The Perfect Shelter Solution to help with Mine Reopening

SHARE

Container Mounted Shelter
Tritton Copper Mine, located in Central NSW, is a major copper ore producer. In 2019, it produced 1.2 million tonnes of ore, all of which was processed at the Tritton processing plant.

Tritton saw an opportunity to reopen one of their underground mining sites. To facilitate this, they wanted to set up a workshop near the entrance of the mine which would allow for easy operations as well as maintenance and repair of the necessary equipment.

To house this workshop, they needed a strong, convenient, and quick to set up structure. A fabric shelter offered the perfect solution.

The Challenge

Reopening an underground mine requires the use of capital-intensive and often large machinery. It is often not feasible to house such machinery away from the work site. Tritton could not use its existing infrastructure because it was too distant and already too crowded.

They wanted to set up the workshop near the entrance of the access tunnel, which was at the bottom of an old pit. Their requirements for the workshop were:

Tritton Copper Mining Site
Tritton Copper Mining Site
  • It should be able to efficiently house the maintenance and repair of the equipment
  • It should provide a safe place for people and everyday operations. Must be able to withstand harsh weather conditions
  • Setting up the workshop within a short time frame is crucial, given the time sensitivity.
  • It should be strong as mining operations are rarely gentle

An additional challenge arose as the ground where we planned to construct the workshop had recently been leveled and was already overburdened. As a result, It was not possible to dig deep for laying the foundation of the workshop structure. Any structure built on top MUST have shallow foundations.

Why Allshelter?

There were people at Tritton who had dealt with our team before and who trusted our products and the services we provided. They were happy to refer us and willing to vouch for us.

It was not a surprise then that Allshelter was chosen for the project.

Our Solution

Our shelter specialists visited the site and worked with the mining and earth moving contractors to understand in detail what they were looking for. Taking into account the client requirements, site specifications, and the detailed feasibility study undertaken, our solution was:

Container Mounted shelter by Allshelter
  • A custom designed container inside-mounted shelter (20m wide x 12.19m long x 8.32m high)
  • Engineered for Wind Region A-  Withstand winds of up to 147km/h
  • We added to the shelter- partial end walls and doorways, tropical roof and gutter systems and personal access doors for safer access for the workforce
  • Thanks to the large front door opening- All equipment can be easily driven into the shelter
  • The custom design allowed for a shallow yet strong foundation
  • Custom Banner: We added the logo of the parent company to the fabric cover. The company logo is now visible to all air traffic over the site!
  • Our team also installed the shelter and all accessories allowing Tritton to focus on its own tasks
  • As time was of the essence, we reduced our manufacture lead time from the usual 6 weeks to 3 weeks, a 50% reduction
  • The whole project was completed (manufacturing, shipping, and installation) within an impressive 5-week timeframe!

The Outcome

Interiors of Container Mounted shelter by Allshelter

The container mounted shelter is currently being used by the site’s mining contractor as a workshop:

  • For managing the mine reopening operations. The containers were modified to be used as offices and for additional storage, therefore, no extra buildings were needed.
  • Providing a protected environment for maintaining and repairing all the equipment
  • Providing a protected environment for the team, away from the harsh weather conditions

Why our Container Mounted Shelters?

In 2003, Allshelter began manufacturing container domes. Subsequently, we became the first in Australia to produce container shelters. The shelters are attractive because of the following benefits:

Container Mounted shelter by Allshelter

– Relocatable

– Easy to install

– Can withstand harsh weather conditions

– Easy and efficient storage: The shelter serves the purpose of storage, and the containers can be modified to function as offices.

-Energy efficient:  Cooler and brighter so less use of artificial lighting and air conditioning

– Engineered as per Australian standards and backed by a 10-year warranty

For more information, go to: https://www.allshelter.com.au/products/container-mounted-shelters/

Case Studies