Helen Stirling from the Hauraki Herald spent a day at Martha Mine in Waihi. Here is her report:

All that glitters
It’s a big day – and I mean huge. What looks like Tonka toys in the bottom of the Martha sand pit are more like machines out of the Star Wars movies amid boulders nearly two metres tall – they’re just disguised as trucks and excavators.

Getting permission to experience a day in the life of a miner was a big exercise. It involved a lengthy meeting with the safety superintendent and my first point of contact Doreen McLeod. During my induction I began to realise there is no such thing as a miner as such but my focus turns to gold; where’s the gold, bring me the gold. I’ve got gold fever already and I’ve only just put on my steel capped gumboots and popped ear plugs into my pocket in readiness.

Complete with hardhat and safety glasses, safety boss Andy Schmidt and I start my journey in pursuit of gold. My search starts with core sampling. Drillers take samples from between five and 400 metres below ground. Exploration supervisor Caroline Stewart oversees the row of cores. Newmont’s recently announced exploration funding boost is likely to affect her department the most. “It will mean more staff, more contractors and more job prospects.”

Geologists pore over the sample and label them meticulously. Geotechnical engineer Trevor Maton examines the strength of the rock in the core samples. “ Rocks have imperfections, they’re not like steel,” he explains. Sophisticated software images on his monitor depict old stopes, tunnels, shafts and Waihi streets as multi-colour lines. Mr Maton determines the pit wall stability and decides where the excavators dig. He then tries to baffle me with probaballistic and sensitivity analysis. Essentially he’s trying to identify the vagaries of Mother Nature and minimise risks for the whole operation.

Then it’s on to the pit site. I’m surprised to see pre-fab type buildings. My guide and lingo interpreter Andy Schmidt says most structures can be put up and down in a week. I meet Bruce Preddy, the man responsible for getting the rock out of the pit, and finds there’s a major change in the work place. Blasting and excavating is happening from left to right along the bottom bench instead of right to left. This impacts on many staff but it is aimed at ensuring compliance. “We’re working the bench back to front; that’s not a norm, it’s a major change. It’s easy to say comply but the things you have to do and the changes we have to make are not easy,” he explains.

Mr Schmidt gets clearance for us to drive down to the pit floor. He tells everybody where we’re going on his two-way radio. The frequent radio communication is about keeping their work place safe he explains. Safety is a primary focus and features in every meeting. By crikey these machines are getting bigger and bigger the deeper we go. I’m in awe and in ore as we approach a 185-tone excavator. Standing inside the bucket is a breeze and I’m 1.78m tall. But getting up into the excavator requires all my concentration in the wet conditions Driver Dan Savage points to the dickie seat and instructs me to put on my seat belt. And whoa the work begins – I’m pleased I put it on and we’re not even moving. The rocks bang and crash. Samplers and blast crewmen are the most vulnerable on the pit floor. It came as no surprise when I later discovered they get a bit touchy. “The rocks are massive, that one would come up to my waist” says Dan as he delicately scoops it up and puts it aside for breaking later. He works the control joysticks and brake pedals like a concert pianist works a baby grand. I’m impressed and the power of it all starts getting to me. Maybe I’ll change vocation, I ponder, feeling on top of the world at the bottom of the pit. A stream of trucks reverse underneath the scoop to take their load up to the crusher.

Next I’m walking the cat-walk of Ben Biddle’s 85 tonne dump truck. Each truck carries about $5000 of gold-bearing ore from the pit floor. It’s slow going at 10kph but the big truck gently lopes along and at about 4m above the ground the gentle sway makes for a surreal experience (self note: don’t become a dump truck driver). But Ben’s focused on safety. “ It can get boring but every little thing that happens makes it fun,” he says. “ It’s safety first and it’s a really big issue on a day like this”. It’s raining heavily outside; we’ve got to be more cautious because we can slip and slide around. My ore gets dumped down the chute for crushing. Heading back downhill we speed to 30kms, Ben expertly tweaks the manual retarder and throttle to ensure the wheels don’t lock up in the soaking conditions. There’s also room for creative initiatives, and in number-eight-wire spirit Ben put a piece of plastic to form spouting on his right side mirror for improved visibility in the rain. I notice several basketball-sized rocks on the road; a grader works constantly keeping the road level and removing stray rock. Just one tyre on a dump truck costs $9500.

A call comes over the radio asking for my whereabouts – time to leave the cosy truck to visit the samplers. Are they sure there’s gold in there - it all looks like rock and mud to me. The sampling room is hot, like an industrial laundry. Samples are dried, ground, enveloped and labelled meticulously then sent for testing. Assay result sheets, also showing old mine working are strewn over the smoko table for Ross McConnachie and his team to interpret. Aside from the wisecracking comedian Brian Twidle, my trip to the toilet was a highlight and proves the company’s commitment to safety. A sign at the toilet doors shows the different colour of urine indicating levels of dehydration and a reminder to drink more water. Then I couldn’t miss a postage stamp sized sticker at seated eye-level on the back of the toilet door reading “ the goal is zero injuries”. Andy says many people don’t realise how dehydration affects them and his team is constantly drilling home the safety message in new ways.

My gold bearing rock rumble down the crushing chute and start the journey along a 3km system of belts. Shayne Bennie checks images from cameras. “ If I make a mistake, it has the potential to cost a lot of money.” He looks for potential problems; the operation could be stopped for days if a major belt repair is required. Down time costs. Then it’s a whistle stop tour of the vehicle maintenance workshop. They use spanners the size of cricket bats; giant machines need giant tools. Maintenance superintendent Adam Bell worked on tanks in the army and leads 14 specialists to maintain plant. Before we leave the pit I stop to watch a blast. All I see and hear is a small puff of dust and a muffled 'phut'. Andy says many people don’t realise the effort that goes into maintaining their mine license. “ We really do love working here.” He drives us through the wheel cleaner on our way to the tailing area and mill. Every vehicle leaving the site goes through the cleaner to keep mud out of the town.”

At the mill I meet more of the team including a self confessed ‘mill rat’ turned metallurgical technician and a plethora of specialists. Then I see my 'precious' – a huge pile of ore-bearing mud worth at least $650,000 says Brett Twidle. I have a sudden urge to roll in it. Production trainer Tracey Ransfield takes me on a tour – just as well I can lip read; I couldn’t hear much even with my ear plugs in. She tells me burnt coconut shells are used in the leach and absorption process along with acid washing and stripping in the heavy metals recovery. I meet up with engineer Peter Lowe, part of Andy’s safety team, and monitoring technician Gary Choate who oversees construction of the tailing development. We jump into a ute for the last stage. Gary describes his role of as being about vigilance. “It would be disappointing if Newmont weren’t that way. I take pride in it.” I question him about cyanide in the extraction process. He’s says there is no risk. “This water has been swum in.” Peter says dotterels are coming back to nest after scared off by stoats and weasels. Attractive roadside plantings are part of the company’s beautification plan.

There’s no gold being poured today but that’s okay, I met people whose attention to detail and passion for their work impresses. I feel a million bucks after my big day at the mine.

15 June 2004

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