With timeframes and costs becoming more of a challenge, Tradesales is working to alleviate these particular mine-site stressors.
Rome wasn’t built in a day – and neither is a mining operation.
And while some sites come to fruition quicker than others, a considerable amount of time is spent on waiting for infrastructure to be built, set up and readied for use before any ore extracted from the ground, let alone shipped out.
This gap in the market led workshop designer and manufacturer Tradesales to develop a product that is helping operations get boots on the ground quicker: relocatable site solutions.
“A relocatable site solution is a containerised piece of infrastructure that can really be designed for anything,” Tradesales national sales manager Jay McEwen told Australian Mining. “They can be for hydration, site offices, tool storage … the list is endless.
“Our relocatable site solutions are entirely plug-and-play and are built to the most stringent specifications.”
One of the main uses for Tradesales’ site solutions has been relocatable locker rooms.
The company had sold thousands of its TradeLockers to mines around Australia, so it made sense to install them into 20–foot and 40–foot containers to give clients storage flexibility as their headcounts grew.
“The rooms provide comfortable, secure and easy-to-access storage for workers on-site,” McEwen said.
“They help to optimise the use of on-site space.
“Their modular design means they’re scalable and more locker rooms can be added and removed as the workforce changes. Being relocatable, they can also be moved to another location if the operation expands.”
Image: Tradesales
Tradesales has designed, manufactured and delivered its relocatable site solutions all over the country, including to a major miner in the heart of Western Australia.
“For a large established mine, we would recommend a mix of our site solutions all stacked together to create remote workshops,” McEwen said.
“The project that we completed with a major miner involved eight 40-foot relocatable solutions outfitted with roller doors and a full electrical installation.
“The containers were arranged in pairs, with a dome structure between them to optimise space and offer shielding from the harsh sun, further enhancing working conditions.”
Tradesales designs and manufactures its site solutions within Australia, so the company knows first-hand how important it is to provide a shield from the country’s often-harsh elements.
“The sites have thick steel walls that are built to last in the extreme conditions found at mines across Australia,” McEwen said.
“Only light maintenance is needed so one of our solutions can last for many years, making them a capital asset.”
And, as McEwen explained, the relocatable site solutions last right up until the mine is ready for rehabilitation.
“Empty and abandoned permanent structures become a big environmental problem,” he said. “Obviously, buildings can be demolished and debris removed, but this is expensive.
“Upcycling containers into workplace structures elsewhere keeps more metal and building material waste from getting added to landfills.”
Another big benefit of the site solutions is that sites can predict the costs and the timelines of their development, a bonus for operations that need to keep to strict budgets.
“Traditional construction projects often veer off schedule and go over budget, delaying operations and decreasing the return on investment,” McEwen said. “But it generally only takes around 45 working days to manufacture a relocatable site solution once everything has been approved.
“The planning and processes that go into a relocatable site solution allow for predictable costs and precise timelines.
“Plus, they are constructed in a factory setting, meaning weather can’t delay the project, and any necessary on-site work can take place in parallel.”
With so many benefits, it’s easy to see why Tradesales’ relocatable site solutions have become staples for many sites around Australia.
“From hydration stations and on-site offices to secure tool storage and beyond, our relocatable site solutions are designed to adapt seamlessly to our customers’ evolving needs,” McEwen said.
“We would like all mines to experience the flexibility and functionality of our site solutions, tailored to enhance efficiency across their operations.”
This feature appeared in the March 2024 issue of Australian Mining.
