It was great to attend the Austmine Smart Mining Event yesterday in Wollongong. Hearing from Jason Economides , VP Operations at South 32 Illawarra Metallurgical Coal, speak about developments they are undertaking with their local operations.
Having spent the last couple of years rebuilding the business, Jason and his team have turned the business around to increase production from 3.1 Mt in FY18 to 5.3Mt in FY 19 and eyeing off 8 Mt in the coming years. This has been the result of a dedicated focus on Jason’s core pillars of mining operations (safety, volume, cost, culture) and building a world-class leadership team.
The South 32 mines hold some of the highest quality coking coal in the world and add $714M in royalties to the NSW economy each year, as well as employing over 1300 people in the region, making them a significant part of the state economy.
Operating these mines is not an easy task though, with Appin being one of the largest, most complex underground mines in the country. Which has meant that South 32 have had to develop a number of new ways of optimising production methods, whilst working within some of the highest standards for environmental management.
As the business looks to transition to dual long wall operations in the coming year (a feat that no other mining operation is currently undertaking in Australia currently), we will no doubt see further innovation in the way the mine operates, maintains and continually improves its assets.
The event was well supported by the local business community, demonstrating the support available to South 32 and the expansion of operations at Dendrobium and Appin well into the future.
Thanks to the sponsors, AkzoNobel, ampcontrol and Realise engineering, and the Austmine team (Sheldon Varcoe, Ross Carter & Marianne Cummings) for another well run event.
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