In the early hours of a recent morning managers' meeting in Tanami, an urgent issue took centre stage: a Run of Mine (ROM) Bin had sustained severe damage during the night shift.
This critical failure halted the crushing of gold-bearing ore, causing production across the site to grind to a halt. Monadelphous was called upon to tackle the challenge head-on.
Jason Hanrahan, Monadelphous’ Maintenance Supervisor explained how they quickly took charge of the repairs.
"We were immediately tasked with removing and repairing the damaged front face of the ROM Bin," Jason said.
"Upon closer inspection, we realised the damage was beyond repair. It became clear we needed to fabricate an entirely new face, and to work closely with our business partner Crushing Services International on this."
The ROM Bin plays a vital role in the gold extraction process, feeding gold-bearing ore from underground into the crusher and onward through the mill. The damaged ROM Bin had to be carefully excavated, lifted by crane, and transported to CSI's workshop.
With a plan in place, four boilermakers from Monadelphous joined forces with two from CSI, along with management from both organisations. Together the teams worked tirelessly, including through the night, over four intense days.
"It was there in the workshop, we realised we needed to design and fabricate a new front face and wings for the ROM Bin," Jason said.
"Our crew worked day and night, collaborating with another team to lead the safe implementation of the new ROM Bin wall face within a remarkably short four-day turnaround.
"Monadelphous provided not only the skilled tradespeople but also a significant portion of the necessary materials and equipment to accomplish this monumental task."
The teamwork paid off as the plant was able to restart gold production, a critical achievement for one of Australia's top five gold-producing mines.
"Watching my team collaborate with another business partner to achieve a positive outcome in record time, while still adhering to Monadelphous' core principle of 'Delivering the Safe Way', was truly a highlight of this project,” Jason said.