Wanted Tour - Finning Canada

INDUSTRY REPORTB.C. MININGINDUSTRY REPORTB.C. MININGINDUSTRY REPORTLANDSCAPINGSite prepat WesternCanadian Coal’sWolverine mineis continuingwith $40 millionof new Cat ironFinning’s B.C. mining sales manager Jim Harrison,who announced the additional $8 million sale toWestern Canadian Coal, stressed that there’s a lot moreactivity in the industry beyond the Wolverine mine.“Copper hit $2 a pound the other day,” he said. “It’sunheard of. We have good reason to believe the pricewill remain strong over the next three years. Beyondthat, it’s anyone’s guess, but all indictors are positive.”Harrison also emphasized how Finning is growingalongside the mining sector. “We’ve just added a newmining-account manager, Darcy Hill, specifically forTumbler Ridge. He’s from Prince George, from outsidethe company. It’s a new position and he’ll be one of twopermanently stationed in Tumbler Ridge.” Finning hadearlier added 13 more staff to its Kamloops operationsand expanded staff in Prince George. The companynow has more than 1,100 employees at 23 operationscentres in B.C. alone.These numbers can only grow as Finning continuesto service what it sells. Western Canadian Coal’s newCat packages consists of five Cat 789C haul trucks witha 190-ton capacity, five Cat 785C haul trucks with a150-ton capacity, a Cat 385 excavator, a Cat 16H motorgrader, a Cat 992 wheel loader, a Cat 834H wheel dozerand four Cat D10T tractors. The equipment was deliveredduring the latter part of 2005 and the first quarterof 2006 and is being used for pre-production stripping,as well as mining operations.The D10T features the latest computertechnology as well as the traditionalpower and longevity that Cat is knownfor. Features like Automated Blade Assistand optional Computer-Aided EarthmovingSystems enable the D10T operator to domore work in less time by maximizing themachine’s capabilities and power.Finning shop chargehand Bob Brash, who is also thecustomer-service rep in Kamloops, mentioned that oneof the industry-leading features on the D10T is its 646-horsepower C27 engine with ACERT technology. “TheC27 is not just more powerful and more fuel efficientthan previous version,” Brash said. “The big thing withthe C27 is that it reduces exhaust emissions to a pointwhere it exceeds the most stringent government regulationsto date. Cat is a leader in this technology.”To people unfamiliar with the mining industry, a$40 million equipment purchase probably seems likea lot of money for pre-production. Yet it’s just one partof the Wolverine mine’s $300 million in total start-upcapital costs. And the fact that the operation will reapthe benefits of $1.5 billion invested in infrastructure fornortheastern B.C. coal development in the early 1980sfurther puts these figures into perspective.The Wolverine mine will tap into existing rail lines,an ocean port, the town of Tumbler Ridge, highwaysand other facilities. So it won’t be long before the coalis hauled on the roaring railway from the soaring Rockiesto the distant Pacific, then carried on conveyer beltsinto the cargo holds of steel-hulled freighters that dieseltheir way to hungry foundries in the Far East. There, thehigh-heat-producing metallurgical coal will feed thefires of the world’s two most populous nations, which,for the past 100 years, have hung between developedand undeveloped status.Today, in the first decade of 21st century, China andIndia, as well as other countries in Southeast Asia, arereshaping the world market with modern manufacturingplants. Both countries have rapidly growing automanufacturingindustries which require steel. And tomake that steel, they need the heat of B.C. coal.PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF WESTERN CANADIAN COAL CORP.26 TRACKS & TREADS • Spring 2006 www.finning.ca