Batesford Quarry- Geelong Victoria

LANE COLLINS, Quarry Manager Geelong Operations provides an interesting overview of Batesford Quarry.

BATESFORD Quarry is situated next to the Geelong ring road and between the Midland Hwy and Fyansford-Gheringhap roads.

Batesford Quarry (WA3) is 902 Hectares in size with the main extraction pit being 100 hectares and about 5 kilometres around the rim of the pit at present time.

The Quarry was started in 1888 by a local stonemason, Mr Peter McCann who was looking for suitable limestone material from which to make cement.

This was not only the start of the Quarry but also the start of Australian Portland Cement manufacturing in Geelong. The original quarry being situated on the banks of the Moorabool River and all limestone being transported to the cement works by horse and dray at a production rate of 300t per week.

After the death of Mr Peter McCann in 1908, W.B. McCann (son of Peter McCann) was appointed as manager and he immediately saw the need to expand and modernise. As part of a plant upgrade and to resolve the issues of using horse and drays an aerial ropeway was installed from the quarry to the cement works several miles away. This lifted production to 400t per week and within five years pit production was at 2,500t per week.

In 1927 the new pit was started a short distance from the old site (where we are still operating today) and the construction of the company’s own surface railway to link the quarry with the factory. By 1929 a tunnel had been built taking the trains directly to the quarry floor, 90 feet below sea level, with the old aerial ropeway being passed onto Kandos Cement Company.

The railway was replaced in 1966 by an overland conveyor and in-pit Jaques Bulldog impactor. This greatly improved capacity and by the end of that year production was at 800,000t per year. At the time of its closure the quarry was producing 1.6 million tonnes per year. This continued until the closure of the cement works in 2001 when the quarry was also closed. It lay idle until 2002 when it was decided to produce and market agricultural lime.

Old site photo: Dump trucks loading material
onto rail trucks.

These days the site operates as a joint venture between Geelong Lime P/L and Adelaide Brighton Cement Ltd (who hold the extractive licence).

The site has two resources: limestone and fine sand. The limestone is being split into two main products, agricultural lime and mining lime. Of these products we sell about 215,000t of lime and 60,000t to 80,000t of sand per annum.

We use all contractors to process these materials and other works on site. The other employees on site are the site supervisor, sales manager, weighbridge operator and myself.

At the present time the contractors working on site are:-

• Hoare Bros – winning and processing all limestone products. They have 5 FEL’s (ranging from 988to 966), D8 dozer, 773 dump trucks, Hitachi 45t excavator, Wabco water truck and two processing plants comprising both fixed and mobile equipment.
• Thompson Bros – winning and processing the fine sand. They have 2 Hyundai FEL’s, Volvo 30t articulated dumper, Hyundai 50t excavator, 955 traxcavator and a mobile washing and screening plant.
• Andy’s Earthmoving – removing 800,000 cubic metres of over burden, they have Hitachi EX 1900 excavator, 3 x 777 dump trucks, 2 dozers D8 & D11, 16G grader and a 40t articulated water truck.
• Mibus Bros – completing the first stage of rehabilitation in our main pit, moving and placing about 500,000 cubic meters of material. They have 4x 637 scrapers, 2x dozers D8 & D9, 16G grader, 3 x 30t articulated water trucks, 815 compactor and a 16t flat drum roller.

Future site works and challenges are:-

• Site rehabilitation: with the completion of the current stage and other works that have been completed to date, it equates to about 34% of the total volume, with the original volume being about 2.4 million cubic metres.
• The continued dewatering of the site: we are presently discharging up to 3,500 ml per year depending on the weather. This water is discharged directly into the Moorabool as an environmental flow and assists in maintaining the wet lands further downstream on the Barwon River. Water quality is being monitored upstream, downstream and at point of discharge. This is done by a fully automated system which reports every hour on a variety of criteria; for example turbidity, temperature and EC (water salinity).
• Extractive licence extension to the main pit: we are currently completing the last stage of a CHMP as part of our submission for our licence area extension. This extension will ensure the long term viability of the site for many years.
• This site has operated as part of the Geelong cement works for 113 years and as an agricultural lime quarry for the last 11 years and will continue to operate for many years to come.
• The history of this site would not be complete if I did not mention the relocation and restoration of two pieces of equipment which now both reside at Lake Goldsmith Steam Preservation Society. The first being a 1927 97t Ruston Hornsby shovel. The second being one of the oldest (now operational) shovels in the world, a 1903 Bucyrus limited slew rail mounted steam shovel.
• We initially joined the CMPA for its proactive approach and support for its members. We are looking at the information sessions and training for improving our site and knowledge base. We have not had the chance to be involved as yet but we will be making a concerted effort this year.

Photo: Comparing old and new mobile plant equipment.

 

60 seconds with a voting member

What is your name?
Lane Collins

Who do you work for?
Adelaide Brighton
Ltd/ Hy-Tec/ Batesford Quarry JV

How many years have you worked for this business?
7

How many years have you been involved in the Industry?
34

What is your role at the company?
Quarry Manager Geelong Operations

What does your job involve?
Overseeing all Joint Venture operations, overseeing all Adelaide Brighton Ltd/ Hy-Tec interest’s in relation to Geelong sites.

What is the best part of your job?
Having all the different site contractors working together as a cohesive team.