Download - Fortescue Metals Group Ltd

Area of earthworks cleared by the
team for the warehouse expansion,
with the Maintenance workshop to the
left and Gulf workshop to the right.
Teamwork
saves millions
The earthworks for the
warehouse expansion at
Cloudbreak were completed
this month, thanks to
various departments on site
rallying to get the job done.
A combined team from Road, Gulf,
Surface Mining and Surveying
worked hard to level the ground,
creating a workable base on which
6
the warehouse can be built. By not
contracting the work, the teams
involved saved Fortescue $3.2 million.
The warehouse expansion to the east
of the Gulf workshop was a ‘cut to
fill’ process requiring a combination
of vermeers, surface miners, dozers,
loaders and Gulf trucks to move
material. With the January flooding
of the pits, the team was able to
effectively and efficiently utilise two
extra surface miners over a two week
period, allowing the job to move
along faster.
In all, approximately 69,000m 3 of rock
was cut and just less than 11,000m 3 of
material filled into the Valley to create
an area of nearly 5 hectares.
The utilisation of equipment wasn’t
the only financially viable benefit that
came from the job, but also a high
volume of road base material that
came from the earthworks. The road
base is quite costly and is constantly
needed for the sheeting of roads and
ramps.
“It is great to see all the different
crews working together - the team
turned a vision into reality,” said Mike
Duncan, Road Superintendent.
Wet plant construction
at Cloudbreak.