SURELINE® Solution Works For Thiess Services

Location:	Mungana, North Queensland
Country:	Australia
Client:	Thiess Services
Products Used:

Expansion of mining activity in a termite affected region of Queensland has provided construction contractor Thiess Services with its first opportunity to offer a power line solution based on SURELINE® sub transmission poles from BlueScope Steel.

Thiess is one of Australasia's largest construction, mining and services providers, with turnover in excess of A$4.5 billion, 180 projects and 18,000 employees.

After previously completing power line maintenance projects for Kagara Zinc Pty Ltd at the company's Mt Garnet mine site, Thiess Services was asked to provide a quotation for supplying power to a mining lease at Mungana, near Chillagoe, 250 kilometres west of Cairns.

"The power comes from an Ergon Energy line and our task was to build a new line to take it over the hills to a mining lease where Kagara Zinc is establishing a new underground mine," Thiess Services Commercial Contracts Manager, Electrical Division, Rod Chalker said.

"Timber poles weren't suitable because it's termite country out near Chillagoe. I've heard of timber poles in the region which have been effectively destroyed by termites in around 18 months."

"The last 40 kilometres to the site is over gravel road and transport costs are expensive. It is three hours from Cairns to site and with the road conditions to get to Chillagoe you wouldn't want to try to put more than about three concrete poles on the one truck."

"I had been speaking to BlueScope Steel previously to check the specifications and advantages of the SURELINE® steel poles, so I passed on the information to Kagara Zinc. They reviewed the material and agreed that the decision to use steel poles was a good one."

The SURELINE® sub transmission pole solution provides transport benefits regardless of the road conditions. Despite their high strength, SURELINE® poles typically weigh less than alternatives.

The unique two piece construction of SURELINE® sub transmission poles also simplifies transport arrangements by avoiding the necessity for long load rigs.

The Thiess Services crew built the new line to the Mungana mine site with 66kV capacity, to ensure it could meet future requirements. At present it is only carrying 22kV.

"It's carried on SURELINE® 23.5 metre sub transmission poles," Rod Chalker said. "The line crosses haul roads and access roads in some areas, so we had to go for maximum clearance."

"It links the Ergon Energy grid with a switchyard which the mining company has constructed. There it is stepped down to 11kV before more of the SURELINE® sub transmission poles distribute the power around the mine site."

"I had worked with steel poles in New South Wales some years ago but for the rest of the crew this was their first experience. Now that we have this experience behind us everyone is looking forward to working with the SURELINE® poles in future."

Rod Chalker suggested to BlueScope Steel's SURELINE® Market Solutions Manager, Jon Laurenson, that he might like to visit the site to provide initial instruction on the installation of the SURELINE® sub transmission poles.

"Jon told me that was part of the service," Rod said. "It's not something that you get from many suppliers."

"He spent time with the crew showing them how to put the two piece sub transmission poles together and familiarising them with other things such as how to apply the SURELINE® pole inground corrosion protection blanket. We took that on board and then adapted it to suit Thiess operating methods."

BlueScope Steel arranged delivery of the SURELINE® poles by semi trailer to one central point at the mine site. Thiess Services then used its own trucks fitted with HIAB cranes to move individual poles to their sites for assembly and erection.

"With the experience we've had we will certainly use SURELINE® poles again," Rod Chalker said. "The termite problem is an important consideration and timber poles for this application are becoming harder to source, but it's also a matter of the convenience of working with the lighter weight of the steel poles."

"If we were to start working with concrete sub transmission poles we'd have to get much heavier machinery."

"Another factor in favour of the SURELINE® steel poles is that they are an engineered item with known characteristics."

"You can take a timber pole out of the ground and re-use it, but you don't know what its strength will be," Rod Chalker said. "With a timber pole you can't accurately predict strength and useful working life, but with the SURELINE® steel poles you can."

Rod Chalker said this had become an issue, especially for contractors.

"We have built power lines in mine sites only to have the mining company call up and request that the line be taken down just 18 months later," he said. It becomes a question of making good use of resources for your customer.

"BlueScope Steel also helped me as a contractor in a commercial sense by supplying prompt pricing and delivery information for projects on which I was quoting and by briefing the customers I was dealing with, to make the case for using SURELINE® steel poles."

"All of our line construction crew members were trained on timber pole dressing and erection, but I've had no adverse feedback since we started using the SURELINE® steel poles."

"At the moment we are extremely busy and we have a lot of power line construction jobs coming up. I hope to be using SURELINE® steel poles on all of them."

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