With the current push back in progress and the pit advancing deeper in the North and South, the team had been tasked with investigation of the optmisation of refuelling the rubber tyre equipment on site.

Current refuelling takes place at the tradional fuel farm close to the workshop and admin offices. The distance from the pit to the fuel farm is on average 1750m, impacting truck productivity, utilization and fuel burn.

To alleviate this it was proposed to install two remote fuelling stations designed by Orca Africa. The self-bunded fuel tanks, with remote refuelling pumps, were placed at strategic locations in close proximity to the pit, where they could easily be refuelled by the tanker and not be affected by blasting operations.

By strategically placing the remote refuelling stations closer to the pit, this reduced the vehicle refuelling distance and time, resulting in a dramatic reduction in the operation cost and in turn an increase in machinery productivity. In conclusion, a total saving of $171,000 per annum and a return on investment was realised in the first 9 months.

“TOTAL SAVING OF $171 000 PER ANNUM & ROI WAS REALISED IN THE FIRST 9 MONTHS”