QUARRY MARCH 2022

MARCH 2022

OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF QUARRYING AUSTRALIA

MARCH 2022

THE FUTURE OF WORK, SKILLS REQUIREMENTS Michael McQueen explains how quarries can be ready for a disruptive tomorrow

32

Victoria Sherwood and Jason Sweeney discuss Boral’s advances in recycling

28

QUARRY

22

www.quarrymagazine.com

QUARRYING AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

LEADING ON THE EDGE IN ANTARCTICA Rachael Robertson discusses leading a team in the world’s most desolate environment

IN THIS ISSUE MARCH 2022

VOLUME 30, ISSUE 3

FEATURES 36 MAINTAINING HEALTH, SAFETY IN AVIATION RESCUE Why the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service is one of the most lauded aviation rescue outfits in Australia.

44 NEXT GEN IRON Caterpillar’s Chris Barrett outlines the benefits of the company’s next generation wheel loaders.

49 I-SITE: THE ‘AT A GLANCE’ VISUALISATION TOOL

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CIRCULAR ECONOMY Victoria Sherwood and Jason Sweeney discuss Boral’s advances in recycling.

28

THE FUTURE OF WORK

Aaron Marsh discusses the benefits of Komatsu’s updates to its fleet management solution.

Michael McQueen explains how quarries can be ready for a disruptive tomorrow.

50 UNLOCKING THE VALUE OF GEOLOGICAL DATA Geological data can help practitioners better understand the modern quarry. So why is it so often critically underutilised?

58 HEAVY-DUTY EXCAVATOR DELIVERS MORE POWER Kobelco Construction Machinery has announced the arrival of the SK850LC-10 to its excavator line-up.

67 TRUST: ESSENTIAL TO EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

32

LEADING ON THE EDGE Rachael Robertson discusses leading a team in the world’s most desolate environment.

Victoria Sherwood and Jason Sweeney discuss Boral’s advances in recycling

THE FUTURE OF WORK, SKILLS REQUIREMENTS Michael McQueen explains how quarries can be ready for a disruptive tomorrow

32

QUARRYING AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

28

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OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF QUARRYING AUSTRALIA

40

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Mike Cameron explains why trust is fundamental to effective leadership and a critical factor in team building success.

Lachlan Grant explains why quarries will benefit from having vigilant OHS systems.

MARCH 2022

LEADING ON THE EDGE IN ANTARCTICA Rachael Robertson discusses leading a team in the world’s most desolate environment

COVER ADVERTISER: Komatsu’s iSite program provides the opportunity to monitor and optimise an entire quarry operation’s earthmoving fleet.

Turn to page 49 or visit komatsu.com.au

EVERY MONTH 04 FROM THE EDITOR

72 IQA NEWS

06 FROM THE PRESIDENT

74 GEOLOGY TALK

08 NEWS THIS MONTH 16 PRODUCT FOCUS

Quarry March 2022 3

EDITORIAL

THE LEGACIES OF FORMER QUARRIES (AND EDITORS)

A

s this issue of Quarry hits desks, the IQA conference in Newcastle is a mere fortnight away.

Normally, I’d write a topical piece about the history of the host city and its connection with the extractive industries.

Indeed, NSW’s Newcastle and the Hunter regions are steeped in mining and quarrying history.

However, I now find myself preparing an entirely different piece, as I (metaphorically) close the book on my long association with this publication and the quarrying industry.

As I write this (mid-February 2022), I have elected to move on from this great publication which I have overseen for more than 13 years. I am taking up a communications role in a like (or similar) industry that has a significant part in modernising society – much like quarrying itself.

One of the most wonderful things about my association with the industry since 2008 is that it’s made me appreciate the integral role quarrying has in modern society and why the public should better understand (if not fully appreciate) how vital the industry is to their standard of living. I’ve written about it before, but I can rarely go on a holiday or day trip without passing a quarry or reflecting on the positive legacies of quarries.

In fact, a feature at the opposite end of this issue reinforces the legacy values of former quarries. The Victorian Government has released a fascinating booklet that chronicles the post-

quarrying uses of sites throughout Melbourne (see page 74). Over the years, I’ve visited two of the locations in the booklet (both parks and gardens) and never realised (despite the high rises and oversized boulders) that they were once quarry sites. However, it gives me a belated pleasure to know of their history and to educate my own children about their past importance. If my daughters grow up with a greater, objective awareness of the value of the industry and its role in conservation, then I hope I will have done the industry a small service for all the years it has been supportive of me.

I’ll miss the industry and its professionals. I’ve met any number of fantastic individuals and characters along the journey, and it’s been a privilege to give a positive voice to their hard work, dedication and achievements. I’d also like to take a moment to express my gratitude to the IQA, its presidents, many branches and enthusiastic volunteers for their news contributions.

The team at Prime Creative Media is a strong one and and I have every confidence the future of Quarry is in good hands.

So after nearly 14 years, more than 165 issues, seven IQA presidents, two publishers, and a wife and two children, this is me signing off.

DAMIAN CHRISTIE Editor

Published by:

I’LL MISS THE INDUSTRY. I’VE MET SOME FANTASTIC INDIVIDUALS AND CHARACTERS ALONG THE JOURNEY, AND IT’S BEEN A PRIVILEGE TO GIVE A POSITIVE VOICE TO THEIR WORK

11-15 Buckhurst Street South Melbourne VIC 3205 T: 03 9690 8766 www.primecreativemedia.com.au Publisher John Murphy john.murphy@primecreative.com.au

Editor Damian Christie damian.christie@primecreative.com.au

Journalist Henry Ballard henry.ballard@primecreative.com.au

Business Development Manager Les Ilyefalvy les.ilyefalvy@primecreative.com.au

Client Success Co-ordinator Janine Clements janine.clements@primecreative.com.au

Design Production Manager Michelle Weston michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au

Art Director Blake Storey Subscriptions T: 03 9690 8766 subscriptions@primecreative.com.au Follow Quarry online: Facebook: facebook.com/quarrymagazine Twitter: twitter.com/2021Quarry LinkedIN: linkedin.com/groups/4314906/ Web: quarrymagazine.com The Publisher reserves the right to alter or omit any article or advertisement submitted and requires indemnity from the advertisers and contributors against damages or liabilities that may arise from material published. © Copyright – No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publisher.

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Quarry March 2022

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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

HEALTHY LEADERSHIP STARTS WITH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT The Institute of Quarrying

W

Australia

e’ve waited more than two years, but the 63rd IQA conference is almost upon us.

I’m looking forward to meeting and greeting as many members as possible in Newcastle at the end of this month – while, of course, observing and practising social distancing protocols.

This year’s event will likely be smaller than conferences of years past. It’s unfortunate that most of our colleagues in Western Australia have been discouraged from attending due to the state’s self-imposed isolation protocols for returning travellers.

Naturally, some members may not attend to avoid potential exposure to COVID-19, largely to protect the health and wellbeing of vulnerable loved ones and friends. I, along with many others, understand your caution and your sadness at not being able to join us.

Nonetheless, the show will go on, and it promises to be an insightful, stimulating and entertaining plenary program. Some of the keynote speakers and presenters are profiled in this issue and their stories and viewpoints are fascinating.

Michael McQueen (page 28) will surely provide an engaging delivery about the future technology challenges faced not just in quarrying but across Australian industry. Rachael Robertson (page 32) will explain how leaders can inspire leadership in others, based on her experiences as an Antarctic expedition leader.

It will be interesting to listen to Richard Jones, of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service (page 36), and Lachlan Grant, of NSW Mines Rescue (page 40), about their organisations’ work in promoting safety to the broader community and the extractive industry.

I’m looking forward to hearing about how Boral is seeking to drive sustainability, not only in its own operations but across the industry and also globally, courtesy of Victoria Sherwood and Jason Sweeney (page 22).

These speakers are the tip of the

6

Quarry March 2022

proverbial iceberg. The Federal Resources Minister Keith Pitt and Macquarie Bank’s Jason Todd will provide their perspectives on government policy and the Australian economic outlook, respectively. Both presentations will coincide with the delivery of the federal budget on 29 March, and members can seek some independent thoughts from Jason as we near the start of the federal election campaign.

The conference also gets to showcase not only some of the best and brightest people in our industry – Alex Niceton, Scott Blair, Tegan Smith, Steve Franklin and Mike Cameron – but to also acknowledge the achievements and enthusiasm of members via the IQA Awards. The Quarry Managers of the Year Awards, the Gold Environment Award, the Excellence in Innovation and Community Engagement Award, the Quarry Operator of the Year Award and the Conference Exhibitor of the Year Award will all go to worthy recipients.

If you haven’t registered but would like to attend – or there’s someone else you’d recommend attend – then there is still plenty of time to sign up. For more information, visit iqa.eventsair.com/ conference In line with Rachael Robertson’s theme, and consistent with my comments in the last issue, the conference is an opportunity for one of your team to learn and grow from the plenary sessions, the networking opportunities and the exhibition products. By being proactive, you’re encouraging independence and healthy leadership in your workers.

Healthy leadership starts with professional development and is about embracing and leading change in our environment, as well as taking initiative in a post-pandemic world.

You never know, you could very well be sending along the next quarrying prodigy.

SHANE BRADDY President Institute of Quarrying Australia

Educating and connecting the extractive and associated industries

quarry.com.au IN LINE WITH RACHAEL ROBERTSON’S THEME, THE CONFERENCE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ONE OF YOUR TEAM TO LEARN AND GROW

The IQA’s Strategic Plan 2020 to 2025 embodies the following vision, values and strategic priorities: Vision: Educating and connecting the extractive and associated industries.

Values: • A safe and sustainable environment.

• Diversity and inclusion.

• Working, development skills, careers and life-long learning.

• Networking, connection, trust and communication.

Strategic Priorities: • Maximise outcomes for industry through education and sustainable practise.

• Increase our relevance.

• A high performing and sustainable organisation.

IQA CONTACTS: Phone: 02 9484 0577 Email: admin@quarry.com.au Chief Executive Officer Kylie Fahey Company Secretary Rod Lester For all education, member and branch enquires please email: admin@quarry.com.au.

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NEWS

ADBLUE SUPPLY BOOSTED BY STRIKE ENERGY

Urea is an ingredient in AdBlue which reduces road haulage emissions.

Strike Energy and Leigh Creek Energy (LCK) have taken pivotal steps to solidify Australia’s domestic supply of urea, as the country deflects an AdBlue shortage.

Urea is a key ingredient in the diesel exhaust fluid, AdBlue, which is used by diesel-powered vehicles to reduce emissions and meet environmental regulations. The developments follow the creation of a government taskforce which has been managing the shorter than usual supply of urea from China.

Strike Energy’s Haber project in the Narngulu Industrial Area, near Geraldton, Western Australia, looms as a promising measure to secure Australia’s domestic supply of the resource.

The $3 billion urea manufacturing facility received Major Project Status from the Federal Government in

early February which will streamline approvals, support and coordination of the project.

The facility is expected to produce 1.4 million tonnes of urea per year – powered by hydrogen and natural gas – creating about 1135 full-time jobs over its three-year construction and 300 full-time jobs once operational for a 30-year lifetime.

“THE FACILITY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO DELIVER SIGNIFICANT EMISSIONS REDUCTION TO AUSTRALIA’S UREA MANUFACTURING SECTOR THROUGH USE OF ADVANCED AMMONIA AND GAS PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY, AND CLEAN HYDROGEN.” ANGUS TAYLOR FEDERAL MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND ENERGY

“It also aims to reduce the reliance of Australian farmers on international supply chains to enhance our food security, given more than 90 per cent of urea is currently imported.”

The Leigh Creek urea project (LCUP) has also presented as an important supply of Australian urea, particularly as multinational Incitec Pivot will be closing its Brisbane manufacturing hub in December. At the request of the Austalian Government, Incitec Pivot has increased its AdBlue production by about three million litres per week to satisfy the demand curbed by overseas markets.

Located 550 kilometres north of Adelaide, the LCUP will initially produce one million tonnes of urea per year, with the potential to double this in the future.

The December quarter of 2021 saw Leigh Creek Energy progress stage 2 of the front-end engineering and design (FEED), secure an offtake agreement for 500,000 tonnes per year for five years, and secure ministerial approval under the Aboriginal Heritage Act.

Federal Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said the facility was important for people and the environment.

Leigh Creek managing director Phil Stavely said the project had ticked off a significant milestone in sustainable operations.

“The facility has the potential to deliver significant emissions reduction to Australia’s urea manufacturing sector through the use of advanced ammonia and gas processing technology, as well as dedicated clean hydrogen,” Taylor said.

“At LCK, we are very proud of the forward steps we are taking in our development of ESG (environment, social and governance),” Stavely said.

“Critical is the fact that LCUP will be carbon-neutral from 2022, eight years earlier than previously planned.” •

CONSTRUCTION GROGGY IN THE NEW YEAR: PCI The Australian Performance of Construction Index (PCI) fell by 11.1 points over the Christmas/New Year period, with COVID-19 isolations and supply chain disruptions wreaking havoc.

Presented by the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) and the Housing Industry Association (HIA), the seasonally adjusted Australian PCI fell to 45.9 during December and January – where results below 50 points indicate contraction of the industry.

“The Australian construction industry continued its volatile run of the past six months with a slump in performance over

8

December and January,” Ai Group’s chief policy advisor Peter Burn said.

“This latest downturn was driven by disruptions to labour supply, material supplies and business and household confidence associated with the rapid spread of the Omicron strain.”

Overall activity fell 18.9 points to a score of 41.1, with apartments and commercial activity the biggest losers in the category, falling to 34.9 and 29.3 points respectively.

New orders fell 10.8 points to a score of 47.7, while employment was the only metric to remain above 50 points, scoring 56.5.

HIA economist Tom Devitt said the next 12 months in construction would look far different from 2021 but activity would be positive.

“Home builders are still limited by the availability of land, labour and materials.

The HomeBuilder pipeline has only recently started reaching completion, with many more completions to come,” Devitt said.

“Ongoing demand as part of the shift in homebuyer preferences towards more space and greater amenity will continue to keep builders busy into 2023.” •

Quarry March 2022

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NEWS

HARD ROCK PROPOSAL MADE EASIER BY PROPER PLANNING A development group in New South Wales is proposing to extract 500,000 tonnes of a rhyolite resource but has quelled community concerns thanks to robust management practices.

Ironstone Developments first proposed the Deep Creek Quarry, 50km north of Newcastle, in 2020.

The project could employ up to 10 full-time staff and generate more employment for the local construction and road freight community.

Although a local “action group” has expressed concern for the creation of noise, dust and water pollution, Ironstone’s Environmental Assessment (EA) has countered its public submissions.

“The sealed quarry access road was repositioned on multiple occasions to adopt a location that would minimise noise and dust impacts on adjoining properties,” a spokesperson told The Dungog Chronicle. “Noise and dust impact assessments for the quarry have shown that no privately owned dwelling will be impacted above the health and amenity criteria.”

The rhyolite resource is expected to satisfy Transport NSW’s demand for high friction road aggregates, according to the EA. “This material improves grip and is often used in areas where the additional grip allows for increased road safety,” the EA stated. “The site is strategically located to be able to efficiently supply the resource for road infrastructure throughout NSW while utilising the established distribution network nearby.”

The EA acknowledged the responsible nature of the proposed site location.

“While alternate areas of resource are present within the wider land owned by the proponent, the adopted resource area [has] the highest resource value and can be extracted with the lowest possible environmental impacts,” the EA stated.•

OCEAN REEF MARINA MAKES BREAKWATER MILESTONE “IN TOTAL, THE OCEAN REEF MARINA PROJECT WILL CREATE AROUND 8600 CONSTRUCTION AND 900 ONGOING JOBS IN WA AND WILL INJECT $3 BILLION INTO THE STATE’S ECONOMY” JOHN CAREY WA LANDS MINISTER

Western Australia’s $250 million Ocean Reef Marina project, north of Perth, has made significant progress, with the partially constructed northern and southern breakwaters crossing over.

Once complete, the $62 million breakwaters will be feature up to 650,000 tonnes of limestone, most of it sourced from DevelopmentWA’s Neerabup quarry – a 20km drive to the northeast of the state.

The southern breakwater was due to reach its intended length of 1.18km before the end of March 2022, while the northern breakwater was completed in October 2021.

“The Ocean Reef Marina is a really exciting project for Perth and Western Australia, and the crossing of the breakwaters represents a significant milestone which allows other works within the Marina to get underway,” the WA Government’s Lands Minister John Carey said. “In total, the Ocean Reef Marina project will create around 8600 construction and 900 ongoing jobs in WA and inject $3 billion into the state’s economy.”

Another 300,000 tonnes of granite is still required for the project, mostly

Quarry March 2022

to be sourced from WA Bluemetal Quarries, in Byford, south of Perth.

In April 2021, WA Limestone director Steve Della Bona said the company was proud to help in transforming the beachfront.

“WA Limestone is proud to be associated with this contract that will add such a huge infrastructure boost to the area and significantly better boating facilities to the local community,” he said.

Italia Stone Group has also contributed aggregates to the Ocean Reef Marina project. •

HANSON TRANSPARENT ON BASS POINT EARTH MOUNDS As a courtesy to the local community, Hanson Australia has applied to construct further earthen amenity barriers at its Bass Point Quarry in New South Wales.

The quarry has moved hundreds of thousands of tonnes of earth along its borders since 1994, many from the nearby excavation of the Shell Cove Marina. The mounds were originally approved as they suited the natural landscape of Bass Point and provided makeshift sound barriers for quarry operations.

Now, Hanson has reached a point where further mounds would fall outside the approved conditions of the original environmental assessment.

“To avoid any doubt about the

10

A WA Limestone excavator works on construction of the breakwaters for the Ocean Reef Marina project.

locations of amenity barriers and importation and use of [virgin excavated natural material/excavated natural material], it is proposed that the modification application clarify these processes and locations for the benefit of the local community,” stated the modification report compiled by RW Corkery & Co on behalf of Hanson.

This is the third modification to the project approval. Hanson Australia is confident it will be approved.

“The amenity barriers ... are not required to mitigate unacceptable views of the operation [but] would have the benefit of obscuring operations in some locations and allow for the creation of a landform ... consistent with the nearby Bass Point Reserve,” the report stated. •

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NEWS

HOLCIM LEADS THE RACE ON CIRCULAR CONSTRUCTION, INDUCTIVE CHARGING “WE EXPECT ABOUT 70 PER CENT OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION TO BE LIVING IN CITIES BY 2050, ADDING ANOTHER 2.5 BILLION PEOPLE” JAN JENISCH Holcim is partnering with German start-up Magment to develop a concrete-based solution to inductive charging of electric vehicles on roads.

Holcim has partnered with Bloomberg Media to develop the Circular Cities Barometer, an initiative to advocate for circular construction in fast developing urban settings.

The partnership was announced in an interview between Holcim chief executive officer Jan Jenisch and Bloomberg Green general manager Lauren Kiel at the Bloomberg Year Ahead virtual summit.

Jenisch explained the need to transition the construction economy from a linear to a circular one.

“Circularity is the opportunity of our time,” Jenisch said. “On the world’s growth trajectories, we are set to consume 2.3 planets by 2040. To make this work for people and the planet, we need to shift from a linear ‘take, make waste’ economy, to a circular ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ one.”

HOLCIM CEO

The two parties will unveil the Barometer’s first results at Bloomberg’s Green Earth Summit in April.

Jenisch listed ways Holcim has positioned itself as a leader in recycled construction materials. He said the company in 2021 alone had recycled more than 50 million tonnes of materials and was also “reducing building materials by empowering smart design”. Holcim is developing an innovative lightweight flooring system with Swiss University ETH which aims to achieve 50 per cent fewer contained materials and an 80 per cent lower carbon footprint, compared to traditional structures.

Jenisch added Holcim is repairing and renovating buildings to make them last longer. “In Europe, 80 per cent of today’s buildings will still be in use by 2050, so we need to make them

energy efficient,” Jenisch added.

The Circular Cities Barometer was inspired by the world’s exponential growth in urban areas, both in population and construction. Jenish said 70 per cent of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2050, adding another 2.5 billion people.

Holcim has also partnered with German start-up Magment to develop a concrete-based solution to electric vehicle charging.

The magnetisable concrete technology allows electric vehicles to charge wirelessly while moving along the road surface through a process called inductive charging.

Holcim’s global innovation centre head Edelio Bermejo said collaboration like this would solve the problems of the future. “With Magment, we are excited to be developing concrete solutions to accelerate electric mobility.

Partnering with start-ups all over the world we are constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation to lead the way in sustainability.”

The magnetisable concrete is being trialled by researchers at Purdue University in Indiana, USA. Once the product’s feasibility is assured, real world trials will take place for North American highways and other applications such as industrial floors to charge robots and equipment such as forklifts. •

2

ADBRI BEATS THE CLOCK WITH ALCOA EXTENSION Adbri has extended a contract with Alcoa of Australia for the supply of quicklime, with just weeks to spare before the expiration of the previous agreement.

“We thank Alcoa for continuing to work with CCL around the supply of quicklime to their operations in Western Australia,” Miller said.

The contract expiration had previously been extended from June 2021 to September 2021 before moving again to January 2022.

Adbri subsidiary Cockburn Cement (CCL) will earn between $25 million and $35 million from the one-year deal beginning 31 January, 2022.

“The extension reinforces CCL’s position as a reliable and high quality supplier of lime through our local manufacturing and distribution network across Western Australia, supporting local manufacturing jobs, the resources sector and broader WA economy.”

Previous agreements with Alcoa were for the supply of quicklime to its Wagerup operation but it wasn’t disclosed where the latest supply would be delivered.

This minimum and maximum will be contingent on Alcoa’s requirements over the timeframe.

Adbri managing director and chief executive officer Nick Miller said he was grateful to Alcoa for renewing the deal.

12

Quarry March 2022

The previous arrangement was due to expire at the end of January, potentially leaving Adbri without one of its most significant quicklime buyers.

In Adbri’s half yearly report to June 2021, the company cited several feasibility studies into potential developments for new lime kilns.

These new kilns could be in Kalgoorlie, Bunbury or Kwinana in Western Australia, Adbri stated. •

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NEWS

ROMAN GLADIATORS CALLED ABANDONED QUARRY HOME Swiss archaeologists have found a 1600-year-old Roman amphitheatre that was built into an even older abandoned quarry, dating it as the youngest amphitheatre in the Roman Empire.

The dig was initiated while monitoring construction of a nearby boathouse along Europe’s Rhine River.

Aargau Cantonal Archaeology were already aware of an ancient quarry site in Kaiseraugst – named after the ancient Roman city of Augusta Raurica – but the amphitheatre was a complete surprise, according to a translated statement from the Swiss Department of Education, Culture and Sport.

The new discovery measures 50 metres long and 40 metres wide and included sandstone blocks used for an entrance. Other clues pointing to it being an amphitheatre include signs of wooden grandstands and stone blocks and mortar. A coin discovered on the dig dates the site back to between 337 and 341 ACE. “All the evidence together — the oval, the entrances and the post-placement for a tribune [elected official] — speak for the interpretation as an amphitheatre,” the translated statement read.

The site was likely used to watch gladiators fight and politicians present, according to an article in Live Science.

The article continued to say this kind of amphitheatre – accommodating up to 20,000 people – would have paled in comparison to Rome’s Colosseum which seated about 50,000 people. •

GRANITE SHORTAGE CAUSES US HEADSTONE HEADACHE THE US MIDWEST REGION IS EXPERIENCING A SHORTAGE OF CEMETERY HEADSTONES - WITH LEAD TIMES JUMPING TO AS HIGH AS SIX MONTHS.

The United States’ Midwest region has become another victim of supply chain delays, this time in granite, as states like Missouri suffer from a shortage of cemetery headstones.

One local supplier, Joplin Granite Co, told KSN local news its lead times for headstones had stretched out past six months.

“The quarries are having their problem with the worker shortage, we are having problems with getting it from the quarries for those same reasons, and because of the situation with COVID and the excessive deaths.

It is a complete supply and demand issue,” said manager Eric Green.

The lead time for a standard headstone used to be about one month, according to Green, but is now calling for the community to understand this won’t be possible for some time.

“We just need our families in our community to know that, yes, we’re doing everything that we can, but it’s

14

Quarry March 2022

kind of out of our hands,” he said.

“So, basically when a loved one needs to get their deceased loved one a headstone, just be aware there is that six-month minimum time frame to get it done.”

Each headstone costs between $USD500 to $USD1000 ($AUD700 to $AUD1400), but these issues with supply and demand could see costs increase significantly.

There is no evidence this shortage has extended to Australian shores. •

‘KOOL’ AMPHIBIAN VOTED VICTORIA’S FOSSIL EMBLEM Museums Victoria has announced the official state fossil emblem for Victoria following a public vote: a car-sized amphibian from the South Gippsland region resembling a newtcrocodile combination.

Koolasuchus cleelandi (Cool-aSOO-cuss clee-LAN-die) lived about 125 million years ago and measured up to four metres long.

Most noteworthy about the animal is it’s said to have survived for about 50 million years after its relatives went extinct.

The emblem was voted by the Victorian public after weeks of careful consideration, alongside seven other candidates all celebrating significant parts of Victoria’s unique palaeontological heritage.

The Roman amphitheatre, located near the banks of Kaiseraugst, Switzerland.

Granite statues in a cemetery in Barre, Vermont, USA.

In September, as the candidates were announced, acting director of the Geological Survey of Victoria

Grant Clarke said he was pleased to see the growing interest in Victoria’s history.

“Helping select our state fossil emblem is a great way to celebrate and explore Victoria’s unique and amazing geological history,” Clarke said.

“Since its inception in 1852, the Geological Survey of Victoria has been documenting fossils and their occurrence in Victoria’s rock record.

“The identification of fossils during geological mapping is an integral part of determining the environment of deposition and geologic age of a rock, including any relationships with other rocks in the stratigraphy.”

Victoria now joins a majority of other Australian states and territories in celebrating its palaeontological heritage with an official fossil emblem. •

A NEW DAY.

SERIOUS PRODUCTIVITY. ALL DAY COMFORT. A NEW DEERE.

When you need to stay productive all day long, nothing comes close to a John Deere production class wheel loader for performance, reliability and comfort. With enhancements including increased horsepower, ergonomic programmable controls, and reimagined electrical and hydraulic routing, combined with fuel efficient diesel engines and high-capacity heavy-duty axles, this lean, mean, hauling machine is a true 3-pass aggregate handler with payload weighing. Plus with the support of your local John Deere dealer, you can be certain it’ll continue to work as hard as you do.

It’s a New Day and a New Deere.

TRACTA_JCF63736_AU_QM

JohnDeere.com.au/ANewDay

PRODUCT FOCUS

To submit new product and equipment releases, email: les.ilyefalvy@primecreative.com.au

DOUBLE TROUBLE FOR THE PERFECT BLEND The IMS BP1200-9TB tracked blender is ideal for blending products on an accurate controlled process. With two 5.5m long hoppers holding 10m3 and 12m3 each, the blender is ideal for turning non-spec products into a saleable item and can process all products from aggregates to soils, sand and compost. Both feed hopper conveyors are driven by hydraulic gear drive motors and have front of hopper adjustable flow gates. There is a hydraulic mixer for soft products that moves aside when processing stone products. The tracked blender can process up to 500 tph from each hopper, or less if adding a smaller percentage of material from one hopper.

More information: Crusher Screen Sales & Hire, crusherscreen.com

MOBILE AND FLEXIBLE DUST CONTROL Polo Citrus has developed an environmentally friendly and biodegradable dust suppressant designed to be applied through its mobile dust suppression system (pictured). The Biodegradable Dust Suppressant (BDS) is set up on crushing or recycling plant and a thick foam is applied to the material prior to the crushing process. The foam encapsulates dust particles and prevents them from becoming airborne, helping quarry operations to maintain their commitment to environmental regulation. The system is set up on a trailer which is available for an on-site trial or for rent for a period. This self-contained solution allows users to park their dust suppression system anywhere and move off with ease for the more mobile operation. With Polo Citrus’ easy to use and cost-effective BDS, quarry operators can reduce water consumption and protect both personnel and equipment.

More information: Polo Citrus, polocitrus.com.au

OPTIONS ON LATEST DREDGE PUMP

DELTA RENT EXPANDS DIGITAL PRESENCE Delta Rent is striking out alone – in the digital space, at least – with its own website. Where the business arm previously spun off from the Delta Group website, some impressive growth in 2021 has warranted an expansion of its online and real-world presence. The new site provides a comprehensive fleet guide of what Delta Rent can offer to any quarry in Australia based on production needs. With plans to expand its functionality to include online bookings, the website includes a “News” and “About us” page to provide new customers with some valuable info on the company, its past projects and what it can provide. Delta Rent’s website is an important tool in the contactless post-COVID world, as the company remains dedicated to providing a connected, thoughtful service to its customers across Australia.

More information: Delta Rent, deltarent.com.au

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JB Excavations have acquired a second Dragflow heavy-duty hydraulic dredge pump - the HY 85 HC. With a capacity of 620m3 per hour, JB runs these pumps on its fleet of late model long reach excavators using a heavy-duty layflat hose for the discharge lines. JB’s pumps come with options for jet rings or hydraulic cutters to assist with the dredging and operators can monitor hydraulic pressures incab to ensure a consistent flow of dredged products. Long reach excavators are fitted with auxiliary piping and quick hitches to allow a quick changeover from pumps to buckets in about five minutes..

More information: JB Lewis Longreach Excavations & Dredging Contractors, jbexcavations. com.au

KOBELCO XD SERIES

The new XD Series is engineered for the most demanding applications. Built on Kobelco’s rock-solid reputation for quality and reliability, these extreme duty machines feature a rugged machine body with comprehensive additional reinforcement where it matters most. These machines take strength and durability to an all new level – delivering increased performance across even the harshest work sites.

Built for power. Built for reliability. Built to last. The new Kobelco XD Series.

@kobelcoaustralia

kobelco.com.au | 1300 562 352

PRODUCT FOCUS MODULAR PLANT TURNS SAND TO GOLD Kayasand is this year launching its new V740 sand manufacturing plant design.

The new portable, modular arrangement is designed for lower throughput quarries and semi-mobile installations. Kayasand’s V7 plants now range in throughput from 40 tph to 240 tph. All are powered by proprietary crushing and dry-screening technologies developed by Kemco in Japan. For more than 20 years, Kemco V7 sand plants have manufactured premium concrete sand from crusher dust that eliminates the need for natural sand in concrete. Washing without water means the V7 plant produces perfectly shaped and precisely graded sand using a clever novel air classification system.

More information: Kayasand, kayasand.com

ACCURATE, CONNECTED WEIGH BELT TECHNOLOGY Tecweigh’s conveyor belt weighing technology, Weightometer, is becoming increasingly incorporated within weigh belt feeders. The most popular accuracies are +/-0.5 and +/-0.25 per cent for single or dual idler, respectively, all with built-in calibration weights. The heart of the system is the WP20 weight processor which allows plant PLC to access all the weighing parameters in real time and make process optimising decisions. The Australian-made technology’s bespoke design is based around the end user requirements of flow rate, bulk density, material cross-section and belt speed, together with belt width and belt length. Wave Edge belts are also included for maximum product containment.

For more information: Tecweigh, tecweigh.com.au

UNDER THE HAMMER 2021 TEREX FINLAY 684 SUPERTRAK (UNUSED) This tracked incline screen plant (Item No. 5877588) is powered by a Cat C4.4 four-cylinder diesel engine and equipped with a 4.2m x 1.7m tripledecked screen. It has a 2.1m x 4.8m belt feeder with hydraulic raise grizzly and features five conveyors: a 1000mm conveyor, left and right 650mm discharge conveyors, a 1200mm end discharge conveyor and a 500mm oversize side conveyor. It moves on 400mm triple grouser track shoes.

For more information: Ritchie Bros/Iron Planet, ironplanet.com.au/marketplace-e

WASH PLANT WITH CRAWLER TRANSFER AND RADIAL STACKING CONVEYORS This wash plant set-up (Item No. 5475352) is led by a 2018 McCloskey Sandstorm 620 triple-deck, twin-screen wash plant, which has an output of 200 tph. It is supported by a 200 tph Terex FM200C wash plant, a 2019 Telestack TS36-140LT 900mm x 28m to 41.4m radial stacking conveyor, a 2019 Telestack HF-520 crawler 1050mm x 20m transfer conveyor, a 2010 Hitachi ZX470LCH-3 crawler transfer conveyor, a 2010 Hitachi ZX470LCH-3 crawler transfer conveyor, and a 2020 Cat C15 550kVA generator set. The wash plant can be transported in a Suihe 12m (40’) storage container with four side and four end doors.

For more information: Ritchie Bros/Iron Planet, ironplanet.com.au/marketplace-e

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Quarry March 2022

CRUSHER & SCREEN SALES PTY LTD

IMS DISTRIBUTOR

crusherscreen.com

Australia and Papua New Guinea

Specialist Manufacturers of Quarry, Mining & Recycling Equipment Irish Manufacturing Services Ltd www.ims-ltd.ie

Crusher & Screen can offer in stock IMS PM1050-16TB Track pugmills and mobile 40 tonne silos. The Pugmills are available in manual adding water only or fully PLC automated control and recording system for adding powders and liquids to main road specs, including controlling the 40 tonne silo. The pugmill is loaded with features, high production, fully hydraulic from operation to transport mode, pughead lowers to the ground in a vertical position for ease of cleaning. The manual pugmill can be upgraded to the automated vision at a later date, the pugmill PLC control system can also operate with extra IMS feed hoppers from single to double track mounted and electric modular mobile pugmill blenders offering four different feed hoppers and two powders all remotely controlled.

Crusher & Screen can also offer in stock for sale or hire the IMS – BP1200-9TB high production track blender with two large feed hoppers with gear drive hydraulic motors with variable speed conveyors feeding a stockpile conveyor remotely controlled. There is a mixer between the feed hoppers which is ideal for improved product mix with top soil and compost that hydraulicly moves to one side when blending road base and aggregates.

John 0424 181 056 | Chris 0424 180 860 Email: info@crusherscreen.com | www.crusherscreen.com Crusher & Screen Sales Pty Ltd | Yard: Unit 4, 181 Sandy Creek Road Yatala Qld 4207

PRODUCT FOCUS ON THE GO INVENTORY With the growing need to access your own inventory database on the move, a mobile app is becoming a more popular option. An Inventory Management Mobile app designed by Hong Hui JV can help you with several key tasks in the operation of your quarry. These include inventory checks, inquiries to suppliers, goods collection after ordering, documentation control, and parts movement reports.

Hong’s inventory app removes the need to stay in the office at a fixed computer. The program is accessible on mobile, or on any device with an account log-in, anytime, anywhere. Hong can make the app as per any customer’s business model at the most cost-effective price. Once set up, customers are free to manage their inventory app easily and independently or leave it to Hong with a contract.

BELT SCRAPERS

More information: Hong Hui JV (A Ying Hui company), hhjv.com. au/product/inventory-management-app

The Precisionscreen scraper blade is the strong, effective belt cleaning system for all conveyors, designed for maximum wear life and productivity. The scraper can be easily assembled to suit most belt widths on a variety of machines with few attachments. The long lasting polyurethane blades maximise efficiency and eliminate material buildup on rollers. Installed on all of Precisionscreen’s Australian-designed and -manufactured conveyors, the primary head scraper features a 93 shore high grade polyurethane blade for most applications. It utilises a simple internal “rubber rope” tensioning system for easy maintenance.

This tensioning system is a clever design because it not only holds each individual blade in place without bolts but it also tensions the scraper without external spring tensioners. The standard blades are 150mm wide but can be cut to any length, therefore scraper widths can be tailored to exact customer specifications. There is no compromise on quality with Precisionscreen units, as all shafts and scraper clamps are electro-plated as standard and the 93 shore hardness Poly blades themselves maximise scraper life.

For more information: Precisionscreen, precisionscreen.com.au

LOWARA GHV HEAVY INDUSTRY/ MINESPEC BOOSTERS A ROBUST SOLUTION FOR TOUGH CONDITIONS Xylem ANZ offers a wealth of local engineering resource and expertise. The company enjoys working with producers to design and construct packaged water supply solutions specific to their site requirements. Xylem ANZ is experienced in engineering and building turnkey booster packages, constructed around its renowned, Lowara eSV and eMP multi-stage pump ranges, serving a variety of applications such as potable camp water, water transfer, truck wash down, dust suppression and gland water feed. Xylem’s packages are built to service pump liquids ranging from potable through to aggressive liquids and up to 60 Bar pressures, by incorporating materials such as cast super duplex stainless.

Xylem can tailor these packages to cater for a variety of environmental conditions, eg high IP ratings/sunshades/ covers/enclosures, etc.

Standby pumps are commonplace but automatic redundancy through the controls system is often overlooked. A single PLC controller could shut down your water/process. Xylem can build further essential automatic redundancy into the process by incorporating its Hydrovar multi-pump control solutions, for up to eight pumps in parallel.

With 14 service and rental facilities across Australia and New Zealand, including on-site services, Xylem has all OEM sales, service, aftermarket and rental requirements covered to support short and long term water management challenges across all quarry operations.

For more information: Xylem ANZ, xylem.com/en-au

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Mountains into molehills With bucket capacities from 3.1 m3 to 9.5 m3 the XPower® wheel loaders shift your loads quickly and safely. Fuelefficiency, robustness and operator comfort are combined with a power-split travel drive to ensure XPower machines perform – at the highest level. www.liebherr.com.au

Wheel loader L 550 XPower® – L 586 XPower®

Visit us at

IQA Conference 29–31 March 2022 Newcastle Exhibition & Convention Centre, NSW Stand 11

Liebherr-Australia Pty Ltd • em-sales.las@liebherr.com • www.linkedin.com/company/liebherr www.facebook.com/LiebherrConstruction • www.liebherr.com.au

IQA CONFERENCE PREVIEW

HOW THE CIRCULAR

ECONOMY CAN ASSIST QUARRYING Boral has recently set itself ambitious climate abatement targets to 2030, including reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 46 per cent. Ahead of the IQA conference, Victoria Sherwood and Jason Sweeney explain how the company’s advances in recycling will help to reduce carbon pollution and benefit its own quarries, as well as the broader interests of its customers and other industry members.

A

t the IQA conference later this month, Victoria Sherwood, the executive general manager of recycling and growth for Boral, will provide a presentation on sustainability and the social license to operate.

Victoria has spent her career optimising business performance and overseeing large scale transformational change within engineering and manufacturing-based companies in a range of industries globally, including mining, construction materials, building products, energy, infrastructure, automotive, healthcare, technology and government. She has been responsible for outcome-based strategy and design thinking that has allowed paradigm shift results in execution and building significant value

Boral’s Deer Park Quarry receives excavation stone and C&D waste materials that are processed and blended with some of its lower quality products in the quarry.

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across diverse stakeholder groups in record timeframes.

With Boral’s strong focus on sustainability and commitment to industry-leading decarbonisation targets, Victoria’s newly-created role focuses growth and development on recycling and “whole of value chain” materials management/circular economy solutions in response to evolving and growing customer demands.

Victoria will present with her colleague Jason Sweeney, the operations general manager of materials recycling at Boral.

Jason originally started his career in the quarrying industry and spent over 15 years in operational roles, including group operations manager for the Penrith Lakes Development Corporation. Then, after nearly a decade

in the coal mining industry, he returned to the construction materials industry in 2015, joining Boral as the New South Wales state manager for recycling before being elevated to his current national role.

Ahead of the conference, they kindly spoke to Quarry about the themes of their presentation and Boral’s quest to become a more sustainable business and guide its customers along the same path.

What are some of the key messages you will be conveying to delegates at the IQA conference?

Victoria Sherwood (VS): There are three takeaways that delegates can expect.

The first is a better understanding of how customer expectations are changing

Adopting climate targets aligned with <1.5°C pathway We have set science-based climate targets and committed to net-zero emissions from our operations by no later than 2050, in line with the most ambitious aim of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C

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Committed to net zero emissions, aiming to achieve net zero earlier than 2050

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We have identified clear and viable decarbonisation pathways to 2030

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Beyond 2030, emission reductions depend on further development and commercial viability of emerging and new technologies

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Joining the SBTi Business Ambition for 1.5°C and submitting 2030 Scope 1 & 2 and Scope 3 targets for validation by SBTi

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As SBTi is yet to develop a 1.5°C cement sector pathway, we have adopted SBTi’s absolute contraction approach which aligns with a 46% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030 (for Scope 1 & 2 emissions)

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We will seek to partner with SBTi to define the 1.5°C pathway roadmap for the cement sector

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Boral has aligned itself with the Paris Agreement and set emissions reduction targets that have been approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative.

as a result of an increased focus on sustainability, and what that means for the construction materials industry.

The second is how recycling and circular economy solutions can play a role towards improving quarry resource utilisation and extending the life of high value assets around the country and the world.

The third is the importance of product specification changes and their acceptance in the marketplace. Can the industry keep up with the pace of change required to meet sustainability targets?

Many of our larger customers are looking for anywhere between 10 and 40 per cent of their construction materials to be either recycled or consist of lower carbon content in its make-up by 2025 to 2030. They may not have worked out how to achieve those targets but that’s where Boral comes in, working with its customers.

Jason Sweeney (JS): We also want to move away from the traditional linear model in quarry products. Moving to a circular economy means understanding and optimising the life cycle of our products.

Whether it’s in the vertical or the horizontal built environment, it is important to have a very clear understanding of the product life cycle of all quarry materials, and the influence that our industry can have on the circular economy through the sustainable management of these materials. A long

term view of the ongoing reuse, recycle, repurpose of construction materials is critically important for long-term resource management.

As a result of the increased focus on sustainability, what expectations do quarry customers and other stakeholders now have of the construction materials industry and its role going forward?

VS: It starts with a recognition and acceptance that this is becoming or needs to become business as usual. Certainly from a Boral perspective, if our customers want to see anywhere between 10 and 40 per cent of recycled and lower carbon content, we need to be responding to these needs.

So we have to lean into accepting the responsibility and then we have to convert that into action and behaviour.

Boral is continually investing in product innovation and resource recovery, by creating new products with different types of materials. There are a number of ways that we can decarbonise our products, whether it’s through finding alternate fuels in the manufacture of cement, to reducing the carbon content in concrete, or even building new recycling operations that allow us to take a waste stream in construction, demolition, commercial and industrial products and recycle them into reusable construction materials.

What sort of recycling and circular economy solutions should quarries be encouraged to adopt in their operations to optimise resources and extend the life of high value assets?

JS: We have some really great examples of recycling solutions within Boral, which will likely form part of our presentation. To manage the long-term resource of a quarry, we’re using recycled materials to blend with

Jason Sweeney, Boral’s operations general manager of material recycling.

Quarry March 2022 23

IQA CONFERENCE PREVIEW

Decarbonisation pathways have been identified

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Boral outlines its decarbonisation levers to reduce emissions to 2030 and 2050.

some of the lower value, lower specified natural quarry products such as road bases, allowing the quarry to produce higher yields of aggregate products that can be supplied for producing concrete and asphalt. We’ve got a great example of this at our Deer Park Quarry down in Victoria, where we receive excavation stone and C&D waste materials that are processed and blended with some

of our lower quality products in the quarry.

You’re extending the life of the quarry by not using high value aggregates to produce a lower value product for the market, such as a road base, and we are responding to the growing customer demand for recycled materials. We see recycled materials as complimentary to natural quarry products, as opposed to being competitive in the market.

Victoria Sherwood, Boral’s executive general manager of recycling and growth.

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Many OEMs – for example, Komatsu, Caterpillar, Volvo Construction Equipment – are aspiring to produce electric-powered and other alternate fuel machines to replace the entire diesel fuel-driven load and haul fleet. Is Boral keen to work with some of those OEMs to try and realise that vision?

VS: That’s quite a significant pillar of Boral’s strategy and we are actively working with OEMs on our future fleet requirements.

Obviously, the equipment within a site is the easier element to control. However, we also need to step beyond that to how we adapt our on-road vehicles as well.

Can you elaborate on the product specification changes that are more acceptable and sustainable in the marketplace?

JS: If you look to the typical product technical specifications for products like a roadbase, if you’re using recycled materials, you may fail on the foreign material limits of the test because you may have pieces of asphalt, as an example, in the roadbase. A better definition of what is a ‘constituent’ of the road base product rather than foreign materials is required for recycled materials. You need to make sure the product specification is fit for purpose for the material you are producing.

These specifications are changing across

Quarry March 2022

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IQA CONFERENCE PREVIEW

Recycled materials can be blended with some lower value, lower specified natural quarry products (eg road bases), freeing up higher yields of aggregate products for concrete and asphalt applications.

most States and sectors which is great news for industry. A great example of this is the inclusion of recycled glass as a “constituent” rather than a foreign material with appropriate limits applied to the specification.

The other notable change with recycled materials is the fact that developers and project specifiers are now calling for recycled materials as part of their sustainability targets for projects. We are also seeing that all levels of Government are placing an increasing emphasis on the procurement of recycled materials within their projects as a key driver of their sustainability targets. The government bodies and agencies are really coming onboard to help industry set that pathway through product specifications and procurement in the setting of recycled materials.

Obviously part of Boral’s missions statement in relation to its emissions reduction targets is to encourage its customers to reduce their Scope 3 emissions. Does this require well resourced education campaigns and are you actively involved in the development of these programs?

VS: What’s great is that we are seeing more and more of our customers seeking to first learn and then share because you have

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to invest in the learning first to be able to turn around and educate others. We have a number of programs in which we’ve put steering committees together with task forces and allocated specific project initiatives to advance some of these projects with key customers.

JS: Boral is also a member many associations such as MECLA – the Materials and Embodied Carbon Leaders Alliance.

Of the five different working groups within MECLA, we have representation on every one of those groups to help develop the standardisation of language from an education perspective, as well as standardisation and innovation in new lower carbon products.

What do you foresee as some of the Australian quarrying industry’s biggest challenges in the quest to decarbonise in the next three decades?

JS: One of the challenges you have with existing quarrying operations is their business cases are based on current operating costs and moving material from their current resources into the market. If the cost to decarbonise is an increase in operating costs – or additional capital investment beyond what the

current business case supports – yet the downstream product into the markets doesn’t change, it completely disrupts the business case. Some of these costs may be offset by efficiencies gained through innovation and technology but there remains a risk to the return on investment in the quarries of today.

A second challenge for decarbonisation in quarrying is that one of the more significant costs and carbon impacts is associated with transportation of the quarry products.

You have a situation – which is continuing to occur – in which most newly approved quarrying resources are further and further away from our customer sites. So, we must continue to invest in recycling existing construction materials but also invest in more efficient and less carbon-intensive ways to move these materials into the construction markets.

So I think they are two very important challenges that the industry needs to consider. And it’s not something the industry can solve alone – it’s for governments, customers, suppliers and for the quarrying industry to tackle together. • Vicki Sherwood and Jason Sweeney will present at the IQA’s 63rd annual conference at the NEX, Newcastle, NSW on Wednesday 30 March, 2022.

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JB Lewis Long Reach Excavations & Dredging Contractors offer a wide range of Longreach excavators with Dredge pump attachments along with dump trucks, loaders and excavators, we have been servicing the quarrying, mining, marine, civil and construction industries for over 30 years, we have a team of skilled and experienced operators ready for your local or remote FIFO works throughout Australia, we’ll work with you every step of the way to ensure your project runs smoothly from start to finish. lewislongreachexcavatorhire.com.au

IQA CONFERENCE PREVIEW

MICHAEL MCQUEEN:

THE FUTURE OF WORK, SKILLS NEEDS Michael McQueen is looking forward to helping delegates better understand where future opportunities lie at the IQA conference later this month. McQueen discusses the trends to be embraced, the traps and mistakes to be avoided, and the practical game plans businesses in the quarrying industry and in other industries will have to implement in order to be successful in a disruptive future.

M

ichael McQueen is a multi-awardwinning speaker, trend forecaster and bestselling author of nine books, including The “New” Rules of Engagement, Winning the Battle for Relevance, Momentum: How to Build it, Keep it and Get it Back, How to Prepare Now for What’s Next, and The New Now. With clients as diverse as KPMG, Cisco, Pepsi, BlueScope, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the Hilton Hotel group, Optus, Dow Chemicals, OPSM and MYOB, he has assisted some of the world’s most famous brands with navigating disruption and maintaining momentum.

Since 2004, McQueen has addressed more than half a million people across five continents and has shared the international conference circuit with the likes of Bill Gates,

Michael McQueen is looking forward to helping delegates better understand where future opportunities lie.

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Dr John Maxwell and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. He is a previous Australian Keynote Speaker of the Year and has been inducted into the Professional Speakers Hall of Fame.

In tune with the IQA annual conference’s theme of ReThinking the Future, McQueen will discuss the future of work and skills requirements for the quarrying industry.

What is the key message that you want to convey to the audience at the forthcoming IQA conference?

You can’t outrun the future if you don’t see if coming. Every business and industry is facing what I call a “perfect storm of disruption and upheaval”. To face that storm, you’ll need to be agile and adaptable, and you’ll need to think about the options open to you now to start planning for rapid change.

You’ve talked extensively about how Australian business and industry has undergone disruption and upheaval.

Ignoring COVID-19 and the Global Financial Crisis, what have been some of the major disruptions and upheavals in Australian business in the past decade?

We’re going to see robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) disrupt a range of professions that have assumed they would be immune to being automated, eg legal services, accounting, and banking and finance.

Competitors such as Square and Afterpay – which weren’t even on the banking and finance sector’s radar a few years ago – are offering the types of finance and loan packages that banks used to offer. I’m currently looking at blockchain, from a smart contracts perspective. Central banks are now going to trade in blockchain and cryptocurrency. The gaming industry is

working with state governments to develop specific cashcards that will be compatible with currencies used by online gaming sites. The way we conduct business and transact money is already changing, so our accounting and pay systems will have to adapt to that.

To succeed, businesses will need to be across the entire tech world.

In your presentation Preparing Now for What’s Next, you talk of the four forms that disruption will take in the 2020s, particularly the impacts of automation robotics, AI and AR. Can you elaborate on what these four forms of disruption will mean for industries and workers?

The four forms of disruption are about the acceleration of wide scale automation and technology in unusual ways. For instance, Facebook is introducing Smart Glasses with Ray Ban – so all of the workforce will have the potential to wear glasses that contain data/ information relayed straight to the glasses.

Technology is suddenly impacting on industries in ways that they could never have imagined.

Another disruption is the empowerment of stakeholders and clients. Tomorrow’s stakeholders and clients will have access to more information than ever before – and above all, they will have the potential to control brands and agendas. This is what I describe as the democratisation of influence or the impact of personalisations – it means the stakeholder/client experience will matter more than ever before and people will expect information that is more specific to their needs. Everything from medication to nutrition will become more personalised.

Consequently, businesses will be operating in communities where everyone has a voice

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IQA CONFERENCE PREVIEW

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IQ

– and organisations need to be aware of how they are viewed by their communities because of an empowered marketplace.

This is particularly important for quarries in relation to their licence to operate. Smart organisations will understand that they will have to empathise with their stakeholders in a tangible way – that is, seeing what it’s like for the stakeholder to deal with the business, so the business can innovate in ways that will service the stakeholder.

What part do Millennials and Gen Z have to play in redefining norms and consumer expectations in this decade?

Will Gen X and Baby Boomers still have important roles going forward?

Millennials are the largest generation cohort in history and they possess 35 to 45 per cent of discretionary spending power now.

Millennials and Gen Z will determine the nature of communications disruption. In fact, Gen Z is entering the workforce now and is quite different from Gen Y, which had its own attributes. Gen Z is the generation that will kill emails. For them, it’s all about Facebook Messenger and Zoom. Just how Gen Z thinks is refreshing, interesting and different, and that has a whole set of ramifications for how businesses traditionally operate and communicate and engage with their employees. Every institution has to think about how it is going to be relevant to those emerging generations now.

The role for older generations – from a mentoring and advisory perspective – will be critical. If you want to get a message to a Gen Y or Gen Z person, what tone do you use? The use of emojis will become more commonplace in our language. Some of the common emojis that Gen Y and Gen Z use are very different in meaning to what people think they do.

For Millennials, video will be quite important because the content they connect to is memorable. They’re not used to copious amount of information and detail. Video will be the way we have to engage with employees. Companies now are using LinkedIN and TikTok to engage with new and potential staff rather than CVs. What are some of the culture and mindset traps that companies fall into that drive them to obsolescence?

I think it’s that sense that somehow you’ve made it. There’s a phrase: “The moment you think you’ve made it, you’ve past it.” The

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McQueen says automation is a critical feature of the quarrying industry now and is set to replace manual labour in a range of industries.

moment that you get into management mode rather than growth mode is when you lose your edge. You’re not hungry but humble.

There’s also a lack of humility when you think you have all the answers and you can’t deal with things that challenge the status quo.

What are some of the proven and practical challenges for businesses to keep pace with change and stay relevant?

The importance of revolution, not evolution.

A danger for any organisation or industry is that change is just about solely continuous improvement. It’s never enough to keep pace when everything is moving around us. Good organisations need to step back and assess what is working for them and what they may need to change.

How does a quarrying and extractive business ensure it maintains currency and significance, particularly with its local community?

The key is to keep your finger on the pulse. In my presentation, I’ll mention a couple of tools.

Reputology – or online reputation management – is recommended because you can set up a search function that enables you to respond more quickly if your quarry/business is getting a mention in online forums or in the media. The importance of social media and keeping your finger on the pulse is vital.

Has COVID-19 – a social disruptor in its own right – accelerated many of the disruptions anticipated in this decade? Has it impeded some expected disruptions?

The Internet of Things is now an assumed thing, it’s so embedded in things we assume it’s slowed. It’s just more implicit in our organisations and our devices than we realise. COVID has sped up a whole

stack of trends and other experts like Loren Padelford have remarked that COVID has acted like a time machine, it’s actually brought technology forward by many years – from 2034 to 2020. Things we didn’t expect would happen for five to seven years are happening now, like the growing momentum in corporates around climate change. Part of the reality of COVID is that unless you have your basic needs met, then thinking five to 30 years out now is just almost inconceivable.

What most excites you personally about some of the disruptions that lie ahead?

There are so many elements of technology that I find exciting. Robotic surgery is amazing, it’s so exciting what is happening in that area. The surgeon can use VR goggles to perform surgery remotely. There are likely to be a lot of roles and professions that will become automated in the years ahead but what happens to those people that automation will replace? Some of the earliest uses for autonomous machinery was in mining. At a time when large scale mining operations are trying to get staff, automation will makes things a whole lot easier.

There is a fraction of the number of people that used to work in mines and quarries now.

We’ll see people change industries rather than stay to be retrained. They may use their skills in different areas. We will likely see change accelerate in the next couple of years. It’s naïve to think that with such wholesale change there wouldn’t be an impact on people’s lives.• Michael McQueen will deliver his keynote presentation at the IQA annual conference, NEX, Newcastle, NSW on Wednesday 30 March, 2022.

For more information about speaking opportunities, his online courses and his books, visit michaelmcqueen.net

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I Q A N AT I O N A L C O N F E R E N C E

29 – 31 MARCH 2022, NEWCASTLE NSW

REASONS

TO ATTEND

JOIN US IN NEWCASTLE MARCH 29–31 2022

QUALITY PROGRAM incorporating two full days of conference sessions EXCEPTIONAL SPEAKERS providing the opportunity to learn and develop MEET new suppliers and industry contacts at our largest exhibition to date LEARN from expert speakers NETWORK across three social functions TAKEAWAY practical tools to implement in your workplace REFRESH your knowledge on the extractive and associated industries ENJOY our host city of Newcastle CONNECT with industry colleagues both old and new SUPPORT your industry association – the Institute of Quarrying Australia INTRODUCING SOME OF OUR SPEAKERS

The Institute of Quarrying of Australia • P PO Box 1779, Milton BC, QLD. 4064 • W quarry.com.au

IQA CONFERENCE PREVIEW

RACHAEL ROBERTSON: LEADING ON THE EDGE

Considering she dislikes cold weather and had only ever once seen snow, what motivated Rachael Robertson to take on a leadership challenge in one of the world’s most inhospitable environments?

Robertson talks to Quarry ahead of her presentation at the IQA conference later this month.

R

achael Robertson is an author and speaker who has delivered more than 1800 keynote sessions to organisations and associations throughout Australia and New Zealand, and across the USA and Asia. She started her career in public relations for the Victorian Government’s former Melbourne Parks and Waterways before crossing over to Parks Victoria for 14 years, initially as park ranger in customer service and then as the Chief Ranger of Victoria’s West Coast District.

In 2004-05, Robertson accepted the unlikely challenge of leading the 58th Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition to Davis Station (upon applying, she did not seriously expect to be offered the role). As the Antarctic Expedition Leader, she oversaw a team of 120 scientists and tradespeople from December 2004 to February 2005 and then led and managed the 17 people that remained at Davis Station until the scientists and tradespeople returned the following November.

Robertson’s experiences in Antarctica, and her thoughts on leadership frameworks, have been chronicled in her best-selling autobiography Leading on the Edge (Wiley Books, 2013). In 2019, Robertson released her latest book, Respect trumps Harmony, which provides the research and data to support a high performing culture built on respect. She has furthered her leadership frameworks through a 12-week Extreme Leadership video program.

Rachael Robertson says of her appointment as Antarctic Expedition Leader: “When they offered me the role I decided I’d rather regret what I did do than regret what I didn’t do.”

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What is your key message for the audience at the IQA conference?

To build a high performing team, where there is a focus on safety leadership, there must be a culture of “respect trumps harmony”.

People need to feel they can speak up, and out at the time and not let things build up. We don’t all have to love each other, or even like

Quarry March 2022

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each other, but we must always treat each other with respect.

My team in Antarctica was an incredibly high performing team, even when we had to launch a search and rescue following a plane crash. But it wasn’t because we were all best mates, it was because we had a rock-solid foundation of respect.

Can you outline your professional background?

I have spent all of my career in remote and regional areas as a park ranger, a program manager and then Chief Ranger of the West Coast District of Victoria. I managed a team of 54 staff who cared for the national parks and facilities along the Great Ocean Road.

Most of the time was spent on maintenance and visitor management, but in summer there was a huge focus on fire-fighting.

What motivated you to lead an expedition to Antarctica? Was it a lifelong dream?

An Adélie penguin briefly joins the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition.

It was the complete opposite – I ended up there accidentally. I never intended to get the job. I saw it advertised and what intrigued me was the fact the employer – the Australian Antarctic Division – was recruiting for personal attributes such as resilience, empathy and integrity. They were qualities I wanted in my ranger team.

My plan was to get to the job interview stage and find out what questions they

were using to establish an applicant had resilience or empathy, and then copy the questions for Parks [Victoria]. When I was offered the role I decided I’d rather regret what I did do than regret what I didn’t do.

What work were you engaged in during your year in Antarctica?

In summer we have 120 people on the station. They are mostly scientists conducting

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IQA CONFERENCE PREVIEW

climate change research – that’s why we are there. But we can also only do capital works in summer, including quarrying from the local area, so we have a large contingent of tradespeople who are there in summer too.

At the end of summer they go home, and 18 of us remain behind for the next nine months to maintain the station – keep the lights on, keep it running – through the long dark winter.

There is no way in or out in winter, so it’s a strange feeling when that last ship leaves and you think, “this is it”.

You lead a “diverse” team. Were they Australians or internationals? If the latter, did you have to be mindful of language barriers and cultural sensitivities?

We had an incredibly diverse team – married, single, gay, straight, men, women, ages ranging from 23 up to 64, an electrical engineer from Germany and a plumber from Mudgee. They were mostly Australian citizens, but in summer we hosted several international teams.

The biggest challenge around diversity wasn’t age or generation or gender. It was actually thinking preferences – a big-picture story-teller tradesman with a fine detail, data-driven scientist. They had completely different minds and senses of humour. My job was to pull together this group of 18 random strangers and turn us into a team.

Did having leadership roles in the 15 years before you went to Antarctica prepare you for the challenges there? Or was it a case of “chalk and cheese”?

I learned so much on the job down there.

The biggest difference was that I had to deal with issues immediately. I didn’t have the luxury of waiting until the next week, or getting advice from HR or a mentor. I had to make a decision and make it fast.

A tool we used was “no triangles” – ie you don’t speak to me about him, and I don’t speak to you about her. Always have a direct conversation. That was created out of me running out of energy listening to those conversations. They are exhausting, and people don’t necessarily want you to do anything, they are often just complaining. But I was struggling with it, finding it absolutely exhausting dealing with it 24/7. So we came up with the rule of “no triangles” and encouraged people to have a direct conversation.

You’ve described Antarctica as a “leadership laboratory”. What were some of the unique challenges that you faced as an expedition leader?

I was unprepared for the relentless 24/7 nature of the job. I’d been in leadership roles for a long time, and in small regional areas, but nothing prepared me for the round-the-clock scrutiny. You never knock off. You can never make an off-the-cuff joke about, say, head office and think it won’t be repeated. Everyone knows where you are at all times. I had to learn how to manage my personal boundaries.

At the start I would respond to every inquiry, request, every “have you got a minute?” But I soon realised I couldn’t sustain that for a year. I couldn’t have people knocking on my bedroom door at 10:00pm at night to discuss

The core members of the 58th Australian Antarctic Expedition.

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an issue that wasn’t urgent. So I had to learn to say, “Not now, I’ll meet you in my office in 15 minutes”, and actually manage the boundary.

It seems like there was a deep sense of isolation – in terms of psychology. Would that be correct and, if so, how do you overcome that sense of isolation in one of the world’s most remote environments?

It was a really unique situation – we are incredibly isolated, but at the same time we have no privacy at all. You are living in a small space with 17 other people and the interpersonal pressure is intense.

You need to have great self-awareness to know when you need to take yourself out of the situation and be alone in your room for a while, perhaps. Or the opposite – if you are feeling lonely it often is a good time to go to the mess or the bar and have a chat with someone who knows what you are going through.

The title of one of your books is Respect Trumps Harmony. This implies to me (without having read the book, admittedly) that an uncompromising type of leadership is required in some circumstances and that conflict/debate is actively encouraged among workers.

Can you elaborate on the style of leadership you discuss in the book?

I worry about teams that strive for harmony above all else. It’s certainly important and we all want it, but when harmony is number one it’s dangerous.

Because any bullying or harassment still goes on, it just goes underground – people don’t want to raise the issue because they don’t want to rock the harmony boat. It also stifles innovation because people won’t offer a conflicting view or a different opinion.

And most importantly, when a team focuses on harmony people get hurt, physically and mentally. If someone is not following the correct procedure or wearing the correct PPE [personal protective equipment] then people walk past, they don’t want to get involved. Equally if the focus is “Isn’t it great here, we are all one big happy family?”, then people are not inclined to put their hand up and say, “Actually, I’m struggling a bit right now”.

We’re very much in an age of digital and social disruption. Are there leadership traits that you believe are applicable to the COVID age that we live in now?

Yes, respect trumps harmony.

e

V

e

B a E is Im

I think we are responding very differently to the COVID challenges. Right now, people are hanging out to get back to normal, they can’t wait for things to be the same while other people are very anxious about the future. I think as leaders we need to understand and accept that. It’s not onesize-fits-all, there will be a spectrum of responses and that is perfectly fine.

What advice do you have for young quarry professionals who are starting in leadership roles in their work environments?

1. It’s better to regret what you did, than regret what you didn’t do, so have a crack at opportunities that come your way. You can always change your decision.

2. Lead from where you are. Don’t wait until you have the title to start demonstrating leadership – because it’s a behaviour not a title. If you have a great idea then bring it up. If you see something that needs to be

done then do something about it. That’s leadership, it’s not a title.

As a leader and an individual, do you think you think you are better for your experience in Antarctica?

Without doubt. It taught me so much about myself, leadership and people. I got a lot of stuff wrong for sure, but I learned from it and didn’t make the same mistake again.

If you had the opportunity to do it all over again, would you?

No way! Actually, if I could go back as “one of the boys” and I could relax, have a beer, knock off and watch a movie in peace – then perhaps I’d consider it. But to go back as the leader, where you are being watched the whole time, is exhausting. I don’t regret it for a single second, but once was enough for me.

I think leadership is about creating more leaders, not creating more followers. I believe if you try to tell people what to do all the time,

especially Gen Y and Gen Z, then you will lose all your good people, they will simply leave. If you want to retain your talented people then you need to listen to their ideas and include them in decisions.

Leadership can also be very lonely and tiring. Having a peer in the industry, who you can talk to and bounce ideas off, is absolute gold. In Antarctica the only person I could talk to who had any idea of what my job was like was the Station Leader at Mawson Station.

We could never see each other but we could pick up the phone and chat to each other and it was truly the only way I had to stay resilient.

Just having a friend, a peer, who “just got it” and knew exactly what I was going through – and vice versa – was crucial.• Rachael Robertson will present at the IQA annual conference at the NEX, Newcastle, NSW on Thursday, 31 March 2022. For more information about speaking opportunities, her Extreme Leadership course and her books, visit rachaelrobertson.com.au

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IQA CONFERENCE PREVIEW

MAINTAINING SAFETY AND MENTAL HEALTH IN AVIATION RESCUE

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service is one of the most lauded aviation rescue outfits in Australia. The service’s CEO Richard Jones OAM will outline why it has been so successful and discuss the synergies that exist between aviation safety and quarrying.

F

or nearly 50 years the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service has provided emergency aeromedical services for the Northern New South Wales region, stretching from the Hawkesbury River, near Newcastle, to the Queensland border. Today, four state of the art AW139 helicopters operate from three bases at Lismore, Tamworth and Newcastle, servicing more than 1.5 million people.

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service is funded by community donations and a 10-year contract with the NSW Government through NSW Health and NSW Ambulance.

The service also has sponsorship arrangements with the naming rights sponsor Westpac and its logo rights and community partners include many members of the extractive industries, including NSW Mining, Coal Services, Yancoal, Ampol, BHP, Glencore, Orica, Whitehaven, Idemitsu Boggabri Coal, Santos, Thiess, the MJ Smith Group, the NSW branch of the Australian Workers Union and the Northern Mining and Energy District of the CFMEU. The service is governed by an independent

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Quarry March 2022

board of directors and also comprises five board sub-committees and three regional advisory committees to represent the interests of local communities serviced by its operational bases.

Richard Jones is the long-running chief executive officer of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service, a role that he has been involved in for 27 years. He will be presenting at the IQA conference in Newcastle later this month on the topic of safety and mental health, as well as explaining the important work the service does across the Northern NSW region.

What background did you have before you joined the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service?

I did a little bit of professional development in safety in hospitality in the early 1990s - and I really came into this job by chance. I’ve now been here for 27 years and learned about health and safety from the ground up. Like many industries 27 years ago, no one could really spell safety, let alone live it. I know now

from living and breathing it on a daily basis just how much safety impacts aviation. Our people live by the credence of safety on a daily basis.

What sort of radius and population in Northern NSW does the service cover?

We go from the Hawkesbury River to the Queensland border. We have four facilities.

Our operations are at Lake Macquarie Airport, at Tamworth Airport and Lismore Airport. Our headquarters are in Broadmeadow, where we used to operate flights, but today it’s for our administration and marketing and for heavy maintenance.

We’re part of a statewide network. The TOLL organisation runs aeromedical services in the southern part of the state and we run the northern part. All our aircraft are identical right throughout the state, which is good from a safety perspective because if a doctor from Wollongong needs to go onto our Lismore helicopter, everything is in the same spot.

From the glove holders to all the medical equipment, it’s all identical and it’s all in

the same place. From a safety and aviation perspective, it’s about reducing the risk as low as practicable.

What sort of emergencies do you cover?

What sort of assistance do you provide?

Our work is broken down into primary missions, which are pre-hospital emergencies, so we go out onto the scene of any farming or motor vehicle incidents – mining and quarrying accidents are a low percentage but more generally we do attend industrial incidents and many road incidents..

It always used to be 70 per cent motor vehicle accidents but our roads are getting better. A lot of city people now through COVID are moving out to farms and smaller properties and we sadly are seeing a lot of quadbike accidents.

Our medical crews consist of a high end critical care paramedic and a specialist doctor.

Doctors rotate through every six months, they are doctors training in their final years in

different specialties. We also fly with critical care and specialist nurses, for example to look after young babies in flight.

What’s good about the machines is they are so much larger and can carry more life-saving equipment. It’s almost like taking the intensive care unit to the roadside, the mine site or to the farm.

Pre-hospital admissions and emergency care account for about 50 per cent of the work now. The rest is inter-hospital transfers, from small clinics and hospitals in regional areas to the main base hospitals. We retrieve patients to Lismore Base, Tamworth Base or the John Hunter Hospital. In fact, we take patients to Queensland hospitals from the Lismore Base – either the Gold Coast or Brisbane – a dozen times a month.

They’re not decisions we make, we’re very much part of the NSW Ambulance triple zero network. We don’t go because we hear there’s an accident, we go because they’ve tasked us.

The triaging of those incidents is critical and

they need the closest available resource, be it a helicopter or indeed a road ambulance. The system makes those decisions, we go where we’re told.

Our KPIs are to be ready to fly within 15 minutes. It doesn’t matter if it’s a coal ship off Newcastle or even a passenger ship off the coast. Before COVID, we did retrievals of elderly people with medical episodes on cruise ships. We also do searches and rescues for missing yachts or people missing in the bush. Again, that’s tasked through the federal authorities or the police.

Has the service had to attend to mines and quarries in the region in the past?

We’ve thankfully seen a progressive decrease in mining or quarry work. We get some fantastic support from the mining industry, with many mine workers contributing donations through their salaries. The mining industry in our region gave us access to $1.5 million a year through salary donations. We have a

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IQA CONFERENCE PREVIEW

Like the road ambulance service, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service responds to inquiries across the triple zero emergency calls.

strong relationship with mining and quarrying which is outstanding. The mining companies are keen to support the balance of the community as well, so it’s a healthy outcome.

Thankfully, we don’t go to mine sites. We recognise that mines and quarries actively demonstrate the principles of safety first, and zero harm and have the lowest injury rates possible. We applaud the industry for the way that it’s attacked this because, as we know, it’s not unreasonable for people to go to work and it’s not unreasonable to expect they come home in one piece.

Lachlan Grant, from Mines Rescue and Coal Services New South Wales, is also presenting at the conference. Does the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service have a strong relationship with Mines Rescue?

Absolutely. We do training with Mines Rescue infrequently and we’re in raptures about the work it does as well. We have had Lachlan and others from Coal Services along to our aircraft training days just as a form of safety share. By observing our training from the ground, seeing things like the non-verbal communication of our aircrews during a procedure, we hope that others can take away a small learning that can make your own workplace safer.

We get a lot of sponsorship through Coal Services which is just a tremendous partner and supporter and we have various activities throughout the year where we will provide some medical personnel to train people to assist them in events. There is a healthy respect that runs right through the coal industry in what we do. NSW Mining is another fantastic partner that we’ve just re-

38

signed again for a further three years. They’re like: “We’re happy to have you on board, but we never want to see you at a worksite!” And we respond: “We’re OK with that – we don’t want to be there either!”

One of the things that’s really struck me is the professionalism of what we do, the professionalism of what the Mines Rescue people and Coal Services do. They know and respect that safety is paramount, and we think that’s wonderful.

If we can help, one of the things that we do from time to time is audit the helipads that are on sites. We’ll just make sure that a helipad is up to spec and that it’s clean and clear, and has lights if needed, or a windsock. It gives us an opportunity to take the aircraft out there and do a bit of on the spot training.

In those instances, all the Mines Rescue and other personnel are keen to know how they can assist us, should we be needed. They appreciate what we do but they also are ready to roll down their sleeves when we turn up. So it’s a healthy, respectful relationship.

What is the key message you will make to delegates at the IQA conference?

We’ll talk about the training that we provide for our crews that is again mandated by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), including the NSW Health fatigue management programs that we have, which are underpinned by a regulatory approved manual and which are fit for purpose for our industry. As you can imagine, fatigue and aviation come hand in glove.

Something that I’m really proud of is our focus on mental health and well-being, and some of the advice and assistance that we

can give out. Obviously medical air crews working day to day will have real needs for assistance. I have posted videos on our website outlining the importance of mental health and well-being to all our staff, and indeed, our unpaid staff and volunteers. We need to ensure they’re happy, and they’re well in undertaking their roles, because they’re our eyes and ears in the community.

There’s some synergies between aviation and quarry operations and safe working methods and risk assessments. We all must follow procedures to operate within safe boundaries, so I think I’ll be trying to portray a little bit of what we’re doing in aviation and how it is reflected in like industries.

I think our motto is integral to safety: May you have the strength to take a risk when you have to, the courage to not take a risk when you have to and the wisdom to know the difference. It’s so simple.

What sort of training, preventative strategies and programs does the Service provide that ensures your people remain safe, competent and able to cope with the traumas they contend with?

I think we try to teach our people to remain calm, and deal with what’s in front of them, and then offer support for those around them.

We provide our staff with relevant training and information as frequently as we can. There are staff at each base that are trained at the higher end. We are mandated through CASA and through our contract to provide emergency service training and do simulations and war room exercises.

We all go into emergency service exercises once a year. Some of us will definitely roll our

Quarry March 2022

ADS-MP

Richard Jones, the long-running CEO of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service, will present at the IQA conference.

eyes and go ‘Oh, not this again’ but it’s so vitally important that you know what to do when an incident, God forbids, should happen in aviation.

What is your advice for quarrying operations about ensuring their personnel’s health and safety in the event

your aircraft is needed?

Obviously, if any of our helicopters were needed at a site, there are certain things you can do to prepare for our arrival, and there’s certain things that you can’t do. It might be as simple as never, ever walking towards the rear of a helicopter, particularly in motion. Or it could be making a landing spot available for the helicopter that’s clear of foreign objects.

It might require wetting an area down to reduce dust emissions as the helicopter lands and maintaining visibility. There’s several preventatives that mines and quarries could assist us with.

The conference is a great opportunity for us to impart some knowledge and advice and to bring some paraphernalia along that can go up in lunch rooms so that safety teams can be aware of how they can assist us, should we be required on-site for any particular incident. It’s not only a great opportunity for us to impart some of that knowledge to the safety teams but it strengthens our

relationship with mines and quarries.

What does the future hold for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service?

It’s an exciting time. We’re coming up to 50 years of operation in the next year or two.

We pride ourselves on being a safe, highly professional outfit that delivers a world class service to communities that have supported us financially and loyally over many years.

We’re very proud to have secured another 10-year contract with NSW Health and NSW Ambulance. We had to beat some of the biggest helicopter operators internationally in an open tender. No doubt our incumbency and reputation helped – and the fact that we are a good client for the NSW Government.• Richard Jones will present with colleague Kris Larkin, the training and checking air crew officer at Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service, at the IQA conference at NEX, Newcastle, NSW on Thursday 31 March, 2022.

For more information about the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service, visit rescuehelicopter.com.au

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IQA CONFERENCE PREVIEW

EMERGENCY

PREPAREDNESS IN MINES Lachlan Grant is the Northern Regional Manager for Mines Rescue and Coal Services, which specialises in education and training, workplace health and safety compliance, workers’ compensation, environmental monitoring, and mines rescue consulting and emergency response.

He will explain at the IQA conference why quarries will benefit from ongoing vigilance in their health and safety systems.

W

hat is Mines Rescue? What sort of specialist services does it offer the extractive industry and the broader community?

NSW Mines Rescue is part of the Coal Services group that provides specialised health and safety services, primarily to the New South Wales coal industry. We also service a broader customer base that includes other extractive industries, power stations, government agencies, and so on.

Mines Rescue was established in 1926 to provide emergency response services.

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Quarry March 2022

That’s a statutory function that we maintain to this day under the Coal Industry Act. We are responsible for training and maintaining a brigade of emergency response personnel, including Mines Rescue employees and volunteer brigade members. We also provide expert advice and specialised equipment in the event of an incident. We’re on call 24–7, 365 days a year to provide peace of mind to industry.

Mines Rescue is also a registered training organisation (RTO). We provide specialist training to mining and non-mining industries

to help workers and employers manage risk and operate safely. We emphasise building the skills and knowledge that focus on safety awareness to reduce incidents from happening in the first place.

As an extension of our safety training and emergency response services, we also provide safety and emergency management consulting services. The focus here is to support mining and heavy industry, both here in Australia and overseas, in the development, auditing and testing of safety, crisis and emergency management systems.

Lachlan Grant is the Northern Regional Manager for Mines Rescue.

How many facilities do you run, consisting of how many personnel and volunteers?

Mines Rescue operates in the major coal mining regions of New South Wales, with six training centres located across Newcastle and the Hunter Valley, Lithgow, Mudgee,

Gunnedah and the Illawarra. These are custom-built facilities that include training galleries designed to simulate surface, underground and industrial environments.

In terms of station personnel, we have around 50 team members who have longterm practical experience in underground and surface operations and management, many of who are trained brigade members.

Across the state, we have more than 450 volunteer Mines Rescue brigade members for underground mines and around 600 surface emergency responders for open-cut mines who are specially trained in emergency response and rescue techniques.

You’re currently the Northern Region Manager for Mines Rescue. What are some of the core duties of this role?

The main focus of my role is to provide support to our mining operations and rescue stations across the Northern Region to ensure they have the personnel, resources and

training to provide the optimum response in an emergency.

I regularly interact with our mine managers in the region to focus on how we can best serve their needs, not only from an emergency perspective, but also how we can assist their operations to operate safely every day.

What sort of radius and population do you cover in the Northern Region?

The Northern Region includes the mining communities of Newcastle and the Hunter.

There are currently 22 coal mines in the region.

There are almost 22,500 workers directly employed in the production of coal across New South Wales and more than 13,000 of those are in the Northern Region. At some stage during their mining careers, almost every one of those workers will have visited one of Coal Services’ offices for services such as a medical or attending a safety training course.

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No one ever walks into work or starts a shift expecting an emergency or other incident to happen that day. But those sites that put the time and effort into developing robust emergency systems, training their personnel, and regularly testing their systems, will be the best equipped to deal with the situation.

It’s about maintaining vigilance and not becoming complacent about safety.

The realism and the interactive nature of the firefighting training makes the participants feel as if they are part of the scenario.

Mines Rescue helps prepare first responders by providing first aid training.

How often would Mines Rescue be called to action?

Fortunately, today’s mining operations are centred on safe work practices so mine emergencies today are rare.

We train around five per cent of the underground coal workforce to specifically prepare to respond in the event of an incident. Having these specially trained volunteer brigade members on-site, together with the other training and safety awareness that we provide, helps to prevent incidents from taking place in the first instance, but it also means being able to respond quickly should something happen.

In addition to this training, we provide consultative advice to industry and run simulated emergencies as to refine, audit and improve protocols in the event of an emergency.

Are there famous/infamous events or tragedies in the extractive industry over the past 20 years in which Mines Rescue had an important role?

As I said, industry’s safety focus and shared commitment to prevention has seen our role evolve, but we are still actively involved when

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incidents happen. Our level of involvement varies depending on the incident.

Without going into specifics, Mines Rescue has been involved with around 20 incidents since 2010. This has included providing assistance and advice at Beaconsfield, Tasmania and Pike River, New Zealand, to activating brigades to respond to a fire at Blakefield South, and other incidents such as Austar and Ravensworth.

Do you co-ordinate closely with the Westpac Helicopter Service?

Coal Services has been a proud sponsor of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service for more than a decade. We recognise how important their work is to our communities and it is closely aligned to our purpose, “to protect”. Our emergency management specialists and their rescue teams regularly participate in sessions designed for shared learning, as well as simulated mine emergencies with them and other key emergency response stakeholders.

What is the key message you want to convey to the audience at the forthcoming IQA conference?

What preparations/precautions do quarrying operations need to take to both prevent and adequately respond to traumas on their sites?

In the prevention space, developing a comprehensive safety management system should be the focus for any operation. This involves consultation with their workforce and engaging quality training providers, particularly when it comes to preparing people to undertake high-risk tasks such as working at heights and entering confined spaces.

The same applies for emergency preparedness. When preparing for an emergency, a number of different factors need to be considered. Some of these include: • Developing an emergency system in line with guidance provided through legislation and relevant codes of practice.

• Consulting with external emergency services.

• Training management teams in a recognised emergency structure that is familiar to external emergency services (we use the incident command and control system structure widely within our mining operations).

• Identifying and training specific people in higher level skills (such as the certificate iii in emergency response and rescue) to be able to respond effectively in the first instance on shift.

• Training all workers in the process for identifying and activating an emergency on site.

• Regularly testing the emergency management system for the site so those who are likely to respond in all the various roles are familiar with what they need to do.

What can quarrying operations do to ensure that emergency services never have to rescue one of their employees?

No one can afford to be complacent about

workplace safety. Safety training and emergency preparedness training are the most important things that any operator can do to help protect their people.

While ongoing safety training is critical, so is ensuring that there are effective health and safety systems in place. More than that, it’s about ensuring they are implemented and monitored regularly.

Mines Rescue also assists management to gain control and effectively implement their emergency management plan through courses such as our Incident Command and Control System training and so on.

Depending on the particular requirements of the employer, we can deliver training at our Mines Rescue stations or deliver training on-site at their premises.

What sort of training and education services do you provide quarries and mines? Can the training be offered in quarries?

Our training isn’t limited to the coal mining industry, as many of the skills we teach in our courses can be applied to quarries and other extractive industries.

Our courses help people to get their job done safely each day; for example, risk management, working at heights and confined space. We prepare first responders by providing first aid and firefighting training and the Certificate III in Emergency Response and Rescue.

In what ways do your virtual reality theatres help improve emergency responses, particularly in surface mine environments?

Our trainers have decades of hands-on industry experience which complements the classroom theory and practical demonstrations.

The use of virtual reality also enables us to immerse workers and emergency response personnel into real-life scenarios to help them better understand and react to risks in their environment.

Because it’s done in a safe, simulated environment, there is absolutely no risk and no

Actionable Insights

impact on productivity.

What sort of feedback have you had about the virtual reality theatres from your personnel, volunteers and visitors?

Our virtual reality technologies has come a long way since we first started using the technologies in 2007. Today, we use ocular headsets to immerse students into the virtual world which allows them more freedom to move around and interact with others in training.

Overall, the feedback we have received from students has been positive. Many say that it’s a perfect tool for new starters in the industry, that it helps to give a better understanding of the subject matter being taught. For many it’s also about the realism and the interactive nature where they feel like they are part of the scenario.

Most of all, it’s fun and easy to use.• Lachlan Grant will address the IQA conference on Wednesday 30 March, 2022.

For more information about Mines Rescue and Coal Services, visit coalservices.com.au

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IQA CONFERENCE PREVIEW

NEXT GEN IRON BOOSTED

BY INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS, SOFTWARE

As part of the ReThink Showcase to be presented by the platinum sponsors in the pre-lunch session on day one at the IQA conference, Chris Barrett, the ANZ technology application specialist for Caterpillar’s Global Construction & Infrastructure division, will outline the benefits of the Next Generation wheel loaders and the company’s progress in offering integrated digital packages to boost quarrying productivity.

W

hat are the key messages you’ll be conveying to delegates at the IQA conference?

It will be the advancements in our Next Gen machine range. Over the last few years we’ve introduced Next Gen excavators, Next Gen track-type tractors, and now Next Gen wheel loaders. Part of the offering isn’t just the iron but how that irons ties in with solutions to drive overall site productivity gains.

Caterpillar will be profiling the Next Gen 980 and 982 wheel loaders at the IQA conference. Will they be a focal point of the presentation?

We’ve actually brought a vehicle in ahead of time. It will be one of the key new products that we will be showcasing.

You’ve launched updates to the Cat Productivity program in the past year.

How will these automation and fleet management advances assist quarries?

We’ve piloted Cat Productivity locally and had good feedback from customers. Often they found they had a lot of unknown inefficiencies on their sites. Having a tool to quantify whether there’s too much idle or a smaller, smarter machine can be more efficient than larger machines are some of the other gains that customers have picked up.

The Cat Next Gen 980 wheel loader will be the focal point of Caterpillar’s presentation at the IQA conference.

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T R

Sandv

Is that where the 980 and 982 loaders fit in? Are they a smaller machine than your other quarry spec machines but deliver similar outputs with similar drivetrains, power, etc?

Essentially, we have an Operator Assist package that comes standard on these new machines. The package has been built from years of experience and learning, and operator best practice. These best practices have been turned into an on-board feature that runs in the background for operators.

Often we see operators with good technique and we have replicated best practice from an operator and developed it into an automated machine feature to improve productivity and cycle times. An example is Auto Tyre Set, which promotes proper loading technique to significantly reduce tyre slip and loading time by lifting the bucket to evenly load the tyres in the dig cycle.

Another key part is integration of the on-board tools. As part of Cat Productivity,

an application called Dispatch for Loading (DFL) connects the wheel loader with the customer’s scale house or truck logistics system. So, when a truck comes into the sales yard, the DFL automatically tells the wheel loader of a new truck in the yard that needs 28 tonnes of gravel to be loaded.

As the target weight of 28 tonnes is known, DFL integrates with machine features like Tip Off Assist which automatically manage the last pass of the bucket, eliminating over- and under-loads. Implementing DFL also makes most of the traditional two-way communication with a UHF radio, or a printed ticket, redundant in terms of recording production travel and determining what material goes in each truck.

Are there likely to be any updates this year to other Caterpillar innovations, eg other aspects of the Cat Productivity program, Assist, Command, Equipment Management, Grade, Payload, Detect?

There will be quite a few updates on some of these Next Gen machine products, not only the Next Gen wheel loaders but some new large excavator models like the 340.

The 340 lends itself well to the quarry industry with a longer and wider undercarriage and increased bucket capability with Standard Payload and Grade technology which enables accurate production tracking and even bench heights and level floors.

In the second half of 2022 we’re also launching Cat Command for Construction Industries.

Cat Command is a remote control solution for select models of our Next Gen machine range in Australia.

We’ll definitely talk about the Cat Command technology at the conference.

Another key part is the safety technologies on these new machines, eg Operator Detect, 360-degree cameras, radar-type technologies to make the site safer.

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IQA CONFERENCE PREVIEW

The Next Gen 980 features more automation which is a building block to autonomy.

Tier 4 engines have been introduced to some Cat machines in Australia. Have you developed programs – either within Cat Productivity or separately – that can inform quarries about savings generated in fuel consumption, carbon emissions (CO2) and particulate matter?

With the introduction of the Tier 4 engines, I should highlight that we offer customers choices in engine emission levels. We still have some customers in areas where sourcing diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) is more challenging or it’s in an environment where it’s not as suited so we still offer Tier 3 and Tier 4 machines on different models. So we’re offering choices in that space.

To answer the rest of the question, yes, we’ve introduced tools to measure CO2, all fluid consumption, so diesel fuel consumption as well as DEF consumption, and also a cost dashboard in tools like Cat Productivity, so customers can monitor costs per tonne and costs per litre.

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Can the data from these programs further improve machine performance, sustainability and emissions reductions?

The data from modern machines provides a real time production study from the daily shift and we can use that information to benchmark and highlight improvement areas.

One of the key things we’ve seen is you might originally buy a 980 for a quarry but when looking at the data there is a strong case that a 972 could do the job at a lower cost per tonne. The data highlights where there’s bottlenecks on site, where you might not need use of another truck, and you might just need to widen the haul road.

Why should the quarrying industry be excited about many of the innovations and initiatives that Caterpillar is developing in the years ahead?

I think we’re partnering with customers to help them achieve their goals, whether it’s more production or reducing CO2. A lot of machine innovations are giving customers

more productivity using the best practice technology employed. We’re on the path to further automation, so on the Next Gen wheel loaders there are a lot of automated features that are a building block to autonomy.

What personally excites you about Caterpillar’s innovations and initiatives?

I think the investment that we’re making in R&D on new products, improving site productivity and lowering greenhouse gases.

It’s been a rapid change of pace from where we were 10 years ago to now. The product development has been exponential.

Can Cat Productivity and other Cat initiatives address some of the impending challenges faced by quarries, in terms of skilled labour, decarbonisation of their operations, and managing input costs?

Yes, I definitely think so. I think these tools can help set a really good baseline where people can identify the opportunity. You can have technology and some of the monitoring

tools but unless you have someone within the business willing to drive and make decisions from the data, you’re not going to get the best outcome, whereas some of the on-board technology offers immediate productivity gains because it’s employing best practice to specific applications. It’s two-fold, some machines have built in-practice productivity solutions. We have the tools to monitor that to require someone to make changes on-site, using the data and the equipment insights.

Do you anticipate Caterpillar will work more closely with a quarry manager to interpret the data and recommend how they go about effecting change?

Definitely. I think technology has definitely brought us much closer to our customers and their operations with a lot of the tools that we have. That’s helping us consult with customers on the best decisions for the best fleet. Previously, if someone needed a new truck and had that size in the past, they

Information in Cat Productivity from modern machinery provides a real time production study from the daily shift that can be used to benchmark and highlight improvement areas.

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IQA CONFERENCE PREVIEW

would purchase another one. Now, by using the data we can ask: “Is this the best one?

Is this the best place for a haul road? Is that the best location for a crushing plant?” After the machines, we can work with the customer closely to make sure they’re getting the very best out of their site, not just the equipment.

Where does Caterpillar see itself placed in the development of electrification and automation in its iron?

In the past six months, we’ve seen a big interest and inquiry on electrification and autonomy. There’s been a lot of headlines and announcements that we have made with some mining companies. There are battery-powered trains and zero emission electric trucks coming.

I think a lot of the quarrying industry goes, “Hey, we want to be part of that too.” However, it’s a bigger investment to introduce autonomy and electrification than some customers realise.

For the past 25 years or longer, the mining industry has been implementing a lot more building block (MineStar) technologies that have had a baseline in place to take that next step. Change management is the biggest piece of moving to automation and electrification.

We’re ready to work with customers on that journey but they need to have a baseline to start with that looks at the gains they can make today.

Setting realistic goals for the future is very important, rather than wanting to jump to the end.

Customers may want to have electric wheel loaders now but the cost of one electric wheel loader might be equalled by three current model machines, which have a 30 per cent better fuel burn than what they’re using today.

So customers can either buy a machine that doesn’t use diesel, or buy three machines that are 30 per cent better than three machines they currently have which have a bigger impact on their carbon footprint goals.

It doesn’t sound as exciting as buying a new model machine with some of the latest technology versus a battery-powered one, but on the numbers and economics of it, there’s a lot of reasons to invest in the Next Gen machines and leverage the solutions available.

In the industry, people sometimes get confused with Tier 4 emissions versus CO2,

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The Next Gen 980 combines modern technology with real time actionable information.

which is really a direct relationship with fuel burn. The real gains we’ve seen with the equipment is in the efficiency of the overall package – the Next Gen machines feature advanced drivetrains, and efficient hydraulic systems which have the biggest impact on fuel burn and CO2. The focus should be on total cost per tonne versus fuel burn and emissions in isolation. There

is an immediate opportunity to both reduce CO2 and increase production by employing the Next Gen machine technology and site monitoring with Cat Productivity. • Chris Barrett will present on the 980 and 982 wheel loaders at the IQA annual conference at the NEX, Newcastle, NSW on Wednesday 30 March, 2022.

For more information about Caterpillar products and services, visit cat.com/en_AU.html

IQA CONFERENCE PREVIEW

ISITE: THE ‘AT A GLANCE’ VISUALISATION TOOL As part of the ReThink Showcase, Komatsu Australia’s national products and solutions manager Aaron Marsh will discuss the benefits of the company’s iSite fleet management solution for the quarrying industry.

W

hat are some of the key messages you will be conveying to delegates at the IQA conference?

I’ll be discussing the product launch of the Komatsu iSite mixed fleet management solution, its benefits for quarries – in terms of production increases, cost reduction, fuel burn improvement in litres per tonne, and the payload opportunity – we will see a return on investment within the first 12 months of operation. There are also positive sustainability outcomes (eg a reduced CO2 footprint on site), as well as improvements in utilisation and unnecessary idling.

You’ve launched updates to elements of the Smart Construction program in the past year, notably with iMC 2.0 and iSite.

How will these advances in automation and fleet management be of assistance to quarrying operations?

Komatsu iSite offers site and project management personnel an “at a glance” production visualisation of any quarry or major civil construction site. You can understand exactly what your fleet is doing and when to make decisions to optimise fleet efficiency.

Komatsu iSite also gives the user a real time animated overview of every movement of production machines in the quarry – and the materials they are extracting, shifting or placing.

Komatsu iSite predominantly applies to trucks, loaders, excavators, and graders and dozers. Through automated data collection, it can monitor machine condition and servicing and the scope for human error through real time operator scorecards.

Komatsu iSite can be operated from anywhere in the quarry – from inside the cab or in the office environment.

Why should the quarrying industry be excited about many of the innovations and initiatives that Komatsu is developing in the years ahead?

We are delivering products that meet industry and voice of customers’ needs and pain points.

It’s not about Komatsu selling a product or a service offering. It’s about bringing mining technologies, telematics, data aggregation and visualisation to quarries across the entire mixed fleet, not just Komatsu machines. This has always been out of reach for quarries because of the resources and cost associated.

It’s very costly to quarries, eg you have $100 product coming out of mines and you have a $6 product coming out of quarries, so they could never spend the funds on that type of technology. We’ve concentrated on delivering a product that meets those sort of mining-type capabilities but at an affordable price for quarries. What the mining industry has had for a long time, with data aggregation and visualisation and being able to make data-driven decisions faster, is now available to quarries through Komatsu iSite’s fleet management tool.

What personally excites you about Komatsu’s innovations and initiatives?

Over the past 15 years with Komatsu I have been driven by the company’s technology

adoption and leadership in this space for OEMs. The Japanese words Dantotsu and Koto come to mind.

Dantotsu is “unique and unrivalled” and Koto value means the customer experience (operation) value (from the viewpoint of customer). We get to make this a reality with products developed here locally in Australia with Komatsu iSite.

Can iSite and other initiatives address the impending challenges quarries face, eg skilled labour, decarbonisation, managing input costs?

Absolutely. Part of the development scope for iSite was to have as minimal touch points by humans as possible – less actual operator input through Smart Construction and iMC semi-autonomous operation skilled labour.

This means more efficiency, less rework, and a reduction in carbon emissions. • Aaron Marsh will present on Komatsu iSite at the IQA annual conference at the NEX, Newcastle, NSW on Wednesday 30 March, 2022. To learn more about Komatsu iSite, visit komatsu.com.au

iSite gives the user a real time animated overview of every machine in the pit – and the material they are extracting or shifting.

Quarry March 2022 49

SURVEYING, POSITIONING, MAPPING

UNLOCKING THE VALUE OF GEOLOGICAL DATA

Geological data is a vital asset to help better understand the modern quarry and realise the value of a resource yet, as Jackie Gauntlett explains, it is so often critically underutilised.

T

his article explores why geological data may not be utilised, the challenges faced trying to best use it, and the considerable value it can bring when paired with innovative 3D modelling solutions.

COMPLEX CHALLENGES IN GEO-DATA COLLECTION Geological data type and vintage vary significantly across different quarries, from drill logs to photographs, external and internal historical reports, production data, maps, cross-sections, and institutional or individual knowledge held by long-term employees.

Data limitations – either spatially or in the level of detail provided – are a challenge.

So too is the vast variation in the quality or dispersion of data (stored across network and computer folders, physical drawers, sites, or even unlogged drilled core).

Better understanding of a resource converts to better decision-making – and a more successful quarry operation. However, industry perception does not always align with this concept.

Previous, sometimes costly attempts at geological modelling may have reinforced

the view that the use of data is of limited value or benefit to drive both day-to-day and strategic decision-making. Within the quarry industry, Cement and Aggregate Consulting has made two key observations that may partially explain why this perception exists.

The first is that quarry operators could not effectively engage with their geological data. Another was their past geological modelling experience lacked relevance, focused on lithology when rock quality, or the potential for materials to create various quarry products, was of greater interest.

Another issue was inappropriate modelling tools and techniques (eg using coal-seam or horizontal-seam modelling software to visualise steeply dipping hornfels deposits).

The inappropriate use of geological data can result in unsuitable, misleading models, bringing into question its value for the operation. Naturally, decision-makers could shy away from further investment into the acquisition, curation, and interpretation of data.

OVERTURNING THE GEO-DATA VALUE PERCEPTION When contemporary geo-data modelling

Drill Hole Database (Seequent MXDeposit)

3D Geological Modelling (Seequent Leapfrog Geo)

Field / Drone Mapping

Collaborative Portal

and management software, such as that developed by Seequent, is combined with the innovative modelling techniques from Cement and Aggregate Consulting, even limited data of varying quality can be used to create a value-adding resource model (see Figure 1).

The benefits of a predictive geological model are many, including enablement of additional, meaningful studies that, in turn, drive real value across the business.

A resource optimisation study can inform operators on the optimal resource extraction approach, tested across multiple scenarios.

Quarry planning, driven by the geological model, including pit designs, and detailed scheduling can give an operation better certainty as to what materials can be found and where.

Geological modelling software, such as Seequent’s Leapfrog Geo, enable additional tools or studies to assist operations, while their cloud-based portal Seequent Central allows a permitted user with an internet connection to access the geological model from anywhere, with no software installation required.

Operational (day-to-day) Decision Making

(Seequent Central)

Cloud-Based Geological Model

Stakeholder / Corporate Engagement

Optimised Resource Strategic Planning

Site Knowledge

Mine Planning Quarry Operating Plan Published Data

Pit / Dump Designs Scheduling

CAPEX planning Regulatory planning

Short – Medium Term Forecasting Production forecasts Cash flow forecasts OPEX forecasts

Figure 1. The flow of geological information and its contribution to downstream value-adding activities.

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This allows all operational teams (production, sales, asset and maintenance, and management) to work in synergy. It provides the framework for collaborative, strategic decision-making, such as planning for quarry extensions or capital expenditure (CAPEX) planning, and enables stakeholder engagement and management to be initiated at the right time.

3D SOLUTIONS FOR COLLABORATION, BETTER DECISION-MAKING To adequately create value for a quarry, a solution has to support the following: • Collation of previous data from a variety of sources, including electronic file formats, physical documents, relevant published data (such as geological surveys), and site knowledge from employees.

• Review of the data and correction where required.

• Collation of all reviewed data into a single source of truth/information portal to make future work easier and more cost-effective.

• Creation of a suitable geological model to meet the operation’s requirements, and ensure it remains applicable.

• Review of the model with site personnel to ensure it is true to experience and ensure buy-in from key staff who are then more likely to use it for day-to-day operations and decision-making.

• Publication of the resultant data and 3D geological model to a secure cloudbased portal where a permitted user can access and interrogate with the model and where stakeholders can engage and make decisions.

• Assurance that the geological model can be easily updated as more information becomes available.

All the above, excepting the data collation and review processes, can

be facilitated through the Seequent technology stack’s software solutions.

MX Deposit is a drill hole logging and database solution, with in-built data verification tools. The Leapfrog Geo is a 3D modelling solution capable of integrating numerous datasets quickly and effectively, where resulting models can be easily updated as more information becomes available.

Central provides a cloud-based data storage solution ensuring one source of truth remains intact. It is an unparalleled, easy-to-use tool that securely hosts the 3D model and provides permitted users with access for decision-making and engagement. It also provides a platform for model review (between the modeller and the operation), as well as collaboration through geo-tag and comment options to ensure updates in site observations can be incorporated into the model.

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Crucially, the value-enabling approach of these solutions can be accomplished within the relatively constrained budgets often seen in quarries, and implemented on sites with only limited geological data.

More data results in higher confidence models, but one built with limited data is still more informative than none.

Figure 2. A hard-rock drill hole database interpreted into overburden and four quarry product classes. When combined with Seequent’s powerful modelling tool Leapfrog Geo, the data can create a 3D predictive model of the spatial distribution of product classes.

Figure 3. Modelling of product classes using the interpreted drill hole database, sliced and clipped to a pit design, allows pit reserve volumes to be determined. Note the correlation between the drill hole database and the predictive model.

Figure 4. A horizontal slice across a particular bench of the pit design with drill hole collar locations to show where suitable materials are likely located (high quality – centre and south-west; lower quality, east and north-west pit faces).

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A MODEL TO MATCH REQUIREMENTS Ensuring a geological model is applicable to the operation is critical to unlocking the maximum value possible.

For a sand quarry, an appropriate model may show particle size distribution or clay content. Or sand colour or the product recovery factor may be more relevant. Or perhaps all these are of interest, calling for a more complex model.

A limestone quarry may need modelling of impurities or deleterious minerals, information critical to ensuring planned production and material blending results in saleable products. Suitable data can easily put a predictive model in the hands of the operation.

Another example may be a hard rock aggregate quarry wanting to model the suitability of material to produce various product classes. Drill logs may exist that describe each interval in terms of lithology, texture, hardness, and degree of weathering or alteration. An experienced geologist, in collaboration with site personnel, can classify each of these intervals for product suitability and create a predictive product model (see Figures 2, 3 and 4).

EXTRACTING MAXIMUM VALUE FROM MODELS Applying the geological model in downstream studies (eg resource optimisation, pit design, and scheduling) enables further value extraction. Figure 5 shows a simple example of parameters from a fictional scheduling exercise.

The geological model gave insights into material extraction over the life of a quarry and provided confidence that production can meet targets.

The study also scheduled equipment use, highlighting when a mobile fleet may be required or retired.

Finally, a simple graph can show how, given the underlying resource model, and extraction scenario (schedule), cumulative discounted cash flow (ie NPV) can be

forecast. It is important to note that a schedule isn’t just a forecast of metrics, but a spatial plan detailing when and where expected material will be extracted.

Geological data is often underutilised by quarries for many different reasons.

However, even when data is limited, it can be coupled with the right innovative tools and techniques to create highly valuable 3D models that enable further value-adding downstream studies, as well as provide crucial insights for day-to-day operations and strategic decision-making.

If your quarry has historic geological data or is embarking on a geological program of any kind, consider how the data can best be leveraged to create future value and ensure the ongoing success of your operation. • Jackie Gauntlett is the Principal Economic Geologist and Jason King is the Senior Geologist at Cement and Aggregate Consulting. Visit cemagg.com

Figure 5. Scheduling results example.

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EARTHMOVING MACHINES ADOPT HVO AS AN ALTERNATIVE FUEL

Cleaner drive concepts for machines are becoming more important than ever to reduce CO2 emissions. Hydrotreated vegetable oil is an alternative fuel which can now be used in many Liebherr earthmoving, cranes and mining equipment in pure form or in addition to diesel fuels.

In the future, wheeled excavators of the Liebherr-Hydraulikbagger GmbH, like the A 913 Compact Litronic here, will also be supplied to customers fuelled with HVO.

H

ydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) plays an important role at Liebherr. The wide product range of the Liebherr Group combined with so many diverse applications presents the company with the challenge of determining what drive concept can be used for what application.

Maximum performance should be associated with the greatest possible environmental compatibility, and sustainable synthetic fuels play an increasingly important role. These include HVO, the first commercially available fuel with which combustion engines can be operated with a virtually neutral impact on the climate. Many machines of the Liebherr Group with Liebherr engines can now work all over the world on a largely climate-neutral basis.

HVO SUITABLE FOR LIEBHERR MACHINES When working on new drive concepts, Liebherr relies on HVO, among other options, as an alternative fuel. Its manufacture is climateneutral if electricity is solely generated from renewable energy sources, and it generates fewer emissions during its use than a machineoperated with fossil diesel fuel.

This becomes clear in a comparison: during

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the life cycle of a product, the greenhouse gas emissions can be lowered by up to 90 per cent if the machine is fuelled with Neste MY renewable diesel (= HVO 100), from one of the key HVO suppliers of the Liebherr Group, instead of fossil diesel. This calculation for Neste MY renewable diesel is in accordance with the requirements of the EU Renewable Energy Directive II (2018/2001/EU). The particularly durable Liebherr machines, which are often used by customers for many years, do not have to be replaced or retrofitted and can continue to work with HVO fuel immediately.

The Liebherr-Werk Ehingen GmbH has been fuelling its mobile and crawler cranes solely with pure HVO fuel since the start of September 2021. The changeover from fossil diesel to HVO applies to the crane acceptance and test drives, as well as to the first fuelling before delivery.

Furthermore, almost the entire factory transport in Ehingen, Germany, has been changed to HVO. This changeover can save 2.5 million litres of fossil fuel and up to 6500 tonnes of greenhouse gas each year.

In Europe, demand for HVO is growing

significantly in the area of maritime cargo handling, particularly in the UK and Scandinavian countries. All products in the Liebherr maritime crane segment can already be operated with HVO, and a changeover from fossil fuel to HVO is planned for all factory applications, as well as within the framework of the first fuelling and commissioning of the mobile harbour cranes, for the start of 2022.

One of the initial key customers in the area of port equipment is the port of Södertälje, Sweden, which operates a LHM 420 with HVO and thus pursues the objective of becoming a green port.

In the earthmoving and material handling technology segments of the Liebherr Group, HVO is used at the customer’s request for emission-critical special applications.

This happens particularly in areas with high environmental requirements, eg in Scandinavia.

The Liebherr-Hydraulikbagger GmbH in Kirchdorf ad Iller is the first factory of the segment to replace fossil fuel with HVO from January 2022. In addition to the first fuelling of all new machines before delivery, in future this changeover will also apply to machine acceptances, demonstrations and validation applications in the factory. The factory transport will also be gradually converted to HVO. All machines used in production, such as forklift trucks, will be fuelled with HVO in the future.

Alternative drives play a particularly big role in the mining industry, and HVO can already be used in the majority of the Liebherr mining products. However, comprehensive use of HVO is not realistic in this industry due to high energy requirements and the limited availability of the fuel in the near future.

ALTERNATIVE DRIVE CONCEPTS Liebherr pursues an approach that is open to a variety of new technologies when working

on drive concepts. The company focuses on the energy conversion technologies available now and in the foreseeable future (“engines”) and the suitable energy carriers (“fuels”).

Some of the current energy conversion technologies include electric motors, fuel cells, batteries, combustion engines or a combination in the form of a hybrid drive.

The energy carriers include electrical energy, hydrogen, ammonia, e-fuels, methanol, biodiesel, fossil diesel, and HVO. HVO is obtained from cooking oil waste, grease and fat residues, waste fats and vegetable oil. Then it is converted into hydrocarbons by the process of catalytic hydrogenation, ie the addition of hydrogen on intense heating. This in turn is an energy carrier and thus a potential fuel.

To what extent HVO will establish itself on the market in the long term depends on the global production volume and associated availability of the fuel. Despite the significantly increasing production, HVO is only available extensively in a few countries in Europe.

The Liebherr-Werk Ehingen GmbH already changed over to climate-neutral HVO fuel instead of fossil diesels in September 2021 – all new mobile and crawler cranes of the company are HVO-compatible.

But one thing is certain for Liebherr: HVO is only an environmentally compatible and socially acceptable solution if palm oils are not used in production and no rainforests are felled for acquiring new cultivation areas.

Hong Hui JV P/L

The Liebherr Group, together with its HVO suppliers, ensures that only waste fats and oils are exploited.• For more information about HVO and other Liebherr earthmoving products, visit liebherr.com.au

M.: 0401 459 289 W.: hhjv.com.au Email: dhlin@hhjv.com.au

(HHJV, a Ying Hui Company)

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LOAD & HAUL

USING MACHINE SAFETY SOLUTIONS TO KEEP WORKERS SAFE

S

afety is a massive priority in the quarrying sector, and justifiably so.

Ensuring that all on-site workers get home at the end of the day is critical, and there are a variety of safety systems and methods used by sites throughout Australia.

Many of the options still rely on personto-person communication or expensive, complex hardware setups, which can be subject to human error or blow the budget for many quarry businesses.

Proximity and collision awareness technology has advanced considerably in recent years, with the latest systems incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically identify and alert operators to people. Blindsight is a new solution from Presien, distributed and supported throughout Australia by Position Partners, that can differentiate between humans and other objects even in challenging, dynamic environments.

“The great thing about Blindsight is that workers do not need to wear a tag in order for the machine system to detect them, which means they keep every worker safe on site,” said Josh Allan, construction business manager at Position Partners.

The solution can be fitted to all makes and models of machinery, with a combination of one or more sensors, and a small in-cab alert that gives the operator audible and visual alerts when a person or traffic cone is detected.

“Blindsight is very configurable to every machine and every site’s unique requirements, to alert the operator without adding unnecessary clutter or another screen to the cab,” Allan added.

The artificial intelligence system

Blindsight uses cameras and artificial intelligence to protect objects and workers from collision.

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Blindsight uses visual, auditory and haptic alerts.

differentiates between different assets (person, wall, safety cones around an object, etc) by determining their size and/or velocity.

This essentially means any time a worker enters the vicinity of a machine, or it gets too close to an exclusion zone, the system will alert the operator immediately.

For managers and safety officers, comprehensive reporting on near misses – including video recorded from the system’s cameras – can be used for training and process improvements to increase safety culture on site. This data can then be digitally accessed by the site supervisor at any time.

Systems that rely on manual reporting can be subject to fault as they essentially rely on all workers accurately reporting incidents and near-misses 100% of the time. While in theory manual systems shouldn’t pose a problem, any foreman or site manager knows that keeping track of every incident and near-miss on a busy site is near-impossible. Proximity systems provide a practical and accurate solution to the inconsistencies that can arise from manual incident reporting.

“In addition to the day-to-day safety enhancements provided by systems like these for operators and workers, the data trends and reporting over time can give managers the big picture overview they need to identify ongoing hazards, training needs or process improvements,” Allan said.

In addition to the Blindsight AI solution, Position Partners offers other proximity detection and collision awareness systems to suit the needs of all quarry sites. In controlled environments for example, where workers can wear a tag, a solution like Blue Electronics can provide reliable machine-tomachine, machine-to-person and machineto-avoidance zone safety.

“Position Partners offers a variety of safety solutions depending on your site’s requirements,” Allan said. “We also back every system with the training and support you need to keep everyone productive and the technology working properly.”

Position Partners has a team of more than 300 people, with service and support across Australia, New Zealand, and SouthEast Asia. Within Australia the company has 10 branches, to ensure customers get the assistance and support required.

“We’re always sourcing and working with new technology partners to meet the evolving needs of our customers. The Blindsight solution by Presien is an exciting addition to our portfolio and is already proving to be very popular with customers looking to increase safety. Afterall, there’s nothing more important than sending everyone home safely to their families at the end of the day,” Allan said.• For more information about Position Partners, visit positionpartners.com.au

WHEEL LOADER DOUBLES PRODUCTIVITY FOR THRIVING QUARRY

B

lue Ridge Quarries was purchased by the Millikin family just a few years ago, having worked in and around the operation for more than a decade.

In fact, quarry manager Aaron Millikin found his first job out of school at the hard rock quarry before he followed father Jeff’s footsteps into the family transport and landscaping business – Greenlands Garden Centre.

Now a thriving business along New South Wales’ south coast, the Millikins decided they’d become a one stop shop for construction aggregates and bought the fully operational Blue Ridge Quarry to accompany Greenlands.

Of course, producing up to 150,000 tonnes of material every year can be quite the task, for which Blue Ridge called on its relationship with CJD Equipment.

The companies first worked together when Blue Ridge ordered several yard loaders for the landscaping business, before moving into the quarry and selecting a second-hand, 38-tonne Volvo excavator from CJD. That was almost three years ago, and Aaron Millikin told Quarry the excavator had barely skipped a beat.

“That digger has been a great asset for the team, and it’s never let us down,” he said.

“Since then, we were in the market for a newer, bigger loader which ended up being the Volvo L220H and we haven’t looked back since.”

The 31-tonne L220H is one of the largest in CJD’s Volvo wheel loader range, with a 273kW engine and a breakout force of 244.5 kilonewtons.

Such power is what has allowed Blue Ridge to sign some household names as customers, according to Millikin.

“The proudest part of our business has been improving some of our materials that previously hadn’t met spec and getting them over the line,” Millikin said.

“Some of our aggregates are passed through a hot mix plant, we have quite a few concrete plants receiving our aggregates and our DGB (densely graded base) is now meeting an RMS (Roads & Maritime Services) spec.

“They were all quite proud goals we’ve been able to achieve and this has allowed us to pick up some bigger customers.”

Despite keeping the fuel economy to a reasonable level, according to Millikin, the

L220H has still been able to accomplish the work of two of his old loaders, thanks to a welldesigned bucket.

Volvo offers several bucket options on this wheel loader range – which also includes the L150H and the L180H – to suit applications in rehandling, general purpose, rock and light material.

Millikin said the team at CJD had been able to understand his application and offer the best size and weight for Blue Ridge.

“The bucket fits in the truck bodies well, it’s not too wide, while still being able to load the trailer in two buckets for most material,” he said.

“Sometimes, with the old loaders, we used to be loading a truck and trailer in three to five buckets, but the new model has saved us those extra trips.”

Other features Millikin has enjoyed include the joystick – part of the Comfort Drive Control steering – and the hydraulic system which both allow for one of the smoothest loaders he or his operators have ever used.

“I drove the loader for the first three months and the joystick has to be one of my favourite features. It’s just well positioned and perfectly

smooth, I’d never buy another loader without it,” Millikin said.

“I have a driver in it right now who came from working with other brands and he rates it quite highly among machines he’s operated in the past.”

And if ever there’s an issue with Volvo equipment at Blue Ridge Quarry, the CJD team are well prepared to respond in a crisis or provide some simple advice.

Millikin said he’s developed a strong relationship with his local CJD mechanic Richard which generally allows for same day repairs.

“We had a very minor hiccup once and within 24 hours Richard from CJD was straight down to sort it out,” Millikin concluded.

“There’s never an issue with him, we can talk to him over the phone and he can normally sort something out for us on the day.

“Sometimes it’s as simple as him explaining something over the phone for us to work on ourselves, but there’s really been minimal problems for us to call him about.”• To learn more about the L220H, other Volvo CE products, and CJD’s programs and services, visit cjd.com.au

The 31-tonne L220H loader is one of the largest in CJD’s Volvo wheel loader range, with a 273kW engine and a breakout force of 244.5kN.

Quarry March 2022 57

LOAD & HAUL

HEAVY-DUTY EXCAVATOR

DELIVERS MORE POWER, ABILITY

Kobelco Construction Machinery Australia has announced the arrival of the SK850LC-10 – the latest and largest excavator to enter the Kobelco line-up.

W

ith the recently released heavy-duty XD Series further reinforcing the manufacturer as a powerhouse in the 35- to 50-tonne class, Kobelco is pleased to offer its customers greater levels of productivity and efficiency in the 85-tonne class with the arrival of the new SK850LC-10, available for delivery in Australia from March 2022.

Kobelco’s largest production-class excavator, the SK850LC features cutting-edge power and efficiency capabilities and has so far sold 150 units worldwide.

With a base operating weight of nearly 81 tonnes, this durable machine is built to withstand the rigours of the toughest jobsites.

The SK850LC has undergone extensive development, having been put to the test in demanding quarry and mining conditions across the globe – including some of the most extreme sites in China and India – to show its credentials The latest-generation SK850LC has shown it will be well suited to a variety of work

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sites across Australia, in particular quarry applications, small-to-medium mining operations, and large-scale civil infrastructure projects.

Kobelco is known worldwide as a leading excavator specialist, with more than 90 years of manufacturing and design experience, and the SK850LC has been a productivity leader in the 85-tonne market segment since its global introduction in 2006.

Driven by a powerful engine that meets current international emissions standards, the SK850LC is ready to tackle heavy-duty applications while remaining fuel efficient. The turbocharged and intercooled 12.9-litre Hino engine delivers 380kW of power for superior strength and performance.

The work volume is achieved with powerful bucket breakout force and arm tear-out forces, delivering fast digging cycle times and impressive productivity. Combined with an intelligent hydraulic system built for speed and control, the SK850LC delivers average fuel consumption of under 50 litres per hour.

This can help to boost operating profit in a production environment.

Users can climb stockpiles with ease with the SK850LC’s drawbar force, ensuring plenty of tractive power for the most extreme site conditions. Three heavy-duty track guides are also installed on each crawler side frame to further increase undercarriage durability.

MINIMISING FUEL CONSUMPTION Kobelco excavators are often highly regarded for their advanced technology in fuel efficiency, and the SK850LC is no exception.

The enhanced hydraulic system design reduces energy loss to ensure outstanding performance by minimising hydraulic pressure resistance. The SK850LC also features Kobelco’s latest cooling system, a hydraulically driven twin-fan engine cooling system, which prevents over-cooling by use of integrated sensors to reduce the speed of the twin-fan unit, helping to improve fuel economy and reduce noise. A variablegeometry turbocharger contributes to lower

fuel consumption, and a new selective catalytic reduction system decreases NOx emissions by 80 per cent to provide low operation emissions.

Operators can select one of three work modes for the job at hand – H-mode, S-mode and ECO-mode – allowing for minimum fuel consumption while optimising digging efficiency. From the comfort of the cabin, the operator can also pre-set multiple attachment settings. The SK850LC comes factory equipped with bi-directional primary auxiliary hydraulics, along with proportional handcontrolled tilt/rotate piping and quick hitch piping as standard.

With the 8.25m and 3.6m heavy-duty boom and arm, the SK850LC has an operating capacity exceeding 10.6 tonnes at a reach of 11.6m. The SK850LC is also available in a mass excavation (ME) specification, with a shorter boom and arm, as well as an optional heavier 3000kg counterweight, for applications that call for maximum bucket capacity and digging productivity.

Operators can look forward to staying safe and comfortable in the SK850LC, regardless of the work at hand. The air suspension seat, combined with a 25 per cent reduction in lever control force, helps to reduce fatigue during long hours of operation, while added climate control outlets and a spacious cab interior provide a comfortable work environment.

The high-level of pressurisation in the large, sealed cabin keeps out dust and ensures a quiet environment for the operator. A standard 12V port and AUX jack is provided, while the standard Bluetooth-integrated stereo system allows the operator to stream audio.

The operator-friendly colour multi-display LCD screen uses easily recognisable graphics for quick navigation of important information, including fuel consumption and maintenance intervals. An intuitive one-touch attachment mode switch lets the operator confirm the proper configuration at a glance.

A falling object protective structure (FOPS) top guard along with a front window guard and swing flashers come standard for enhanced job-site safety, and an optional right-side camera can be fitted in addition to the rearview camera for easier safety checks around the machine.

EASE OF MAINTENANCE Maintenance on the SK850LC is designed to be simple and cost-effective to reduce downtime. Easy access to maintenance data from the operation management system

With the 8.25m and 3.6m heavy-duty boom and arm, the SK850LC has an operating capacity exceeding 10.6 tonnes at a reach of 11.6m.

help to improves ease of maintenance scheduling and ensure a long service life, while easy access to the cooling unit, engine compartment and electrical components help convenient day-to-day maintenance.

The SK850LC’s new and improved hydraulic fluid filter is regarded as among the best in the industry, with a new cover that prevents contamination even when changing filters.

Pressure sensors at the inlet and outlet of the hydraulic oil filter monitor pressure differences to assess filtration performance, triggering a warning on the cab display screen if the filter needs to be replaced.

A standard onboard grease gun on a retractable reel makes greasing the SK850LC a fast and convenient task. Kobelco has also installed a standard onboard refuelling pump to make the process faster and safer. The variable gauge crawler allows for the retraction to reduce the width for easier transport, with the ability to re-extend when on the job site for better stability. Four disassembly and transport configurations allow for easy transport to and from the job site.

K-ASSIST SYSTEM To further improve machine uptime, the SK850LC – like all Kobelco heavy excavators – is equipped with the K-Assist system, a remote diagnostic and troubleshooting system that allows your local dealer to provide advanced support of the machine without the need for a technician to be

present. The system monitors key operational data, which can provide real-time and historical monitoring of the engine and hydraulic systems. The system also enables your Kobelco dealer to perform diagnostic testing and to upload machine software without the need for a technician to on site, which helps to significantly reduce potential downtime.

“The SK850LC-10 is the largest excavator in our product line-up and comes with a tried-and-tested reputation from some of the harshest environments around the globe,” Kobelco’s general manager of product and distribution Mark Johnson said. “We look forward to cementing our place as the premier supplier of heavy-duty excavators in the Oceania market.

“The new SK850LC builds on the impressive reputation Kobelco is building more recently in heavy excavators with the launch of the XD series in the 35- and 50-tonne classes. This new SK850LC allows us to participate in quarry, small-to-medium mine sites and large civil infrastructure applications with a machine that is more productive, more durable and ultimately will make our customers more profitable.”• The Kobelco SK850LC-10 will be available at Australian and New Zealand from this month (March 2022).

To locate your local authorised Kobelco dealer, or to learn more about Kobelco excavators, visit kobelco. com.au

Quarry March 2022 59

SPECIAL REPORT

AN EXCAVATION BUSINESS BUILT OFF THE FOUNDATIONS OF SOLID ROCK

The proprietor of a burgeoning Sydney-based bulk and excavation and rock sawing business has come a long way from mining potato-growing soil in his native Ireland.

C

olm Phibbs, a then 22-year-old second generation excavation operator from Dublin, couldn’t believe what he saw when he took on his first holiday job in Sydney.

“We were digging into solid rock,” he said.

“I was thinking, this is just crazy, and, in my head, I was calculating ‘We could sell this anywhere’.”

In Ireland, Phibbs and his father Seamus mined mud, the grey-brown Irish soil which grows great potatoes but causes builders in Dublin to rely on brought-in aggregate and concrete to form the solid foundations of the city’s growth.

“Here I was in Elizabeth Street, Sydney, digging out and breaking up rock which we could sell at a huge premium back home,”

he said.

Phibbs and his partner Noelle Keogh had planned to stay a month.

Fourteen years later their business CONO Services (for COlm and NOelle) owns $13 million of plant and equipment and is regarded as Sydney’s – and perhaps soon to be Australia’s – pre-eminent expert in rock excavation.

Every excavator in their fleet is ultra-shorttailed, without a traditional counterweight rear end, built to work with great accuracy in confined spaces like the tunnels which have become a major part of the infrastructure development of Sydney.

And most of their operators – many of them Irish-born – are well trained to get the most from the specialist machines, requiring a

CONO’s Komatsu PC-228US excavator goes into the “shop” for servicing.

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level of skill and finesse different to that of conventional work.

“I shouldn’t say this, but once you know how, they’re easier to drive than a counterweight machine because you don’t have a rear end to worry about,” Phibbs said.

Phibbs spent six years learning his rock breaking and saw cutting craft with some of Sydney’s biggest civil contractors before he bought his own machine – a second-hand Komatsu PC 130, with $10,000 he and Keogh had saved and $80,000 borrowed from a financier prepared to take a risk on him.

“I bought it on a Friday and went on a job on Monday and made $20,000 in the first month,” he said.

His latest acquisition, a purpose-built Komatsu PC228USLC-11 BLADE, has

DRILL & BLAST

Most of the CONO machines are ultra-short-tailed, without a traditional counterweight rear end. This enables more accuracy in underground excavation work.

become the twelfth machine from Komatsu in his fleet and forms the basis of a specialist offering he intends taking to the market as he expands beyond New South Wales.

The key is the Dash 11’s Tier 4 low emission engine which delivers a reduction in nitrous oxide (NOx) and particulate matter of up to 90 per cent compared to an equivalent Tier 3 configuration, and which is part of many underground contractual requirements.

The additional advantage to the operator is an increase in power with up to 11 per cent better fuel economy.

Phibbs specified his new machine with a blade and bucket combination capable of delivering millimeter precision in the hands of one of his skilled operators.

The blade can become a de facto counterweight, helping to stabilize and level off the machine.

Phibbs has been deliberate in his choice of business partners and development of operational procedures – some of them born from his experience in Ireland.

“Working underground is like going into the mines,” he said. “You know you’re risking getting your machines wrecked and you have to take serious precautions to ensure you get maximum value from them.”

Maintenance requirements are 30 per cent greater than working aboveground and special application of rust proofing is essential.

“I rely very much on Komtrax to make

sure that we’re getting the best from the equipment,” he said of Komatsu’s satellite telemetry which provides around the clock monitoring of essential machine service and operational procedures.

CONO Service’s growth plans depend on partnership with major suppliers, both for reliability of operation and for the economies on offer.

The company’s in-house maintenance team is increasingly working side by side with Komatsu, taking advantage of Komatsu’s 2000-hour free service and maintenance schedule.

The relationship is part of Phibbs’ and Keogh’s serious intent to become not only one of the best – but one of the biggest – operators in their field.

Phibbs’ broad Irish brogue, delivered with good humour and a bit of blarney, may disguise it to a degree, but he has a “fire burning”’ to succeed.

And he and Keogh are here for the long haul. They have just moved into their dream home in Sydney’s southeast, with their daughter Darby Rose and twin sons Devin and Rogan.

The home is built on good Sydney coastal rock.• For more information about CONO Services, conoservices.com.au To learn more about the Komatsu PC228USLC-11 BLADE and other earthmoving products, visit komatsu.com.au

Innovation is our Motivation...

visit us @ kinder.com.au

CRUSHING

The 844L Aggregate Handler features intuitive standard joystick steering that is ideal for V-pattern truck loading.

LARGE-SCALE

AGGREGATE HANDLER ALL ADDS UP

B

uilt rock solid with proven heavy-duty components, the 844L Aggregate Handler (AH) is John Deere’s quarry loader solution that provides the muscle to take on processed aggregate stockpiles over and over again. Large tilt cylinders and impressive hydraulic pressures, engine power and torque make this machine stand out over the regular 844L. Outstanding pushing and stockpiling performance, load and carry capability, and fuel efficiency help this lean loadout machine get trucks filled and over the scale quicker to boost the bottom line.

Some of the 844L AH’s features include: • A factory-installed payload scale, which enables more efficient loading and tracking of material flow to maximise productivity.

• Easier and more intuitive to operate seatmounted hydraulic controls than previous models, and two programmable multifunction buttons with electrohydraulic (EH) controls.

• A simpler routing of the electrical and hydraulic systems to boost reliability and ease of maintenance. Over three dozen steel tubes replace 81 feet of hoses.

• Intuitive standard joystick steering that is ideal for V-pattern truck loading and maximises forward visibility while making room for easy cab entry and exit (a steering

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•

• •

•

•

wheel is optional). The 844L AH has exceptional visibility with roof to floor front glass and sight lines allow visibility to the corners of the rear counterweight.

High capacity, heavy-duty axles with standard axle cooling and filtration that deliver durability in difficult conditions compared to the previous models.

A Tyre Pressure Monitoring System.

A dedicated steering pump that boosts multi-function performance and fuel economy while speeding, steering, bucket raising and cycle times over previous models.

Side hinged doors that provide wide, clear access to daily checks and fill points. A standard hydraulic reversing fan makes cleaning fast and easy. Greasing is less messy thanks to centralised lube banks that are grouped for quick and convenient access to zerks. A standard factoryinstalled auto-lube system with emptyreservoir sensor is electrically powered and integrated with machine diagnostics.

A redesigned cab with 76mm of legroom (3”) and a heated/ventilated seat that is more adjustable compared to earlier models. Joystick controls, foot pedals and a sealed-switch module are all ergonomically placed.

• A blower vent behind the seat that improves airflow and defrosts the rear window. With handy filter and service locations the air conditioning system is easy to maintain. An automatic temperature control (ATC) system allows operators to select a desired temperature instead of fiddling with knobs to get comfortable.

• A clear 180mm (7”) display enables push button access to key information. A standard rear view camera displays activity behind the machine on the LCD screen.

• JDLink, which provides real time machine data and alerts to help maximise productivity, efficiency, and uptime. To optimise uptime and lower costs, JDLink also enables John Deere Connected Support.

Combining productivity with the reimagined cab and controls of Deere’s large-scale L-series loaders, the 844L AH is purpose-built for loadout applications. Its host of operatorfriendly features is designed to deliver plenty of convenience and comfort.• The 844L AH will be on display at the IQA National Conference, at NEX, Newcastle, from 29 to 31 March.

Further information can also be found on the John Deere Australia website: JohnDeere.com.au

Mobius for drills hands more power to the control room.

AI TECH EASES CONTROL OF AUTONOMOUS OPERATIONS

I

n partnership with ASI Mining, Epiroc has created Mobius for Drills, a platform to convert data into useful, actionable information that will lead mines toward automation and connectivity.

Mobius displays data in an easy-to-use layout to map drill usage, evaluate statistics, track consumables, and compare planned outcomes against actual results.

Epiroc automation director for surface mining Tyler Berens said this innovation would streamline operations for quarries making the leap into automation.

“We think of it as a tool to directly support making quick and effective interrelated decisions,” Berens said.

“Mines can get greater productivity and economies of scale as a single operator controls multiple remote and autonomous vehicles. Mobius for Drills is designed to tie the whole value chain together.”

ASI Mining is partially owned by Epiroc, which acquired 34 per cent of the company in 2018.

ASI Mining is recognised for its products and solutions in robotics and autonomous vehicle technology, including autonomous haulage, semi-autonomous blasting, drilling, dozing, loading and other applications.

In addition to providing solutions for some

of the world’s largest mining corporations, ASI Mining is also an automation partner for several global mining vehicle manufacturers.

Taking this experience, Epiroc developed Mobius to provide a single platform for drilling operators. Users can quickly navigate information, filter it to their needs and streamline the decision-making process, dayto-day or over time.

Epiroc surface division product owner for data solutions Christopher Blignaut said the integration of so much information into one clear program was a much-needed development.

“Mobius for Drills is an ideal management tool for smarter decision making,” Blignaut said.

“It provides access to powerful insights, the functionality to take action and monitor the impact all in the same application.”

Mobius for Drills is designed to be flexible and scalable, ready to work on small or large operations with expert support from Epiroc, and can work across Epiroc surface drills with various levels of technology.

An added value to Mobius for Drills is its ability to work across fleets with drills from multiple manufacturers, condensing all sources of information.

Epiroc surface division business line

manager Craig Marsh said this integration of multiple models and manufacturers was a key point of difference in the company.

“Our designs always consider the customer and how we can best enable smooth mining or quarrying operations,” Marsh said.

“Not everyone is running on an entirely Epiroc fleet yet, so to include those operators in the progression of technology, we’ve enabled cross-brand accessibility.”

The system may be used as a fleet management system or integrated with a mine’s existing system, providing further options for those just making their way into the Epiroc world.

Marsh said that just like a quarry, the integration of Epiroc equipment and technology was an evolution and one to be planned out over the coming years.

“Mobius For Drills enables future potential to choreograph and coordinate navigation of drills with other autonomous and manually driven vehicles,” he said.

“The technology is best used on an instantaneous basis, but it also helps in understanding where an operation will go next and how to get there.”• To learn more about Mobius for Drills, visit epiroc. com/en-au

Quarry March 2022 63

CRUSHING

FILLING A CRUSHER-SIZED HOLE IN AUSTRALIAN QUARRIES

T

utt Bryant Equipment (TBE) is Metso:Outotec’s largest Lokotrack distributor in the world as it caters to all of Australia’s crushing needs.

Since the companies joined forces in 2012, TBE has moved from strength to strength and developments like MO’s latest cone crushers just keep rolling on out.

TBE business development manager for Metso:Ouotec (MO) equipment Paul Doran said the LT200HPX and the LT220GP cone crushers represented another step in the manufacturer’s growth.

“Like a lot of Metso developments, this is an evolution. Some of the things they’ve done with these machines have taken previous development and improved them,” Doran told Quarry.

“For instance, they’ve had pre-screens on Lokotracks before, but not this big and not on this size machine.”

The two-deck pre-screen can be added to both models and measures 1.2m x by 1.8m, an addition that could add between 30 and 50 per cent more crushing capacity to the machine, according to MO Group.

“The whole concept of the pre-screen is to remove all the fines from the cone crusher because they reduce your capacity and generate more wear,” he said. “You can split the amount of material that enters the crusher by placing the oversize in the crusher and have the mid-size bypass the crusher, for example.

“As a third option, you could send the whole lot out the side conveyor, giving you a few options depending on your application.”

An adjustable main conveyor has also been included with the new models, allowing users to raise or lower the discharge height between 3.2m and 3.9m.

This represents a change from usual proceedings, which would typically see MO plant fit best with other MO plant. By adjusting the conveyor, operators can now integrate their new MO crusher into a string of machines from other manufacturers.

“Obviously, this doesn’t always work because if you have another brand’s cone crusher which is a different height, you’ll have to add pads underneath or dig under another,” Doran said. “This is a lot of messing

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The Lokotrack LT220GP is easily integrated into any crushing circuit.

about and it adds to operator’s unproductive time.”

Another of Doran’s favourite aspects on the new models is the Caterpillar engine. At 310 kilowatts, the Cat C9.3B engine can chew through about 250 tonnes per hour on the LT200HPX. “The high performance of these models is enabled by the engine’s direct drive,” Doran said.

“Caterpillar have done a lot of work to make these engines very efficient. The direct drive of the engine ensures there’s no power loss through a gearbox.”

To satisfy safety and reliability, MO has made maintenance as easy as possible for time-poor operators, with collapsible platforms running along the length of the cone and the pre-screen.

These platforms can fold down within the transport envelope, so owners don’t have to crane pieces on and off every time the plant needs to be transported.

A range of liners available for the LT200HPX also improves maintenance duties.

“The 200HPX, for instance, has seven options to match different applications, which is a considerable amount,” Doran said.

“If it’s a secondary crusher you’ll have a coarser liner, but a tertiary application doing fine crushing will need a medium or fine liner to get the job done.”

In late March, TBE will be presenting the new models at the Institute of Quarrying Australia (IQA) National Conference in Newcastle (29–31 March).

Doran said the layperson might see the new models for the first time and remain unaware of some important updates in the LT200HPX and the LT220GP. “They’re an in-between model from what people are used to, but they have some smarts in their design that will make a difference,” he said. “I think those that have been around the industry for a while will see it and get those finer points straight away.”• For more information about the LT200HPX, the LT220GP and other plant in the Lokotrack range, visit tuttbryant.com.au/tutt-bryant-equipment/ metso

MAINTENANCE

BUSTING TRANSFER CHUTE BUILD-UP

B

uild-up in a transfer chute can lead to expensive complications. Removing it manually can be slow and unsafe, which is why Oli Vibrators helps remove it with the touch of a button.

Whenever certain materials move through a transfer chute and hit a wear plate, they can begin to build up.

It can happen to any product that becomes glutinous or homogenises with moisture, Oli Vibrators director Mark Thompson explained.

“It could be material like clay, or if you’re working on a tunnelling project and hit a water vein, that mud and hard rock could start creating problems,” he said.

Material build-up in a transfer chute will start to reduce the capacity of the chute and can stifle or even block the conveyor, completely stopping the process. The resultant mess would then need to be manually dug out.

Build-up can also lead to spillage, is expensive and cause damage to components.

Thompson said an easy fix to this problem is to install industrial vibrators on the chute.

“Oli Vibrators performs a detailed analysis of the chute, looking at the points where a vibrator can be fitted and where it will have the least amount of fatigue impact,” he said.

“We want to avoid any fatigue on the structure itself while also finding the best area of influence in the build-up zone. After we’ve done that, we can advise clients on installations and analyse available resources.”

By installing a vibrator on the chute, the company can get rid of the build-up with the touch of a button. Depending on the duty cycle, the vibrators can be turned on at specific points or run through a programmable logic controller.

Internet of Things-enabled technologies can be integrated into the system, with level indicators and capacitance sensors able to detect a build-up and turn on the vibrator to automatically remove it.

This removes the need for operators to place themselves in precarious positions, often at height and in enclosed, dusty, and wet areas, to remove build-ups themselves.

Thompson said fitting a vibrator also protects the assets themselves, as often the buildup is removed by striking the chute with a sledgehammer or heavy object.

“Every time you hit a chute with a hammer, it creates a potential hang-up point for the material. I’ve seen chutes with ‘hammer rash’ where people have been constantly belting it.

Seeing a bin or hopper with hammer rash is a sure sign there is an area in the process that needs addressing,” he said.

“Not only is using a hammer dangerous because you’re swinging around a large hammer at heights, but it is also bad for your bones and hearing. Using vibrators helps preserve both the structure and the person.”

Thompson added that most designers aim to build chutes that don’t need vibration, and it is

Build-up can also lead to spillage, is expensive and can cause damage to components.

often a method of last resort or frustration. He added that once they’re installed, the build-up problems disappear quick with very little effort.

Oli Vibrators can install the systems on almost any transfer point. The company has installed vibrators on chutes for cocoa in a chocolate factory and at quarries handling 500 tonnes of limestone per hour. Chutes that use ceramic lining are often unsuitable, as it could damage the bond between the chute and lining so our flow aid range may be more appropriate.

The company has operated in Australia for more than two decades and has built up expertise in providing the right tools for the job. Thompson said Oli Vibrators’ staff are knowledgeable about its products and know how to apply them to all kinds of situations.

“Our staff have worked with materials handling for years and we have enough case studies under our belt where we can use previous experiences to find new solutions,” he said.

“What sets us apart are the high-quality materials and precision engineering that goes into making each of the vibrators. The company is based in Italy and imports its products from overseas where they must meet rigorous Australian and International quality assurance standards.

“They’re also virtually maintenance free and easily replaced. Once fitted, they go about their business based on the operation. They can be programmed to work in conjunction with the process and are energy efficient.”

Oli Vibrator’s mission statement is “when you need it, where you need it”. To deliver on that, the Australian business keeps plenty of spares on hand if required and can call upon all 22 of the global company’s trading subsidiaries.

Each product also comes with a two-year warranty, which includes full replacement or repair of the product.

Thompson said fast support is critical to many of its customers, who have a limited timeframe to work in.

“That’s why we offer around the clock support. If a process fails in a food manufacturer’s production line in the middle of the night, we can get a solution sent over to get everything working again by morning,” he said. • To learn more about Oli Vibrator products, visit olivibra.com/au

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MAINTENANCE

SIDEWALL PROTECTOR SAVES TYRES AND TIME

K

inder Australia has added another vital piece of the puzzle to its innovative product range.

Well-known as a specialist in conveyor belt solutions, the company has branched out to provide the K-OTR (off the road) Sidewall Protector for tyres in abrasive environments like mines or quarries.

Kinder took lessons from around the world’s extractive industry to learn more about sidewall protection devices and used this to develop the best design with the best materials available.

Kinder Australia business development manager Sean Kinder said only the best would suit the company’s tough applications in mining and quarrying “The K-OTR Sidewall Protector is made from polyurethane, using a specially engineered formula which has been used reliably and widely in the quarrying industry for lining applications,” he told Quarry.

“It’s been proven to survive in very abrasive environments, with high-impact abrasion and wear qualities. Given that it’s had such success in the bulk-handling and quarrying industry, we selected it as a good material for our sidewall protector.

“The material can also change shape under heavy loads and return to its original shape once the load is removed.”

The K-OTR Sidewall Protector is designed to take any abrasion that may be caused by jagged rocks or obstacles on a quarry site, sparing the significant cost and downtime associated with a punctured OTR tyre.

Kinder described the sidewall protector as being much like an insurance policy, or even a “safety boot”, for mobile quarrying equipment.

“It’s not quite like a liner you’d find in a crusher or a chute, for example, which last for a predictable amount of time and wear out over a linear period,” he said. “Tyres aren’t constantly and predictably being subjected to abrasion, but loader tyres especially tend to dig into stockpiles as they work, threatening to pierce the sidewall.

“It’s this kind of random abrasion that the K-OTR Sidewall Protector is designed to mitigate.”

Kinder Australia’s sidewall protector was

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The polyurethane material is renowned for its abrasion resistance.

designed to be installed easily and efficiently, especially when compared to replacing a whole OTR tyre. Available to fit over any brand of size of tyre, the K-OTR presents as a much more convenient solution compared to a punctured tyre.

Of course, as with most insurance policies, life can go on without them, but it’s all about judging your risk management, according to Kinder.

“If you have no protection and just bare tyres, of course that will be cheaper, but the downtime of a punctured tyre is well worth considering,” he said.

“As soon as there’s a puncture it’s going to deflate immediately. This will potentially strand your vehicle somewhere out on site, getting in the way of other vehicles and being difficult to return to the workshop.”

The installation process can be taught to any fitter on site, removing the need to outsource specialist contractors that would cost more time and money.

Kinder has spent eight years as a field applications specialist, with a considerable amount of experience working up close and personal with the K-OTR. He said this was yet another example of the company going one step further to better serve the Australian

Jagged rocks are hardly a match for Kinder’s sidewall protector.

quarrying industry.

“This innovation is something that will set Kinder apart. To our knowledge there are no others on the market and it’s a solution I feel the quarry industry has been needing for a while,” he said. • For more information about Kinder’s K-OTR Sidewall Protector and other products, visit kinder.com.au

EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

AN ESSENTIAL ASPECT

OF EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

Ahead of a presentation at the IQA’s national conference this month, IQA Fellow and certified coach Mike Cameron explains why trust is fundamental to effective leadership and a critical factor in building team success across all aspects of a professional organisation.

I

n this ongoing age of Trumpism, extremism and fake news, broken election promises and glib double-talk from politicians, and avaricious behaviour by corporate leaders, we have become a nation of cynics crying out for strong leadership and a return to old-school thinking, such as trust, ethics and values.

At whatever level within an organisation – and after due evaluation of corporate expectations and directives – it is a vital responsibility of effective leadership to set an example and regularly review their behaviours, communication style and their team’s interactions, internally with suppliers/ contractors and externally with the community and regulators.

In May 2021, I made a presentation – The importance of Trust in the Workplace – at the Institute of Public Works Engineers Australia (IPWEA) Victorian virtual conference. Thanks to COVID-19, the event was delayed by a year.

My articles in March and May 2020 for Quarry were based on the framework of the IPWEA presentation. I planned to present a modified version of the paper at the IQA’s national conference in late 2021; it too was postponed until late March 2022.

The following reiterates the importance of some of the models and topics in my paper: TRUSTWORTHINESS – based on a modified Green/Maister’s Trust Equation and the Trust Matrix from Stephen MR Covey’s The Speed of Trust.

PRIMING FOR TRUST – based on Judith E Glaser’s Conversational Essentials.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE – based on Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. This offers an explanation on how to create the capacity to be aware of, to control and express, one’s emotions while handling interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.

COACHING – based upon understanding the requirements and having the competence to effectively apply those skills.

TRUST QUOTIENT In the modified version of Green/Maister’s Trust Equation there are four objective variables to measure Trust Quotient (TQ) or Trustworthiness: Believability, Dependability, Relatability and Self-Interest, which are then combined to create the following equation:

TQ = B + D + R S-1 TQ is a measure of an individual’s TRUSTWORTHINESS that can be easily assessed using these four variables: 1. Believability. Having confidence in the truth, existence, or reliability of something, albeit without absolute proof.

2. Dependability. Relates to the other person’s actions and their display of honesty, economy, faithfulness and a capacity for finishing what is started.

3. Relatability. Refers to your connection to the other person; appreciating their ease of communication; identifying with their ability to understand and be understood; and to recognise/appreciate when they display empathy towards you and others.

4. Self-interest – which relates to the other person’s focus, ie are they focused on themselves or you, when making decisions and advising what is best for you?

TRUST MATRIX Figure 1, from Stephen MR Covey’s The Speed of Trust, identifies that TRUST is established through a fusion of Character and Competence. Covey says that Intent combines Caring, Transparency and Openness. Integrity is defined by Honesty, Fairness and Authenticity. Covey describes Capability as requiring one to have Skills, Knowledge and Experience and he concludes that Results are determined by Record, Credibility and Performance.

Figure 1. Steven MR Covey’s TRUST Matrix.

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EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

CONVERSATIONAL INTELLIGENCE In her book Conversational Intelligence, Judith E Glaser discusses her foundational work on Conversational Essentials, listed below: • Being Open to Influence. Connecting without judgement, engaging and listening to what others are saying and even thinking, rather than preparing for what we want to say next.

• Priming for Trust. Creating a healthy mental, emotional and conversational environment that activates higher levels of partnering.

• This Essential is the foundation of Conversational Intelligence. Trust is when we believe others will deliver on their promises. Distrust is when we doubt others are telling the truth and believe they will not deliver on their promises. Priming for Trust enables us to work as partners and to achieve higher levels of success with others. TRUST involves actively bringing the following behaviours into your interactions with others: • Transparency. Ask Questions for Which You/ We Have No Answers, ie being in a mindset of discovery, and co-creating a space of sharing and discovering.

• Relationships. Listening to Connect, Not Judge, Confirm or Reject. Focusing attention on the other person: opening yourself up to connect to the other person’s aspiration and “view of the world” in a nonjudgmental way.

• Understanding. Sustaining Conversational Agility. Moving in and out of conversations with ease and agility; create a new “conversational space” that elevates trust and invites wisdom and insight to emerge.

• Shared Success.

• Truth Telling.

• Double-clicking (Check for understanding).

Uncover and explore what is in the other person’s mind, gaining clarity and deeper understanding of others’ perspectives, their beliefs, and their unique viewpoints.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE Daniel Goleman’s model for Emotional Intelligence is outlined as follows: Self-awareness: The recognition of one’s own strengths and weaknesses.

Self-regulation: The ability to manage emotion and express it appropriately and usefully.

Motivation: Being driven internally, rather than just working for a pay cheque.

Empathy: The ability to note and respond to other people’s motivations and needs.

People skills: The ability to win others’ respect and build rapport.

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COACHING Understanding the value of coaching and regularly applying those skills is important. Are you the Task Master or the Coach?

Coaching guides team members towards their own resourcefulness, knowledge and insights. Unlike training, where the course facilitator sets the agenda, coaching focuses on supporting the person through their own discovery of blind spots and opportunities for empowerment.

An effective coach, particularly one interested in leading through change, transformation and empowerment, knows how to point team members towards innovation and new discoveries (Figure 2).

If you want to inspire the hearts and minds of your team then it is time for a different approach – Coach!

EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP MODEL The word TRUST appears three times in the Effective Leadership model. It is the foundational concept for the model, a critical aspect of workplace engagement and an important leadership mindset (Figure 3).

Creating, maintaining and sustaining TRUST is not easy. It takes active participation and the regular display, of Respect, Courage, Integrity and Agility (ie being nimble emotionally and in your leadership style).

Here are two quotations to ponder: • “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care (about them).”

(Attributed to Theodore Roosevelt) • “People leave managers, not companies.”

(Marcus Buckingham) I am sure that many of us have endured periods of working with a boss who showed us little or no respect, micro-managed or attempted to control our every action. These types of behaviour were hardly conducive to gaining our Respect or building Trust.

In a recent Boston Consulting Groupsponsored webcast of the M&M Show – ‘Has the concept of the Corporation died?’1 – there were three guests: Tom Peters, Susan David and Alan Mulally. The key take-aways from all three luminaries were: (i) The importance of Trust in your relationships.

Figure 2. An effective coach is more than just a guide.

(ii) Ensuring that your people feel aligned with your values. (iii) Focusing on your people and showing that you care and appreciate their contribution to your success. (iv) Listening for understanding while managing by “walking around”. (v) Using open, unambiguous and consistent messaging and being aware of your leadership style. (vi) Showing courage, integrity and respect when difficult conversations are necessary.

I reiterate the importance of establishing (and sustaining) trust in the workplace while appreciating the role that your communication style and tone; leadership style and focus, and overall agility (emotional and leadership) play in changing people’s perceptions of you as their leader (Figure 4).

Finally, to become an effective leader, I recommend you measure yourself and your leadership style against the following simple definitions, ie the seven core characteristics of the Effective Leadership model: 1. Know Yourself. “Confident leaders apply their strengths judiciously and work on their personal growth and development. They appreciate the value of life-long learning and self-discovery.”

2. Vision and Values. “Visionary leaders appreciate that, while values make a contribution, vision is future-focused and about developing clarity and purpose around their goals.”

3. Trust in your Leadership. “Trustworthy leaders appreciate themselves, exhibit their values, walk their talk and trust in their worth.

They work with their people to establish believability, dependability and reliability through open and transparent behaviour that lacks self-interest.”

4. Motivation and Teamwork. “Motivated leaders create a working environment where empowerment and active encouragement build teamwork. They show trust and courage while walking the talk.”

5. Empathetic Relationships. “Empathetic

COURAGE (PERSONAL AND PUBLIC) Bill Treasurer, author of Courage goes to work, wrote in the introduction to his article for this section of my book: People have high, and often conflicting, expectations of leaders. At once, we expect leaders to be reasonable but passionate, decisive but inclusive, visionary but explicit, and powerful but humble. We also want leaders who are rational but emotionally intelligent, caring but impartial, and profitdriven but people-oriented ... we also want our leaders to know how to operate all the levers of business ... the relationships between functions and departments ... markets and customers ... the business development process, how funding sources flow, how to mitigate risks, and how to attract, develop, assess, and reward talent.

The list of expectations is so long and contradictory that the aspiring leader is right to ask, “Where on earth do I start?!”

Start with C-O-U-R-A-G-E! Courage, according to Aristotle, is the first virtue ... because it makes all the other virtues possible.

Figure 3. The seven characteristics of effective leadership, supplemented by the four attributes of trust.

leaders have the ability to recognise, understand and share the thoughts and feelings of another person. They acknowledge the story without judgement.”

6. Effective Communication. “Effective leaders understand the power of words and their ability to inspire, support, reassure and direct their people. They communicate with clarity of purpose.”

7. Emotional Resilience. “Resilient leaders are aware and in control of their emotions and have the ability to adapt to stressful situations or crises. They overcome adversity without lasting issues.”

Within my recent book Effective Leaders, I introduced each of the four attributes (shown in the model firmly supported by a foundation of TRUST) as follows: RESPECT (Gender Equality, Equity and Inclusion: Cultural Diversity, Equality, Equity and Inclusion).

With regard to Culture and Inclusion, I sought answers to the following three questions: (i) The way in which diverse peoples, tribes, communities – across Australia and the

Torres Straits – want: (a) Their history, culture, knowledge of Country and current needs to be understood by the other inhabitants of Australia. (b) To be recognised and listened to across all levels of government (Federal, State and local) – with an acceptance that this will have an impact upon existing policy and guide future policy direction. (c) The authorities, regulators and service providers to better manage their specific accountabilities and regular interaction with Indigneous communities. (ii) The way in which the First Nation’s Elders would define their leadership role(s) during the negotiation processes, subsequent implementation strategies and longer term regulation of these many, widely dispersed and diverse communities. (iii) The key points you would want a reader of this article, as an emerging or effective leader, to take away with intent to actively support significant long-term change and the meaningful inclusion of Aboriginal culture within the Australian “way of life”.

INTEGRITY (ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY AND AUTHENTICITY) Anthony Tham, in his article for my book, noted that Warren Buffet, the billionaire investor, is well known for telling a story about his firm’s perspective on recruiting, and integrity is central to the selection principles. “We look for three things when we hire people. We look for intelligence ... initiative or energy ... and ... integrity. And if they do not have the latter, the first two will kill you because if you’re going to get someone without integrity, you want them lazy and dumb.”

Maister has argued that professionalism is about a dedication to personal improvement and a commitment to providing the best, most efficient service to clients. A part of achieving this outcome is working with other professionals and guiding clients; in both cases, these groups need a reason to follow or listen to you. There are four tests to be met: motives, values, competence and style.

The first test that a leader and advisor must meet is that of motives. The leader’s integrity is central to passing this test. Maister writes: Your task as a leader is to help others to succeed, not to strive only for your own success. If I do not trust your motives, nothing else will matter because my primary concern is your integrity.

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EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

LEADERSHIP AGILITY Bill Joiner, author of Leadership Agility, opened his piece with the following statement: Today’s business leaders face an environment ... dramatically different from ... 20 years ago.

Even before ... COVID ... everything was changing rapidly and becoming increasingly interdependent. Now we must ask, will there be a “new normal”, and what will the postpandemic business environment look like?

In this emerging era, uncertainty abounds but the business environment will be ruled by two powerful, underlying global trends ... the pace of change will accelerate and everything will depend more on interconnected relationships.

Together, these two deep global trends constitute the underlying cause of ... today’s ‘VUCA world’... characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity.

Dr Susan David, author of Emotional Agility, permitted me to reprint a short piece she had written for Slack Technologies in 2019 entitled The State of Work. It opens with: Fortunately alignment is not a finite resource.

It is a competitive advantage available to every worker and every company, everywhere.

What people want – and need – is to feel part of the bigger plan. To be kept in the loop.

To have the support and understanding ... to achieve their best work. Even aligned workers agree that they want more alignment. Workers everywhere want more transparency, frequent communication and a clear understanding of who is doing what.

Companies acting now ... can reshape their trajectories toward more innovation, happier and more engaged workers, and ultimately more growth and revenue.

When people ... bring their emotional truth to work ... innovation, creativity, engagement and culture thrive in the organisation.

Data is wonderful, but how can you translate that into action within your team? Dr David lists eight principles all leaders, from executives to managers, can leverage to provide their teams with the support to achieve the best outcomes: 1. Invest in alignment now.

2. Lead with strategy and vision.

3. Communicate your strategy monthly.

4. Allow people to be more human at work.

5. Empower all leaders to share the strategic vision but start at the top.

6. Opt for meetings and collaborative channels when sharing strategy.

7. Aggregate tools and information.

8. Distraction is not just a productivity killer.

Mark P Dangelo, wrote an enlightening, innovative article called Force Multipliers for

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Figure 4. The importance of establishing and sustaining trust in the workplace.

this segment. He opens as follows: Peter Thiel was ... quoted ... that “competition is for losers”. Yet, when ... charting a new course, leading diverse and global teams, and finding complementary and collaborative members to deliver results, are prescriptive statements the answer against iterative, fastcycle business demands? Or are we ... now recognising that traditional management and leadership approaches lack relevancy? ... the traditional answers and benchmark axioms are ... replaced by visionary leaders contemplating: “Are we asking the right questions?”

For leaders struggling with Industry 4.0 management and leadership efficacy ... The realities of social, technical, and behavioural demands brought on by digital economies and rising stakeholder capitalism is forcing a quantum shift in how leaders inspire not only their employees, but themselves. However, the definition of Industry 4.0 is opaque for many as the hype of digital transformation and building block innovational advancements take precedent over substance.

To address a framework to leverage Industry

4.0 requires a new approach to alignment and agility when it comes to leadership skills.

My article offers suggestions that will help you gain a clearer insight about building, and sustaining, a working environment that encourages TRUSTWORTHINESS. To support your team, you must implement strategies and processes that ensure you: • Establish trust and encourage trustworthiness.

• Use open, transparent and effective communication.

• Utilise conversational essentials and prime for trust.

• Become a great coach.

• Apply emotional agility.

• Enjoy your leadership role and keep learning.

Mike Cameron is an IQA Fellow and a certified workplace coach. Visit strategically.com.au or email mike@strategically.com.au REFERENCE & FURTHER VIEWING 1 The M&M Show: Has the concept of the Corporation died?

A podcast hosted by Martin Linstrom and Marshall Goldsmith on LinkedIN on 16 September, 2021. https://www.linkedin. com/video/live/urn:li:ugcPost:6842152616139587584/

63RD IQA NATIONAL CONFERENCE NEWCASTLE, NSW 29 – 31 MARCH 2022 To register or for further information visit the Conference Website https://iqa.eventsair.com/conference

The Institute of Quarrying Australia

IQA NEWS

The Institute of Quarrying Australia

IQA JOB NOTICE BOARD IQA members can advertise vacancies on the IQA Jobs Board for free. The advertisement will be published for three weeks. If the role is not filled in this time, you will be able to request the advertisement stay live for a further three weeks. The IQA Jobs Board is a great way to reach people in the industry who may be looking for opportunity. To advertise, email admin@quarry.com.au.

Ensure you follow the IQA on LinkedIN – linkedin.com/company/the-australianinstitute-of-quarrying/ – for updates on The next Queensland Quarrying & Mining Health and Safety Conference, to be hosted at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on 10 June, will conclude with a three-course dinner function.

BRANCH NEWS

SAVE THE DATE

Planned branch and sub-branch activities in the third quareter of 2022 were heavily impacted due to COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. The branches are continuing to work hard to maintain events and keep our industry connected. The following events were postponed and will be rescheduled in the coming months:

• 10 June - Quarrying & Mining Health and Safety Conference, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

• NSW Student Presentation Night (postponed from February).

• SA Diversity and Inclusion Conference (postponed from February).

• Queensland Young Member Network site visit (postponed from February).

A huge thanks goes to all the committee members who are supporting the planning and replanning of networking events and education.

Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

• June 2022 (date TBC) - North Queensland Safety & Health Conference, Townsville.

The two health and safety conferences will again provide delegates with a detailed update from Resources Safety and Health Queensland and quality speakers to address the key health and safety topics.

For more information and to register, visit quarry.com.au/events

MEMBERSHIP REVIEW COMMITTEE NOMINATION The IQA is seeking an EOI for up to five additional representatives from industry,

industry information. branches and sub-branches, and suppliers to join the Membership Review Committee (MRC).

The MRC’s role will be to: 1. Determine applications for member status, where applicants do not have a formal or exempting qualification.

2. Determine applications for membership that are referred to it by the National Office staff or Chair of the Committee.

3. Determine applications for membership that are referred to it by applicants that are not happy with the decision of the National Office staff or Chair of the Committee.

4. Review and provide recommendations to the Board via the Chief Executive Officer on all nominations for Fellowship.

5. Review and provide recommendations to the Board via the CEO on all nominations for Honorary Fellowship.

UPCOMING BRANCH EVENTS

6. Review and provide advice to the CEO on all membership matters.

• 10 March

Victorian Branch Autumn Breakfast

7. Review and provide advice to the CEO on strategies to sustain and grow membership.

• 11 March

Western Australian Branch Bowls and Barbeque Meeting

• 16 March

North Queensland Branch Cairns Dinner Meeting

• 20 May

Queensland Branch 28th Annual Golf Day

• 27 May

North Queensland Branch Mackay Annual Golf Day

• 31 May

Central Queensland Sub-branch Site Visit and Networking

For more information about upcoming events, visit quarry.com.au/events

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8. Refer matters of Committee composition, membership guideline amendments, membership grades and annual membership fees to the Board via the CEO. For more information, download the EOI form from the IQA website: quarry.com. au (Membership >Membership Review Committee).

EDUCATION & TRAINING Face to face training is back! Following a very

IQA NEWS

The Institute of Quarrying Australia

#BREAKTHEBIAS Tuesday 8 March, 2022 celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD). Through the theme of #BreakTheBias, IWD this year aimed to promote workplaces that are free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination, a world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive, and a world where difference is valued and celebrated. Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias.

The IQA has been working with industry to celebrate and promote the diversity in our industry and to encourage greater diversity and involvement. Women In Quarrying (WIQ) has gone from strength to strength and it is very fitting that we launch our own campaign – Quarrying with Diversity – to align with IWD. The IQA will be celebrating the amazing career opportunities of members in the quarrying industry and showcasing the role that younger people, women and people from different backgrounds play. I have written before about the pressures to attract, maintain and develop our workforces in line with the skills that our industry requires

to operate sustainably, safely and profitably. Diversity will only strengthen and improve the talent pool.

I was delighted to be invited by one of our valued industry partners John Deere to speak at its IWD event targeting more than 200 staff from all parts of their business. I shared my career journey and some of the highs and lows around inclusion.

Reflection is a powerful tool. I used the opportunity to reflect not only on my career but areas where I can improve and support greater diversity and inclusion.

During the presentation I discussed the IWD #BreakTheBias campaign theme. Specifically, it is about challenging people’s own self-biases and their also their unconscious biases. As individuals, if we break the bias we will improve culture and open the door to the talent available to our industry.

As an industry we are slowly addressing the

disrupted schedule, the IQA has scheduled a number of new courses that are being offered face to face in 2022, including:

team or your own professional development, the IQA have a course to suit you. All sessions carry CPD hours aligned to the QMCS and for those in New South Wales, the NSW Maintenance of Competence Scheme.

• Supervising for Safety.

• Plant and Equipment: Safety, Compliance and Best Practice.

• Slope Stability.

• Respirable Crystalline Silica.

Visit www.quarry.com.au for up to date scheduling of courses in your state. If a course is not listed, contact the IQA - email admin@ quarry.com.au - and we can discuss your training needs.

VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS CONTINUE FOR 2022 The IQA is pleased to have delivered a range of professional development opportunities throughout 2021, keeping our industry engaged and connected during a challenging year. Why not start 2022 by completing some training via a virtual workshop?

Whether you’re looking for training for your

diversity issue. But the rubber hits the road when we address inclusion. Safer workplaces, greater innovation, happier teams and improved performance all come from inclusion.

KYLIE FAHEY Chief Executive Officer Institute of Quarrying Australia

IQA NEW MEMBERS GRADE

NAME

TMIQ

Erik Sleeman

NSW

Professional development opportunities available over the coming months include:

TMIQ

Erkin Holbaev

QLD

TMIQ

Shaun Rietdyk

QLD

• 3 March (8:00am - 4:30pm) Learning from Disasters Virtual Workshop

ASSOC

Russell Hoffmann

QLD

ASSOC

Mark Malone

NSW

• 10 March (9:30am - 1:00pm) Slope Stability for Operators Virtual Workshop

ASSOC

Richard Eaton

QLD

• 17 March (9:30am – 11:00am) Introduction to Safety Management Systems Webinar

MIQ

Frank Nigro

ASSOC

Jacob Woods

NQLD

ASSOC

Rod Dawson

QLD

MIQ

Peter Garland

NSW

OP

Jacob Stewart

QLD

• 6 April (9:00am – 1:00pm) Electrical Awareness Virtual Workshop

ASSOC

John Goodrham

VIC

TMIQ

Dorian Cicarelli

QLD

• 7 April (10:00am - 11:30am) Quarry Roads & Onsite Vehicle Safety Webinar

TMIQ

Matthew Smith

QLD

MIQ

Paul Mandeno

NSW

For further information on professional development opportunities available via the IQA, visit www.quarry.com.au

MIQ

David Penna

TMIQ

Jamie Whittaker

• 22 March (9:00am – 4:00pm) Quarry Products Technical Training Virtual Workshop

BRANCH

VIC

NQLD NSW

Quarry March 2022 73

GEOLOGY TALK

THE HISTORY BENEATH VICTORIAN ICONS

Who would ever have thought that Melbourne’s Fitzroy Gardens sits atop one of Melbourne’s original quarries?

The Victorian Government has produced a booklet to recognise the quarrying history behind some of Victoria’s best-known public spaces.

T

he New Lives of Old Quarries: Innovative Development after Quarrying Ceases reveals what kind of quarrying operations used to occur on sites like Melbourne’s Fitzroy Gardens, Highpoint Shopping Centre, Cranbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens and Albert Park Lake.

The premise of the resource was to advocate for innovative rehabilitation plans to inspire the next generation of Victorian infrastructure – from the ashes of where the materials were sourced.

Victorian Resources Minister Jaala Pulford said it was just as important to recognise the part quarries play today as it is to turn them into something else.

“Quarries are vital to build a state that provides for every person, regardless of where they live, and we know it’s just as important to plan for what happens when the extraction ends,” Pulford said.

“Old quarries have been transformed into some of our most loved community assets and we’ll continue to make sure that’s the case.”

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Quarry March 2022

“This compendium provides just a few examples of where quarry land has been repurposed for uses that benefit our community,” John Krbaleski, the chair of the Victorian Government’s Extractives Strategy Taskforce, says in the introduction to New Lives for Old Quarries.

“You may be surprised. You may be inspired. A quarry may be temporary, but it supplies critical materials for our daily lives and the possibility for the future of quarried land is endless.”

Examples in the booklet include: • The Fitzroy Gardens, which sits atop one of the first quarries to open in Melbourne in the 1830s.

• The All Nations Park in Northcote, which produced clay bricks in the 1870s. The Northcote Brick Company developed the 3.2 hectares of land, which included a 12-metre deep quarry.

• Valley Lake in Niddrie, which produced basalt from the 1940s to the 1970s. The backdrop to the lake is a 30m high basalt cliff face.

The New Lives of Old Quarries, produced by Victorian Earth Resources, chronicles the former quarrying lives of iconic sites throughout Victoria.

• Coburg Lake Reserve, which between 1858 and 1864 provided the bluestone bricks that created the infamous Pentridge Prison.

• The Quarry Reserve in Ferntree Gully, whose quarry site was established in 1888 and did not cease operation until 1995. Thanks to the advancement of equipment and technology over its century of operation, the quarry’s output went from 20,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) in the 1920s to more than 700,000 tpa by the early 1990s.

• Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne.

This area was quarried from the 1820s for its renowned tertiary or “Cranbourne” sand which was employed in bricklaying and concrete production. From 1920 to 1970, it was quarried under licence but was acquired by the Victorian Government as part of its plans to create a “native annex” to Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens. • To view a copy of The New Lives of Old Quarries booklet, visit the Victorian Earth Resources website: earthresources.vic. gov.au/projects/extractive-resourcesstrategy/innovative-sector

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