Dragline Move

The 3,200T Marion 8050 dragline was scheduled to travel for four months through the rugged outback terrain in regional Queensland, Australia. The dragline was set to be relocated from the Goonyella Riverside mine to South Walker Creek Mine. Having been planned 18 months prior, the project required logistical proficiency with 13 power line crossings and several other obstacles. The dragline was only able to travel a distance of 3km per day and required a team of more than 80 people for the operation.

The gargantuan steel hulk was mobilised on a self-propelled modular transporter at an extremely careful speed to avoid any missteps. JWA was brought in to support the operations in an attempt to avoid potential problems associated with ground subsidence after periods of parking, weather concerns and crossing buried services.

Strict Timelines

Strict deadlines were set, as failure to complete this operation would have affected multiple stakeholders. Many crossings were shut down to accommodate the journey of the dragline, and any delays could have impacted both the schedule of trains, highways and power infrastructures. A critical aspect of this move required the dragline to traverse four waterways, which necessitated the crossings to be temporarily filled and levelled to provide a 35m wide corridor. This was planned to be constructed as late as possible. The project had already been delayed due to cyclone Debbie, and it was critical that the dragline arrived on time.

The interlocking Dura-Base composite mat system was used as a temporary platform for parking the dragline when stopped. To ensure the SPMTs were not affected by overnight rain leading to subsidence, the Dura-Base mats were installed to improve ground stability and acts as a load spreading structure. Quick to install compared to any other method, the pads were able to be reused at different sites, in the cases where the dragline had to be stationed.

Resulting from this venture, the dragline arrived on time at the mines. As stated by the BMC Asset President James Palmer, “Having a second dragline in the pre-strip fleet will improve the cost ratio for overburden removal,” Happy to help, this project is yet another successful application for JWA having been the heaviest machinery ever to be situated on Dura-Base mats performed in Australia.