2021 Project of the Year

Congratulations Think Water Broome for your Rio Tinto Bore Testing Tender Project!

PROJECT BACKGROUND Rio Tinto reached out through an EOI process to find a company who could complete a bore redevelopment and test pumping program for their production bores located at various mining sites in the Pilbara area of WA. The lengthy tender submission required a significant safety management plan, a ground water management plan, and a methodology to pump test, redevelop and repair their bores.

Rio Tinto conducted an extensive review of safety and capability before awarding the tender to Think Water Broome.

THE PROJECT This project required Think Water Broome to make a substantial investment in equipment. This included test pumps, camera equipment to log issues, and a jet blasting system to clean bores. Patrick Annesley and team developed a truck mounted hydraulic arm. Attached to this arm is a removable reel or cassette. There are five cassettes each with their own job: 1. A bore cleaner made up of poly with jets and a brush system for cleaning the shaft.

2. Poly for flushing of the aquifer. 3. For lifting the bore pump and flexible rising main. 4. For the test pump and rising main. 5. For the discharge pipe. The innovative solution allows for one reel to be loaded onto the arm to perform each task, which speeds up the process, without compromising safety. There are off the shelf solutions available for over $400,000, however Patrick and his team designed and built this engineer approved system for $100,000. The system compiles a report for each bore tested and presented to Rio Tinto. These reports determine if the pump needs to be replaced as well as water quality considerations. Many of the bores are used for mining town site water so water quality and production is of a huge importance. One bore test is completed each week, given the complexity of the job and unforeseen issues from old bores.

OUTCOMES FROM THE CONTRACT WITH RIO TINTO Think Water Broome have been granted Category Three Contractor status with Rio Tinto, allowing them to work on a variety of RIO sites. Think Water Broome were able to meet the very high WHS standards required from Rio Tinto, which is a significant barrier to entry for smaller contractors.

The contract has taken them to expand on their traditional business and underpinned significant ongoing work with Rio Tinto which will enhance the business for years to come, by opening a new market and creating repeatable on-going work.