Cummins_eMag_Summer_2014 Final Single

BGC plant operations manager Frank Wightman (centre) with Cummins customer support
representative Andrew Bettess (left) and Cummins mining business manager Jason Linke.
BGC is carrying out the mining
operations for Arrium, a company
that originated in 2000 when it was
spun off from BHP as OneSteel.
At the time, the company – with its
Whyalla steelworks in South Australia
– was solely a domestic manufacturer
and distributor of steel products.
The name change from OneSteel to
Arrium occurred in 2012 to highlight
the company’s evolution away
from being a pure steel maker.
In 2005 the decision was made to
enter the iron ore export business,
and today Arrium is the fourth largest
producer of iron ore in Australia with its
mining operations in South Australia.
Arrium is aiming for sustained export
sales of 12 Mtpa of hematite ore while
also supplying magnetite iron ore feed to
its steelworks at Whyalla. The company
achieved a major milestone is June
with an export run rate of 12 Mtpa.
BGC began mining operations at Iron
Duke in the Middleback Ranges near
Whyalla in November 2012, and in late
2013 expanded its operations to the
Iron Knob area for Arrium – the first
time full mining has been carried out
in the area since the late 1990s.
Iron Knob is the birthplace of the steel
industry and was once home to the
largest commercially-viable quantity
of iron ore in Australia. In fact, BHP
started mining at Iron Knob in 1899.
At Iron Duke – a mine that opened
in 1989 – BGC’s operations include
drilling and blasting, and ore extraction
and haulage. In the first 12 months
of operation, the BGC fleet’s monthly
movement of ore and waste was in the
range of 1.3 to 1.5 million BCMs.
“We hit the ground running from day
one,” says BGC plant operations
manager Frank Wightman.
The fact that the diggers are the backbone
of the operation is emphasised by
Wightman who points out that their
mechanical availability is in the high 90s
compared with the targeted 95%.
“We’ve been set challenging production
targets and we’re meeting those targets,”
he says. “In fact, we’re consistently
exceeding the targets and we put that
down to the new fleet of diggers.
“That’s the reason we went with the new
diggers. It takes one part of the risk away.”
He points out there are high expectations
for the Tier 2 Cummins QSK engines with
their modular common rail fuel system,
and to date they’re playing a key role
in the reliability of the digger fleet.
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