An anti mining group wrongly accused a technology company of intending to automate part of a $21 billion coal development, an Asia-backed proponent has said.
India-headquartered Adani Australia claims Galilee Blockade incorrectly stated Rockwell Automation plans to install robotic devices and reduce the number of mine workers needed at the Carmichael Coal Project, 160km northwest of Clermont in Central Queensland.
Not contracted
Adani confirmed Rockwell was not contracted to do any recent work on the project and the supplier had last performed conveyor and stockpile management equipment services at Abbot Point Port more than five years ago.
“This was yet another stunt based on lies and created by the anti-fossil fuel activists’ sophisticated, well-funded and foreign influenced public relations machine to try and dupe the public and the media,” Adani Mining CEO Lucas Dow said in a public statement.
“The anti-coal activists have [also] tried to trick the public into believing mistruths about our mine’s impact on the Great Barrier Reef, claiming that we will be using water from the Great Artesian Basin both of which are completely untrue. This latest attempt to deceive people by claiming robots will operate our equipment is also false.”
Equipment ordered
The proponent also said it had ordered mine trucks, excavators and other equipment that was not automated.
“They will be driven and operated by people, not robots,” Dow said. “One of our 600 tonne excavators has already been constructed on site and is ready to get to work as soon as the first of our mining trucks arrive. Twenty four of our trucks that all need people to drive them are being assembled in Mackay and will arrive onsite soon.”
More than 200 people are already working at the project site and more machine operator positions will be advertised on the Adani Regional Content Strategy Talent Community website.
Hiring soon
Current fly-in fly-out and bus-in bus-out vacancies include:
- experienced coal mining operators (multiple positions)
- marble quarry workers (multiple)
- blast hole drillers (multiple)
- mining engineers (multiple)
- coal technician
- operator maintainer tails dam
- community engagement managers (multiple).
Click here to apply. Successful applicants will be offered a competitive hourly wage and a roster of either seven days on and seven days off, eight days on and six days off, or two weeks on and one week off.
“The guys and girls from our teams cannot wait to get behind the wheels of these brand new machines, and there will be ads on our jobs portal over the coming weeks and months to boost our project team numbers,” Dow said. “Just last week we were advertising for tradespeople to maintain this gear.”
Activists took credit
Galilee Blockade had encouraged its 50,000 supporters to email and phone Rockwell’s Bayswater head office to accuse the proponent of being a “criminal company” convicted of spreading “false and misleading information about their work onsite”.
However, after discovering its corporate intelligence was unreliable the group quickly cancelled a mass protest it planned to hold outside the company’s office on February 17.
“Rockwell Automation is not working with Adani on the Carmichael Project and we will not be involved moving forward,” Rockwell allegedly told the group.
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Galilee Blockade still took credit for the company’s decision not to work with Adani on the project.
“Win – due to your emails, Rockwell Automation has publicly refused to ever help Adani,” the group later said on Facebook. “Eight other companies could possibly help automate Adani’s mine processes [so] email the CEOs today.”
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