Maintaining sufficient development float is critical to any Longwall operation, no more so than at the Appin complex, who intend on returning to and sustaining a two Longwall operation. As a result the mine has undertaken an expansion in the number of Development panels at its operation.
The contract panel not only included the provision of statutory officials, trades and operators but involved full process management from deriving project methodology, mine planning and also the implementation and execution of maintenance strategies and plans.
The panel employed the use of a Sandvik MB650 miner which utilised the latest in automation and cut/bolt technology along with real-time monitoring and cycle analysis to ensure that continuous improvement was at the forefront of the way we do business.
At June 2019 the contract employed 53 people including a dedicated Project management and administration team.