P&H MinePro Services Keeps Dragline Production in Top Gear

When it comes to mining equipment, or for that matter, any mobile equipment, a dragline represents the cutting edge. While some surface mining operations rely on the truck and shovel method of removing overburden, P&H MinePro Services Australasia has supplied and built six huge draglines for local mines.

P&H MinePro Services is a global distribution and support organisation to the mining industry. The company's equipment is used at over 90 percent of the world's surface mines and it supplies and services over 30 leading lines of equipment, including its own P&H 9020 model dragline.

Draglines are excavating machines which use a large bucket suspended from the end of a boom, which may be 90 metres or more in length. The bucket is suspended by cables and capable of scooping up overburden as it is dragged across the excavation area. The 9020 dragline "walks" on pontoon like "feet" and is among the largest land based machines in the world.

In June Rio Tinto Coal Australia's Hail Creek Mine, 150 kilometres west of Mackay, will commission the latest P&H 9020 model dragline, the fourth Rio Tinto has purchased and the second for Hail Creek Mine.

The 9020 model weighs nearly 6,000 metric tonnes and has a bucket capacity of 89 cubic metres. Its construction has involved the use of nearly 3,000 tonnes of XLERPLATE® steel from BlueScope Steel.

Mick Gamble, P&H MinePro Services Project Manager for the latest dragline, compares the construction task to ship building.

"There is a lot of work and coordination involved," he said. "Fabrication and erection typically takes 26 months. P&H MinePro personnel in Perth, Brisbane and Mackay are involved and there are numerous sub contractors contributing to the work at the fabrication stage."

Erection of the new dragline, an 18 month process, is nearing completion at Hail Creek Mine with a workforce of 80 involved.

P&H MinePro's longterm use of XLERPLATE® steel from BlueScope Steel is a feature of its Australian operations.

"The 9020 dragline will have about 70 per cent Australian content by the time it is commissioned," Mick Gamble said. "There are several reasons for that. We prefer to use local suppliers and to support our local communities, but quality and price are also contributing factors in the equation. Customers are also very interested in knowing about the origins of the steel that has gone into their machinery."

"We built our first P&H 9020 dragline in 1996 and that incorporated a large amount of XLERPLATE® steel. The same has applied to every dragline we have built since then."

XLERPLATE® steel is used widely throughout the P&H 9020 dragline, particularly in the tub, deck, mast, gantry, boom and house sections. It has been specified in 250 and 350 Grade and in thicknesses from 15mm to 200mm.

"On a project like this where so much steel is involved, its weldability is crucial," said Mick Gamble. "It goes to the very heart of the result you are trying to achieve for the customer. You are looking for consistent quality so that the results are the same whether the work is done internally or by sub contractors. That's one reason that in the tender documents we issue to sub contractors we specify that they must use XLERPLATE® steel from BlueScope Steel."

As well as its expertise and success in the fabrication and supply of draglines, P&H MinePro also supplies a range of Electric Mining Shovels to the mining industry.

"We also use XLERPLATE® steel in the fabrication of the shovels," Mick Gamble said. "Our purchasing and scheduling departments have a good relationship with BlueScope Steel. It's just one less thing to worry about."