July 18, 2013
A $1.8 million accommodation bill, 370 meals a day, half a tonne of savoury mince for breakfast for the workers … everything about the recent overhaul of Stanwell’s massive dragline, nicknamed “Hannibal”, is equally enormous.
Hannibal is now back at work at the Meandu coal mine at Tarong after its $52 million overhaul.
The 3000 tonne piece of machinery took three days to “walk” under its own power to its overhaul site back in February.
Once there, a team of 160 specialists worked on a structural upgrade which included replacing the tub, and installing new upper and lower rails and swing gear racks (the machinery that allows Hannibal to swing around from side to side)
Twelve contracting companies completed the overhaul in 20 weeks.
A Stanwell spokesperson said the project involved 84,116 direct hours of work and came in under budget and ahead of the expected timeframe.
It was the first major overhaul Hannibal has had for 30 years.
It then took 48 hours to walk the 5km back to the west pit at Meandu where it is now hard at work.
“Crucial machinery such as the dragline needs to be overhauled to ensure it works as efficiently as possible in the future,” Stanwell Mining Operations Manager Andrew Walker said today.
“Meandu Mine will be providing coal to the Tarong power stations for many years to come.”
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The dragline overhaul injected vital cash into the South Burnett economy.
The specialist workers stayed at local hotels, motels and caravan parks, clocking up an accommodation bill of $1.8 million.
Endeavour Kingaroy Kitchen was engaged to provide meals to the workers.
Manager Hazel Patterson and her team (she hired an additional eight casual staff as well as Endeavour’s usual 28 employees) prepared up to 370 meals a day.
This included 100 breakfasts, 120 lunches and 150 dinners.
Half a tonne of savoury mince was used for the breakfasts and, on average, they served 55 pieces of cheesecake every day.
As much of the food as possible – including meat and bread – was purchased locally in the South Burnett.
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Some of Hannibal’s vital statistics:
- Weight – 3000 tonne (each of its ‘shoes’ weighs 60 tonnes by itself)
- Boom – 99 metres
- Walking speed – 250 metres / hour
- High voltage power lead – 2.1km
