Duratec was engaged to complete repairs to a large vertical crack beneath the fourth gallery level on the 152m main chimney stack at BHP Billiton Nickel West’s Kalgoorlie operations.
Details
The works were completed during a scheduled maintenance period whilst the chimney remained online.
The scope included:
- Surface preparation.
- Concrete crack repair.
- Diamond cup grinding in readiness for carbon fibre strengthening.
- Grinding of final surface area.
Highlights
- 11 personnel with all tools and equipment were mobilised to Kalgoorlie in just 6 working days.
- Time on the stack was limited to 1.5 shifts where all tools and equipment had to be lifted to the top of the chimney, works completed and then the chimney stripped of all equipment by the cut off time.
- The staff worked through temperatures of 3 degrees in the rain wearing full face respiratory protection to finish the work on time.
- Around 180 square meters of concrete was prepared for carbon fibre wrapping and 15 lineal meters of substantial cracks repaired during the shutdown.
- There were no incidents throughout the shutdown, with everybody working as a team in a very high risk environment.
Capabilities
- Industrial Chimney
- Concrete Repair
- Shutdowns
