MEC, Author at MEC - Page 19 of 31

Conveying versus trucking

NewsDecember 19, 2017

Truck and shovel operation make up the majority of the surface operations worldwide, this is also the case here in Australia. However, considering high workforce cost and high focus on safety, one would expect the use of conveying systems to be a more popular option in Australia.

MEC leaders put through their paces at Hooked on Leadership course

NewsDecember 18, 2017

Hooked on Leadership courses challenge organisational leaders by taking them to the countryside and using horses to teach them how to lead better. Sound interesting? Our Principal Mining Engineer David Drew and our Manager of Consulting Services Christofer Catania attended one of the two-day courses recently to find out what they could learn from exercises in horsemanship.

Importance of contracting standards

NewsDecember 13, 2017

The mining industry sometimes responds so rapidly when commodity prices rise that contracting standards tend to drop in the mad rush to meet the next potential boom. One of our clients supplies dozers and earthmoving machinery to the Queensland coal mining industry. They have gone from having half of their fleet parked up, to having more work than equipment and then to considering buying new equipment over the course of a month.

Engineers Anonymous – Part 1

NewsDecember 5, 2017

Hi, my name is Simon and I am a recovering engineer. It has been 6 years since my last design and I am proud to say I haven't fallen off the wagon, yet. Having graduated from engineering 20 years ago I spent a good portion of my career in the ‘doing’ roles of operational engineering and absolutely loved it.

MEC shares their technical expertise on global projects

NewsDecember 5, 2017

On Thursday 23 November, MEC hosted a relaxed networking event and technical talk at the Moranbah Workers Club in Moranbah, Queensland. Over twenty mining industry professionals attended the event to hear MEC’s story about strategically optimising the extraction of a steeply dipping coking coal deposit in chilly Russia.

Top 3 Nickel Uses – The Power Metal

BlogDecember 4, 2017

Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge.

It belongs to the transition metals category and it is hard and malleable. The metal is extracted from its ores by heating and reducing the ore.

Dump Scheduling and Haulage Simulation

NewsNovember 28, 2017

One of the major financial impacts on any mine site is the number of trucks required to extract the coal/ore. By accurately evaluating the cycle times of individual haul routes from mining blocks to dump locations over the course of the mine life, the total amount of trucks at different years can be established. By evaluating alternate scenarios for dumping strategies sites can establish which option offers the lowest truck hours.

If it’s not in the plan, it just won’t happen. A “BoB” perspective

BlogNovember 23, 2017

We’ve heard it all too often, “fail to plan – plan to fail” and it rings so true across all facets of the business process. At MEC, we believe in a holistic approach to identify the strengths and weaknesses of Management Operating Systems (MOS), particularly within mining organisations.

The future is flexible: working arrangements at MEC

BlogNovember 22, 2017

With prominent Australian organisations such as ANZ and the Australian Stock Exchange offering their employees options around work hours and locations, flexibility is fast becoming a cornerstone of Australian businesses focused on attracting and retaining high-calibre staff.

MEC Lunch & Learn with V2H Australia

EventNovember 21, 2017

MEC are excited to present our latest lunch and learn with Doug Henderson, CEO of V2H Australia. Utilising innovative, high pressure water jetting systems, the Vertical To Horizontal drilling technology offers a low cost, high productivity alternative for the Petroleum, Gas and Coal industries.

Coal Loss and Dilution – Drill and Blast

BlogNovember 21, 2017

Drill and Blast is one of the leading causes of coal loss in an open cut coal mining operation. There are so many aspects that must be considered as part of the Drill and Blast Engineers design process and it is easy for an inexperienced or time constrained engineer to overlook critical areas. A poorly designed and managed blast can lead to millions of dollars of lost revenue.

Contracting and variations

UncategorizedNovember 8, 2017

Many years ago, when I was a young engineer working for a contract mining company at a large surface mine, a good friend (working for the client at the same operation) lamented the way contractors issue variations. From memory, I think he wanted to borrow a dozer for a few hours, and the contract didn’t provide for wet (operator included) hire.