Construction at Bravus Mining and Resources’, formerly Adani Mining, Carmichael Project in Central Queensland is now at its peak level, with more than 2,000 people working at the site. Bravus CEO David Boshoff said the project has been able to deliver more jobs than previously expected.
“We have always said the Carmichael Project would be a major generator of jobs and now we are at peak construction levels employing more than 2,000 people on-site,” he said. “The Stop Adani movement said our project would never go ahead and would never create a single job. We have again proved our opponents wrong.”
Boshoff said the project’s accommodation camps were full with workers from all corners of the state. “We have now awarded more than $1.5 billion in contracts, and 90% of those are being delivered by Queensland-based contractors, from Rockhampton and Townsville, to Mackay, Clermont, Collinsville, Gladstone and Toowoomba,” he said. “We have done our best to ensure Queensland businesses are reaping the economic rewards of the Carmichael Project.”
The rail camp operations are based in Collinsville; earthworks and civil works contractors are from Townsville and Rockhampton; fuel supply from Townsville; telecommunications; rail track laying and rail camp construction from Rockhampton, and quarry contracts going to Toowoomba. The jobs announcement coincided with a project milestone for Bravus as the first controlled blast occurred on-site this week.
“The team has done an incredible job of moving more than 2.5 million cubic meters (m) of soil that sits on top of the coal seams, using excavators,” Boshoff said. “They have dug down more than 12 m. Now we have reached rock, we have begun to use controlled blasts to break it up so the excavators and trucks can move it.”
The project is one step closer to coal production, he said. Boshoff said the Bravus team used strict safety and environmental controls and regulations to ensure blasts were safe and met all relevant regulations.
“We always have very strict safety and environmental measures in place at our mine site, and when doing controlled blasts we use best-practice measures to ensure dust, vibration and noise are kept in hand so that our neighbors and local flora and fauna are not disrupted,” he said.
Work has commenced on the coal handling and processing plant, and in the coming weeks, there will be progress on the rail project as well, with track laying to commence shortly.
The project will produce first coal in 2021.
