WICET – MP2 Marine Works

With stage 1 of the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal (WICET) completed, commissioned and fully operational in 2015, the construction barge wharf at the site was rendered redundant. After considering removal of the wharf, WICET decided it would be more beneficial to decommission and preserve the facility. This would keep the option of using it again for any further expansion works in the future. Walz Group was engaged by WICET to decommission and preserve the construction barge wharf at the facility. The project scope also included removing hazards to the general public that may access the area.

This project showcases our marine infrastructure capability. It highlights the benefit of owning our own specialist marine equipment and expert operators. The scope included:

Decommissioning and preservation of the construction barge wharf
- Removal, preservation and storage of pontoons, gangways and landings
- Removal of attachments on piles / sheet piles then cleaning and restoration of surface protection
- Design, supply and installation of a sacrificial anode system for the piles / sheet piling
- Maintenance of existing navigational lights and installing one new light on the mooring dolphin
- Installation of a security fence and safety signage
Ancillary make-safe works
- Modification to the berthing dolphin emergency ladders x 10
- Surface protection repairs to emergency ladder piles
- Surface protection repairs to piles W11-C and W15-C
Marine equipment and personnel
- Self-elevating platform
- 250t crawler crane
- Flat top barge
- Tug boat
- Work boat
- Crew boat

Sinosteel – Rocklands Copper Processing Plant

Sinosteel engaged Walz Group to carry out the structural, mechanical and piping works for the greenfield installation of a new 3Mtpa copper processing plant at their Rocklands mine, approximately 17km west of Cloncurry, in northwest Queensland. Our scope included the installation and commissioning of all mechanical equipment, structural steelwork and piping. Upon completion, we had installed 5,900t of structural steel, 2,500t of mechanical items and 42,000m of piping.

Our specialist team comprised some 150 personnel at the peak of construction, and included special class welders, pipe fitters, riggers, boilermakers, equipment operators, and project support staff.

Bechtel – SMP Installation Works on Train 2, QCLNG Curtis Island

We were proud to support our client, Bechtel, to deliver one of six LNG trains on Curtis Island as part of the largest concentration of private capital investment in Australian history. This historical program of work resulted in three plants that yield roughly 8% of the world’s total LNG production.

Walz was engaged to provide specialist teams to perform pipe installation, pipe welding, structural steel installation, structural steel removal, structural steel welding, and associated activities on the Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) Project. The completed works included 250t of structural steel and 6km of class 1 piping. Our scope also included line blowing and commissioning activities.

Off the back of our successful delivery of the SMP works for Train 2, Bechtel awarded Walz Group the ongoing maintenance and warranty works for all three plants on Curtis Island.

Dedert – Wet Distillers Grain Dryer Installation

The Dalby Ethanol Plant is Australia’s first grain-to-ethanol facility. Each year the plant converts nearly 200,000 tonnes of sorghum into 76 million litres of ethanol. The product remaining after ethanol distillation — known as sillage — is separated and concentrated using centrifuge and evaporation technology to form a high energy, high protein animal feed known as wet distiller’s grain. The soluble dry matter, known as syrup, is blended with the Wet Distiller’s Grain (WDG) and sold to the local animal feed market as Wet Distiller’s Grain with Solubles (WDGS).

As part of a plant upgrade, the Dedert Corporation engaged Walz Group to construct and install a drying facility for the wet WDGS. The closed loop drying system with integrated thermal oxidizer was installed adjacent to the existing wet grain system.

Our scope incorporated all civil works, including concreting, plus the structural, mechanical and electrical installation, as well as commissioning of the drying plant. We managed specialist civil and electrical contractors who worked alongside the Walz project team to ensure a seamless delivery. The structural work included offsite fabrication in our facility in Gladstone.

After the installation of the dryer, the plant has the capacity to produce around 180,000 tonnes of WDGS a year.

Sedgman – GEMCO Fine Sands Dewatering Facility & Port Stockpile Building

Sedgman was engaged to design and construct a sands beneficiation plant, port stockpile expansion, and other associated infrastructure at BHP Billiton’s GEMCO facility. The plant aimed to increase the capacity of the existing concentrator plant by reprocessing ore from tailings stockpiles.

Walz Group was contracted by Sedgman to provide all structural, mechanical and piping installation services, and construction works required to execute the project.

We provided construction services for all areas of the development, including the concentrator, tailings dam, and the port stockpile. These works incorporated the installation of around 700t of structural steel, including guards, pulley frames, and conveyor galleries. Mechanical installation comprised idlers, pulleys, drives, scrapers, belts, dump hopper, product bin, chutes, sump pumps, transfer pumps, process water pumps, return water pumps and numerous modifications to the existing plants. The piping component included installation of 1,500m of piping plus 2,400m of small bore piping.

BMA Hay Point — HPX 3 Expansion Works

Hay Point Coal Terminal is one of the largest coal export ports in the world. Walz Group had previously worked directly for the owner-operator, BMA, to urgently replace a footbridge . We were subsequently engaged to support BMA to deliver the third major expansion of the facility.

As part of this contract, Walz Group provided marine equipment and specialist personnel to support the shutdown scheduled as part of the project, and remove associated temporary works. Throughout the project, we continually adapted to the ever-changing weather conditions and modifications to schedule. By working closely with our client and taking an agile approach to resourcing requirements, we were able to meet all project milestones.

In its entirety, the expansion increased capacity at the terminal from 44 million tonnes to 55 million tonnes. The work included construction of a new berth and land reclamation, as well as building and fitting out new trestles, conveyers, and ship loaders.

Specifically, our scope included the provision of the following specialist equipment together with expert operators.

1 x self-elevating platform with Favco M2480D tower crane
1 x self-elevating platform with 250t crawler crane
1 x self-elevating platform with 100t crawler crane
2 x flat top barges
2 x tugs
1 x work boat
1 x crew boat

Curragh – ROM Upgrade

Formerly owned by Wesfarmers Resources, the Curragh Coal Mine (now operated by Coronado Curragh Pty Ltd) is located in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, 30km north of Blackwater. The main product from the mine is metallurgical (coking) coal for export.

Wesfarmers identified a need to refurbish the run of mine (ROM) coal handling facility at Curragh, in order to accommodate increased production and potential future expansion requirements. They subsequently embarked upon a major upgrade of this essential infrastructure, to enable increased reliability and capacity, and extend the life of the facility.

Walz Group was engaged to supply and install structural, mechanical, piping and electrical works, including the onsite civil package and multiple tie-ins to existing plant. We provided an end-to-end solution, performing procurement, demolition and decommissioning of redundant infrastructure before delivering construction and erection/installation services for the material handling facility and associated infrastructure works. Our scope also included verification, and pre-commissioning as well as commissioning support. The works included:

Structural steel supply and installation – 650t (Structural steel, guards, pulley frames)s
Mechanical supply and installation – 200t (idlers, pulleys, drives, scrapers, belts)
Piping supply and installation – 2,000m (25NB-150NB (carbon steel / galvanised / HDPE))
Platework supply and installation – 160t (Chutes, liners)
Electrical and instrumentation (supply and installation) — managed by Walz, performed by subcontractors
Civil (support and installation) — managed by Walz, performed by subcontractors
Tie-ins to existing plant

BMA Hay Point – Footbridge 3 Replacement

This work involved the urgent replacement of a heavily corroded footbridge at the Hay Point Coal Terminal. The new bridge had been fabricated, but was yet to be installed, and the existing structure was quickly deteriorating after the impact of Cyclone Ului. With high structural corrosion throughout the chords and stringers, the old bridge was not capable of withstanding a significant wind or wave event.

BMA sought to greatly reduce the risk of failure of the existing bridge by installing the new, prefabricated replacement which was capable of withstanding greater wind and wave events. The new bridge also reduced the chance of downtime to the adjacent berth, as mooring operations would be rendered disabled if the bridge were to fail.

Our primary scope was to install a pre-fabricated replacement bridge in accordance with the approved design drawings. This included removing the existing footbridge, relocating it to Mackay Harbour, and fabricating and fitting the missing connection pieces required for the installation of the bridge.

The works required the mobilisation of a range of our equipment and crew from our marine fleet to enable the installation. This included:

Jack up barge with crane to remove and replace the footbridge
Landing barge with capacity to accommodate the new and existing footbridge
Tug boat to manoeuvre equipment

Alcan Grove – Transfer Station TS6-10 Dust Handling System

Rio Tinto’s Alcan Gove operations are located on the Gove Peninsular in northeast Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Our client identified that the plant was experiencing product loss and dust emissions at a juncture of two conveyors transporting ore to the harbour. The dust emission issues were due to inefficiencies within the transfer station. Walz Group was engaged to upgrade the export conveyor system and transfer station to achieve a targeted reduction in visible dust generation of 85%.

Our scope comprised the installation of all structural, mechanical, and piping elements of a new dust handling system. The works included:

Roof modifications
New compressor house
Low pressure air system
Compressed sir system
Dust collector (bag house) and associated ducting
Load station and associated return air slides
Head chute

BMA Broadmeadow – MG10 & MG11 Conveyors

As BMA’s Broadmeadow longwall mine operations advanced, a need was identified to install new conveyer infrastructure to replace shuttle cars and diesel ram cars to transport coal from the face.

Walz Group was engaged by BMA to complete the structural, mechanical and pipework installation of two new conveyers — Maingate 10 (MG10) and Maingate 11 (MG11). The project was completed in two stages — one for each conveyor — to accommodate operational constraints. We undertook all installation and construction work required to complete both conveyors.

Works were conducted in a live operating environment to maximise operational efficiency. This required careful planning and sequencing to ensure the mine could continue to operate as usual, safely and with minimal impact on production.

Specifically, the works incorporated:

Coffin seals
Drive frames
Drive modules
Belt maintenance equipment
Substation shed and related interface structures
Grouting to all structures including drive areas and transfer foundations
Hand rails
Transfer towers
Gantries and trestles and their associated mechanical components