SSS delivers shutdowns and a new training initiative to Northern Star Resources
After successfully delivering two shutdowns at Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) Super Pit, SSS will be managing a third shutdown at the end of July 2025, along with a new training initiative for Northern Star Resources’ upcoming shutdown personnel.
SSS started working with Northern Star Resources in 2023, after they were engaged to manage a shutdown operation at KCGM, one of Australia’s largest open pit gold mines. This month, the SSS team will provide shutdown execution specialists to assist the client with the successful delivery of a nine-day shutdown at the Super Pit.
SSS Operations Manager David Goodes outlines what’s involved in a typical shutdown: “We work with their execution team and operations team to bring the plant down, making sure it’s cleaned appropriately in the wash down prep time. We isolate it, then work with contractors to ensure that they’re on track. We report and update on the schedule throughout the shutdown phase, escalating any risks to the schedule during the process so that coordinators have a real-time vision of what’s holding up the job or what could be changing.”
“Typically, towards the end of the shut, we chase up the contractor groups to make sure they’ve closed down all their works appropriately. All the guarding tools have been removed, guards are back on, systems have been walked down and handed back to operations in a manner that’s fit for turning it back on again.”
Once this final stage is reached, SSS then works with operations through to commission. “New belts and machines that have been worked on will have crews in place to make sure we watch it start up and have the right precautions in place. We need to pose hard skirts on belts and scrapers to make sure they’re not chattering or gripping. We also make sure we’ve got eyes on all rotating equipment in case there’s any anything that’s loose or not been finished that we didn’t see when we did the walk down. This is to make sure that we don’t cause any unnecessary breakdowns straight after shutdown,” Goodes says.
In addition to managing the next shutdown at KCGM’s Super Pit, SSS will provide training for some of Northern Star Resources’ upcoming supervisors and coordinators to ensure they have the skills to carry out their ongoing shutdown operations efficiently and safely.
Goodes says, “Most sites only shutdown three to four times per year. Our guys are doing three to four shutdowns per month.”
With this high level of exposure across a variety of mine sites throughout Australia, SSS has positioned themselves as the go-to specialists in the shutdown space. The SSS team aims to provide Northern Star Resources personnel with the same world-class training as their own in-house specialists, ensuring improved efficiencies and reduced costs for the client’s future shutdown operations.