Melak Coal Mine

Thiess in Indonesia has fast-tracked the Melak Coal Mine project to exceed the client’s production targets. Our team has also built a strong safety culture through strategies such as multi-media communication with workers.

In October 2008, Thiess Indonesia secured a eight-year contract for the development and operation of a greenfield coal mine located near Melak in East Kalimantan and owned by the Bayan Group. The Melak mine is divided into two different mine concessions, Teguh Sinar Abadi and Firman Ketaun Perkasa.

Thiess undertook mine planning, overburden removal, coal mining, and coal loading and transportation from the mine site to the port. Works also involved site infrastructure development including construction of a 100-person staff accommodation camp, an equipment maintenance workshop, office complex, fuel storage facilities and construction of explosives magazines.

This project commenced with a production target of two million tonnes of coal in the first year, ramping up to four million tonnes in the third year, with a current mining rate of 2.2 million tones per annum.

Our project team has also driven innovation in safety on this project, using multi-media channels to reinforce HSE as the number one priority. These include video message broadcasts played continuously on screens on site, messages on FM radio, and DVDs that employees can take home to watch.