Managing Terminal Operations

Coal is Australia’s most valuable export commodity, with exports worth over $8 billion a year. Each year, around 50 million tonnes of coal mined from Queensland’s Bowen Basin is loaded onto ships at Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal near Mackay, much of it bound for overseas.

Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal operates at full capacity, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The terminal acts as a buffer between the suppliers of coal products and the shipping demand. A coal product is railed from the mine to the terminal where it is ‘inloaded’ at one of two inloading stations. It is then stockpiled in a designated stockyard location, where it remains until a ship requesting the coal product arrives at the terminal. The coal is then ‘outloaded’ onto a ship, which takes it to other locations in Australia or overseas.

CSIRO Mathematics, Informatics and Statistics worked with DBCT to provide tools for modelling, analysing, simulating, planning and scheduling operations at the terminal.

Simulation Modelling for Materials Handling
A CSIRO scientist hopes a simulation program about to be implemented for coal loading operations in Queensland may soon have wide-ranging application in materials handling for manufacturing in Australia. David Sier is applying the simulation software for scheduling operations at Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal in Queensland to make best use of transport, storage and loading facilities... more (PDF).

Transport and Logistics Planning for Agriculture and Bulk Materials Handling
CSIRO Mathematics, Informatics and Statistics have significant expertise in providing analytical decision support for the bulk materials handling industry. This includes estimating benefits provided by proposed capital investments, planning and operational scheduling, dynamic rescheduling, evaluating changes to operating policies through scenario analysis, capacity and bottleneck calculations and analysis of variability in blending and throughput performance... more (PDF).

For additional information about out work in Mining and Minerals supply chains please contact David Sier.

Page last updated October 29, 2009 12:44 PM.
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