The Nova project

27 July 2018

The Nova Project is a nickel-cobalt-copper mine located in the Fraser Range in Western Australia. It is owned entirely by Australia’s mining and exploration giant IGO: an ASX listed company and part of the successful Independence Group.

In its construction phase, a large storage shed was built to house the various pieces of mining and excavation equipment. In the project’s development phase this served its purpose, however the opening of the mine prompted the need for much more equipment and the urgent need for more space. A customised storage solution was sought, one that would accommodate all the current equipment, allow for further upscaling and be turned around quickly. 

It was then, IGO engaged APC Group. They wanted to partner with a company that had proven experience in the mining and resources sectors and could deliver a compliant product that was practical, reliable and timely. After several discussions with the client, APC concluded that the height of the storage shed was not being effectively used and a raised storage area was required. 

Working closely with IGO a structural mezzanine floor was designed by APC’s in-house engineering department to suit their storage requirements. This included housing an area for a new Aislesaver™ (mobile shelving system) to store small parts and providing a pivot gate to allow forklifts to safely load and unload pallets to the raised area. Additionally, a corner of the mezzanine floor was located in an area with heavy forklift traffic, resulting in a customised cantilever-floor design being used to avoid forklift impact and reduce the risk of injury. The full installation took only 60 hours. This caused minimum disruption to project workers and allowed for a quick solution to coincide with the opening of the mine.