PanAust’s approach to mining acknowledged

PANAUST Ltd (PanAust) has been acknowledged for its innovative approach to mining, winning the Miners Innovation Award at Austmine’s 2019 Mining innovation conference and exhibition in Brisbane.
The award recognises an inventive solution, conceived of and implemented by the company’s logistics team in Laos, to backload diesel to its Phu Kham Copper-Gold Operation.
PanAust executive chairman Dr Qun Yang spoke proudly of the company’s achievement.
“At PanAust, we are always looking for out-of-the-box ways to improve our costs and sustainability outcomes,” Yang said.
“This initiative – six years in the making – does both. On behalf of PanAust, I wish to thank Austmine for this recognition and for all of their support to our company over the years.”
Diesel back loading uses returning ‘empty’ concentrate haulage trucks to transport diesel to and from the company’s Phu Kham operation.
A custom-built, half-height tank is filled with diesel and loaded under an empty concentrate container and trucked from PanAust’s logistics hub at Ban Thouay to Phu Kham.
After arriving at Phu Kham, drivers discharge diesel at the fuel farm and proceed to the process area to collect concentrate.
The empty half-height tank is then loaded on top of the full concentrate container for the return journey to Ban Thouay.