Recycled oil in explosives cuts energy use

Hunter Valley Operations is taking an innovative approach to managing its environmental impact, and is recycling waste oil and using this in explosives.

The method has helped save more than 194,000 litres of diesel since June last year, which is the equivalent of 512 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the same as taking almost 200 passenger cars off the road.

“Previously, we used 100 per cent pure diesel in our explosives, but we are now using a blend of half recycled oil and half diesel,” blast supervisor Darren Moffitt said.

“The benefits are twofold: we’re saving money by using less diesel and are re-using our oil, which would otherwise have been treated as waste.”

The oil is sourced from the mine’s workshop, having been used in engines, transmissions and hydraulics in the mine’s mobile equipment.

“The used oil is put through a sophisticated filtering system on site, which gets rid of any impurities,” Darren said.

“There’s a small processing cost to filter the oil, but this is minimal compared to the amount it costs to purchase diesel.

“The oil/diesel blend is just as effective in the explosives, which are used to blast layers of overburden, or waste rock, to reveal the coal seam before mining takes place.”

Hunter Valley Operations general manager operations Graham Gageler said managing energy use is helping sites combat climate change.

“The climate change challenge will require changes in global energy, transport, land management, industrial and community systems and infrastructure,” Graham said.

“By reducing the amount of diesel we use, we’re reducing our overall energy profile and working towards building a more sustainable future for our business.”

The use of recycled oil in explosives is set to continue at Hunter Valley Operations, driven by Darren and energy champion Maria Zappala, with help from graduate engineer Hayden Whiteside and the Hunter Valley projects team.

Pictured: Hunter Valley Operations blast supervisor Darren Moffitt near tanks that store the waste oil.