Mackay’s Blackrock Mining, SMW Group and Manuplex in the running for mining awards ahead of QME

From keeping miner lungs clean of dust to cleaning solar panels, these businesses prove why Central Queensland is at the forefront of mining. Read why they are now finalists in the 2022 Queensland Mining Awards.

Coal dust is not the only kind of dust putting the lives of miners at risk.

Auxiliary dust can be just as deadly but one Mackay business has finally cracked the problem.

Blackrock Mining Solutions’ VCD Wet Applicator Pump eliminates spray dust and CEO Richard Campbell said the pump was the result of more than a year of concentrated trial and error at the Carborough Downs underground mine.

“We tried three or four other systems, none of them really worked,” he said.

“And this one, straight off the bat, perfect.

“Coal dust is under control now but auxiliary dust is just as bad, that’s the concrete dust.

“If you breathe enough of that, it sits in your lungs.

“It’s essentially the same thing.”

Blackrock Mining Solutions CEO Richard Campbell. Picture: Contributed

Mr Campbell said the breakthrough came from building out a system from the ground up.

“The product and the pump were both designed specifically for each other, to suit each other from the ground up,” he said.

There are now five pumps in the field across Queensland and another six in NSW.

Mr Campbell said they also could be used in fields outside of mining, including in civil tunnel work.

“Those guys fly a little under the radar for dust issues and lung issues and I think they probably need to get on board with it,” he said.

Blackrock Mining’s innovation push landed it a nomination for the 2022 Queensland Mining Awards to be held next week alongside the massive Queensland Mining and Engineering Exhibition at Mackay Showgrounds.

Mr Campbell said “blood, sweat and tears” had gone into designing and testing the pump and it felt “awesome” to be nominated.

Blackrock Mining is not the only Mackay business that has been singled out for excellence, with SMW Group and Manuplex also in the running for developments in safety and productivity.

Blackrock Mining Solutions' VCD Wet Applicator Pump is now in the field and used by mining heavyweights such as Mastermyne. Picture: Contributed.

SMW CEO Jack Trenaman said his company’s new solar panel cleaning truck demonstrated how expertise in mining could transfer to the field of renewables.

The truck — developed in partnership with Adani Renewables — cleans solar panels at night, on uneven ground and without damaging the glass.

“This is definitely something that can be leveraged to other solar farms,” he said.

“Solar farms are popping up everywhere, so industrial cleaning is something that can be leveraged into the solar and renewables sector.

“There is an innovation-based approach to everything we do.

“We see problems in every day mine site issues and we solve them.”

QME will host more than 300 exhibitors across July 19-21, including behemoths of the sector such as BHP and Anglo American.

Companies across a range of fields such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, automation and digital manufacturing will also be present.

The outdoor area will be more than 300 per cent larger than previous years and the event’s seminar series will feature more than 20 sessions.

In registration, exhibitors listed exponential and low emissions technology as two key areas of interest.

Originally published as Mackay’s Blackrock Mining, SMW Group and Manuplex in the running for mining awards ahead of QME