Hanson’s Bass Point Quarry expansion project, which was approved in January 2014, involves increasing the site’s extraction depth from sea level to as far as 40m below sea level to allow for the New South Wales-based quarry’s continued operation to 31 January, 2044.
As part of the project, Hanson also received approval to increase production from two million tonnes per annum (tpa) to four million tpa. To facilitate these changes, Hanson recently awarded a multi-million dollar contract to Brolton Group to upgrade the quarry’s plant.
According to the engineering firm, the new plant design will enable Hanson to process 650 tonnes of aggregate materials per hour and incorporate an automated truck load-out, pre-coat plant and pugmill.
“The new facility will provide a considerable increase in terms of process efficiency and throughput,” Brolton Group managing director Ben Lynch explained.
In its present form, Bass Point Quarry has been supplying aggregate to the Sydney and Illawarra regions for more than 40 years, and its current plant has been operating for that entire duration.
“[There] have been many advances in processing technologies within that time,” Lynch noted. “The plant has been redesigned for optimum efficiency, with streamlined processes, reduced wastage, better resource utilisation and, importantly, significantly increased production capabilities.”
Brolton Group will also be relocating the plant to the quarry pit to reduce its visual impact and constructing additional site infrastructure, including a concrete plant, transport depot and weighbridge, and workshop/laboratory and office area.
Keeping it local
Lynch believed the fact that Brolton Group had been awarded the contract over international competition was a “major win” for the local industry.
“A project of this magnitude provides a huge opportunity for Australians in terms of employment opportunities,” he stated. “Selecting a local business will not only aid in boosting the local economy throughout the duration of the project, it will see more permanent opportunities arise.”
Lynch said Brolton Group would be sourcing local labour for the expansion works and that the project would create about 150 jobs for the region.
Civil works are currently underway, with construction expected to begin in February 2016. The project is scheduled for completion at the end of 2017.
Brolton Group, which was established in 2002, is headquartered in Sydney with offices in Brisbane and Perth, as well as a fabrication and machinery assembly workshop in Riverstone, NSW. The business’s quarrying services encompass plant construction, civil and mechanical works, engineering services, and industrial processing and plant automation
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