By Joel Shirriff, VP and Global Practice Lead, Terminals and Transportation, Ausenco
The Goonyella coal supply chain moves thermal and coking coal from a total of 18 mines in the Bowen Basin in Queensland, Australia to two adjacent export terminals: Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT) and Hay Point Services Coal Terminal (HPSCT).
Ausenco was engaged by DBCT as their official capacity estimator, and our scope of work included expanding the simulation model for DBCT to include the entire Goonyella supply chain, including a third export terminal at Abbott Point.
The model included:
- 24 mines supplying product to three distinct terminals
- a shared train fleet of up to 52 trains with scheduled maintenance
- scheduled track maintenance and random disruptions on 2,400 km of rail
- train dispatching logic to reduce network congestion
- stockpile management for 49 different coal grades
- access channel and tidal restrictions to vessel traffic
The simulation results helped DBCT to optimize their yard management strategy, including reducing remnants and maximizing dual-reclaiming. They were also able to identify limitations in the existing logistics chain, and compare their current annual throughput against the theoretical maximum terminal capacity. The model is a critical element in long term planning to eliminate potential future bottlenecks and minimize their impact on DBCT operations.
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