I must say, to start off with things were a bit shaky being that the main challenge of the job required me to work 30 metres up in the air on the axle of the wheel.  Although all safety precautions for working at heights were used, while quoting the job I found myself gripping the handrail quite tightly especially when I got to the axle.  I must admit this uneasiness of heights took about a week  to overcome but after that I became accustomed to working 30 metres off the ground and got to really enjoy the view – especially at sunrise.  The other main issue with working at heights was preventing anything from falling.  Every tool and piece of equipment required a safety lanyard and a system had to be put in place to catch the swarf during the machining process.

My second biggest challenge became apparent when I found out there was to be no welding done on the axle.  To explain briefly, mobile line boring requires me to attach support bearings either side of the hole to be machined, usually by tack welding the bearing mounts in place.  After viewing the job area I came up with the solution to fabricate a system that would clamp to the axle wheel.  After ironing out a few wrinkles (which can only be expected on unique jobs like this) we were up and running getting two pins replaced each day and allowing the Wheel to continue operating for half the day and into the evening.

To minimise the disruption of the Wheel being open to the public, 3am starts were required and the finishing deadline had to be met.  On the first day of the job though it poured down rain which caused a day’s delay in the start but after that a makeshift shelter was erected using a tarp to keep further rain from disrupting the job.  42 pins later and our component of the service was complete.

It was a pleasure working with Eward Sijbrandij from BISSWISS. Not only was he very professional, he also brought a light hearted atmosphere throughout the duration of the job. My thanks also go to Russell Hamlet from Upright Logistics Pty Ltd for all his behind the scene efforts. His expertise and skills kept our component of the job within the time frame that was required.

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Preventative maintenance would have to be the most important of all and neglecting it can become a very costly mistake. Preventative maintenance is neglected for varying reasons some of which are:

• Economic downturn (no money to pay for maintenance or repairs)
• overload of work (too busy to stop the piece of equipment)
• complacency
• Laziness
• Error
• Weather and so on…..

In my experience none of these reasons should be acceptable. If the correct preventative maintenance and breakdown maintenance is not done on time, all the time it will end up costing more in the long run.

Take a large front end loader for instance. Preventative maintenance starts with the operator when he does his daily checklist of the machine. Often these are overlooked or a quick tick and flick gets the operator off and running sooner without actually giving the correct once over that will identify any problems that might be presenting. These documents are so important in the planning for that machine to be operating at its optimum level and maximising its working life.

All machinery will have wear and tear, but if you catch it sooner than later it can save a lot of money. Wear creates wear and before you know it your machine is breaking down or not performing at its optimum. If the wear is let go for too long it can become a more expensive repair job as well as more down time.

In conclusion, don’t neglect your maintenance or it will end up biting you.

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Australia’s mining industry began when gold was first discovered in New South Wales in 1823 but it wasn’t until the discovery of payable alluvial gold in 1851 near Bathurst and soon after in Victoria that the metalliferous sector of the mining industry exploded. Soon after, almost 40% of the world’s gold was being produced in Australia.

In 1883 the Broken Hill Lode was discovered by Charles Rasp. He and six others formed a syndicate (The Syndicate of Seven) to develop the claim and the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (now know as BHP) was established. This lead-silver-zinc deposit at the Broken Hill Lode is the largest ever discovered producing over $100 billion in wealth.

With the discovery of tin in 1872 at Mt Bischoff in Tasmania and mining of the metal beginning also in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia became the major world source of tin in the late 19th Century. It was at this time when the first extensive mines were founded with Copper and Gold at Mt Morgan, Zinc, Silver and Lead at Broken Hill, Gold at Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie and Iron ore at Iron Knob and Iron Baron.

Although the beginning of the 20th century was prosperous for the mining industry, mining began to ebb with the affect of World War 1 and the Great Depression. Also, It was at this time that petroleum products began to replace coal in industry and railways. Petroleum had been highly sought after and it was in 1924 near Lakes Entrance, Victoria that crude oil was finally discovered. The other major find of this period was the Mount Isa lead-zinc-silver deposit in 1923 but the full potential of this discovery was not realised until the 1950s.

The second half of the 20th Century saw the discovery of metal, iron, manganese, nickel and uranium resources and Australia’s petroleum industry was also established. The world economic growth of the 1950′s and 1960′s saw an increased demand for mineral resources and Australia was already established and experienced to provide these resources. By the late 1960′s Australia was dominating in black coal, titanium, bauxite, nickel, iron ore, zirconium and manganese.

The 1970′s saw a rise in concern for protecting the environment and Native Title tracts and by the 1980′s the industry was becoming increasingly pressured by the public over their concerns for the environment and the impact the industry was having on it. With the rising public interest in the preservation of the natural environment and plant and animal habitats, the government increased controls on the release of pollutants. Although many Australians are under the impression that large areas of the continent are used for mining, it is in fact less than 0.02% of Australia that is used for mining resources. However, the mining industry is continually being required to legitimise its activities in contention with other potential uses of the land. Environmental impact assessments are required as well as rehabilitation of mined out sites.

Today, there are over 400 mines operating in Australia The mining industry’s contribution to the Australian economy is now $121 billion a year and provides work for over 750,000 Australians.

Resources:   Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Mining, Broken Hill Australia, Geoscience Australia, This is Our Story

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