The Stawell district in Victoria is a historic goldfield dating back to the 1850s. Within the region is the Stawell Gold Mine, which is located adjacent to the township of Stawell, 250km northwest of Melbourne.
The current operator, Stawell Gold Mines (SGM), started mining in 1981. SGM is owned by Melbourne-based private equity company Arete Capital Partners, which acquired a controlling interest in the mine in December 2017.
The Stawell Gold Mine has been familiar with RCT – Powered by Epiroc for some time and the site has been leveraging RCT’s technology to boost safety and productivity for more than 20 years.
When the site recently purchased two CAT 2900XE (diesel-electric) underground mining loaders to add to its fleet, the company selected RCT to automate them with its multi-machine automation solution AutoNav.
RCT Brisbane Branch Manager Owen Perrott says the decision to employ RCT technology was driven by its agnostic capabilities.
Stawell needed to utilise its new CAT loaders alongside their existing Epiroc ST18S underground loaders that are currently equipped with RCT automation.
“Having them operate on the same software was essential for the site. They had existing RCT AutoNav Centres on the surface and underground cabins and site wanted their operators to control all the machines from these cabins,” says Perrott.
Perrott says the ability to do so ensures that the site does not have to continuously move work areas and operator stations around the site, which can result in a loss of productivity.
“The vast majority of mines operate a single OEM fleet. Very few places operate with different OEM brand machines, which makes this project unique,” he adds.
It was also the first time the Brisbane branch has installed AutoNav on this particular model of hybrid CAT machine.
Perrott says RCT is constantly hearing from clients that they have been told such hybrid machines cannot be automated.
“So it’s a real buzz for us being able to do it. And do it well,” Perrott continues.
Stawell is a rural township with a population of about 6,000 people within the Northern Grampians Shire.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: RCT
