Linfox Logistics and BHP Billiton

BHP Billiton: Logistics at Olympic Dam

Linfox is BHP Billiton’s long term logistics partner of choice at its Olympic Dam mine site, having first become a service provider at the site in 1998. The site contains the world’s largest known deposits of uranium and the fourth largest deposit of copper. Linfox has deployed a range of best in class logistics services to improve efficiencies and safety of the operations at the site.

Linfox Logistics and BHP Billiton BHP Billiton required innovative solutions with best practice operations in mind. This was to reduce the total cost of operations and deliver a comprehensive health, safety and environment plan. Linfox is the supply chain partner of choice for BHP Billiton at the Olympic Dam mine.

Customer Overview

BHP Billiton is the world’s largest diversified resources company and a leader in the global natural resources industry. The group employs 37,000 staff, working in more than 100 operations in approximately 25 countries.

A premier global company, BHP Billiton occupies industry leader or near industry leader positions in major commodity businesses, including aluminium, energy coal and metallurgical coal, copper, manganese, iron ore, uranium, nickel, silver and titanium minerals, and have substantial interests in oil, gas, liquefied natural gas and diamonds.

The Situation

BHP Billiton produces copper, uranium, large quantities of silver bullion and significant amounts of gold at the Olympic Dam operation. Located 560 kilometres north of Adelaide, South Australia, Olympic Dam is a multi-mineral ore body. It is the world’s fourth-largest remaining copper deposit, the largest uranium deposit and is Australia’s largest underground mine.

The Challenge

BHP Billiton set Linfox the challenge of meeting its triple bottom line objectives:

  1.  A need for innovative solutions, providing BHP Billiton with best practice processes to reduce the total cost of operations.
  2.  Best practice health and safety.
  3.  Best practice environmental community outcomes. Linfox worked with state authorities to be able to use more efficient cost effective, safer and environmentally friendly equipment.

Why Linfox?

  • Linfox is innovative and flexible in its approach to its long-term partnership with BHP Billiton: Providing BHP Billiton sophisticated supply chain and cost modelling capabilities.
  • Possessing the carrying and logistics capacity to meet BHP Billiton customer demand.
  • Delivering a comprehensive Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) policy supported by a world class management system.
  • Complying with all state and federal government transportation strategies and policies and supporting the local community, socially and environmentally.
  • Managing containerised shipments, dangerous and hazardous materials that are sourced domestically, interstate or internationally.
  • Providing personnel who are able to either work or be based at remote locations.

The Linfox Solution

The Linfox solution was developed as a result of an ongoing focus on efficiency, safety and environmental improvements. Work with state authorities led to legislative changes which allowed safer, more efficient vehicles to be used on the roads.

Logistics analyses revealed operational efficiency improvements and use of Linfox fleet development expertise led to vehicle design changes which delivered additional safety and efficiencies.

The combined group of changes has led BHP Billiton to recognise that the Olympic Dam transport operations operated by Linfox represent best in class operations when compared with similar environments around the world.

Operational Innovation

Linfox operate 22 prime movers and 90 specially designed trailers to move a wide variety of materials to and from the Olympic Dam site and various Australian ports. Inwards goods, predominantly assisting the mining process, include cement, lime, flyash, fuel, sulphur, and acids. These materials require a range of specialised trailers for efficient transport and delivery to the mine.

The trailers include tippers, pneumatic and general freight compatible designs to carry general and hazardous freight. The same trailers carrying freight to the mine are also designed to transport the mine’s output on the long journeys to Adelaide and Darwin.

The Results

  • Linfox operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to deliver 1.2 million tonnes of inward freight to Olympic Dam and move approximately 250,000 tonnes of copper and uranium oxide concentrate from the mine.
  • Linfox is the first carrier in South Australia to obtain permits to operate road trains across the metropolitan area of Adelaide; an initiative which delivered substantial efficiencies and savings for BHP Billiton.
  • Linfox provide leadership in obtaining increased mass limits for the BHP Billiton work, saving BHP Billiton in excess of $2.1 million per annum.
  • A reduction in the number of unnecessary express movements through the introduction of a more planned approach to transport.
  • An ability to maintain high and consistent standards of facilities, equipment and employees.