or advantage one group over another. Also, connectivity is a strong area of innovation right now. That is connecting teams, connecting processes etc to achieve step change in productivity. This is IoT, Industry 4.0, big data, even smartphones. When you think about it, diversity and inclusion with all the people and all of the vast and geographically separated teams is pretty much on the critical path.

What do you believe are Komatsu Australia’s challenges in the coming decade?

Becoming even more relevant to our customers’ operation.

We highlight this with the Japanese concept of “Gemba”, making a difference at the point where real value is created. Of course, “Gemba” happens in every department, but for us we have to focus everything we do on the difference we can make to our customers’ “Gemba”.

This means we develop, manufacture and deliver the tools our customers need. It means we support those tools to ensure they are working whenever the customer needs them, and increasingly it is about a collaborative relationship to achieve customer and even downstream customer outcomes. Of course, Komatsu has a very strong reputation for quality and reliability. Excellent aftermarket support is simply the base requirement to earn a seat at the table to become what we really want to become. Adoption of innovation and technology and diversity and inclusion are certainly challenges we must overcome.

What do you believe are some of the construction materials industry’s challenges in the next decade?

Probably very similar. How do they remain relevant to their customers? Operational excellence is important. Delivery of materials at the right time, quality and cost to ensure an efficient construction process. As we are involved in the construction application as well, we know that productivity is a critical challenge in projects and we are using our machines and expertise to work with construction customers and large-scale construction projects to solve this. Essentially, there have been no real productivity gains in construction for a long time and cost is blowing out and regulation becoming stricter. A challenge for the construction materials industry then is probably connectivity of the materials supply chain, as well as technical properties of their products to improve construction productivity. • Sean Taylor will deliver his keynote address at the IQA’s annual conference at GMHBA Stadium, Geelong, on Thursday, 3 October.

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THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC FORECAST TO 2024 Robert Mellor will bring out his barometer at the IQA conference to discuss the national outlook in construction activity to 2024.

While it might all seem ‘doom and gloom’, he predicts the picture beyond the horizon is bright – if the industry plans ahead.

R

obert Mellor is the executive chairman of BIS Oxford Economics, based in Sydney. He has 40 years’ experience in forecasting building activity, specialising in prospects for the residential property market.

He joined (the then) BIS Shrapnel in 1984, was appointed a company director in 1987 and became managing director in July 2007.

In March 2017, Oxford Economics took majority control of BIS Shrapnel and it became BIS Oxford Economics. Mellor continued as managing director until August 2019 when he became executive chairman.

At the conference, Mellor will provide an economic overview of the Australian economy for the next five years, including a discussion of the demographic drivers of construction activity and anticipated performance by states and sectors.

What will be your key message to the quarrying audience?

We are going into a “gap” period in the engineering construction sector, when some of the big projects are coming through but not bringing enough growth. That’s happening at the same time as a downturn in the residential construction market (Figure 1).

All the evidence is that players like Adelaide Brighton, Boral, Hanson, Holcim, etc, are seeing a significant correction in demand. So, life will be tough for the next 12 to 18 months.

However, residential building and engineering construction activity will rise solidly again in the early 2020s.

The downturn in residential building alone 26

Quarry October 2019

Figure 1. BIS Oxford Economics’ breakdown of total residential and non-residential building activity by sector from 2006 to 2024. It predicts a lull in activity in 2020-21 before an acceleration from 2022 to 2024.

isn’t impacting the aggregates companies – that accounts for 25 to 30 per cent of their demand. There are significant corrections in the engineering construction sector that people didn’t expect.

The industry has also been caught out by a drop in roads activity, which is a big user of quarrying materials, over the past year. We were doing $21 billion of road construction work per annum and we estimate it finished 2019 at $19 billion. So it’s fallen 10 per cent, accounting for a big chunk in demand in quarrying materials. I can understand why quarrying companies are wary.

In your view, how is the Australian economy tracking?

The current numbers are pretty weak, with annual GDP growth as of June 2019 at just 1.4 per cent. We’re fortunate that there is a stimulus of public infrastructure activity happening in markets like New South Wales.

If there wasn’t, economic growth would be even weaker. The public infrastructure work is the good news part of the story.

much construction activity – ie across residential, non-residential and engineering construction – is publicly funded versus privately funded, then three quarters of that activity is privately funded. Only a quarter of the total construction market is publically funded. It would be higher for the engineering construction component but that is mostly transport – about 70 per cent of transport work is publically funded because there are some big road and rail projects that the public sector funds.

However, once you’re outside of transport, every other segment is dominated by the private sector. The utilities sector is 70 per cent privately funded, and that’s including the National Broadband Network. Three-quarters of the non-residential building space is privately funded.

The public sector gets more attention because it drives a big chunk of transport infrastructure. Outside of the NBN, transport projects tend to be the biggest projects of all, and they also include roads – which are highly important to the quarrying industry.

In percentage terms, how much of Australia’s construction activity to 2025 will be public infrastructure, as opposed to private investment?

If you’re basing the question on how

The Federal Government has committed $75 billion in the budget to funding nationwide infrastructure to 2025. However, the Reserve Bank and Infrastructure Australia are urging it to commit as much as $600 billion in the next

IQA CONFERENCE 2019

15 years. If private enterprise is doing most of the “heavy lifting�, do state and federal governments need to “lift their game�?

The Federal Government accounts for a sixth of all infrastructure spending by governments.

It’s the state government programs that mostly drive the public infrastructure spend.

The Federal Government contributes to that spend on some major projects, and provides equity in projects like Inland Rail and Western Sydney Airport. Otherwise, most engineering construction infrastructure is state-funded.

When you look at publicly funded engineering construction for the next 15 years, $600 billion is the figure we expect will be spent across all tiers of government. When we look at that on annual average terms, that’s about $40 billion per annum – and we’re not far off that now. In 2018, there was $37 billion of publicly funded engineering construction work. In 2019, we estimate that’s dropped to $34 billion.

What Infrastructure Australia and the Reserve Bank are saying is correct though

– we need to lift that spend. We [BIS Oxford Economics] believe that will happen.

However, there will still be challenges about how funding is maintained at the state level.

How do governments maintain infrastructure spending when the economy goes through a downturn?

Unless governments can find further assets to sell (or go further into debt), they will struggle to fund significant increases in infrastructure work. If the NSW Government, for example, decides in the next three or four years – as the last stage of WestConnex is completed – to sell off that asset completely, then that could free up money to spend on the next significant project. The recycling of assets will continue to be a critical factor for state governments to undertake significant infrastructure investment.

Which sectors of the economy will see the most growth/activity to 2024?

Residential building will still be the fastest sector of growth, from late 2020 to 2024.

Based on the net overseas migration data for the first six months of the 2018-19 financial year, it looks like it could have finished around 260,000, which is still a high number. Due to high levels of international student arrivals and some recovery in the number of working visas, we’re probably going to average somewhere close to 250,000 per annum over the next five years to 2023-24. That’s driving very strong underlying demand in dwellings.

We’re predicting that nationally the demand for dwellings in the next five years could be above 206,000 per year, which is way above the likely trough this financial year. The trough in terms of commencements might be down at about 153,000 in the current financial year to June next year, which means there then should be a very strong recovery, with demand pressures. There’s a strong likelihood that we could be up above 230,000 starts per year by the 2022-23 financial year and a bit higher after that, possibly 237,000 starts per annum by 2023-24.

Non-residential building will be at a

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year it enjoyed in 2014-15, it could be back to 27,500 by 2022-23. Queensland from the end of next year will likely enjoy a 50 to 60 per cent growth rate in activity levels.

There will be recoveries in NSW and Victoria in 2021-22. However, NSW’s past boom was so strong that the next peak won’t be so high.

In fact, it could be up to 12 per cent lower.

Victoria by 2023-24 will be three per cent below the previous record peak of 2017-18.

Robert Mellor, of BIS Oxford Economics.

sustained level of activity. Given the ageing population, there will be very high levels of construction activity in health over the next 10 to 15 years. Education should also pick up strongly. Again, state governments have a responsibility in rolling those out.

From a long-term perspective, population growth within 10 to 15 years will be a major driver of strong non-residential building. I suspect engineering construction infrastructure will be a major focus because if we are going to be a country with stronger population growth, then rail, not more roads, will have to be a solution to transport congestion.

On the engineering side, and probably on the total construction side, the strongest growth prospect is in rail, which we expect will nearly double in work done terms over the next five years.

The other sector, apart from roads and rail, is mining. The Australian dollar has fallen yet a lot of commodity prices, apart from iron ore and coal, haven’t lost value. We’re starting to see strong profitability flowing into the mining industry, and you’d expect that will lead to more projects. The states that will most benefit will be Western Australia and Queensland.

So, the growth prospects over the next five years are in transport (road and rail), mining and on the non-residential building side, segments such as health and education.

Are Victoria and New South Wales still likely to be the drivers of construction activity?

Based on the growth rate on the residential front, Queensland will be strongest, followed

by WA, which is recovering from a 50 per cent decline in dwelling starts. While WA won’t return to the 32,000 dwelling starts per 28

Quarry October 2019

Your BIS Oxford Economics colleague Adrian Hart has warned that even if the economy tracks well, there will be challenges in ensuring a steady pipeline of non-residential builds to avoid constraining construction industry capacity. Do federal and state governments need to be more active and collaborative in how they fund projects and co-ordinate investment in built assets?

In the transport infrastructure stakes, there is a mega-pipeline of projects. As Adrian would say, “We’re only at base camp when it comes to the big mountain of transport infrastructure that we’re going to be building over the next decade.” Rail construction is $7.5 billion per annum right now. That’s about double what it was four years ago, and in another three or four years we expect it to nearly double again – to as much as $13 billion per annum. Every state government and the Commonwealth Government have big rail projects they want to roll out.

At the same time, we have road construction, with about $20 billion per annum of work done, and over the next five years that’s going to grow to $27 billion per annum. Again, that’s because of big projects like North East Link in Melbourne, Western Harbour Tunnels, Beaches Link and the F6 in Sydney, major Bruce Highway projects in Queensland, and so on.

Governments are more aware that they can’t tick a box and go “Let’s just accelerate this project” or “Let’s just add another one”. They’re recognising that there is already strain in the market to supply all the resources and skills to deliver these projects.

That’s why the NSW Government in the past year came out with a 10-point plan for a more collaborative approach with the construction industry, to build skills and capabilities, and procure projects that encourage participation and make sure the contractor isn’t bearing all the risk.

It’s going to be a challenge for governments to stick to those principles over the next five years. They will need a very healthy major projects industry to deliver big transport

projects over the next five to 10 years, and they won’t get that unless they work with industry to ensure there is the capacity and capability to deliver.

What advice can you give producers to take advantage of renewed construction activity?

I urge them to prepare for the next upturn in 2021-22. Yes, there is probably another 12 to 18 months where the downturn in residential construction is going to take the heat out of demand but there is a synchronised upswing set to happen from 2022 to 2024.

Strong transport growth, coupled with a residential building recovery, equates to a cycle for more aggregates demand. The challenges for the industry will be twofold. Will the industry have the capacity to deliver on that? And – I’m sure the quarrying companies are onto this – can the process for approving new quarries and getting materials ready in time for ongoing developments be streamlined?

When we look at the transport pipeline, it’s a long-term one. The Victorian Government, for instance, is talking about a suburban rail loop program over generations.

Road maintenance is another area – worth $7.5 billion worth of work in 2019 – that is highly quarrying and aggregates-intensive.

In the next five to 10 years, there needs to be a lot more work on the rehabilitation of roads. We are seeing a lot more road assets ageing and we’re just patching the roads rather than fixing the roads structure.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a need to increase rehabilitation works, which would be very close to construction work, in terms of their impact on demand for quarrying materials. We have growth in our forecast for road maintenance activity and that’s another reason the transport sector is going to be a positive in the next five years.

Governments will have to devise a resource demand plan and work with companies to make sure they are bringing quarries on in time to meet those demands. Sometimes governments seem to operate in a jurisdictional bubble – they might think about what’s happening in their jurisdiction and that’s important for quarries – but we see this as a national issue later because we’re going to need to bring in more quarry materials from further afield to deliver these projects. • Robert Mellor will deliver his presentation at the IQA’s annual conference at GMHBA Stadium, Geelong, on Wednesday, 2 October.

With thanks to Adrian Hart, associate director at BIS Oxford Economics, for further input.

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IMPROVING THE REGULATORY

SPACE FOR THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY In recent years, the Victorian Government has made a concerted effort to improve earth resources and approvals processes. Anna Cronin, the Victorian Commissioner for Better Regulation, explains what these reforms are and how industry members can assist the regulator to fast-track approvals.

A

nna Cronin is Victoria’s Commissioner for Better Regulation. She oversaw a review of the Earth Resources Regulator in 2017 and her report – Getting the Groundwork Right – was released in 2018.

The Victorian Government endorsed all of its recommendations, including development of a new legislative framework for the regulation of Victoria’s earth resources.

Cronin has more than 25 years’ experience in regulatory issues across numerous policy areas. She started her career as an economist in the Bureau of Agricultural Economics and the Productivity Commission.

She has subsequently served as CEO of the National Farmers’ Federation, as the senior bureaucrat for major project approvals in the Western Australian Government’s State Development department and as chief of staff to two Victorian Premiers.

At the IQA conference, Cronin will outline the “reform journey” in the earth resources regulatory framework, with emphasis on impacts on the extractive industry.

What is your key message to the industry?

That it’s a really exciting time for the quarrying industry – there are great opportunities to support government and private construction projects. In 2019, communities and governments have high expectations of how quarrying businesses will manage the impacts of their business, eg dust, sound, safety, etc. So we have an opportunity for the industry to work with governments and local communities and think about how regulatory frameworks can provide certainty to industry.

That will help business planning and investment, and create clarity about what’s expected in operations. It’s a two-way street – the community wants to maintain the highest standards and industry needs certainty. It’s time for productive conversations between communities and industry about the best designed regulatory frameworks.

30

Quarry October 2019

councils. For the longer term, I suggested government should review the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act and draw on lessons from the new approach being taken with environmental protection, in terms of a more outcomes-based approach to regulatory frameworks and consideration of legislative reform in the longer term.

I’m pleased to say the Government in early 2018 accepted all the key initiatives and recommendations, and in the 2018 Budget, put considerable monies into funding them.

Commissioner for Better Regulation Anna Cronin.

You oversaw a review of the Earth Resources Regulator in 2017. What were some of your recommendations?

The major finding was that the Earth Resources Regulator (ERR) at that point wasn’t equipped to deal with the significant growth and demand for approvals underway in Victoria. It was suffering from poor morale and poor staff culture, had been through numerous reviews without much change and industry found the regulator very frustrating.

Our report identified what we called “quick wins” to speed up and streamline the approvals process without undermining its regulatory integrity. The Minister Tim Pallas was willing to add resources to the ERR to address the greater demands of applications and approvals, and we quickly secured extra resources. We helped the approvals staff by giving them a clearer framework and guidelines for dealing with different applications. These “quick win” initiatives were put into place very quickly.

We also identified, from the regulator’s perspective, other initiatives for the short to medium term involving more planning certainty and collaboration with local

The Victorian extractive industry insists raw materials could become more expensive and infrastructure project budgets could escalate if not enough new quarries are approved in coming years. Why has the approvals process traditionally been slow?

The approvals process is complicated. There are lots of community groups and issues that need to be considered. The ERR is only one of the regulators with a finger in the pie.

We have had some very constructive discussions with senior people from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Victorian Planning Authority, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, and local councils about how we can speed up some of the approvals processes, including using concurrent processes rather than doing everything sequentially. Quite often in approvals processes, things build up sequentially, eg you have to do this bit before you go on to do that bit, etc. We tried to speed up some of the approvals processes by examining if they could be conducted simultaneously.

Do you think the ERR’s new risk-based approach to approval of work plans or variations has addressed industry’s concerns about raw material and project costs?

I think the new approach is paying dividends.

The ERR is putting out information about it and bedding down the approach. Industry

needs to get used to it, but my impression is it is addressing industry’s concerns about raw materials project costs while enabling the regulatory authorities to focus on where the bigger risks are. It’s a proportionate response.

Another complaint of quarries is there can be delays in the transition to licences, due to discordant interpretations by bureaucrats and local government officials of regulations.

Does the new approach to approvals address this issue?

This is why it’s important that industry works closely with local communities on a development. There’s evidence of a lot of “ping pong” between regulatory authorities in this area. Things get referred to local councils and then to multiple agencies, and it goes round and round. You get the impression nobody wants to make a decision, and the business suffers because of the delays.

The ERR and industry can be better communicators respectively about the

regulatory framework and extractive operations. However, we need to provide certainty so industry can operate and create jobs. It’s about getting the balance right.

underway and there are signs of improvement.

Do all parties need to consult more closely from the outset to avoid conflicting interpretations in the transition period?

Improved communication is underway. ERR a few years ago – based on its website at the time – wasn’t great at consultation with the industry and the community about the regulatory framework. If you look at ERR’s website now, it’s improved considerably.

Communities can access the site and find out how they can have a say, and industry has a clearer understanding of ERR’s requirements.

ERR has been working with the Municipal Association of Victoria and local councils to better inform and support their staff in their role in approvals. There are 79 councils in Victoria. Not all of them have quarrying activities but there is still a large number that need engagement. ERR has that work

You’re reviewing state and local Anna Cronin’s report on the earth resources regulatory framework government was endorsed by the Victorian processes into Government in early 2018. building and planning approvals.

Do the issues raised in this review mirror some of the extractive industry’s concerns?

I’m finding again that things “ping pong”.

Something goes to a local council, then to a referrals authority, like the EPA, or Melbourne Water Authority, or VicRoads, etc. Like the earth resources work, it’s certainly not just local councils, there are other significant players in planning. In fact, there are 63 referral bodies in Victoria. I’m finding a lot of analogies between the earth resources work and this review. With the building

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IQA CONFERENCE 2019

and planning approvals work I’m trying to identify where we can reduce the “ping pong” between local councils and referral authorities, particularly by improving the information provision.

I noticed in the earth resources review that there were issues about the completeness of applications. That makes it hard for the regulator to assess, and it has to contact the applicant for more information. It’s the same in planning. A council will have an incomplete application and have to contact the applicant, or sometimes pass it to a referral authority, and again, the referral authority won’t have all the information it needs. We really need to clean up those systems, and be clearer about the information required. I’ve certainly learned lessons from the earth resources work that I can bring to the planning and building review.

I’ve briefed the CCAA and the CMPA, the two quarrying bodies in Victoria, about the review. They are encouraged that I’m applying the lessons from earth resources regulation reform to the planning and building area.

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When applying for licences, what can operations do to make the ERR’s task easier?

Again, it’s about information. The ERR has to be crystal clear about what its information requirements are for different types of applications, permits and variations. By the same token, industry has to provide that information. The more that you do at the beginning, in terms of early engagement and understanding what is clearly required of you, the better. It saves a lot of grief later in the process. The best advice I could give a quarrying company dealing with ERR or any regulatory body is to make sure you provide all the information it needs. That will help with the processing of the application.

As Commissioner for Better Regulation, you must occasionally encounter stakeholders whose attitude is life would be simpler without regulations. How do you respond to those comments?

I do encounter stakeholders who say life would be simpler if there were fewer

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regulations. I have two titles – one is Commissioner for Better Regulation, and one is Red Tape Commissioner. As the latter, I’m always looking for opportunities to reduce regulatory burden, eg paperwork, forms, unnecessary information requirements, etc.

However, I’m conscious of doing that role without undermining the regulatory integrity of the system. My job is to make sure that our regulations are necessary, effective and efficient. So, I certainly don’t view regulation as all bad. I don’t think any of us would get into a plane if there were no air safety regulations, would we?

We all expect strong regulatory regimes to protect the community from various harms.

The key is to ensure the regulations are effective in achieving what the government and community want out of them, without putting a disproportionate burden on industry.

• Anna Cronin will deliver her presentation at the IQA’s annual conference at GMHBA Stadium, Geelong, on Thursday, 3 October.

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IQA CONFERENCE 2019

ADDRESSING CLIMATE

CHANGE RISK IN A RESOURCE CONTEXT Until now, climate change impacts have been largely described in physical terms. However, as Elisa de Wit argues, there are financial dimensions to climate risk, and if not sufficiently addressed by industry over time, it could cause as much damage to an extractive business as the climate.

E

lisa de Wit is a partner in the Melbourne office of international legal firm Norton Rose Fulbright, and leads the firm’s climate change and sustainability practice.

She has 28 years’ legal practice, spanning jurisdictions in Australia and the UK. De Wit will discuss climate-related risk.

She warns that the extractive industry in coming years could experience pressure from consumers to show it is curbing greenhouse gas emissions in line with Paris Agreement targets. As a result, industry members will need to manage not only the environmental risks of climate change but the financial risks it represents.

What is your key message for the industry?

Climate risk is a broad topic that needs to be on everyone’s radar. The quarrying industry is no exception. The main theme I’ve been focusing on for some time now is the reframing of climate risk as a material financial risk, both short- and long-term.

What is climate risk?

The traditional way of viewing climate change is through a physical risk lens, ie the environmental impacts, be that increased temperatures or increased risks of flooding or bushfires. However, recent developments – eg the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures report that came out in 2017 – have highlighted other elements: transitional, legal and reputational issues.

The transitional risk is that if the world collectively decides – as it has done under the Paris Agreement – to reduce emissions, what will that mean in a policy or regulatory setting? What new laws will come into effect?

What new technologies will be required for emissions reduction? What other societal or community changes will be required?

The legal risk arises from sectors not taking action to address climate change risks, and organisations failing to disclose how they will be positioned in a low carbon future.

34

Quarry October 2019

Norton Rose Fulbright partner Elisa de Wit.

The reputational issues are being felt in the energy sector, and increasingly in the resources sector. Historically, both sectors have generated large amounts of greenhouse gases and the position of the investment community and others now is that’s no longer sustainable in a low carbon future.

Why is there a renewed push now within the private sector to address climate risk?

I think it is the reformulation of the nature of the risk and the acknowledgement it’s not just a physical risk. Certainly within an Australian context, legal opinions have had reverberations. Our financial regulators are saying climate risk needs to be addressed, and they will monitor the finance sector’s progress. There are also pressure points on corporates and business, eg the Climate Action 100+ initiative is calling on global corporations with the highest emissions to establish targets for emissions reduction.

Why have the opinions of Noel Hutley SC and other regulators been so influential?

The Hutley opinion (2016) was the first time a senior lawyer advised that directors are

potentially exposed if they don’t consider climate risk. He argued climate risk should be on a board agenda, just like any other risk – eg health and safety, or purely environmental risks – and failure to deal with the issue could lead to litigation against directors.

Following Hutley, statements by APRA, ASIC and the Reserve Bank of Australia have consistently elevated climate risk as a priority.

Those bodies have conducted surveys and prepared reports to ascertain how this risk is being considered across different sectors.

ASIC has issued guidance about how climate risk needs to be dealt with in financial accounting and annual reports.

It’s worth noting corporate Australia has responded. A survey last year by the Australian Institute of Company Directors found directors rated climate risk as the number one issue on their board’s agenda.

Is the change in mindset among corporates due to legal and stakeholder pressures – or is there a realisation old practices and technologies will result in financial losses?

It’s probably both. Pressure is coming from the investment community, with shareholder resolutions advocating the setting of targets or better disclosure, but I think there has been some step-up. Some leaders have joined insurers and banks to say they won’t fund emissions-intensive projects in future. That kind of activity creates momentum as well.

I should emphasise it’s not solely about risk, it’s also about opportunity. Companies – particularly in the resources sector – looking ahead to a future with zero emissions by 2050 are already questioning how they can be positioned for that future world and how they can adapt or modify what they do now to reach that position. We’ve seen that in the energy sector, from the likes of BP and Shell.

Could quarries risk losing business if they cannot satisfy consumers they are sourcing and processing aggregates in

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IQA CONFERENCE 2019

environmentally friendlier ways?

Over time there will be pressure on the extractive sector about the sustainability of its products and the desire to have them manufactured with the lowest carbon footprint possible. BHP’s announcement of its intention to reduce its Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions really emphasised the importance of the supply chain and how a purchaser/ procurer of goods can use its influence to effect change. In terms of construction materials, the pressure will come from procurers within the private sector and within government. We’ll see more emphasis placed on the procurement of products with a lower carbon footprint.

People need to consider what quarries will look like in a net zero emissions world. We will always need quarry products so it really is about how the industry transforms itself to continue to provide these essential products in a more sustainable way.

How do you persuade businesses to adopt climate risk amidst mixed signals from government and some industry associations that Australia is meeting the Paris targets and shouldn’t need to modify its business model?

Peer pressure is effective in that context.

If your peers are setting a high bar, there’s more incentive to match them. A lot of conversations with our clients on climate risk inevitably lead to the question: “Well, what are our peers doing? Where are they at?”

I think the legal risk is potentially a strong “stick”. If organisations feel exposure to litigation, then it will prompt change. There’s enough pressures from different points in the market to effect change.

Ideally, you would have strong legislation at a political level, and certainly in the energy sector we have seen what happens when you can’t get a consensus on the right policy and regulatory settings. That definitely has been an inhibitor but I think in that context there will be global pressure placed on countries that aren’t doing their bit, particularly if they’ve signed up to the Paris Agreement.

Are there test cases yet of organisations being sued for not addressing climate risk?

The litigation has primarily been in the US and overseas. There have been actions against governments for not doing enough, fossil fuel companies for generating emissions contributing to climate events, and companies for not disclosing how they were considering the risk internally. In Australia – and it’s the first action of its type globally –

36

Quarry October 2019

Tegra Australia’s Jugiong Quarry during the 2011 New South Wales floods. Until now, climate risk has been largely viewed as a physical phenomenon – but it could well pose financial problems as well.

there is action against a superannuation fund for not properly assessing and disclosing how its investment portfolio will be positioned in relation to climate risk.

Earlier this year, the NSW Land and Environment Court upheld a refusal by the NSW Government to grant an application for an open cut coal mine in Rocky Hill. Justice Brian Preston’s decision strongly cited the mine’s likely contribution to climate change.

Emboldened by this, could jurisdictions stymie future development applications on climate risk grounds?

It’s a real risk. In any litigation case, you have to look at what the law in a jurisdiction says, and there are differences at state and territory level around what decision-makers must have regard to when deciding on approvals.

However, what this decision enshrines is that it is appropriate to consider the impact a development will have in a context where we are meant to be moving as quickly as possible to lower emissions.

The judge gave detailed consideration to that issue, so it sets a precedent for other jurisdictions to have regard when considering whether to allow a development if it has significant emissions. The other important aspect of this decision is the proponent’s assumption that the mine’s emissions would be offset somewhere else. From now on, I would be advising clients who are proposing developments with significant emissions impact to consider submitting an offset proposal with the development proposal.

BHP has announced it will work with its customers to reduce their emissions, as well as its own. Should extractive producers be following BHP’s approach?

BHP has been one of the market leaders on the topic of climate risk. Its plan is very challenging, in terms of its customers’ Scope 3 emissions, but it’s a welcome development.

Again, where there is peer pressure and someone sets a high bar, increasingly there will be more pressure on other resources

companies to adopt a similar approach.

If a small quarrying business until now has not considered its climate liabilities, what advice should it seek?

The first thing is to gain an understanding of the issues, and ideally that is done at a board level. It might be as simple as a board briefing of what climate risk comprises.

It’s then about taking that information and doing an assessment of the possible future exposure and how best to position for it. It’s a form of prudent risk management, that you assess and address it as you do any other risk. If you do that, you should be well positioned to defend yourself going forward.

How can small quarry operators – eg family companies with limited amounts of resources – protect themselves from climate risk?

Perhaps there are roles for the majors and the relevant industry associations [eg IQA and the CCAA] to do the heavy lifting, in terms of assisting members to better understand how best to tackle this risk, eg case studies, educational events. I acknowledge there are different levels of corporations and it is harder for SME-type and family-run companies to devote resources to one aspect of a number of factors that need consideration.

However, the reality is climate change isn’t going away, it’s with us now, and the trajectory has to be in the right direction to achieve those Paris Agreement targets. So there will need to be changes, and there will be technology development – and potentially costs associated with that – which will need to flow through.

My view is it’s not a matter of sticking your head in the sand. There may be resources constraints in being able to effect change, but certainly the starting point is elevating climate as a risk that needs consideration. Hence, why it’s great the IQA conference has put this topic on the agenda. • Elisa de Wit will deliver her presentation at the IQA’s annual conference at GMHBA Stadium, Geelong, on Thursday, 3 October.

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IQA CONFERENCE 2019

BETTER UNDERSTANDING

THE CHAIN OF RESPONSIBILITY

The National Heavy Vehicle Law administers uniform laws for heavy vehicles exceeding 4.5 gross vehicle mass across most states and territories. Simone Reinertsen explains what recent changes to the laws could potentially mean for the quarrying industry.

S

imone Reinertsen is the stakeholder specialist for the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), Australia’s independent regulator for all heavy vehicles greater than 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass (GVM). It connects and engages with the heavy vehicle industry on safety, accreditation and compliance.

Reinertsen, who has a background in stakeholder engagement and relationship management, has worked for the NHVR for four years. In this role, she strives to improve communication and collaboration among local government, industry and road transport agencies. She previously worked for a decade in the vocational education and training sector, advising the transport industry on training options and skills development.

Reinertsen will discuss new Chain of Responsibility (CoR) revisions to the HVNL. It has been nearly 12 months since amendments to the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) took effect – as of 1 October, 2018. The HVNL first commenced on 10 February, 2014, in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. While the HVNL does not apply in Western Australia or the Northern Territory, vehicles from these states that cross borders into jurisdictions administering the HVNL have to comply with the law and in some instances drivers may have to fulfil certain aspects of the regulations before they cross the border.

Under the CoR revisions to the HVNL, every party in the heavy vehicle transport supply chain has a duty in relation to the safety of their transport activities, ie eliminating or reducing potential harm or loss through reasonably practicable steps. As parties in the supply chain, quarries are now expected to have safety management systems and controls in place.

What is your key message for the industry?

The heavy vehicle supply chain plays an 38

Quarry October 2019

assess, reduce or, wherever possible, remove safety risks related to your transport activities, you are likely to be complying with the law.

Although the laws have changed, they still only apply to activities that a person or business has responsibility for and could influence.

Can you explain how and where quarries fit into the CoR regulations of the NHVL? Any time you or your business sends or receives goods using a heavy vehicle with a GVM of more than 4.5 tonnes, you become part of the supply chain. You therefore have a shared safety management responsibility to prevent breaches of the law.

NHVR’s stakeholder specialist Simone Reinertsen.

important role in supporting safe and reliable road transport for all road users. CoR laws were changed in October 2018 to align more closely with workplace health and safety provisions.

This means that all parties in the chain must reduce risks related to the safety of transport tasks. The changes to the laws recognise that heavy vehicle safety is everyone’s responsibility.

What were some of the risk management issues affecting heavy vehicles and their drivers in the past that led to major legislative changes commencing as of October 2018?

Previously, parties in the chain were held responsible only once a breach by a driver had been detected. The changes require each party in the supply chain to take a proactive role in ensuring heavy vehicle safety. This approach is similar to the “general duties” provisions under workplace health and safety laws.

The law makes it clear that every party in the supply chain has an ongoing “duty” to ensure safe practices. If you are doing everything that is reasonably able to be done to identify,

Would quarries fit the descriptions of many of the parties that are described in the supply chain (as per the NVHR website)?

A person may be a party in the supply chain in more than one way and legal liability can apply to their actions, inactions and demands. Some roles that can influence heavy vehicle safety around a quarry include loading manager, consignee, operator, consignor, scheduler, loader, employer, executive officer and prime contractor.

What sort of systems and/or investments should quarries have in place to ensure that they comply with the CoR? If you have defined ways to make sure you’re doing everything you can to manage the safety risks associated with your operations, then you should continue to apply those same processes. Some of the additional things you could do include ensuring a knowledge of potential risks to your heavy vehicle transport task, taking steps to minimise or eliminate your heavy vehicle safety risks and monitoring heavy vehicle safety.

Does NHVR recommend quarries invest in technologies such as load scales, weighbridges and on-board software on

earthmoving vehicles to assist with ensuring that truckloads at the gate are in compliance?

What you should do will depend on the level of safety risk. The NHVR encourages businesses to adopt any additional measures that may improve compliance, or their ongoing obligation to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of their transport activities as a loading manager relating to a heavy vehicle loaded at their premises.

Installing and operating a fixed weighing system is one option, but in each case, the scale of the operation and level of risk do affect what would be reasonably required under the HVNL. What should always be done includes acquiring a knowledge of potential risks to your heavy vehicle transport task, taking steps to minimise or eliminate heavy vehicle safety risks and monitoring heavy vehicle safety.

What sort of tools are available to operators that can assist them with CoR compliance?

There are resources and tools available on the

A Brim’s Bulk Transport truck at work. Any quarry that sub-contracts the transport of its aggregates can be liable within the supply chain.

NHVR website: nhvr.gov.au/cor The heavy vehicle industry has developed its own Registered Industry Code of Practice, based on guidelines set by the NHVR. More information on the Master Code is available at nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/ industry-codes-of-practice The NHVR encourages all parties in the

heavy vehicle supply chain to adopt and utilise a Safety Management System (SMS) as part of their everyday business, to help effectively consider and manage their operation’s day to day safety risks: nhvr.gov.au/sms It’s now been nearly 12 months since the CoR amendments came into effect in numerous

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If you are doing everything that is reasonably able to be done to identify, assess, reduce or wherever possible, remove safety risks related to your transport activities, you are likely to be complying with the changed law.

The NHVR encourages businesses to adopt additional measures that may improve compliance at the gate. This may include load record-keeping (pictured).

A truck belonging to SBI Cranbourne Quarries, in Victoria’s east. Quarries with their own on-highway fleets inevitably have a duty to transport safety to and from the site.

jurisdictions. What feedback have you had

and compliance efforts. Most operators

from stakeholders that the changes are

and supply chain businesses see this as a

working?

significant step towards improving safety in

This reform means the laws are similar

the transport industry. The amended laws

to the “general duties” provisions under

make it clear that every party in the supply

existing workplace health and safety, thus

chain has an ongoing “duty” to ensure safe

allowing operators to streamline their safety

practices.

Has there been a decline in the number of penalties that were previously issued to heavy vehicle owners and drivers for non-compliance in the past 12 months, eg exceeding mass, dimension or loading requirements or mode of delivery?

It is still too early to gauge the level of compliance with the new laws but many industry groups, which rely on heavy vehicles, have increased their awareness of the roles they play in heavy vehicle safety. The NHVR and other enforcement agencies are currently investigating a number of possible breaches under the changed CoR laws. • Simone Reinertsen will deliver her presentation at the IQA’s annual conference at GMHBA Stadium, Geelong, on Thursday, 3 October.

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NEW TRENDS

IN MANAGING MINING LIABILITY Some jurisdictions have introduced reforms to manage the liability of resource projects in the remediation phase – but there are concerns these reforms may unduly impact quarries with traditionally lower risk profiles than mines. Michael Cramer discusses his work in this field.

M

ichael Cramer is director of Accent Environmental, a Melbournebased consultancy that provides environmental and social impact assessment and management services and strategic advice to the resources, industrial, water and waste sectors. He has more than 25 years’ professional experience working with private clients and government agencies in the resource sector, and specialises in closure planning of sites.

Cramer is currently advising on reforms to Queensland’s financial assurance system for resource development projects. His presentation will outline some of the new approaches across Australia towards the management of liability for resource projects in the remediation phase.

What is your key message for the industry?

There are several new approaches towards the management of liability for mining projects that are either being adopted or considered by regulatory authorities. There are likely to be flow-on effects to the quarrying industry – some good, some not so good – that need to be anticipated and managed.

These approaches include consideration of post-relinquishment liabilities, changes to liability cost calculation methods (including incorporation of risk components), further movement towards pooled rehabilitation funds, and more prescriptive requirements to drive progressive rehabilitation.

What advice does Accent Environmental offer about site closures and repurposing?

Effective closure and repurposing can achieve a positive outcome for an operator, community and industry. There are opportunities that did not exist a decade ago – eg the use of sites as part of integrated renewable energy projects, or with the potential to support pumped hydro. My advice would be to consult widely, particularly at the early planning stage.

42

Quarry October 2019

Accent Environmental director Michael Cramer.

Where are mines and quarries expected to contribute to pooled rehabilitation funds?

Queensland is leading the way on reforms to the management of mine rehabilitation and financial assurance. Regulators in jurisdictions such as Victoria, New South Wales and the Northern Territory are watching them. The Queensland reform program includes the introduction of a pooled fund for lower risk operations to cover rehabilitation liability. Interestingly, the program will also require payment as part of final site surrender to cover any ongoing liability for the state, including exposure to residual risks. Accent is developing a cost calculation tool for the Queensland Department of Environment and Science to estimate site surrender costs. The reforms cover the mining and petroleum and gas sectors, but not the extractive industry.

What are the pros and cons of pooled funds?

Do they work as effectively as envisaged?

I am strongly in favour of pooled rehabilitation funds for mining, but less in favour for quarrying. If set up correctly, they provide the state with funds to cover rehabilitation

default without having to trouble the taxpayer – whereas if the funds are tied to a specific tenement, the taxpayer has to step in if the financial assurance is inadequate. I think they suit mining better because the risk profile of mining projects is generally greater than quarrying projects – ie the potential for a risk event to occur that drains the estimated surety for a site is much greater.

The implementation of the mining rehabilitation fund in Western Australia has not gone as smoothly as hoped. It will be interesting to see how the Queensland scheme – which had the advantage of learning from the WA scheme - progresses.

For quarry operators, a pooled fund may put them under greater financial pressure, depending on the level of the fund levy compared with the fee for maintaining a bank guarantee and the associated cost of capital.

What makes the risk profiles of quarrying operations different from mining operations?

Rehabilitation risks associated with quarrying operations are generally well understood and amenable to standard risk mitigation practices. For example, geotechnical, hydrological and hydrogeological risks can be quantified and managed. In contrast, many mining operations have rehabilitation risks that are more difficult to manage, with large, even order-of-magnitude implications.

This is true in the area of water quality, where issues like acid and metalliferous drainage can be intractable at many mining operations.

In addition, mines typically have much higher capital and operating costs than quarries, and are often remote from settlement, making them less able to survive poor market conditions.

Rehabilitation reforms aimed at addressing mining risks may inadvertently overcook quarry risks, if applied without adequate thought.

What are reasonable rehabilitation goals in a mine closure plan?

The basic requirements to achieve a safe,

IQA CONFERENCE 2019

the plan at the start of a long-lived operation will almost certainly be different from the plan at the end of the operation, as quarries need to adapt to many different factors such as improved resource definition, changing market conditions, changes in surrounding land use, new regulatory requirements and evolving community expectations.

stable and non-polluting site are nonnegotiable and progressive rehabilitation goals need to zero in on this outcome. The area that is questionable is the nature of postclosure land use – to what extent can the rehabilitated site support ongoing productive and sustainable land use, and is that land use acceptable to the community and other stakeholders? It is in the interests of the quarry operator to maximise the commercial value of the land for on-selling but this may conflict with local community aspirations. The earlier in the life of a quarry that end land use can be agreed the better for rehabilitation planning, although it is often only as closure approaches that agreement can be reached.

Are rehabilitation liability calculation tools available for quarries to use?

Rehabilitation liability calculation tools are typically developed for mining, not quarrying.

The Victorian rehabilitation bond calculator is used for mining and quarrying as the same legislation covers both sectors, but it is arguably better suited to mining. Calculation tools incorporating risk-based cost factors are being considered but introduce a higher level of complexity – both for the user of the calculator and for the regulator reviewing the output. Current calculation tools generally handle uncertainty through a percentage contingency that is applied to the total

Should regulators expect proponents to outline mine closure plans at an early stage?

It is not unreasonable to have a well developed concept to form a basis for rehabilitation planning and to enable a realistic estimation of financial assurance. It is important though for regulators to realise

cost estimation. Given the lower risk nature of most quarrying operations, risk-based calculation is probably overkill, but it has its place for high risk mining operations.

What sort of residual liabilities can remain for an operation once a site is remediated?

The work that Accent is undertaking for the Queensland Government has identified two broad categories of residual liability at mine sites, even after successful rehabilitation and closure. These are a “residual risk cost” associated with the potential for unplanned events to occur (ie slumping of an embankment) and a “maintenance and monitoring cost” (ie where a drainage structure needs annual maintenance). At many sites, residual liabilities may be minimal or effectively zero. As quarries are generally lower risk than mines, residual liabilities would typically be lower. • Michael Cramer will deliver his presentation at the IQA’s annual conference at GMHBA Stadium, Geelong, on Thursday, 3 October.

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LOAD & HAUL

GEELONG FAMILY COMPANY CONSOLIDATES ITS PARTNERSHIPS

W

ith its head office at Moolap, a suburb of Geelong, Newcomb Sand and Soil is a family-owned company, started by Doug and Joy Dunoon in 1973. Joy continues as CEO today, with sons Chris and David as the operations manager and general manager respectively, and daughter Joanne as administration manager.

The company prides itself on being a “one stop shop” for the Geelong and southwestern Victoria region, and the state as a whole. Newcomb offers recycling services, retail garden supplies and fine sand supplies, along with plant hire and subcontracting.

Its recycling operations cover asphalt, concrete, brick and soils, while it operates four fine sand pits at Portalington and Inverleigh, along with two retail garden outlets in Newcomb and Torquay.

Newcomb provides hourly plant hire and subcontracting services for local councils and contractors, with a complete fleet of equipment covering excavators, graders, scrapers, wheel loaders, dump trucks, trucks and trailers, mobile crushers and screens, and other ancillary equipment.

The business is also a significant contributor to the Geelong, Bellarine and Surf Coast areas, donating garden supply prizes for raffles and fundraisers for community groups. It sponsors junior teams at the Newcomb Football Club; indeed, the football ground has been renamed Newcomb Sand and Soil Oval. It also offers work experience opportunities for school students through a joint program with the Newcomb Secondary College and the Victorian Department of Education.

Newcomb Sand and Soil has also been a long-time supporter of the Torquay Surf Life Saving Club, purchasing a trailer on the club’s behalf that assists the life savers in transporting their surf boat. It also sponsors court number one at the Moolap Tennis Club, where members of the Dunoon family have been long-time members.

When it comes to long-term relationships, Newcomb Sand and Soil has been buying Komatsu earthmoving equipment for the past 10 years, due to equipment 44

Quarry October 2019

The new PC220-8 in the Newcomb Sand and Soil Supplies yard, with operations manager Chris Dunoon (left), Simon Bird (middle) and general manager David Dunoon (right).

reliability, machine performance and a strong relationship with Komatsu’s local representative.

Currently the business owns three Komatsu excavators: a five-tonne PC50MR-8, a 21-tonne PC200-8 and a 25-tonne PC220-8, which was purchased in July. The company also recently retired a WA380-3 wheel loader that it had owned for 20 years.

According to Chris Dunoon, Newcomb Sand and Soil’s long-term partnership with Komatsu began in 2007, when it bought a PC50MRX-2 excavator from local representative Geoff Killury.

“We went for Komatsu because I liked their reliability and service, plus the local knowledge from the likes of Geoff, his communications with us and focus on relationship. They’ve all lived up to expectations,” he said. “So far, the service and support we’ve received has been excellent.”

Newcomb’s excavators carry out a range of tasks, including general plant hire work, loading screens at crushing sites, shifting soil from site to site, and loading dump trucks at its sand pits.

“We find the excavators ideal in our sand pits,” Chris said. “Being fine sand, we have to move it in layers.”

The latest Komatsu PC220-8 replaced a 20-tonne unit of another make. “That machine was well worn, and we needed to replace it,” he said. “We find the Komatsu

Chris Dunoon in the cab of the new machine.

is better in fuel economy, diagnostics and reliability, plus we know we have that relationship with Geoff and knowing he’ll help us if we have any issues. Basically we prefer to go with Komatsu in our excavator fleet.

“Since the PC220-8 was delivered, we’ve found a huge difference in performance between our previous 20-tonne machine and this 25-tonner. It’s more stable in our sandpit operations, and the all-new electronics make it very efficient.”

Chris said all of Newcomb’s Komatsu machines utilised the KOMTRAX remote monitoring system. “It’s always good to get that report every month, showing us fuel economy, engine hours, idling times and so on. And if a machine is ever stolen, we have that extra peace of mind that it can be tracked.” • Source: Komatsu Australia

Komatsu’s Smart Solutions team in Australia operates out of the Rutherford Centre in the NSW Hunter Valley.

A ‘GAME-CHANGING’ APPROACH TO MACHINE DATA ANALYTICS

K

omatsu Smart Solutions is an industry-leading approach to harnessing machine data for analytics and analysis, using data that is continuously streamed from machines on jobsites. It will be progressively rolled out to all Komatsu customers across all industry sectors.

“Our ability to transmit and receive this very detailed data on a continuous basis is allowing us to apply advanced analytics and trends analysis to Komatsu mining equipment,” said Mick Hewitt, technology development manager at Komatsu’s Rutherford facility in the New South Wales Hunter Valley.

“Smart Solutions has been available on [Komatsu’s] Joy and P&H mining equipment for some years, and our team is now working on integrating Komatsu’s ‘traditional’ mining equipment product line – dump trucks, excavators and shovels, mining loaders, dozers, etc – into this offering.”

The data derives from a wide range of sources: the Modular Mining and MineWare product suites, KOMTRAX Plus remote monitoring, and other on-board remote monitoring systems.

“Through Smart Solutions, we can now take mining equipment and mine site performance, productivity and safety to the next level,” Hewitt said. “Our ability to receive a constant data flow off our machines greatly enhances the insights we receive from equipment on-site.

“This powers our advanced data-based decision-making processes, which are essential to today’s modern mining

operation. Then, by using our ‘big data’ capabilities, we can apply trends knowledge to the data we are capturing.

“This means that, rather than receiving alarms and alerts as an issue arises, we are getting predictive information – ensuring that we know about a potential failure or machine issue well in advance of it happening.”

Komatsu’s Smart Solutions teams collaborate with mine management and on-site personnel to determine the best mix of equipment, services, training, technology, monitoring and data analytics options to create value for customers.

Each Smart Solutions offering is customised to an individual customer’s specific needs and is designed to deliver the lowest cost per tonne in alignment with a customer’s financial and operating goals.

Smart Solutions was developed as an overarching philosophy for applying machine data for analytics and analysis. In Australia it is widely used with Komatsu’s P&H electric rope shovels and P&H wheel loaders. It is also being used for Komatsu’s Joy underground mining equipment, both on hard rock and soft rock.

As Komatsu’s product lines become increasingly integrated, Hewitt predicted the KOMTRAX Plus offering for Komatsu mining equipment would form a subset of Smart Solutions, with the two ultimately becoming part of a single offering.

“Once this occurs, KOMTRAX Plus data will feed into a database accessible by Komatsu’s analytics team, which develops algorithms that can detect any issues with

machines across our entire range,” he said.

“Once KOMTRAX Plus is integrated with Smart Solutions, we will offer many additional advantages for customers and mine operators, right across the ‘four pillars’ that we aim to deliver for all our machine owners – HSE [health safety and environment], reliability, productivity, and owning and operating cost.”

Hewitt said the first stages of this have already been implemented. However, it will be an evolving product, so it will undergo many stages of development.

The Smart Solutions/KOMTRAX Plus integration program is being undertaken in Australia and in Komatsu’s Milwaukee (US) offices.

“Komatsu Milwaukee is responsible for the management of all of the databases, while Komatsu Australia is assisting in ensuring all of the ancillary technologies and information are compatible and will work together,” Hewitt said.

“This will deliver benefits not only to our customers here in Australia, but also throughout the world. The technology used in Smart Solutions will eventually also have applications in Komatsu’s construction products. We are currently working on a completely new offering that will overlap both mining and construction. Known as KOMTRAX Plus Air Relay, it is being completely developed in Australia. Details of this will be made available in due course.” • Source: Komatsu Australia

Quarry October 2019 45

LOAD & HAUL

ELECTRIC DRIVE LOADER CULMINATION OF FIVE DECADES OF DEVELOPMENT

I

ntroduced in 1963, the Caterpillar 988 wheel loader has been an industry mainstay for more than 50 years. It has been renowned for its reliability, performance, safety, operator comfort, serviceability and productivity. The new electric drive version of this machine platform – the 988K XE – offers improved sustainability and maximised efficiency.

The new 988K XE is the first wheel loader offered by Caterpillar with a high efficiency electric drive system. This new large loader joins industry stalwarts in the 988K and 986K wheel loaders to provide quarrying producers with the most cost-effective loader for each application. The XE has 90 per cent commonality with the 988K, with the same C18 ACERT engine, lower powertrain and cab.

The new loader features switched reluctance technology and leverages more than 15 years of Cat electric drive experience and more than four years of stringent testing in a range of applications for proven reliability in the field.

The 988K XE provides overall efficiency of 25 per cent, and up to 49 per cent in face-loading applications, as compared to the 988K loader.

While the electric drive transmission replacement on the XE allows for a significant increase in efficiency, the axles and the driveline are the same as on the proven 988K mechanical drive. The C18 ACERT engine is built and tested to meet demanding applications while complying with the Tier 4 Final/Stage V emission standard.

Oil change intervals have been doubled from 1000 hours with the 988K to 2000 hours with the XE, resulting in 40 per cent less powertrain oil being used. In addition, the oil filter interval has been extended fourfold from 500 hours to 2000 hours to match the oil change interval, promising more savings in maintenance costs.

The electric drive powertrain means there is no need for a transmission or clutch, only a single speed range, so the machine efficiently operates without gear shifting. New virtual gears help control machine ground speed and deliver those smooth, quick directional shifts, forward or reverse. The efficient electric drive design increases engine life by up to 3500 hours, extending time between powertrain rebuilds.

The standard Cat Product Link software 46

Quarry October 2019

The new 988K XE is Caterpillar’s first wheel loader with a high efficiency electric drive system.

offers remote data monitoring through VisionLink, so key personnel can stay informed of critical machine operating data.

Fuel usage, payload summaries, scheduled service reminders, fault code alerts and various productivity reports are available to help improve machine management.

In addition, the on-board Vital Information Management System (VIMS) provides operating data via an interactive touch screen display.

The new Cat 988K XE loader is equipped with a host of technology solutions to increase operating efficiency and machine uptime.

Cat Production Measurement (CPM) brings payload weighing to the cab, so operators can work more productively and deliver accurate loads with confidence. CPM offers advanced weighing modes, which assist with payload accuracy and increase loading cycle speed.

The Optional Tyre Pressure Monitoring System is a fully integrated Cat feature, which enables operators to monitor tyre inflation. Available through the VIMS display, the operator can quickly view each tyre’s pressure and take action when needed to reduce wear and increase service life.

The 988K XE offers a range of bucket capacities from 4.7m3 to 13m3. The loader’s rated standard and high lift payload can reach 11.3 tonnes when working with face material and 14.5 tonnes with loose material.

SPECS – CATERPILLAR 988K XE WHEEL LOADER Engine

Cat C18 ACERT

Gross power (SAE J1995)

439kW

Operating weight (standard)

53 tonnes

Operating weight (high lift)

54 tonnes

Rated payload: Standard (face material)

11.3 tonnes

Standard (loose material)

14.5 tonnes

High lift (face material)

11.3 tonnes

High lift (loose material)

14.5 tonnes

The Advansys Series Ground Engaging Tools protect bucket components and reduce operating costs, thereby maximising machine performance.

The standard 988K XE is performancematched to offer efficient three-pass loading of the 39-tonne Cat 770G off-highway truck and four-pass loading of the 46-tonne Cat 772 truck. Its high lift configuration delivers five-pass loading of the 55-tonne Cat 773G and six-pass loading of the 64-tonne Cat 775G. • Source: Caterpillar of Australia

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LOAD & HAUL

CERTIFIED BREAKER, ATTACHMENT RANGE BOOSTED BY PARTNERSHIP

T

he Rammer range of rock breaker and demolition attachments has a new home. Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology, which owns and manufactures Rammer, recently formed a new partnership with renowned Queensland supplier QLD Rock Breakers (QRB), based in Rocklea, Brisbane.

Sandvik and QRB regard the partnership, formalised in July this year, as a positive step and the next phase of business growth.

QRB, which is a subsidiary of the RDW Machinery group, has been the leading rock breaker supplier in Queensland for more than 20 years. The company has grown from humble beginnings to be a premium equipment supplier, capable of offering not only genuine certified Rammer products but also backing this up with the only Rammercertified service centre in Queensland. This will also see QRB service Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific Islands (excluding New Zealand) for Rammer products.

“We see the partnership with Sandvik/ Rammer as a positive fit for our business,” said Fred Carlsson, the general manager for the RDW and QRB businesses. “We have been in business for over 30 years and during those years taken pride in being able to not only supply premium products to the market but more importantly, being able to support these products on time and with great service and technical support.

“Our business has been built on taking care of customers’ needs and offering solutions that add value to our customers’ business,” Carlsson said.

For more than 40 years Sandvik’s Rammer division has manufactured premium product out of its Finland base. Recently Sandvik/ Rammer introduced the renewed “Excellence Line” of hydraulic rock breakers with integrated smart technology. In addition to a new and improved focus on safety, Rammer is the first on the market to introduce the RD3 monitoring device, together with the My Fleet platform, to make it easier for producers to monitor their rock breaker fleet remotely.

“RD3 uses the My Fleet telematics service to track and monitor fleet equipment usage without needing to go to the site to collect the data,” Carlsson said. “It’s ideal for dealers, 48

Quarry October 2019

The Rammer E-line is fitted with RD3 monitoring, making it easier for producers to monitor breaker performance.

The Rammer 2577 breaker is part of the renewed ‘Excellence Line’, with integrated smart technology.

rental companies and operators. This cloudbased system enables the rock breakers to be viewed and monitored via Google maps.”

David Scurr, Rammer’s territory sales manager for the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Indian and Commonwealth of Independent States, said recently launched RD3 capabilities, coupled with a new dealer in QRB, make Sandvik/Rammer the strongest rock breaker supplier in Australia.

“We have recently carried out factory technical training to all of our Australian dealer technical staff and I see us now moving to another level in the industry,” Scurr said. “All of our dealers have invested heavily in stock of both breakers and parts, which enable them to offer a premium service.” • Source: QLD Rock Breakers/RDW Machinery

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LOAD & HAUL

Telescoping radial stacking conveyors are known to be the most effective solution for stockpiling segregation.

CONTENDING WITH STOCKPILE SEGREGATION, PRODUCT QUALITY

While stockpiles are favoured as a way of ensuring product availability, poor stockpiling techniques can separate materials by particle size, resulting in variable end product quality. Part of the solution is to undertake windrow stockpiling with an automated telescoping conveyor.

M

aterial segregation is a problem inherent to most stockpiling techniques. As the demand for a higher quality product increases, the problem of stockpile segregation becomes more significant.

Telescoping radial stacking conveyors are known to be the most effective solution for stockpiling segregation. They can create a stockpile in layers, with each layer consisting of a series of windrows of material. To create a stockpile in this manner, the conveyor must be in motion almost continuously.

Although the motion of a telescoping conveyor must be controlled manually, automation is by far the most effective control method.

An automated telescoping conveyor can be programmed to create customised stockpiles of many different sizes, shapes, and configurations. This nearly unlimited flexibility can add efficiency to an overall operation, and provide a higher quality product.

50

Quarry October 2019

STOCKPILING Each year contractors spend millions of dollars to produce aggregate products that are used for many different applications.

The most popular applications include base material, asphalt and concrete.

The process of creating the products for these applications is very complex and costly. Tighter specifications and tolerances mean that the importance of product quality is becoming more and more significant.

There are many phases to the process of aggregate production: • The virgin material must be stripped or blasted from its original location within the quarry.

• Once the material is removed from the mining surface, the process of reduction begins.

• The original material is first run through a primary crusher to reduce the product to a manageable size that can be handled by conveyors.

•N ext, the material is run through a secondary crusher and possibly a tertiary crusher to reduce the product even further. Along with the various crushing operations, the product is also passed through vibrating screens to sort it by particle size.

•O nce the material has been sorted into different sized products, it is then ready to be stockpiled for storage.

Eventually, the material is reclaimed from the stockpile and transported to a location where it will be incorporated into a road base, asphalt product, or concrete.

The equipment required for stripping, blasting, crushing, and screening is very expensive. However, today’s equipment can consistently produce aggregate material that is in within specifications. Stockpiling may seem to be a trivial part of aggregate production but, if it is done incorrectly, it can cause a perfectly “in spec” product to become out of spec. This means some of the cost of creating a good product can be

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LOAD & HAUL

Figure 1. Segregation in materials can occur at numerous stages, starting with the stockpile.

Windrow stockpiling with a telescoping conveyor.

wasted using poor stockpiling techniques.

Although placing product in a stockpile endangers its quality, stockpiling is a vital link in the aggregate production process. It is a storage method that ensures material availability. The rate of production often differs from the rate at which the product is required for a given application, and stockpiles help to absorb the difference.

Stockpiles also allow contractors sufficient storage to respond effectively to fluctuating market demands. Because of the benefits offered by stockpiling, it will always remain an important part of the aggregate production process. Therefore, producers must continually improve their stockpiling techniques to reduce the risks associated with stockpiling.

Segregation can occur virtually anywhere throughout the process of aggregate production after a product has been crushed, screened and blended to its proper gradation.

The first likely place for segregation to occur is within the stockpile (see Figure 1).

Once the material has been placed in the stockpile, it will eventually be reclaimed and transported to a location where it will be used.

The second place segregation can occur is during handling and transport. Once on site at an asphalt or concrete plant, the aggregate material is placed in feed hoppers and/or storage bins from which the product will be withdrawn and used.

Segregation can also occur when hoppers and bins are filled and emptied. After the aggregate is blended into an asphalt or concrete mix, segregation can also take place during the application of the final mix to the road or other surfaces.

STOCKPILING PROBLEMS The three most common stockpiling problems are segregation, degradation and contamination.

The primary focus of this paper is on segregation. Segregation is defined as “the separation of material by particle size�. Different applications of aggregate products require very specific and consistent gradations of material. Segregation causes excessive variation in gradation of a product.

52

Quarry October 2019

SEGREGATION PROBLEMS A uniform aggregate product is essential to producing high quality asphalt or concrete. The fluctuating gradation of a segregated aggregate product makes it nearly impossible to produce an acceptable

asphalt or concrete product.

A given weight of smaller particles has a larger total surface area than the same weight of larger particles. This presents a problem when combining the aggregate into an asphalt or concrete mixture. If the aggregate contains too high a percentage of fines, there will be a shortage of concrete paste or asphalt, and the mixture will have an overly stiff consistency. If the aggregate contains too high a percentage of large particles, there will be an excess amount of concrete paste or asphalt, and the mixture will have an overly runny consistency. Roads constructed with segregated aggregate product will have poor structural integrity and, ultimately, a shorter life expectancy than those made from a properly desegregated product.

Many factors contribute to segregation within a stockpile. Since most stockpiles are created with a belt conveyor, it is important to understand the inherent effects of a belt conveyor on the gradation of a material.

As a belt carries material along the conveyor, a slight bouncing motion is created by the belt rolling over the idlers.

This is due to a slight sag in the belt between each idler. This motion causes the finer particles to settle to the bottom of

the material cross-section. Bridging of the coarse particles causes them to remain on top.

Once the material reaches the conveyor discharge pulley, it is already somewhat segregated with the coarser material on top and the finer material on the bottom.

As the material begins to travel around the curvature of the discharge pulley, the top (outside) particles travel at a greater velocity than the bottom (inside) particles.

This difference in velocity then causes the larger particles to travel farther from the conveyor before landing on the stockpile and the smaller particles to drop close to the conveyor.

Furthermore, the fine material has a greater tendency to cling to the conveyor belt and not be discharged until the belt has continued further around the discharge pulley. This causes even more fines to be pulled back to the front side of the pile.

When the material lands on the stockpile, the larger particles have a greater forward

momentum than the smaller particles. This causes the coarse material to continue moving down the side of a pile more so than the fines. Any material, regardless of size, that cascades down the sides of a stockpile is called overrun.

Overrun is one of the leading causes of segregation in a stockpile and should be avoided if at all possible. As overrun begins to tumble down the slope of a pile, the larger particles tend to roll down the entire length of the slope while the finer material tends to settle into the side of the pile. Therefore, as overrun proceeds down the sides of a pile, fewer and fewer fines remain with the tumbling material.

When the material reaches the bottom edge, or toe, of the pile, it consists primarily of the larger particles. Overrun causes a pronounced segregation that is visible in a section view of a stockpile. The outer toes of the pile consist of the coarser material, while the inner and upper portions consist of more fines.

Particle shape also contributes to the effects of overrun. Particles that have a smooth or round shape are more likely to roll further down the slope of a pile than crushed particles that typically have a boxier shape. Overrun can also cause material degradation. As the particles tumble down the side of the pile, they rub against each other. This abrasion can erode some of the particles into smaller sizes.

Wind is another cause of segregation. After material leaves the conveyor belt and begins its descent to the stockpile, wind will affect trajectory of different sized particles. Wind has a great effect on fine material. This is due to the fact the surface area to weight ratio is greater for smaller particles than it is for large particles.

The potential for segregation within a stockpile may vary depending on the type of material being stockpiled. The most significant factor about segregation is the degree of variation of particle size within the material. Materials with a greater variation

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in particle size will have a higher degree of segregation when stockpiled. A general rule of thumb is that if the ratio of the size of the largest particles to the size of the smallest particles exceeds 2:1, stockpiling segregation is likely to be a problem. On the other hand, if the ratio of particle sizes is less than 2:1, stockpiling segregation will be minimal.

For example, a roadbase material that contains particles all the way down through 200 mesh is likely to segregate when stockpiled. However, segregation will be insignificant when stockpiling a product such as washed stone. Sand can usually be stockpiled without a segregation problem due to the fact most sand is wet.

The moisture causes the particles to cling together, preventing segregation.

PREVENTING SEGREGATION There may be times in which segregation was not prevented when the product was stockpiled. The outside edges of a finished pile consist primarily of coarse material and the inner portion of the pile has a higher concentration of fines. When reclaiming from the end face of this type of pile, scoops must be taken from various locations to blend the material. Reclaiming only from the front face or back face of the pile will result in all coarse material or all fine material.

There is also an opportunity for further segregation when loading a truck. It is important that the method used does not result in overrun. The front of the truck 54

Quarry October 2019

should be loaded first, then the back, and finally the middle. This will minimise the effect of overrun within the truck.

Methods of dealing with segregation after the building of a stockpile are useful but the goal should be to prevent or minimise segregation as the stockpile is made. Useful ways of preventing segregation include: • Mixing the stockpile.

• Building the stockpile in layers.

• Telescoping conveyors.

• Variable height conveyors.

• Radial travel conveyors.

• Rock ladders.

• Telescoping chutes.

• Paddle wheels.

When building a stockpile with a truck, care should be taken to dump into separate piles to minimise overrun. A loader should be used to push the pile together by raising the material to full bucket height and dumping, which will blend the material. Building larger piles should not be attempted if it requires the loader to drive on and degrade the material.

Building the stockpile in layers can minimise segregation. This type of stockpile can be built with the aid of a dozer. If material is brought to the stockpile with a truck, the dozer should push the material into inclined layers. If the stockpile is built with a conveyor, the dozer should push the material into horizontal layers. In either case, care should be taken not to push material over the edge of the pile. This results in overrun, which is one of the leading causes

of segregation.

There are several disadvantages to making a stockpile with a dozer. Two significant risks are degradation and contamination of the product. Heavy equipment continuously running over the product will compact and crush the material. Using this method, producers must be careful not to degrade the product too much in an attempt to alleviate the segregation problem. The extra labour and equipment required often make this method cost-prohibitive and producers have to settle for methods of dealing with segregation upon reclaim.

A radial stacking conveyor will help minimise the effects of segregation. As the stockpile is being built, the conveyor moves left and right radially. The end toe of the pile, which is normally coarse material, will be covered with fine material as the conveyor travels radially. The front end and back toe will still be coarse material, but the stockpile will be blended more than a conical pile.

There is a direct relationship between the height and free fall of material and the degree of resulting segregation. The fines are separated more and more from the coarse materials as the height increases and the trajectory of the falling material widens.

Therefore, variable height conveyors are another method of minimising segregation.

During the initial stages, the conveyor should be in the lowest position. The distance from the head pulley should always be minimised.

Free fall from the conveyor onto the pile is another cause of segregation. A rock ladder

will minimise segregation by eliminating the free fall of the material. A rock ladder is a structure that allows the material to flow down a series of steps onto the pile. It is effective, but has limited application.

Segregation caused by wind can be minimised with a telescoping chute. A telescoping chute at the discharge pulley of a conveyor that extends from the pulley to the pile will shield the wind and limit its effects. If designed correctly, it can also limit free fall of materials.

As discussed previously, there is already segregation on the conveyor belt prior to reaching the discharge point. Also, further segregation occurs as the material leaves the belt. Paddle wheels may be installed at the discharge point to re-blend this material.

The rotating wheel has wings or paddles that intersect and agitate the trajectory of material. This will minimise segregation, but the material degradation may not be acceptable.

Significant costs may be incurred as a

result of segregation. Out-of-spec piles may lead to penalties or rejection of entire stockpiles. If out-of-spec material is delivered to a job site, the penalty may be in excess of $0.75 per tonne. The labour and equipment cost to rebuild an out-ofspec pile is often cost-prohibitive. The cost per hour of using a dozer and operator to build the stockpile is higher than that of an automated telescoping conveyor, and the material may be degraded or contaminated in the effort to maintain the proper gradation.

This will decrease the value of the product.

In addition, there is an opportunity cost associated with using equipment such as a dozer for a non-production task when it has been capitalised for a production task.

WINDROW CONCEPT When creating a stockpile in an application where segregation can be a problem, another method can be used to minimise the effect of segregation. This involves making stockpiles in layers, with each layer

consisting of a series of windrows.

In a section view of a windrow stockpile, each windrow appears as a miniature pile. Segregation still occurs within each individual windrow from the same effects discussed earlier. However, the segregation pattern is repeated more often throughout the cross-section of the pile. Such a pile is said to have a greater “segregation resolution” because the segregated gradation pattern repeats itself more often in smaller intervals.

When reclaiming a windrow pile with a front-end loader, there is no need to blend the material because one scoop includes several windrows. As a windrow pile is being reclaimed, the individual layers are clearly visible (see Figure 2, overleaf).

Windrows can be created using different techniques of stockpiling. One method is to use a bridge and tripper conveyor system, though this alternative is feasible only for stationary applications. One significant disadvantage of stationary conveyor

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desegregated; however, there is overrun on the edge of each pile. This is because the conveyor cannot automatically adjust the limit switches or the location of the objects used to trip them. The retract limit switch must be adjusted so the overrun does not bury the conveyor axle.

Another limitation deals with the fact that it takes the same amount of time to travel the outer arc as the inner arc. Since the outer windrow is much longer than the inner windrow, the rate the discharge pulley moves with respect to the ground is much faster on the outer windrow than the inner windrow. Assuming constant conveying capacity, the layer will be higher on the inner arc than the outer arc.

Figure 2. As a windrow pile is reclaimed, its individual layers are clearly visible.

systems is they are typically fixed in height, which can result in segregation by wind as discussed earlier.

Another method is to use a telescoping conveyor. Telescoping conveyors provide the most effective way of building a windrow stockpile and are typically preferred over stationary systems because they can be relocated when necessary, and many are actually designed to be road portable.

The telescoping conveyor consists of a conveyor (stinger conveyor) mounted inside an outer conveyor of similar length.

The stinger conveyor has the ability to move linearly along the length of the outer conveyor, thereby varying the location of the discharge pulley. The height of the discharge pulley is variable as well as the radial position of the conveyor.

The three-axis variation of the discharge pulley is essential in making a layered pile that overcomes segregation. A cable winch system is often used to extend and retract the stinger conveyor. The radial movement of the conveyor may be driven by a chain and sprocket system or hydraulically-powered planetary drives. The height of the conveyor is often varied via cylinders that extend a telescoping undercarriage system. All of these movements must be controlled to build a layered pile automatically.

The telescoping conveyor has the mechanisms to build a completely layered pile. Minimising the depth of each layer will help limit segregation. This requires the conveyor to be moving constantly as it builds the stockpile. The need for 56

Quarry October 2019

constant movement makes automation of the telescoping conveyor essential.

There are several different methods of automation, some which are less costly with significant limitations, while others are fully programmable and offer much versatility when building a stockpile.

Method one: Using limit switches that control the conveyor’s motion.

As the conveyor begins to build the stockpile, it moves in a radial direction while conveying material. The conveyor moves until a limit switch mounted to the axle of the conveyor is tripped by a trigger in its radial path. This trigger is placed according to the length of the arc the operator wants the conveyor to travel. At this point the stinger conveyor extends a predetermined distance and starts travelling in the other direction. This process continues until the stringer conveyor has been extended out to its maximum extension and the first layer is complete.

When the second layer is built, the stinger begins retracting from its maximum extension, travelling radially and retracting at the arc limits. Layers are built until a tilt switch mounted at the discharge pulley is activated by the pile.

The conveyor will raise a predetermined distance and begin its second lift. Each lift may consist of several layers, depending on the rate at which the material is being conveyed. The second lift is similar to the first lift and so on until the entire pile is built. A large part of the resulting pile is

Method two: Using a PLC to control the conveyor’s operations.

A programmable logic controller (PLC) is a computer that receives data from input devices and processes it to control the operation of various components. An encoder can be mounted to the winch that extends and retracts the stinger conveyor.

As the conveyor extends and retracts, the PLC is aware of the exact location of the stinger conveyor, making its movements programmable. The extension and retract limits of the stinger can be automatically changed for each layer. By making each subsequent layer narrower, overrun can be eliminated. The retract limit can be adjusted so the axle does not get buried by the overrun. The extend increments can be shortened as the conveyor approaches the outer arc. This will result in a level pile at constant conveying capacity.

An encoder can also be mounted to one of the wheels of the conveyor to monitor the radial position of the conveyor. The encoder for radial travel does not rely on the off-board devices to activate switches.

Instead the encoder is self-contained and can be programmed to adjust the arc limits to eliminate overrun on the ends of a pile.

A tilt switch is mounted at the discharge point on the stringer conveyor to indicate at what point the conveyor must raise to the next lift. This ensures the conveyor will raise before burying the discharge pulley in the pile.

Some automation packages allow the tilt switch to indicate when to move one radial increment rather than travel continuously, which gives the ability to build a desegregated pile when conveying capacity is not constant.

This method of automation lends itself to a customised automation package. The arc pile is by far the most common. The arc pile is built of windrows that are concentric to the conveyor feed point. In certain situations, it is advantageous to customise the program.

At some job sites, it is more convenient to load-out parallel to the conveyor. In this case an in-line pile would be desired.

The in-line pile is built of windrows that are radial to the conveyor feed point. It is a small matter to program the telescoping conveyor to build this type of stockpile. Unusual site layout or lack of real estate could be a reason to choose a rectangular pile. In each instance, proper reclaiming methods are not compromised.

Customised automation extends beyond stockpiling. When loading a rail car or vessel a linear pile is needed. Conventional radial stacking conveyors cannot build the pile. However, a telescoping conveyor with an encoder on the winch can be programmed to build the pile. In the past this type of pile would have had to be built by a stationary system with multiple conveyors.

Automation options are not limited to the two listed above, as new processes and user expectations will be revealed in time. The automated telescoping conveyor is currently the most versatile tool in stockpiling, and will continue to be the most adept at meeting these new processes and expectations.

PARTIALLY DESEGREGATED PILE The windrow method of stockpiling greatly reduces segregation, but overrun can still be a problem if the proper method is not used. This occurs when a lift of windrow is as wide as the lift below it. Material in each lift must be prevented from rolling over the edges of the previous lift and creating overrun to minimise segregation completely. If overrun is not prevented, certain portions of the stockpile will be subjected to segregation, and a partially desegregated pile will be created.

The bottom lift of a windrow pile created with a telescoping conveyor is about as wide as the length of the telescoping section of the conveyor. When the second lift is created, overrun begins to occur when the telescoping conveyor reaches its extension limits and is making the innermost and/or outermost windrows. Material spills over the edge of the first lift and rolls down to the ground level, creating overrun.

The same problem occurs when making the third lift. Again, as the telescoping conveyor reaches its maximum extension, material spills over the edge of the second lift and rolls down the back side of the pile to ground level. This problem continues to worsen, as the pile gets higher because the slope down the side of the pile gets longer.

When a partially desegregated pile is completed, the final result is a stockpile that consists of up to 40 per cent overrun.

Segregation has essentially been eliminated in the windrow portion on the pile but the effects of segregation remain sufficient in the portion of the pile made up of overrun. To minimise overrun, the actual stockpiling process must be altered to create a fully desegregated pile.

FULLY DESEGREGATED PILE To eliminate overrun in a layered windrow pile, the extension limits must be changed for each lift. By changing the limits of travel of the telescoping portion of the conveyor, each lift of windrows

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CONVEYOR LENGTH R1

Conventional

R1&R2

Partially desegregated Fully desegregated

R3

3m (110”)

3.3m (130”)

4m (150”)

Metres

12,252

19,751

29,718

Tonnes

16,410

26,453

39,802

Metres

16,029

25,237

40,279

Tonnes

21,469

33,802

53,948

Metres

4938

7315

12,801

Tonnes

6613

9797

17,146

Table 1. 90-degree stockpile volumes.

can be made slightly smaller than the lift underneath it.

The bottom of a fully desegregated pile is created the same way as a partially desegregated pile. The dimensions of the bottom lift are identical. As mentioned before, the base of the pile is about as wide as the length of the telescoping section of the conveyor.

The stockpiling process begins to differ in the second lift by changing the extension and retraction limits of the telescoping portion of the conveyor. Both of the limits are changed by amount “A”. This adjustment prevents material from being discharged from the conveyor over the edge of lift 1.

This essentially eliminates overrun.

When creating the third lift of the stockpile, the extension and retraction limits are again adjusted by amount “A”. These adjustments prevent material from spilling over the edge of the second lift and rolling down the front and back of the pile to ground level.

For each subsequent lift, the extension and retraction limits are adjusted to prevent overrun on the front and back of the pile.

The limit adjustments actually decrease the distance the telescoping portion of the conveyor travels.

As the number of lifts increases, the telescoping distance decreases. This causes each lift of windrows to be narrower than the lift underneath it.

The cross-section of a fully desegregated pile is completely made up of windrows, and overrun is eliminated. Pile volume is sacrificed when creating a fully desegregated pile. However, the quality of the material in a fully desegregated pile is significantly better than that in a partially desegregated pile, due primarily to the absence of overrun.

Overrun is also created on the ends of a stockpile made by a telescoping radial conveyor. This overrun can be eliminated if adjustments are made to the limits of radial

58

Quarry October 2019

travel of the conveyor. To prevent overrun on the ends of a stockpile, the total radial arc must be decreased inward for each layer.

STOCKPILE VOLUME The stockpile volume of a fully desegregated and a partially desegregated stockpile differ greatly (Table 1). A pile built with a conventional (non-telescoping) radial conveyor is shown for comparison and is designated as area R1. The axle on a telescoping conveyor is placed closer to the feed point than on a conventional radial stacking conveyor. Because the stinger conveyor is able to retract, the operator is able to stockpile back to the axle. This resulting pile is partially desegregated and is the highest volume pile as indicated by areas R1&R2.

The conventional pile has the next highest volume but is segregated and is indicated by area R1. The fully desegregated pile has the lowest volume but is free of overrun and is indicated by area R3. The factor that affects the volume of a fully desegregated pile is the extension distance. By maximising the extension distance, the fully desegregated pile volume is maximised and the towing length of the conveyor is minimised.

SUCCESSFUL AUTOMATION Automation is significantly changing many industries, as it can offer a means of achieving higher productivity and higher quality products in many different types of operation. Although automation can prove to be the best method of controlling a given operation, there are often several factors that seem to cause some apprehension with automated systems.

One of the biggest factors is simply the fear of change, especially a change from an existing system that seems to work well to a system that is much more complex. In many cases, the original system may have been a relatively simple piece of equipment but

controls, sensors, and electronic devices are required to incorporate automation.

The complexity of an automated system often intimidates a user because of the inability to troubleshoot and fix problems that may arise. It is essential that the manufacturer has a good customer service program to assist users with service and maintenance on their systems. This includes the ability to provide good technical support over the phone and be capable of responding immediately to the need for parts or a field service technician.

Another concern users may feel is that they are not capable of learning how to operate an automated system. The key to overcoming these attitudes is for the manufacturer to provide excellent training for users. It is also important to provide good operators’ manuals and reference materials that give clear operation instructions.

Finally, automation components often have the perception of being delicate and unable to withstand the harsh environments inherent to many applications. As technology has progressed, suppliers of automation components have considered these factors and addressed the vastly differing needs.

For example, there are literally thousands of different sensors available today, and each is designed for a specific application.

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the designers and manufacturers of an automated system to select the right component for the right application.

This requires designers and engineers to be fully aware of user expectations, application, environment and what is available in terms of automation components.

In conclusion, automation is clearly the way to build a fully desegregated stockpile. An automated telescoping conveyor is the most effective method of minimising segregation.

It will save money and time while providing a better product. The equipment and labour costs of alternative stockpiling methods are higher, and equivalent product quality is unattainable by these other methods.

The automation technology available today provides exciting opportunities both now and in the future to maximise the production of high quality aggregates while reducing or eliminating labour-intensive operations.

This will give producers the ability to make a great product that will always meet increasingly stringent specifications. • Source: Superior Industries

CRUSHING

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A proven performer in hard rock crushing recently underwent substantial technical updates and was standardised to uniform manufacturing standards. Peter Berlitz and Dr Armin Greune explain why the Kubria cone crusher is a competitive option for a quarrying operation.

T

he Kubria cone crusher from thyssenkrupp has proved effective for many years under the toughest application conditions in the field for hard rock crushing. It is used mainly in the aggregates industry for the secondary and tertiary crushing of granite, basalt, gneiss and other hard rock, and in the mining and cement industries.

The Kubria product line was recently updated to include the latest technical developments and standardised to assure uniform manufacturing standards maintained at thyssenkrupp locations around the world. The result is that the crusher can now be offered very competitively and with significantly lower delivery times.

DESIGN AND FUNCTION The Kubria crusher design has a hydraulically supported main shaft and fixed upper crusher chamber. Crushing takes place between the concaves in the crushing chamber and the mantle-lined crushing cone (Figure 1, overleaf), which is rotated by an eccentric drive in the lower section.

This design allows the gap between the concaves and the crushing cone to be continuously decreased or increased all around the periphery. As the crushing chamber narrows, crushing of the material is achieved by means of increasing pressure on the rock. The geometry of the crushing chamber and the eccentric stroke can be individually adapted to specific crushing requirements as determined by the material characteristics. This is particularly important when the raw material properties or the product requirements change during the service life of the crusher.

The maximum possible feed size for the crusher is determined by the opening width at the top of the crushing chamber. The finished product lump size is determined by the closed side setting (CSS) in the discharge zone.

60

Quarry October 2019

A G110 Kubria cone crusher in a quarry near Rosetto, France.

The wear material components in the crusher are made of wear-resistant austenitic manganese steel that can be easily replaced.

The crushing cone consists of a mantle fit on the cone body that is in turn firmly connected to the main shaft. The crushing ring is fastened in the top shell of the crusher.

“G” models for coarse crushing are additionally equipped with annular arranged concaves. The top shell and bottom shell are both made of cast steel.

The “spider” in the upper area of the top shell is used to support the upper shaft bearing. This spider is also made of cast steel and has spider arm liners. As all wear parts and heavy internal removable components parts are accessible from above, the crusher is very easy to maintain.

A thrust bearing is used to support the main shaft on a hydraulic cylinder. This cylinder is used to control the crusher setting by raising and lowering the shaft. If tramp material is caught in the crushing chamber, the shaft is lowered automatically, allowing the material to largely pass through the crushing chamber without resulting in damage to the crusher.

For run of mine materials that are very hard and tough to crush, the main shaft is equipped with a hydrostatic thrust bearing assembly for operating at high crushing pressures.

The drive and the hydraulic cylinder are housed in the bottom shell of the crusher.

The Kubria bevel gear teeth are cut with a specially developed cyclo-palloid process.

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which also allows higher drive powers to be transmitted. The result is that Kubria cone crushers can be equipped with bigger motors. In addition, these crushers are characterised by a long service life and easy accessibility for maintenance work.

The crusher is equipped with a circulating lubrication system to supply oil to the eccentric bush bearing assembly, the axial bearing assembly and the bevel gears, and it is also equipped with an automatic grease lubrication unit for the spider bearing.

Today’s quarrying operations increasingly require automation of plant systems. This also applies to the crushing circuit. The Kubria crusher is typically delivered with the proven Kubriamatic control system, which can be integrated into the control system and the dynamic process display of the overall plant.

With the Kubriamatic control system, the crusher settings can be changed during operation. It is also used to enter and monitor crusher-specific operating data such as

Figure 1. Main components of the Kubria cone crusher.

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CSS, operating power and pressures, plus temperatures and oil flow conditions. Further, important operating data such as operating hours and load and no-load hours, plus the number of pressure and power peaks, can be called up.

The crushing setting is regulated automatically, according to adjustable power and pressure limits. Automatic setting adjustment is carried out to keep the product quality of the crusher constant as the crusher concaves and mantle liners wear.

DESIGN AND APPLICATION For the aggregates industry, Kubria crusher sizes 90, 110 and 130 are commonly used. The number denotes the lower cone diameter. “G” models for coarse crushing and “F/M” models for fine and medium crushing applications are available for each size (Figure 2). The coarse “G” model crusher is equipped with a steeper cone, while the crusher for fine and medium (F/M)

crushing has a flatter cone.

The steep cone angle results in higher throughput rates. The use of flatter cone angles in the F/M crusher means a particularly high quality product can be achieved. The design of the bottom shells for either the “G” or “F/M” models is identical.

The coarse crushers are used mainly in the secondary crushing stage. They can process feed sizes of up to 450mm. The fine and medium crushers are used for secondary and tertiary crushing, and can handle feed sizes of up to 230mm.

In all the versions of the Kubria cone crusher, the material has a relatively long retention time in the crushing chamber, with a correspondingly high number of crushing steps. This results in products of high cubicity, which is important for meeting the product standards required for concrete aggregate and other products. The Kubria product name is based on the high-cubicity product it produces.

Figure 2. The Kubria ‘G’ type.

THREE-STAGE PLANT An example of the use of Kubria cone crushers is in a three-stage crushing plant for the production of crushed stone. The flowsheet for this plant, which has a capacity

CRUSHING

Figure 3. Flowsheet for a three-stage crushing plant for the crushing of granite.

Figure 4. Typical product gradation curves of Kubria cone crushers based on crusher setting.

of 250 tonnes per hour (tph), can be seen in Figure 3.

Depending on the requirements of the producer, the plant can be designed as a stationary plant, a semi-mobile crushing plant or a wheel-mounted portable plant in which the crushers and the associated screens are combined into modules.

The 0-600mm run of mine material is discharged from a bin by means of a grizzly feeder where the initial primary screening takes place. Furthermore, a fine screening stage is used to remove natural contaminants such as soil and dust, which are not wanted in the end product.

In the first crushing stage, the material is crushed to 200mm by an EBÂ 11-08 64

Quarry October 2019

jaw crusher. From there, it is conveyed to a secondary G90 cone crusher where it is crushed to a size of 50mm in closed circuit with a screen. The product from the secondary crusher will already meet product standards, so the 25-50mm fraction can be screened out and sent to product stockpiles for use as railway ballast, drainage systems or other products.

In the tertiary crushing stage, a Kubria F/ M90 is used in a closed circuit to produce the required end product. The product is then split into the various product size ranges by a circular vibrating screen with four decks.

By adjusting the CSS of the secondary and the tertiary crushers, it is possible to produce

a final product containing a particularly high portion of the desired fraction. Figure 4 shows some typical product curves for a fine and medium crusher, with different crusher settings.

Thanks to the optimised crushing chamber geometry, the product of the tertiary crusher contains a high portion of the required fraction, which means only about five per cent of the feed volume has to be recirculated. This results in lower wear of the crusher manganese and therefore higher availability for the crusher and reduced operating expenses.

Overall, the use of Kubria cone crushers allows the implementation of a plant concept characterised by efficiency, flexibility and a product that meets the highest quality requirements. With the use of modern control systems, a high degree of automation and user-friendliness can also be achieved.

A plant based on the flowsheet shown in Figure 3 was delivered to Cameroon earlier this year as a wheel-mounted portable plant system. All components were designed and manufactured by thyssenkrupp. The mobile modules, feed bins, surge bins and belt conveyors were taken from the standard range of processing machines. Assembly and commissioning was also conducted by thyssenkrupp, which provided a turnkey plant that was handed over to the producer.

COMPETITIVE GEAR The new Kubria series of cone crushers offers extremely competitive machines for coarse, medium and fine crushing to the quarrying industry. These machines have proven effective under the toughest conditions for crushing granite, basalt, gneiss and other hard rocks in the past few decades. Incorporating the latest technology, these machines provide: A high cubicity finished product.

Low wear and low operating expenses.

Rapid crushing setting adjustment.

Variable crushing chamber configurations for adaptation to product requirements.

Ease of maintenance, with low maintenance downtimes.

A high level of operating reliability and process control with the Kubriamatic control system.

Solutions for mobile, semi-mobile or stationary plant requirements. • Peter Berlitz is a project manager and Dr Armin Greune is the global head of standard machines for thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions.

LOAD & HAUL

LOW EMISSION ENGINE TRUCKS DESIGNED FOR MAXIMUM PRODUCTIVITY

K

omatsu’s 63-tonne capacity HD605-8 rigid dump truck offers low emission Tier 4 engines which reduce fuel usage by up to seven per cent on previous models.

Designed for quarrying, construction and smalleR scale mining operations, the truck features the optional Komatsu Traction Control System (KTCS) for optimum traction in all ground conditions, and the exclusive Automatic Retard Speed Control (ARSC) , which maintains control under full load on steep haul roads.

The HD605-8’s engine doesn’t require selective catalytic reduction or diesel exhaust fluid (DEF/AdBlue) to achieve Tier 4 emissions standards, reducing nitrous oxide and particulate matter emissions by 90 per QARTWORK v3.pdf 1 23/08/2019 3:58:53 PM cent on its Tier 3 engine equivalents.

The new engine incorporates an advanced electronic control system that performs high speed processing of all signals from sensors installed in the vehicle, providing total equipment control in all conditions.

Engine condition information is displayed via an on-board network to the cab monitor, providing all necessary data to the operator.

In addition, this data can be accessed and managed via the KOMTRAX telematics remote monitoring system, ensuring owners and fleet managers stay abreast of machine health and maintenance requirements.

Like other Komatsu equipment powered by Tier 4 engines, far more detailed data about engine conditions and operation is monitored and transmitted via KOMTRAX, providing unconstrained visibility into equipment health.

According to Richard Feehely, Komatsu Australia’s national business manager for quarries, the HD605-8 is designed to deliver the safest, most productive and cost-efficient operation across a wide range of conditions.

“Operators have unmatched control and safety in the most difficult conditions through our integrated transmission and braking system – which is recognised as the best in the industry,” he said.

This includes Komatsu’s K-Atomics automatic transmission system with “skipshift” function for smoother operation, fully hydraulic wet multiple-disc brakes and retarder (802kW), the KTCS and the ARSC.• Source: Komatsu Australia

MAINTENANCE

Figure 1. As the centre of the blade wears unevenly, the outer edges create a “smiley face” or “mooning”.

OPTIMISING BELT CLEANER

TENSION FOR MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE While conveyor belt cleaning may seem a tedious, mundane exercise for quarry personnel, if it is done correctly and with the right technologies at their disposal, it can have dividends for an operation’s productivity and cost of ownership.

G

iven the number of conveyor-related accidents that occur during routine maintenance and clean-up, every bulk materials handler has a vested interest in technologies to reduce hazards and prevent injuries.

Seemingly mundane tasks such as adjusting belt cleaners and removing spillage often require workers to be in close proximity to the moving conveyor, where even incidental contact can result in serious injury.

Further, spillage can contribute to the risk of fire by interfering with pulleys and idlers and by providing potential fuel. Even worse, in confined spaces, airborne particles can create the right ingredients for an explosion.

The build-up of fugitive material can occur with surprising speed. As Table 1 illustrates, spillage in an amount equal to just one sugar packet (about four grams) per hour will result in an accumulation of about 700 grams at the end of a week. If the rate of escape is four grams per minute, the accumulation will be more than 45 kilograms per week, or more than two tonnes per year.

If the spillage amounts to just one shovelful per hour (not an uncommon occurrence in some operations), personnel 66

Quarry October 2019

60 MINUTES (1 HOUR)

24 HOURS (1 DAY)

7 DAYS (1 WEEK)

30 DAYS (1 MONTH)

360 DAYS (1 YEAR)

4g

96g

672g

2.9kg

34.6kg

Packet of sugar (4g) per minute

240g

6.2kg

43.7kg

187.2kg

2.2t

Shovelful (9kg) per hour

9kg

216kg

1.5t

6.5t

77.8t

Bucketful (20kg) per hour

20kg

480kg

3.4t

134.4t

172.8t

Shovelful (9kg) per minute

540kg

13t

90.7t

388.8t

4665.6t

FUGITIVE MATERIAL RELEASED

Packet of sugar (4g) per hour

Table 1. Accumulation of fugitive material over time

can expect to have to deal with more than 225kg of fugitive material every day.

Although there are a number of belt cleaning technologies available to conveyor operators, most designs in use today are blade-type units, using a urethane- or metaltipped scraper to remove material from the belt’s surface. These devices typically require an energy source – such as a spring, a compressed air reservoir or a twisted elastomeric element – to hold the cleaning edge against the belt. Because the blade directly contacts the belt, it is subject to abrasive wear and must be regularly adjusted and periodically replaced to maintain effective cleaning performance.

TENSIONING The ability to maintain the proper force required to keep the blade edge against the belt is a key factor in the performance of any cleaning system. Blade-to-belt pressure must be controlled to achieve optimal cleaning with a minimal rate of blade wear.

There is a popular misconception that the harder the cleaner is pressing against the belt, the better it will clean. However, research has shown there is actually an optimum range of blade pressure that will most effectively remove carryback material.

Increasing tension beyond this range raises blade-to-belt friction, thus shortening blade life, increasing belt wear and increasing

power consumption – without improving cleaning performance.

Operating a belt cleaner below the optimum pressure range also delivers less effective cleaning and can actually accelerate blade wear. A belt cleaner lightly touching the belt may appear to be in working order from a distance, whereas in reality, excessive amounts of carryback are being forced between the blade and the belt at high velocity.

This passage of material between the belt and the blade creates channels of uneven wear on the face of the cleaner. As material continues to pass between the blade and the belt, these channels increase in size, rapidly wearing the blade to a jagged edge.

A common source of blade wear that often goes unnoticed – even with a properly installed and adjusted cleaner – is running the belt empty for long periods of time. Small particles embedded in the empty belt’s surface can create an effect like sandpaper, increasing the wear rate of both the blade

Figure 2. Constant cleaning angle and pressure (aka CARP).

and the belt. Even though the cargo may be abrasive, it often has moisture in it that serves as a lubricant and coolant.

Another potential source of wear is when the cleaner blade is wider than the material flow, causing the outside portion of the

cleaning blade to hold the centre section of the blade away from the belt. As a result, carryback can flow between the belt and the worn area of the blade, accelerating wear on this centre section. Eventually, the process creates a curved wear pattern sometimes

MAINTENANCE

referred to as a “smiley face” or “mooning” (Figure 1, page 66).

As urethane cleaner blades wear, the surface area of the blade touching the belt increases. This causes a reduction in blade-to-belt pressure and a corresponding decline in cleaner efficiency. Therefore, most mechanically tensioned systems require periodic adjustment (re-tensioning) to deliver the consistent pressure needed for effective carryback removal.

To overcome the problem of the blade angle changing as the blade wears, a radial-adjusted belt cleaner can be designed with a specially engineered curved blade, known as “CARP”, for constant angle radial pressure (Figure 2, page 67). With this innovative design, changes in contact angle and surface area are minimised as the blade wears, helping to maintain its effectiveness throughout the cleaner’s service life.

AIR TENSIONING New air-powered tensioning systems are automated for precise monitoring

Figure 3. Sensors can be used to back the blade away during stoppages or when running empty.

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SOLVE YOUR MATERIAL FLOW PROBLEMS and tensioning throughout all stages of blade life, reducing the labour typically required to maintain optimum blade pressure and extending the service life of both the belt and the cleaner.

Equipped with sensors to confirm the belt is loaded and running, the devices automatically back the blade away during stoppages or when the conveyor is running empty, minimising unnecessary wear to both the belt and cleaner (Figure 3, opposite). The result is consistently correct blade tension, with reduced power demand on start-up, all managed without operator intervention. For locations lacking convenient power access, one self-contained design uses the moving conveyor to generate its own electricity, which powers a small air compressor to maintain optimum blade pressure at all times.

Even the best designed and most efficient of mechanical belt cleaning systems require periodic maintenance and/or adjustment, or performance will deteriorate over time. Proper tensioning of belt cleaning systems minimises wear on the belt and cleaner blades, helping to prevent damage and ensure efficient cleaning action.

Belt cleaners must be engineered for durability and simple maintenance, and conveyors should be designed to enable easy service, including required clearances for access (Figure 4). Service chores that are straightforward and “worker-friendly� are more likely to be performed on a consistent basis.

The use of factory-trained and certified specialty contractors can also help ensure belt cleaner maintenance is done properly, and on an appropriate schedule. Further, experienced service technicians often notice other developing system or component problems that can be avoided if they are addressed before a catastrophic failure occurs, helping conveyor operators avoid potential equipment damage and expensive unplanned downtime.

By setting the cleaning goal necessary for each individual operation and purchasing a system adequate for those conditions, it is possible to achieve carryback control and yet obtain long life from belt cleaners. The bottom line is that properly installed and adjusted belt cleaners help minimise carryback and spillage, reducing risk and overall operating costs. • Source: Martin Engineering Australia

CALL THE EXPERTS IN VIBRATION Figure 4. Ease of service should be a key element in any belt cleaner tensioning system.

We sell solutions, not just products Phone (03) 9800 6777 or visit enmin.com.au

IQA AWARDS

Lam Tei Quarry is the last active site in Hong Kong.

STUDY TOUR PROVIDES NEW INSIGHTS INTO SUSTAINABILITY, REPURPOSING In 2017 Stephen Raines received the IQA’s Excellence in Innovation Award. This entitled him to further his professional development abroad. Raines recalls the highlights of his study tour earlier this year – from the last working site in Hong Kong to Shanghai’s ‘groundscraper’ hotel.

I

was the recipient of the IQA’s 2017 Excellence in Innovation award. It was sponsored by Trimble Loadrite, which provided $5000 towards a study tour.

As I have participated in the extractive industries for most of my working life, my particular interest is in minimising the impact of mining activities on the host community and in the rehabilitation and reuse of end of life quarries. At the time of receiving the award I was working for Hanson Kulnura Quarry and I reside in the Mountain Districts, close to the site.

As an active member of my neighbourhood, I am often made aware of the impacts of mining on a community. My home is in an area with the highest concentration of quarries anywhere in Australia. The opportunity to visit sites with “industry best practice” in Hong Kong and southern China and the Shimao Wonderland InterContinental Hotel, which is exemplary of reuse and rehabilitation, is aligned with my particular areas of interest.

LAST ACTIVE SITE We were hosted in Hong Kong by the Institute of Quarrying’s Hong Kong branch. On 26 February we attended the head office of K Wah Construction Materials Ltd at Skyline Tower, Kowloon. The meeting was attended

by Chan Hong Man (Alliance Construction Materials Ltd), Raymond Ng (Multi-Way), Ross 70

Quarry October 2019

Rehabilitation of Lam Tei is being rolled out sequentially and many people are being employed for the task.

Chow (Alliance Construction Materials Ltd) and Ng Heong Chen (K Wah Construction Materials). We enjoyed a dim sum (the Cantonese term for yum cha) lunch with our hosts and were provided with an itinerary for site visits prepared by Tracy Tsoi.

The next day, on 27 February, we toured the Lam Tei Quarry, the last working site in Hong Kong. No new quarries are permitted in Hong Kong. It produces 30 per cent of the aggregates for the Hong Kong market. Metso crushers are used to produce about one million tonnes (mt) of aggregate per year.

The site is also occupied by a batching plant and was very busy. Rehabilitation of the site is

being rolled out sequentially. Due to the “no new mines” policy in Hong Kong, attracting a quarrying workforce has become problematic and a majority of the workforce is over the age of 50. The last active quarry also utilises Hong Kong’s scarce natural resources by receiving surplus rock from local construction sites and processing it into aggregates.

The rehabilitation at Lam Tei is extensive and many people are employed specifically for the task. A computerised warning system is used and the results are commendable. The quarry has three years left to run and the benefit of incurring the cost of rehabilitation during the revenue period was emphasised by our hosts.

As part of its rehabilitation plan, Lam Tei Quarry’s final landform will be lowered by 20 metres and will blend with the surrounding environment. It will have a selfsustaining ecosystem.

En route to Lam Tei, we passed the famous Anderson Road Quarry that is now a huge apartment precinct. A condition of its approval was that it was handed over as a site ready for development.

BEST PRACTICE INNOVATIONS On 28 February, we drove across the border to China to visit the Hui Dong Quarry, at Huizhou in the industrial Pearl River Delta region in central Guangdong province. The region is becoming gentrified with wealthy citizens from northern China purchasing holiday apartments to escape the winter.

A haul road snakes through the enormous pit at Hui Dong Quarry.

The sheer volume of construction materials consumed in China is impressive. The country respectively relies on 25mt of limestone and 18.7 billion tonnes of aggregate per annum, and constitutes about 65 per cent of the world’s cement production and 55 per cent of its steel production.

Hui Dong Quarry is exemplary of modern quarrying in China. The very onerous conditions now imposed on quarries in China are challenging. We were joined on the tour by Li Kuen (Bingyang County Fu Neng Mining Co Ltd), a quarry owner/operator who has been given a timeframe for compliance to the new

The hosts at Hui Dong Quarry provided an excellent overview of the quarry plan.

EXCELLENCE IN INNOVATION AWARD The IQA’s Excellence in Innovation Award, sponsored by Trimble Loadrite, recognises an individual’s contribution to excellence and innovation in the quarrying industry. The contribution can be for innovation in design, production, operations, automation, plant design, maintenance or processes as a single event, or for a longer-term contribution.

Applications are judged for originality, consultation, personal involvement level, transferability, evidence of a measured outcome, impact or influence and costeffectiveness.

Stephen Raines and his team at Hanson Kulnura Quarry won the award for developing a solution - the Reverse Rite Laser Light - to improve the loadout practices in dim light and at night. The laser module was used to assist haul truck operators with aligning haul trucks to the face front-end loader. It would cast a bright green line on the ground that would enable the trucks to reverse along a clearly visible line, while reducing the need for the front-end loader operator to make movements to dump the bucket. The module helped to reduce the load and haul cycle from 18 to 16 minutes, enabled each haul driver to complete up to 3.5 round trip loads per hour and enabled Hanson Kulnura to meet its goal of crushing between 8000 and 10,000 tonnes of material every 24 hours.

Dale Cameron, the Australian regional manager of Trimble Aggregates & Onboard Weighing, said his company was proud of

Stephen Raines (left) receives the Excellence in Innovation Award from Dale Cameron, the Australian regional manager of Trimble Aggregates & Onboard Weighing.

its long association with the IQA, its ongoing sponsorship of the Excellence in Innovation Award and the opportunity to further Stephen Raines’ professional development.

“We are committed to supporting the Australian quarry sector through the development of technology to improve productivity, site visibility and ultimately, profitability,” he said.

“Innovation in our industry helps to define an evolving ‘best practice’ and remains an essential component to the long-term sustainability and profitability of the business in Australia.

“The Innovation Award seeks to recognise companies and individuals that continue to embrace innovation and challenge traditional methods of production, operation and

The Reverse Rite Laser Light casts a bright green line on the ground like a marked out parking spot, guiding new operators.

rehabilitation. We are excited to provide industry professionals like Stephen with the opportunity to travel the globe and gain first-hand experience of the industry and techniques used abroad.”

The next recipient of the Excellence in Innovation Award will be announced at the IQA’s annual conference in Geelong from 1 to 3 October.

Quarry October 2019 71

IQA AWARDS

The crushing process at Hui Dong Quarry is done under a dome with state of the art dust suppressants.

“Real time” monitoring could send data to regulatory authorities about dust and noise levels.

Construction materials are transported by barge from Huizou to Hong Kong daily.

The 377-room ‘groundscraper’ has been built within an 88m deep abandoned quarry.

The hotel structure is renowned for its defiance of gravity, positioned against the former quarry face.

conditions and was at Hui Dong Quarry to inspect the benchmark principles of new dust, noise and amenity regulations.

Hui Dong Quarry has “real time” monitoring that can directly notify the EPA in China of dust and noise levels. The quarry manager is informed via an app on his phone and responds immediately to remedy any elevated levels of dust and noise.

The crushing process at the quarry occurs

under a dome with state of the art dust suppressant initiatives. Man-made trees of steel and polymer line the roadside to improve the amenity of the quarry. Ng Heong Chen (of K Wah Construction Materials) was very proud of this development and he admits that he has raised the bar high for other participants in the quarrying industry.

The dust suppression technique includes crushers under domes, misting on covered

72

Quarry October 2019

elevators, covered stockpiles and covered work areas. When you stand within metres of a working crusher, the dust is negligible and it is difficult to believe you are in a quarry.

The noise was baffled and it successfully minimised the noise to comply with very stringent noise regulations.

Transportation of the construction materials is on an almost unimaginable scale. Barges with a 5000-tonne capacity, and carrying payloads of 3000 tonnes per hour, are used to transport the materials from Huizhou to Hong Kong.

Thirteen barges, crewed by 10 to 12 people, run continuously every day, with each completing an eight- to 10-hour turnaround for the 80km trip from Huizou to Hong Kong.

The hosts at Hui Dong Quarry provided an excellent overview of the modern quarrying industry in China and were generous with their time.

‘QUARRY WONDERLAND’ We completed an inbound tour of China privately before undertaking the second stage of the study tour visiting an extreme quarry transformation. The Australian extractive industry sector is relatively young and I am certain the future will provide many opportunities for inventive reuse and rehabilitation.

I was privileged to visit a $USD555 million ($AUD818 million) project – the Shimao Wonderland InterContinental Hotel in Shanghai, which has been built within an 88m deep abandoned quarry. It was the highlight of the trip.

A documentary film of the vision, design and implementation of the project, which took 12 years to complete, is on a continuous loop in the foyer of the hotel and three of the ex-quarry workers provided some of the commentary.

The 377-room hotel, aptly labelled a “groundscraper”, has healed a wound on the landscape and allowed closure on a sad period in history for the people of Shanghai.

The quarry was mined during Japanese occupation in the 1930s and the work conditions were harsh.

The abandoned quarry was known as a scar, or an open wound, and the community has rejoiced at the transformation.

The hotel structure is renowned for being a “fight against gravity”. It is also purported to be the world’s first underground hotel, although I would challenge that assertion, as there is an underground hotel in Coober Pedy, South Australia.

The Shimao Wonderland InterContinental Hotel generates its own power using

geothermal and solar energy and is the “greenest” hotel ever built. It is a destination hotel and has an amusement park included in the precinct.

Two levels of the hotel are underwater and all the rooms have artificial intelligence so you can ask for the curtains to be opened or the lights to be turned on – provided you are fluent in the local language!

The resort had only been open for two months at the time of our visit and the general manager told us it was enjoying 80 per cent occupancy. Room prices range from $USD600 to $USD1000 ($AUD884 to $AUD1473 per night) – more than four times the rates of other six-star hotels in China.

It seems the quote from the famous movie Field of Dreams – “If you build it, they will come!” - has validated the concept of The Law of Attraction.

China’s construction industry seems limitless and it was heartening to see that it can be progressed in a manner that has positive impacts for the community but treats the environment seriously. •

The entrance to Shimao Wonderland – effectively the roof of a six-star hotel in a quarry void.

The Shimao Wonderland InterContinental Hotel, outside of Shanghai, is a spectacular sight by night.

SMART BUSINESS

UNRAVELLING THE ESSENTIALS OF CONVERSATIONAL INTELLIGENCE

In this third feature on modern leadership – in which he has explored management and emotional intelligence – Mike Cameron explains why conversational intelligence is vital to the way you successfully run your operations and conduct business with internal and external stakeholders.

C

onversational intelligence (C-IQ) is the key to success in life and business.

It’s not about how smart you are, but how open you are to learn new and effective powerful conversational rituals that prime the brain for trust, partnership, and mutual success.

C-IQ is the hardwired ability in all humans to connect, engage and navigate with others.

It is the most important intelligence that gets better when we do it together.

While the other types of intelligence are more I-centric in nature, C-IQ is a co-creative effort that is all about closing the gaps between your reality and mine.

As such, it can yield improved business results and create a framework for enhancing relationships and partnerships, releasing new energy for growth and transformation.

For many, it may be a new concept to think that what we hold in our head – as our reality – is not necessarily what others see.

Each of us maps the world through our experiences, which creates our unique meaning and the one we share with others.

Proficiency in C-IQ is an organisation’s ability to communicate in ways that create a shared concept of reality.

The following tips are “conversational essentials” from author and organisational anthropologist Judith E Glaser’s amazing body of work and her book Conversational Intelligence.1

OPEN TO INFLUENCE Being open to influence is to connect without judgment, to engage and listen to what others are saying and even thinking, rather than preparing for what we want to say next (Figure 1).

Think of this “essential” as the overarching mindset and attitude we cultivate to really utilise the other conversational essentials in a masterful and consistent way. When we are open to influence, we are connecting without judgment. We are engaging and listening 74

Quarry October 2019

1. Transparency 2. Relationship 3. Understanding 4. Shared success 5. Truth telling

Figure 1. The C-IQ dashboard shows the levels of trust that must be earned between parties if they are to successfully work as co-creators.

to what others are saying and even thinking rather than preparing for what we want to say next. When coaching or working with others, we cultivate an open mindset. We embody curiosity and we are open to deeply hearing what others are saying without filtering it through our own agenda. Most of all we are open to changing our mind.

PRIME FOR TRUST Priming for trust is to create a healthy mental, emotional and conversational environment that activates higher levels of partnering.

Think of this “essential” as the foundation of C-IQ. Trust occurs when we believe others will deliver on their promises. Distrust occurs when we doubt others are telling the truth and assume they will not deliver on their promises.

When we trust others, we experience higher levels of oxytocin, a neurotransmitter that creates higher levels of bonding and mutual success. When we distrust others, we experience higher levels of cortisol, which closes down our brain and relationship with others. Priming for trust enables us to work as partners and opens us up to achieve higher levels of success with others.

Trust involves actively bringing the numerous behaviours into your interactions with others.

Trust lives in the pre-frontal cortex, and

= TRUST

distrust lives in the primitive and limbic brain. When you prime for “TRUST”, you create a healthy mental, emotional and conversational environment that activates higher levels of partnering. When trust exists, your conversations with others produce more openness, candour, courage and caring.

Reflect on the following ways you can evaluate trust and co-creation: • How can I create a safe environment?

• Can I be more transparent about desired outcomes and shared threats that may stand in the way?

• What actions, thoughts or words will enable the other person to shift from protect to partner?

• How can I establish rapport?

• How can I establish a “power with others” context?

• What can we say to reduce conflict and open a view of what mutual success looks like?

• How can I approach my client (colleague or employee) with caring, courage and candour?

• Can we identify “reality gaps”, and stay open to test assumptions?

• Can I/we stay in “share and discover” – ie listen to connect and be open to change our minds?

ASKING INQUISITIVE QUESTIONS To ask questions for which you/we have no answers is to be in a mindset of discovery, and to co-create a space of sharing and discovering.

Think of asking questions for which you have no answers as a way of exploring beyond what you already know to what you

yourself up to connect to the other person’s aspirations and “view of the world” in a non-judgmental way. What are their needs and interests? How can you connect to their world?

don’t know. Too often we ask questions for which we think we already have answers, guiding people towards where we want them to go. Others may consider this as “asking leading questions” – and this can be interpreted as manipulation, which puts people on guard, and activates our distrust networks. When we ask questions for which we have no answer, we are in a mindset of discovery and others perceive this as inquisitive, curious and even caring, which puts people in a co-creating, trusting and receptive state of mind. When you and others ask questions for which you have no answers, you are co-creating a space for “sharing and discovering”, which elevates your ability to co-create and partner with others.

LISTENING TO CONNECT Listening to connect, not judge, confirm or reject is to focus attention on the other person, ie opening yourself up to connect to the other person’s aspiration and “view of the world” in a non-judgmental way.

Listening to connect – not judge, confirm or reject – activates partnering. Too often we listen to understand, which is more about listening to confirm what you already know.

Listening to connect is about focusing your attention on the other person: what are they trying to say? What are they thinking? What are they hoping you will help them explore?

Listening to connect is about opening

SUSTAINING CONVERSATIONAL AGILITY To sustain conversational agility is to move in and out of conversations with ease and agility.

It creates a new “conversational space” that elevates trust and invites wisdom and insight to emerge.

Conversational agility enables us to move in and out of conversations with ease and agility.

When a conflict is brewing, or you see a better way to frame the conversation, you can interrupt the pattern by reframing, refocusing and redirecting. Conversational agility enables people to create a new “conversational space” that facilitates wisdom and insight to emerge.

For example, you can use reframing to set a new context for a situation from “difficult to different”. For refocusing, you can move a conversation from “looking at the situation as a problem, to looking at it as an opportunity”.

For redirecting, you can direct people to “aspirations, instead of problems”. Each one of these agility skills can totally change a conversation from “low trust to elevated trust”.

‘DOUBLE CLICKING’ To uncover and explore what is in the other person’s mind is to gain clarity and a deeper

understanding of others’ perspectives, their deeply held beliefs and their unique points of view.

“Double clicking” is a great tool to use with all the other essentials. When we double click, we are uncovering and exploring what is in the other person’s mind. Double clicking is about “opening the deeper connections” that are linked deeply in others’ minds.

Asking “What does that mean to you?” or “How do you envision the next steps?” are very powerful questions to deepen your conversation.

By double clicking you can better understand how others see the world. You gain clarity and understanding of what triggers others and also gain a deeper understanding of others’ perspectives, their deeply held beliefs, and their unique points of view.

Understanding the importance of effective communication – as a key management competency – is crucial, but mastering and applying the essential fundamentals of C-IQ is the key to success in the leadership role. • Mike Cameron is an IQA member and an executive coach for Strategically Yours.

Email mike@strategically.com.au or visit strategically.com.au Endnote 1. Glaser JE. Conversational intelligence: How great leaders build trust and get extraordinary results.

Routledge, First Edition, 2016. ISBN-10: 1629561436; ISBN-13: 978-1629561431.

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SMART BUSINESS

WHAT DO COMIC BOOKS

AND COMPLIANCE HAVE IN COMMON? With the amount of ‘red tape’ involved in securing approvals for construction projects – and in turn ensuring that proponents are in compliance – John Callaghan asks if it would be simpler if all contracts were translated into pictures, not words.

Y

ou’ve won the bid to design a piece of infrastructure set to change how quickly commuters get to work. It’s a major project and your designs are heralded as extraordinary. You can’t wait to see the end product come to life – but wait you’ll have to, and so will the city! The design development and approval procedures, with its changes, recommendations and further compliance reviews, changes and recommendations, is a “spaghetti bowl” of processes that, despite the project’s purpose, is everything but quick.

Sound familiar?

We want to ensure excellence and accountability, yet all these checkpoints, wrapped up in complex and challenging contractual and commercial frameworks can end up making one big rabbit hole – complicated and congested at best. In today’s complex world of procurement, it seems at times we can build a bridge quicker than we can design one.

On the flip side, given our species’ track record of environmental flagrancy and the ever increasing loss of business trust, someone has to be the gatekeeper and assure the voiceless are spoken for.

Somewhere economic growth has to be filtered through the sieve of environmental and social impact. Somehow we have to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself, and the essential checks and balances hold business at bay. After all, it’s not much use closing the gate after the horse has bolted.

But what if there was another way? Rather than overhauling the current systems, how about redesigning them? Take contracts as an example. Imagine if they were reduced to their core principles and read like comic strips, rather than telephone books.

Imagine if they were written to encourage the behaviours we so desperately need to get our economies moving (such as innovation and creativity) instead of a litany of punitive actions that will befall those who dare suggest a change to their terms for the better.

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Would it be much simpler if contracts were in picture form rather than the written word?

Think of what could be unleashed if contracts balanced our efforts and didn’t bottleneck them. We may end up proving that, even in the complex world of projects, less is still more.

PROCESS NIGHTMARE Procurement and design processes can often feel like the Encyclopaedia Britannica of rules and roadblocks – smothered in fingerprints, with far too many fingers in the pie. They are typically a convoluted approval process of multiple gatekeepers that cause delays – in part from lack of clarity of roles and responsibilities, but more around multiple hurdles to jump for multiple gatekeepers.

In a world where the common vernacular is “move fast”, the time taken to realise a project or initiative often means it runs the risk of being out of date by the time it hits the starting blocks. Being first to get a foothold and stake your claim on the “next big thing” is essential for success – yet project approvals and complex procurement processes work in the opposite way. This not only raises the

cost for delivering the infrastructure but it raises the risk of running late and putting a dampener on the very economic activity that revenue-strapped governments are so desperately needing to stimulate.

Too often, agreements for major projects are too complicated for their own good.

Those who develop the agreement often lose sight of the original purpose and intent of the project and when it’s written to focus on penalties for lack of compliance, the appetite for innovating quickly becomes zero.

NEVER TOO OLD …

Alternatively, imagine if contracts could be understood in intimate detail, including their intent. Imagine if your four-year-old son or daughter could make sense of one and actually enjoyed reading it. Imagine if the contract encouraged innovative behaviour and ideas to save time and money and that those ideas could come from anyone on the project?

Believe it or not, it may be possible to take 300 pages of penalties and liabilities, of

indemnifications and risk transference and distill them into a mere handful of pictures that everyone can understand. They wouldn’t require a magnifying glass to read them; in fact, there would be no words.

Pictorial and to the point, these contracts would clearly indicate what is expected from all parties involved. No juris doctors needed; even our own kids could understand the take away. These comic strip contracts could be smart contracts as well, ensuring companies receive payment after meeting their predetermined conditions set on the Ethereum platform.

From where you’re sitting now, this level of red tape reductionism may seem impossible.

But Professor Camilla Andersen from the University of Western Australia believes it can be done, and it should be done. Andersen says: “I think what we are seeing is that we’re making law more approachable, we’re making it clearer. The idea is to reduce conflict and to focus more on driving behaviour rather than focusing on creating a legally binding instrument.”

At the IQA/CCAA/DNRME Queensland health and safety conference in June, delegates each received a summary in cartoon form from illustrator Brett Bower recapping the key messages of each session.

Lawyer Robert de Rooy, who worked with artists to reduce the South African Employment Law contract to cartoons and used the cartoon concept to support more than 650 contracts for fruit pickers, reports this approach saw the on-boarding of employees reduced from four hours to 45 minutes and conflicts at the end of the season to zero.

Of course, the danger is you can lose some nuances of the contract when translating compliance into simple pictures. But this tension leaves companies to ask the healthy questions: “What is the most important

QUARRIES • CIVIL • MINING

behaviour we want to address? And what can we afford to leave out in the larger scale of things?”

Ultimately, we all want the same thing – but how we get there needs to be reimagined.

The business world today is overwhelmingly complex. But our solutions, in the face of this complexity, need to stay simple. Perhaps comic books and compliance have more in common than we think! • John Callaghan is the executive director and the global director of major projects at the Aurecon Group, based in Sydney.

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IQA FELLOWS & HONORARY FELLOWS The IQA acknowledges its Honorary Fellows and Fellows. Honorary Fellows are members who have given exceptional service to the quarrying industry and the IQA. Fellows are members who have attained significant experience, qualifications and time within the quarrying industry.

These honours are the IQA’s highest form of recognition.

HONORARY FELLOWS Basil Cocks Rob Corkery Peter Duffy Danny Duke Ken Fletcher Greg Goodsir Sam Grima Bob Jones David Kershaw David Lane John Malempre Graeme Martin Bruce Neumann Kevin Quon Fred Reid Rob Robson Graham Smith Ian Stainton Dennis Staley Garry Utmar Lloyd Veal

VIC NSW SA NSW ACT NSW VIC VIC QLD WA VIC VIC QLD TAS QLD NSW TAS NSW QLD VIC NSW

FELLOWS James Adriaansz Brad Allman Peter Ambrose Michael Anderson Blake Ardrey Gordon Atkinson Craig Banthorpe Kevan Barrie Wayne Beattie Rob Bell Michael Benic Adam Betterman Goetz Bickert John Blake Mitchell Bland Richard Bolton David Bolton Trevor Bovell Shane Braddy Andrew Brodbeck Patrice Brown Luke Brown Mick Bullock Shane Burton Steve Butcher Mike Cameron Mark Campbell Mike Canny Allan Carr

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NSW NSW QLD VIC QLD NSW VIC SA NSW QLD NSW SA NSW OS** NSW NSW NSW WA VIC NSW QLD VIC NSW NSW NSW VIC NSW SA QLD

Quarry October 2019

Kyle Caruana Patrick Cashmore Scott Chalmers Duncan Chalmers Darren Champion Stan Cheeseman Dave Cilento Michael Close George Constantinou Chris Cox Ray Crellin Tony Cross James Cuthbert Paul Dalton Carlson Daniels Ross Davidson Craig Dawson Ron Delaney Bill Delaney Steven Della Bona Diss Dissanayake Ion Dumitru Darren Dunn Damian Eastman Paul Eimbrodt Deon Esterhuizen Reno Fabretto John Fahey Hermann Fasching Greg Fieldwick Mitchell Flor Malcolm Frost John Gardiner Andrew Geue Richard Godson Phillip Goode Alan Graham Dugald Gray Graham Greig Ron Griffey Geoff Hall Chris Hamilton Bob Handley James Hankins Matt Hardy Phillip Harris Michael Harvey Sam Hatchard Bill Hayes Shaun Henderson Ben Henry Darren Herdman Clayton Hill Michael Holz Brett Hoyle

QLD WA NSW NSW SA WA NSW SA OS* VIC VIC QLD QLD VIC WA NSW NSW SA WA WA QLD NSW QLD VIC NSW QLD QLD QLD QLD TAS QLD NSW NSW SA NSW QLD QLD QLD WA QLD VIC NSW WA NSW WA WA SA QLD QLD OS* SA NSW QLD NSW QLD

Ricky Jackson Brett Jarvis Simon Jeffery Graeme Jones David Jones Kai Kane Bernie Kavanagh Wayne Kelly Andrew Kemeny Tom Kendall Paul Kerr Ronald Kerr Scott Lancaster Chris Landry Kevin Larcombe Andrew Law Peter Lawlor Ian Laws Scott Lean Richard Lightfoot Ken Little Frank Lourey Walter Lukic Andrew Lyell John MacDonald Jason MacDonald Phillip Mackenzie Declan Mackle Kelly Manning Gavin Markwell Terry Martin Wes Martini Jeffrey Mathrick Adrian McLean Tim Meehan Don Miller Tim Millis John Mitas Rob Moffitt Ferdinando Moschini Stephen Mossie Kevin Munday Simon Murcott Bob Murphy Daniel Naismith Basil Natoli Reece Naylor Thomson Ndhlovu Mike Newcombe Vernon Newton Wes Nichols Christopher Nixon Karen Normanton Adam Norton Campbell Nunn

VIC NSW QLD VIC VIC QLD SA NSW NSW WA QLD VIC NSW NSW NSW WA NSW WA VIC VIC SA NSW WA NSW QLD NSW QLD QLD SA QLD NSW WA VIC OS* NSW VIC OS* VIC TAS VIC NSW QLD NSW NSW WA VIC QLD QLD NSW WA QLD NSW QLD QLD WA

Terry Oakes-Ash Paul O’Brien Geoffrey Oldroyd Ray Osborn Mick O’Sullivan Ross Outen Aidan Owens David Pallot David Parker Iain Paterson Tim Perkins Tony Pignat Chris Pike Mike Pilcher Eddie Plume Adrian Preece Greg Price Gordon Price Garry Price Chris Prowse Chris Rakena David Ramage Ranjit Ratilal Don Reed Michael Renfree Rob Rhodes Alan Richards Ian Ridoutt Ivo Rigoni Michael Rixon Peter Roberts Alan Robertson Brad Rooney James Rowe Jason Rudge Greg Runge Kane Salisbury Kelvin Sargent Tony Savia Philip Schacht Ross Schapel Leigh Schiller Folker Schilling Angus Shedden Matthew Shinners Graham Shorten David Simpson Rob Sloman Raymond Smith Lionel Smith David Smith Warwick Smyth Rob Snowden Garth Stacey John Stanton

NSW VIC QLD QLD QLD VIC QLD VIC QLD NSW WA WA NSW TAS WA NSW NSW NSW WA VIC QLD VIC VIC TAS VIC WA VIC QLD VIC NSW NSW QLD VIC SA VIC QLD SA VIC NSW NSW TAS NSW WA NSW VIC QLD NSW QLD NSW QLD QLD QLD QLD NSW TAS

Aaron Steinert Lindsay Stephens Peter Stitt Leigh Street Shine Summerfield Joe Sweet Brad Tallon William Taylor Graham Terrey Chris Terry Mary Thompson Greg Thomson Paul Timmins Richard Tomkins Rikki Toms Ian Turnbull Terry Tye Anthony Van Duyn Denis Wagner Paul Walker Michael Walton Tony Ward Bob Ware Peter Watts Royden Webb Jackie Webster Geoff West Paul West Alan Wilkins John Wilkinson Dallas Wilkinson Michael Williams Chris Wilson Russel Wilson Catherine Wood Graeme Woodruff Chris Wulf

QLD WA NSW VIC NSW WA QLD QLD NSW TAS VIC NSW NSW NSW VIC VIC WA WA QLD NSW NSW SA QLD NSW VIC VIC NSW QLD VIC ACT NSW SA QLD QLD VIC VIC TAS

*OS = Overseas

2019 IQA EVENTS

The Institute of Quarrying Australia

ACT BRANCH

CENTRAL QUEENSLAND SUB-BRANCH

VICTORIAN SUB-BRANCH

15 Nov

23 Oct Safety and Health Seminar, Rockhampton

21 Nov

NORTH QUEENSLAND BRANCH

22 Nov Annual golf day, Joondalup Resort

Dinner meeting

NSW BRANCH 23 Oct Sixth Annual Quarries and Concrete Seminar

30 Nov Races day/Christmas function (Venue TBA)

8 Oct Technical and dinner meeting, Townsville 30 Oct Technical and dinner meeting, Cairns 15 Nov Christmas Party, Townsville

QUEENSLAND BRANCH

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN BRANCH

15 Nov

8 Nov

NSW ILLAWARRA SUB-BRANCH

Lunch meeting, Brisbane

Dinner meeting, Adelaide

Dinner meeting, Bendigo

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN BRANCH

All dates and venues for the above branches are correct at time of press. Not all branches had confirmed their activities/ dates. For further information about IQA branch activities, contact your local branch representative (see IQA branch contacts on page 81) or visit quarry.com.au

PDP WORKSHOPS & EVENTS To register for the courses below and for further information, visit: quarry.com.au/Education/ProfessionalDevelopmentProgramsCalendar.aspx

IQM CONEX 2019 Palm Garden Hotel Malaysia 15-16 October, 2019 The theme of the Institute of Quarrying Malaysia’s (IQM) annual conference and exhibition is “Innovative Quarrying Technology – Industry 4.0 (IQTech 4.0)”. It recognises that the quantum leap into the era of Industry 4.0 (cyber-physical systems) will require the quarrying industry worldwide to stay competitive and to evolve quickly through cutting edge knowledge, skills and innovative practices. The role of Industry 4.0 in the quarrying application will be explored and discussed across a range of presentations, including smart equipment manufacturing, the latest trends in rock fragmentation/blasting, smart and autonomous features in transportation, and cyber-security risks and safety precautions in data management. For more information, contact the IQM secretariat, tel 60 3 8062 4194, mobile 60 12 219 7519, email nirmala@iqm.com.my or visit iqm.com.my/news&events.htm

PRINCIPLES OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND RESPONSE WPDP 25 October, 2019 All Australian and New Zealand quarrying legislation either implies or specifies that quarrying operations must have a plan to respond to emergency situations. Those plans must be appropriately comprehensive, resourced, tested and updated. This webinar is designed to introduce principles and methodologies of quarry emergency planning and response, including definitions, interpretations and legislative requirements and all aspects of emergency management and response, including planning, resourcing, testing, reviewing and updating. It is suitable for quarry managers, supervisors, leading hands and other employees with responsibilities for the planning and management of emergencies.

Quarry October 2019 79

IQA NEWS Annual General Meeting Dugald Gray FIQ was MC for the branch’s AGM. Outgoing branch chair Rob Sloman presented a comprehensive report on the branch’s activities in the past 12 months. He thanked the branch committee for its support throughout the year, before all positions were declared vacant. The following members were elected to the incoming branch committee:

New blood: Incoming branch chair David Smith (right) and deputy chair Anita Waihi.

• Chairman: David Smith, Holcim.

• Deputy chair: Anita Waihi, Metso.

• Treasurer/secretary: Mike Cooper, MD Cooper Consulting.

• Branch committee members: Darko Cvitanovic, Karen Normanton, Rob Sloman, Clayton Hill, Rob Payne, Russel Wilson, Carl Morandy, Alec Harries, Ajith (Diss) Dissanayake, Paul Soden, Jason Egan, Rebecca Holman.

President Clayton Hill presented Rob with a trophy in gratitude for his leadership in the past three years. David Smith also thanked Rob, and welcomed the new branch committee.

There are two more meetings for the Queensland branch this year: • The Central Queensland safety and health seminar in Rockhampton on 23 October.

• A technical/lunch meeting in Brisbane on 15 November.

For more information, contact the Queensland branch secretariat, tel 0419 782 688 or email qld-admin@quarry.com.au

Outgoing Queensland branch chair Rob Sloman received this trophy for his dedication in the past three years.

QUEENSLAND BRANCH NEWS Technical/Dinner Meeting, Brisbane Joel Fletcher from Scope Engineering, a Queensland branch premium supporter, presented on crushing plant design at the technical meeting in Brisbane on 7 August.

Ben Moke, the Australia, Pacific and Asia vice president of GroundProbe, also presented on slope stability monitoring, utilising radar and laser monitoring technologies to increase safety and productivity outcomes.

GroundProbe, part of Orica Group, is a manufacturer/supplier of slope stability radar technologies. From origins as a University of Queensland PhD project, GroundProbe has grown rapidly into a provider of geotechnical monitoring tools. Its technologies have detected hundreds of wall failures which have helped some of the world’s largest mining producers to better manage risk and improve productivity outcomes.

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Quarry October 2019

NORTH QUEENSLAND BRANCH NEWS Technical Meeting/AGM, Townsville The technical meeting and annual general meeting on 13 August was sponsored

by Sensortronic, which presented on the developments and applications of weighing and inspection within the quarrying industry.

QSolutions Group presented on the awareness and legislative requirements for respirable crystalline silica and the variance between qualitative and quantitative personal testing of respiratory protection equipment.

The branch welcomed Clancy Mackaway and Chris Wake from the Queensland Department of Environment and Science for the keynote technical presentation.

They discussed how the department is structured to support assessment and compliance to the extractive resources sector, the services and guidance available for operators and the expectations of the department in a disaster event.

Clancy and Chris also shared the statistics for the North Queensland region on extractive

The Townsville meeting featured keynote presentations from Clancy Mackaway and Chris Wake.

permits, inspections and compliance outcomes, plus outlined the regulatory strategy going forward. This includes a compliance focus on erosion and sediment control, water management, rehabilitation, and community and industry engagement. They also discussed the technological advances in compliance capability and monitoring, including use of drones and remote sensing.

At the AGM, the new branch committee was inducted as follows: • Chairman: Sam Hatchard, Boral (reelected).

• Deputy chair: Tim Lowy, Honeycombes (re-elected).

• Treasurer/Secretary: Bradley Hamilton, Fulton Hogan (re-elected).

• Branch committee members: Darren Caddy, Greg Rains, Greg Green.

Sam thanked the committee’s outgoing members for their service, and the ongoing assistance of Jennifer Milward. He also acknowledged the branch’s premium supporters: Markwell Group, Impact Drill & Blast, Komatsu, Hastings Deering, and Ritchie Bros Auctioneers.

There are three more meetings for the North Queensland branch this year: • A technical/dinner meeting in Townsville on 8 October.

• A technical/dinner meeting in Cairns on 30 October.

• A Christmas party in Townsville on 15 November.

For more information, contact the Queensland branch secretariat, tel 0419 782 688 or email qld-admin@quarry.com.au

By Jennifer Milward

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN BRANCH NEWS Industry Breakfast Seminar The SA branch held its second industry breakfast seminar to continue a novel

The Institute of Quarrying Australia

an insight into their growing family business – from its inception to its current status as a highly regarded regional country quarry operator, concrete supplier and contractor.

approach for members, suppliers and sponsors. This was initiated to enable MAQOHSC, the Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) and SafeWork SA to brief members on current industry related issues.

Caroline Andrews (DEM) provided some helpful tips for understanding the interaction between the Planning Act and the Mining Act and what to consider when undertaking development within mining tenements.

Development of infrastructure such as crib rooms, concrete plants and associated related infrastructure are required to go through the development assessment process via council.

Caroline encouraged members to seek clarification from the DEM prior to planning and undertaking infrastructure works on-site to save on cost and time blowouts.

Luke Brammy provided an update on SafeWork SA’s activities for the past 12 months, including industry statistics and proposed focus areas for 2019. He summarised the site investigations undertaken for the period 2018-19, highlighting some of the common safety problems (eg guarding requirements on fixed and mobile plant, incorrect ladders being used, etc). Members were encouraged to invite SafeWork SA inspectors to their sites at any stage for some informal guidance on safety-related matters.

Work health and safety specialist Les Allen provided an overview of MAQOHSC’s programs: workplace health assessments, mental health first aid training, dust and noise monitoring, a Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety, respiratory PPE fit testing and the Employee Assistance Program. MAQOHSC programs are largely fully funded initiative programs on offer to mining and quarrying operators. The presentation highlighted areas for improvement that would assist operators to manage health and safety on-site.

The breakfast meeting was very successful, with about 50 attendees. It is likely the format will be a regular feature on the branch calendar.

AGM Dinner The SA branch’s AGM was held at the National Wine Centre on 30 August and was a very well attended event. Current branch chair Andrew Wilson was re-elected (unopposed) and he will be supported by: • Vice chairman: James Rowe.

• Secretary: Todd Threadgold.

• Treasurer: Kevan Barrie.

• Branch committee members: Andrew Geue, Cathy Moore, Rodney Kazem, Michael Close, Paul Thompson, Mark

Han Alam, the area sales manager for Finlay Crushing & Screening Systems, presented an overview of his company’s mobile equipment range and capabilities.

Medals galore! Commonwealth Games medallist and athlete Matthew Glaetzer with Rebecca Foster and Andrew Wilson.

Southern Contracting Group’s Matt and Bronwyn Ramke provide an insight into their growing family business.

Taylor, Irene Harasymyszyn, Sarah Bellman, Colin Stormonth.

• WIQ branch co-ordinator: Sarah Bellman (re-elected).

Membership certificates were presented to: • Corrie Beythien (Hitachi Construction Equipment).

The guest presenter for the dinner was Matthew Glaetzer, who is a Commonwealth champion, world record holder, sprint world champion and the world’s fastest track cyclist.

He gave a wonderful insight into his career, the challenges he faced and how he started off as a pole vaulter.

The SA branch acknowledges the following companies for their ongoing support of both the AGM/dinner and the industry breakfast meeting: Aplus Blast Management, Bridgestone Mining Solutions, Cavpower, CK Prowse & Associates, Finlay Crushing & Screening Systems, Groundwater Science, Groundwork Plus, Hitachi Construction Machinery Australia, Impact Drill & Blast, Komatsu Australia, MAQOHSC, Orica Quarry Services, Position Partners, Quarry & Mining Manufacture, Southern Contracting Group, VRENTS and Warrin Mining/Volvo.

The next South Australian branch function will be a dinner meeting on Friday, 8 November at the Pullman Hotel, Adelaide.

• Bronwyn and Matt Ramke (Southern Contracting Group).

For more information, contact the SA branch secretariat, tel 08 8243 2505 or email sa-admin@quarry.com.au

• Nicole Manning (Groundwork Plus).

By Marie Cunningham

Special acknowledgement was extended to Michael Harvey, who stood down from the committee after serving for more than 20 years. He received a gift basket as a token of thanks from the committee and members.

The SA branch gives sponsors the opportunity to make a company presentation at its functions. Southern Contracting Group’s Matt and Bronwym Ramke gave the audience

Fellow Member Member T Member Associate Associate Associate Member Member Associate

NAME Reece Naylor Darren Bass Luke Tavener Benjamin Murray Scott Simpson Stuart Munn Samuel Benson Stephen McNair Jason Barrett Andrew Sach

ACT

Peter Hewson: 0429 001 476

NSW

Gemma Thursfield: 0402 431 090

Northern Gemma Thursfield: 0402 431 090 Hunter Gemma Thursfield: 0402 431 090 Illawarra

Dylan Treadwell: 0418 632 057

Central West Mitchell Bland: 0428 462 987

IQA NEW MEMBERS GRADE

IQA BRANCH CONTACTS

BRANCH NQLD QLD QLD QLD QLD QLD TAS VIC VIC WA

NT

Darren McKenna: 08 8988 4520

QLD

Jennifer Milward: 0419 782 688

Gladstone Jennifer Milward: 0419 782 688 Townsville Jennifer Milward: 0419 782 688 Cairns SA

Chris Wilson: 0438 134 752 Marie Cunningham: 08 8243 2505

Tasmania Nicholas Palmer: 0418 126 253 Victoria

Eli Carbone: 03 8637 4723

Vic Sub-branch Craig Staggard: 0407 509 424

WA

Celia Pavri: 0417 027 928

Quarry October 2019 81

GEOLOGY TALK

HEY! YOU GOT ROCKS IN YOUR HEAD?

The hippocampus, highlighted in blue, creates new cells throughout a person’s life. Illustration courtesy of Jay Leek, UC Davis.

Continuing his exploration of the periodic table, Bill Langer this month examines the mineral elements on which the brain relies for sustenance and growth …

S

ometimes when I was a kid and I did something stupid, my dad would say: “Hey! You got rocks in your head?”

I should have replied: “Absolutely, that’s why I am so smart!”

That would not have gone over too well.

But it is true – at least the “rocks in my head” part! There are numerous elements that are critical to a healthy brain, most of which come from rocks.

People used to think the brain cells we were born with are the only ones we will ever have, and that when they die they’re kaput.

However, recent research suggests at least one part of the brain – the hippocampus – continues to create new cells throughout a person’s life. The hippocampus is involved in the formation of memories, with learning, and with

82

Quarry October 2019

emotions, so you want to keep it healthy.

This cellular regrowth, as well as other brain functions, requires a lot of energy.

(When we are resting the brain uses about 20 per cent of our calories.)

Most of our energy comes from eating carbohydrates, which are composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O).

If the brain does not get enough energy (calories), we can experience confusion, irritability, forgetfulness, and even blackouts.

OK, so C, H and O come from the atmosphere. But the brain relies on many trace elements that come from rocks.

Different elements occupy different parts of the brain and if those elements are not present in the right amount, a mental weakening occurs that affects memory, concentration, alertness, ability to learn, and ultimately the quality of life.

For example, a deficiency in iodine can lead to brain damage. Iodine is the 61st element in terms of abundance, making it one of the rarest elements needed for life.

Fortunately, iodine can be found nearly everywhere in trace amounts in water, soil and rocks. Iodine is taken up from the soil by plants and from seawater by algae, seaweed, and other sea vegetables, and is then propagated through the food chain to humans. Fish (such as cod and tuna), seaweed, prawns, animals, fowl and dairy products and eggs are generally rich in iodine.

The brain also needs zinc, the 24th most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. Zinc is one of the eight essential micronutrients crucial to plant development, so when you eat a plant you probably are consuming some zinc.

But beware: brain performance drops significantly when the diet is poor in zinc, so eat your veggies!

Another critical element is boron, which is believed to be important for attention, perception and short- and long-term memory.

Boron is another of those micronutrients essential for plant growth. However, unlike iodine and zinc, boron has more limited distribution and there are many areas where plants suffer from boron deficiency.

But never fear, you can get your boron from dried fruit, nuts and – get this – from wine!

The brain’s health relies on maintaining a delicate balance between too little and too much of the elements it contains. Too little calcium and magnesium can lead to diminished awareness and mental fatigue.

Too much metal such as copper, iron, chromium, and manganese can cause brain fog, mood swings, confusion and excess emotions. Metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, nickel, aluminium and beryllium can also be neurotoxins.

So maybe when I did something stupid I should have told my dad that I didn’t have enough rocks in my head. •

Bill Langer is a consultant geologist.

Email bill_langer@hotmail.com or visit researchgeologist.com

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