Gabion Construction: Scaling Up for a Queensland Mine

The company’s largest gabion construction project to date was completed on time despite the challenges of Queensland’s wettest season.

For the Anglo Coal mine in Queensland, Prospect Contractors were contracted by MCG Civil to build a series of weirs and spillways in a manmade dam structure at the mine. The project included not just 3057 gabion cubes but 2550 m² of Renos. Approximately 6,500m² of bidim geotextile underlay was also installed to provide erosion control beneath the work. A separate 900m-long double-faced, freestanding wall was also built. A record length for a gabion wall built by us!

The entire project was completed in around 18 weeks. But the speed at which the project concluded was even more remarkable considering that in the closing phase of work 150mm of rain (6 in.) fell in a 60-hr window. This volume of water impacted the site enough to idle the construction crew for five days, which reduced the final phase window to less than two weeks to reach completion.

Of course, frustrated crews with nowhere to go and few entertainment options must occupy the time any way they can. Our crew got through it with jigsaw puzzles, some quality sleep time, and even a bit of creative hair dressing. When the rain finally broke and the soils were stable enough for work to resume, they got back to it, well rested and eager to complete the job in the sun.

After a final walkthrough with MCG, Parsons Brinckerhoff and Anglo Coal confirmed the integrity of our work, we put our five large machines and shipping containers on the truck to go home. We are proud to put our name to such an impressive project!

Once the sun returned and the site was safe for construction to continue, the final work phase on this impressive 900m long installation took just 12 days.

WHERE QUALITY CONTROL BEGINS

As anyone who visits a site like this knows, the quality of the people involved and how they communicate and work with one another go a long way towards making a good design a great installation. We want to thank and congratulate our supervisor Jed, who returned from six months away to lead this project from start to finish. His hard work and leadership has not gone unnoticed at Prospect Contractors! It’s great to have him back working in Adelaide.

This article compiles information published first in articles in Prospect Contractors’ January and April 2012 newsletters. For more “Off the Wall: newsletters and project and service information, visit www.prospectcontractors.com.au.