With rail services from Phosphate Hill, near Mount Isa, washed out in the recent flooding, the team at the plant was faced with the prospect of several weeks of rail outage and their storage facilities rapidly filling with fertiliser.
Under normal circumstances, the ammonium phosphate fertiliser is moved straight out along the rail line to the port of Townsville for distribution to farmers in Australia and overseas. Phosphate Hill produces about 1 million tonnes of fertiliser a year but has capacity to store only about 30,000 tonnes.
“In days gone by, the workers at Phosphate Hill might have cursed the weather and when the storage facilities were full, shut down the plant and waited for the rail line to re-open,” said IPL Finance Director, James Fazzino.
“But in a remarkable display of initiative, the team decided to create temporary storage facilities for some 42,000 tonnes of fertiliser which enabled the plant to keep operating.”
This was no simple operation. Planning by IPL’s Manufacturing and Project groups in Melbourne had the company’s mining team and surveyors on the ground at Phosphate Hill find a suitable venue for an initial 29,000 tonnes of fertiliser.
Almost immediately, the Mining Team began digging out a bunker on site, grading and compacting the area, whilst IPL’s on-site contractors started organising people and equipment.
The Manufacturing and Project group then devised a plan for lining the bunker and the transportation and storage of the product, while the Melbourne team organised massive tarpaulins and the conveyor for distribution of the product within the bunker.
But the weather challenges continued as the planning and construction team had to endure seven days of rain, lightning, dust storms and high winds.
Just after the first pour, an approaching storm triggered an ‘all hands on deck’ request to protect the product with tarpaulins with 64 people responding to the call.
Within days of taking up the challenge, the first load of fertiliser was poured into the bunker and within weeks was securely holding 29,000 tonnes. The second bunker was being filled when the rail access to the port was restored.
“Our Phosphate Hill team came through admirably for us, securing the fertiliser and ensuring we didn’t lose any valuable product – a clear demonstration of how a committed workforce and a performance-driven culture can drive real value to the bottom line,” Fazzino said.
“Congratulations to all involved for rising to the challenges faced, adapting to the changing elements and achieving an excellent result for the business – most importantly, without any safety or environmental incidents.”
 
