A BHP Illawarra employee newsletter quoted Bruce Allan, vice president, operations, as saying the production increase was a vote of confidence in the future of the operation.
“Over the past four-to-five months, there has been a dramatic re-assessment of the future of West Cliff, and the way we could maximise our returns from the pit,” he said.
The mine produced 1.978Mt of ROM coal in the year ended June 2001 and is budgeted to produce 2.3Mt for 2001-02. In the year to November 28, West Cliff has produced 1.17Mt. To accommodate higher production levels the coal preparation plant has been upgraded from 740tph to 850tph.
The mine is currently focused on the next mining area, called 5 Area, which lies beyond a faulted zone to the north-east of current workings. One last block remains to be mined on the south-west side of the fault, due to begin in January 2002 running through to November 2002. The first block in the 5 Area will begin around January 2003. Mine manager Gavin Taylor said investigations were currently underway to look at the possibility of extending block width from 250m to 300m.
By the second block in 5 Area, scheduled to commence roughly by the end of 2003, the mine is hoping to have purchased a complete new longwall.
Meanwhile, an engineering review has been underway to re-equip the mine with fit for purpose gear. A rebuilt Joy 12CM12 continuous miner machine, ex Kenmare, arrived on site in September. A 12CM20 is currently being built from the tracks up, Taylor said, and being converted to a 12CM30 with four Cram rigs, two automatic rib bolters and fitted with material pods produced by Roberts Engineering. The mine has also taken receipt of four new SMV Drift Runners.
The booster fan installation project is proceeding according to plan Taylor said, with commissioning scheduled for December 9. Believed to be the most powerful ventilation fans in an underground Australian coal mine, the two ABB centrifugal fans are rated at 1600 kilowatts combined.
(The September 2001 edition of Australia’s Longwalls published an article on the installation.)
Taylor said in line with the new direction for the pit, an area management system is being established, with crews becoming more involved in panel standards and procedures.
“This is the time to let people know we’re fair dinkum about the future of this operation. We all want to move forward, and demonstrate we’re here for the long haul.”
Taylor said his team was already assessing future equipment requirements, including potential purchase of replacement longwall system.
“Despite costly gas drainage systems, older infrastructure, and difficult geological conditions, we’re mining some of the best prime hard coking coal in the world. When blended with No 3 Seam coal, it’s a very attractive product.
"Given we can achieve budget on our FOB costs, we can use our advantage of proximity to the port to be competitive with any mine in Australia," he said.
Finalising the certified agreement has allowed the mine to build up to full manning. Current numbers of operators will increase from 48 to 72; fitters from 9 to 12 and electricians from 7 to 13.
West Cliff has a mine life of 15 years in the 5 Area but other areas of coal are available to the mine.
