Clermont gears up for start of mining

Clermont Mine has introduced four new pieces of equipment and welcomed 20 new employees in preparation for the start of mining in 2010.

Superintendent mine planning Tim Oliphant said the new starters would be a mixture of fly in, fly out and local residents.

“Following an extensive training period, the employees will be responsible for operating our new machinery, consisting of two haul trucks, an excavator and a dozer,” Tim said.

“All of the new roles are full time permanent positions, and some of the successful applicants include contractors who have been working at the site for some time.”

General manager construction Dave Lamb said the recruitment process followed earlier campaigns which won the site a “Best Company Initiative” Resource Award for Women from the Queensland Resources Council in April and the recent Mining Prospect highly commended award.

“Our recruitment campaigns have always demonstrated our commitment to diversity and work/life balance, and this campaign was no different. Three of the 20 new employees are female, and today women make up more than 27 per cent of our workforce,” Dave said.

“All of our new employees were offered the option of living in Clermont or travelling in from Mackay or Brisbane.”

Initially, the new equipment will be used to remove the earth covering the coal seam, known as overburden. In 2010 some of the machines will be used in conjunction with the in-pit crusher/conveyor to recover coal for the site’s first shipment, scheduled for the second half of the year.

The coal will be loaded onto a 13 kilometre conveyor and transferred to stockpile and train loadout facilities at the nearby Blair Athol Mine.