The winners of eight hotly contested categories addressing safety, collaboration, environment and innovation were announced on July 24 at the 2024 Queensland Mining Awards. The awards celebrated the achievements of Queensland’s best and brightest resources contractors, suppliers and producers.
Queensland Mining Contractor of the Year – StrataLock
Underground mining supplier StrataLock was named the Queensland Mining Contractor of the Year for 2024. StrataLock’s new resin re-engineered a solution to a longstanding challenge in traditional strata stabilisation techniques for underground mining, replacing hazardous chemicals and reducing fire risk in the application process.
Judges were impressed with StrataLock’s dedication to development of the product, which took seven years to research, test and patent. Innovating every aspect of conventional techniques, from formulating a totally new product, through to engineering purpose-built manufacturing facilities and a new application system, StrataLock left no stone unturned.
As well as changing the health and safety profile for this work, StrataLock unlocks productivity gains and cost savings by removing restrictions. StrataLock resin is not classified as hazardous waste, saving transport and disposal costs and minimising environmental impacts.
Judge Jason Economidis said: “Spontaneous combustion is a huge risk in the industry, and StrataLock’s steps to address it are significant”.
Judge Darren Oliver said: “The leadership to develop this product rises above with the potential for industry-wide impact. Reducing long-term health risk is also an excellent outcome”.
Judge Luiz Sapucaia said: “The cost reduction and environmental impact in their solution was impressive, with long-term cross-industry applicability”.
Glencore Productivity Award – MTi Group
BlastScout
Outdated tape measures and error-prone methods plagued drill hole quality control. BlastScout replaces them all. Radar measures depth and location within one second, is linked to GPS, and is uploaded for engineers. This revolutionises management, boosting efficiency, safety, and quality control. Using GPS, RADAR and user-friendly, ergonomic tools, the innovative system is now poised for widespread rollout, delivering significant time savings, 100% reliability and potential for future refinement.
Judge Darren Oliver said: “This certainly appears to address a major deficiency in managing blasting on mine sites, with improved outcomes downstream.”
QME Best New Product Award – Corehesion
Stone Dust Management System
Coal dust explosions are a constant threat, with no fast, accurate sampling solutions in the market. Corehesion’s automated system, developed in collaboration with BMA Broadmeadow and using Ziltech devices, simplifies and speeds sampling, results and retreatment. The system provides a single source of truth for accurate data. This proactive approach reduces a 6-hour process to minutes, integrates real-time data, and cuts costs significantly.
Judge Dr Sharna Glover said: “This is truly Innovative software with potential for excellent cost savings. For a very small company, to invest in this level of R&D to change the game in the Queensland mining industry is remarkable.”
Blackwoods Collaboration Award – MacKellar Group | Manabotix
Enhanced Safety Measures Using Bund Monitors
Manabotix and MacKellar Group’s Bund Monitors radically enhance vehicle safety in open-pit mines. This real-time technology operates proactively, reducing the likelihood of accidental collisions and compliance challenges. First trialled on water trucks at Jellinbah Mine, 100% continuous proximity compliance was achieved for all critical bunds. The project was based on effective delegation, scoping, workload management, and a relentless commitment to problem-solving.
Judge Luiz Sapucaia said: “This entry demonstrates huge impact and opportunity for improvement across all fleet contractors.”
Pentacon Innovation Miner Award – Coronado Global Resources
Plant Advisor: Harnessing AI to optimise coal processing capabilities
For the past 30 years, planning of wash schedules at Coronado’s CHPP was manual and spreadsheet-based, with limited scope for flexibility. The innovative AI-powered Plant Advisor has complemented human expertise, delivering optimised wash plans for increased yield and higher quality. This technology tightens ash control, allowing extended planning horizons to maximise output and minimise waste. Coronado uses machine learning to continually improve outputs, based on large data analysis.
Judge Dr Sharna Glover said: “Fantastic adoption of AI to support both the productivity of the CHPP and operator decision-making in real-time.”
Pirtek Safety Initiative Award – Bigmate
Dragline Proximity Awareness System
Dragline operators had been working with blind spots and collision risks, and they had limited awareness of approaching people or vehicles. Bigmate adapted their industrial tech, deploying strategically placed optical and LiDAR sensors for a complete 360-degree view. The software analyses data for near real-time warnings and automatically stops the dragline if a dangerous situation occurs.
Judge Jason Economidis said: “Dragline incidents have a history of fatalities – a low frequency but high-risk potential. This is a worthy effort to mitigate that risk completely.”
Hastings Deering Environment Award – Pembroke Resources
Biodiversity Protocol for Endangered Fauna
Pembroke Resources’ commitment – above and beyond the requirements to meet approvals – demonstrates real excellence in setting new industry standards for environmental and fauna protection. Their biodiversity protocols have application across the resources sector into any industry needing to clear habitat. In the case of the endangered koala and greater glider, Pembroke’s work has supported the protection of species Australia-wide.
Judge Dr Sharna Glover said: “The commitment that Pembroke have shown to the protection of the koalas and greater gliders is extremely commendable – excellent outcomes for the successful relocation of these animals.”
National Group Community, Staff Engagement or EEO Award – BMA and Astute, with Childcare Leadership Alliance
Strategic Innovation in Regional Childcare
A BMA-sponsored study revealed several issues in childcare placements, and staffing was creating significant problems for families in Moranbah and Dysart. The Childcare Leadership Alliance launched a whole-of-community solution leveraging international visa-sponsored recruitment, offering affordable housing and targeted professional development. Within a year, 100 families have gained childcare placements with 27 new staff hired and settled locally.
Judge Luiz Sapucaia said: “Attraction and retention of key childcare staff is an excellent solution, based on a clearly identified need. This project benefits not just the mining industry but the whole Bowen Basin.”
Austmine Innovation METS Award – StrataLock
Stratalock Resin: Next Step in Ground Consolidation
StrataLock took on a massive challenge to re-engineer a longstanding challenge in underground mining. With creative thinking and total commitment to an easily applied non-hazardous material, StrataLock Resin delivers a revolution in the ground stabilisation industry. This project realised significant productivity gains, a reduced risk profile, and cost savings across the board. By exceeding safety requirements, navigating challenges, and developing a transformative solution, StrataLock Resin emerges as a trailblazer in enhancing safety standards within the mining sector.
Judge Darren Oliver said: “The wide-ranging implications of this product are outstanding. It addresses productivity and safety, potentially keeping sites open where they otherwise may be unviable.”
