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Flight Back Home

We needed to have the car back at the airport b y 12:00 noon, so had limited opportunity for extra events. Our visit to Dublin was probably the highlight (we were extremely toured-out by this time). We turned off the A1 highway to take a look at Gawler… a thriving centre on the border between the wheat and wine growing areas. Then we made our way to the airport… and here we are… exhausted…. elated… and looking forward to our next holiday.    

Dublin looked authentic...
surrounded by emerald-green wheat fields

Exemplary Miner - Roxby Downs loves BHP

Blue Streak Rocket - biggest launched from Woomera

Over 6,000 rockets were launched from Woomera 

Beautiful views from the lower Finders Ranges      

Pt. Augusta where Leigh Creek coal is burned

We were told that all spots on the Olympic Mine Tour had been taken, but if we turned up at 8:30 am, we may be lucky and get tickets from a cancellation. We were at the tourist centre bright and early, but no-one had cancelled… so we missed the mine tour. What we did enjoy was a 30 minute presentation by the mine’s public relations officer and a 10 minute video. The mine must be extra-extra profitable. The ore is so rich and so extensive, they have relied on Stope Mining techniques that reduce labour to a minimum. Currently, this is underground mining on a large scale (the biggest underground mine in Australia). It will be replaced by a (stage 2) open cut mine that defies the imagination.   The size of the open-cut will be the same size as Sydney Harbour and over 1km deep. It will make the ‘big pit‘ at Kalgoolie look like a dinky-toy sandpit effort. 








BHP has its environmental impact study approved by State Government and is now with Federal Government. Approval is expected in the next few months. They will then start to remove 300 metres of overburden… a task expected to take 3-years. They will build a mountain range that will tower over any neighboring hills. The wealth they will extract was not stated, but it will probably exceed by many times the current annual GDP for South Australia. BHP is loved in the town of Roxby Downs. They offer another 40 years of employment in a town that does not feel like an outback town. The streets have grass, there is no dust. The layout of the town has a great community feel (no long stretches of straight suburban streets.). BHP has a waiting list of people seeking employment at Roxby Downs (unlike the other mining towns in the outback).

The technique of Stope mining was interesting. The geologists diamond drill to identify the position and depth of a rich pocket of ore. Tunnels are dug to the base of the selected ore body and transport links are built. The selected mine area takes the shape of an upside down milk carton, with the wedge shape at the bottom being the shoot head that direct the mined ore into the transport. The transport is typically a train (automatically run - no driver). The miners blast above the shoot so that the ore falls downward into the shoot. When the train (or dump truck) turns up, gravity feed is used to move the ore into the transport. The ore is moved to one of two large mining shafts that brings massive volume of ore to the surface. The ore is then fed to a conveyor belt to move it over to the processing plants. (Most of the 2,000 staff and 2,000 contractors are employed in the processing plants.) Underground, the ore is crushed to a fine powder and above ground washed with an acid mix. Copper is the majority of the minerals and it is also the lightest. They use special xanthate reagents to make the copper sulphate hydrophobic (I copied this part from a BHP leaflet) and use a bubbling technique to bring the copper to the surface of the liquid and it overflows into giant electrolysis plants. This is where most of the electric power is used. The plant produces copper with a purity of  99.999% that is trucked out (by Linfox trucks… 93 of them each day).

Power is sent back to Roxby Downs - in a straight line!

Uranium is (in part) a residue from the copper electrolysis but mainly from the ore that was not dissolved in the copper sulphate wash. There is a second acid wash that dissolves the uranium content and take the liquid away from the residue (gold and silver… some residue!) Once separated, they add an alkaline (ammonia) to the acid mix that settles the yellow cake. This is placed in 44-gallon drums and sent by road down to Spencers Gulf for export to USA, Canada or France. It takes 2-days production of uranium to produce sufficient energy to meet the needs of the mine and Roxby Down for a whole year [if it used nuclear energy!] The presentation did not expound on the extraction process for gold or silver… but being so heavy and relatively inert, I guess they separate them by centrifugal force. Greenies don’t like miners… but Roxby Downs is so clever and efficient, I think Greenies would have to feel some admiration for the achievements in extracting wealth from hostile environment with so little environmental damage.

C J Denis lived in Laura
in the wheat belt

After the presentation ended, we started the long drive (800 kms) towards Adelaide.  We had planned to stay the last night in a small town somewhere in the south Flinders ranges (in the wheat-belt). After a solid morning’s drive, we took a few detours to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the southern Flinders range. The rainfall has been so generous this winter; the landscape was an emerald-green. Nearer sun-set, we started looking out for accommodation. The sparseness of the population was brought home by the lack of traveler’s accommodation. We thought about staying in a couple of the old pubs… but each time we chose to chance our luck with the next town to get something more comfortable. This process continued until well after dark and we ended up only 100 kms from Adelaide. It had been a long day… but we had seen some beautiful country.

This desert is BIG - and empty

Different pockets of silicon hills had different colours

Pioneers' houses
at Andamooka

The sixth day (25 July 2010) got off to a great start when we drove around the Breakaways. Over a 50 km circuit it took us right through an area of intense opal mining. It then took us to the Breakaway National Park that has many places of indigenous importance. The lookout and mountains were unique in their unusual colouring. We then tackled the 300 klm hike down to Roxby Downs (Olympic Dam Mine). The vegetation is a little thicker here… perhaps the annual rainfall in more than 5 inches. We saw some emus on the way, and plenty of road kills kangaroos. Bird life was more prolific and the trees were much higher. As we drove into the area, we tried to notice anything in the landform that would distinguish this area to be the world’s largest uranium deposit, the 3^rd biggest gold mine and the 5^th largest copper mine… with lead and silver thrown in as well. I’m sure the geologists understand what makes this place unique… but on the surface, it looks no different. Makes you wonder how many other riches lie undiscovered beneath this “useless” arid desert. Late in the afternoon we made the last step in driving to Andamooka, another opal town. This area has yet to be corporatised. The place is a shambles of streets leading off in all directions and mine-holes popping up (or more accurately, popping down) at the least expected places. Its early history is a little better preserved with specimens of the original mining huts still standing near the centre of town. 

No life in the Breakaway Desert

Emus lived closer to Adelaide. This one had 5 chicks.

Rainfall less than 5-inches pa - You get nothing

Look closely and you will see camel tracks

The road from William Creek to Coober Pedy was 162 kms of dust, salt beds and gibber desert. I doubt if we saw one animal during the drive and the only birds would have been migrating corellas and tiny finches. The place was deserted. Rainfall was probably less than 5 inches each year. The old sea floor was dead-flat as well as dead of life. Some salt bushes tried in vein to make a go of life. Just outside of Coober Pedy we crossed some riverbeds that had seen some water of late and colorful wild flowers had their moment of glory. We came to see the desert… and we found it all right!

Even a little rain brings rewards

Our underground motel room. Look at the rock colours

Joye checks out an historic mine

Mullock heaps at Coober Pedy

Large volume of mullock from a
small opening to mine

Coober Pedy catches the imagination while still 10 kms out of town. It is surrounded by painted hills (the geology of the different colours is beyond me… but it sure looks great. Nearer to town we could see large mining activity in selected hills… chasing the elusive opals. We drove into town to select our motel. The first place in which we enquired was the site for one of the very early mines in the area. The current owner had acquired the closed mine, had bought in mining equipment to transform the layout into a motel and had furnished the site with antique furniture. The place looked magnificent. The colour of the walls had a marbling effect of whites and reds. Seams of Gypsum rock added another feature to the walls. The rock regulated the temperature at a steady 27 degrees Celsius (apparently in both winter and summer). Our fascination with the place was somewhat contained when we discovered the bed linen had not been changed after the previous occupant… but Joye’s experience with housekeeping soon put that blemish right. Late in the day we visited the Old Timers museum (located next to our motel). We were amused by the miner of 30 years experience who demonstrated how various pieces of machinery work. The day had a successful close as we watched Australia (and the French Referee) trounce the South African Ruby Union team (Viva la France). During the night we saw some minor evidence experienced by local indigenous persons. They congregated around the gambling area of the hotel. At least these patrons were not overly intoxicated. Up until then we had seen very few aborigines. At Coober Pedy indigenous issues remain to be resolved.

I've Been Everywhere, Man

Day 4 had an early start… at 7:45 am. We had to make William Creek some 300km away… but that involved tackling some dirt tracks of unknown quality, and taking in several points of interest. We cruised up to Marree, so the first 100 km was easy. Before Marree we stopped at the Strzelecki Track turnoff for a cup of coffee (at Lyndhurst). The Strzelecki Track was founded by Captain Moonlight of cattle duffing fame. You did not need much skill to pinch cattle at night in this part of the world! The cattle would follow you just for a bit of entertainment.

Deserted ruins of Farina Downs

We left the bitumen at Marree and soon got the hang of things. We were on the Oodnadatta Track and we kept our eyes out for blokes humping their blueys along the dusty track being accosted by semi-trailers with high and canvas covered loads. (Apologies to Lucky Starr!) Disappointingly, no swaggies… no semis. Still the location names remained very special. When we checked out the Birdsville Track, we were tempted to detour for a couple of hours just so we could say “I’ve been Everywhere, Man”.

Dog proof fence to protect sheep from dingos

This part of the world is full of heartbreaks. We called in at Farina Downs, a town that prospered in the days when the old Ghan railway went that way. The founders were convinced they had started a large wheat-growing centre and successfully lobbied the Government to change the name of the town from “Government Gums” to “Farina Downs” (Farina means flour in some language??? Italian?). Population of Farina peaked at 260 in 1935. The 1^st world war was kind to Farina with troop movements bolstering the economy of the town. Shearers would train to Farina; disembark with their bikes and cycle to all the sheep stations nearby. Kidman (of Grass Castles fame) moved his stock through Farina at regular intervals, the publicans and goalers had a busy time. Now the remains show the misplaced confidence of the pioneers. The place is just so remote and the vegetation of low saltbush must have been a give-away that rain was scarce. Still they ran with the flow over 2 decades of good rains and invested their lives in building a desert settlement with no future.

4-wheel drive needed? Definitely 

The unsealed road was not badly corrugated and we were able to maintain speeds of 90-100 kph for many long stretches. We were pleased to encounter some creeks that flooded the road and were able to slip into 4-wheel drive to enhance the delusions that we were battling all the elements that the desert could throw at us. The desert was deserted. The Oodnadatta Track followed the Old Ghan railway and the only buildings regularly seen were the derelict railway sidings used to top up the water in the steam-trains.

Mound Springs build into mounded hills

We enjoyed a short stop at Clayton Springs. The early settler was looking for water and knew that artesian springs were common in the area. He sunk his spade into the soil and released a spring that shot 2 metres into the air. He could not stop the flow and it has flooded a swamp some 5 square kms in area that has now been classified as an environmentally important site for the unique range of plants and birdlife that have settled. The site was used by the old Ghan Railway to locate one of its sidings. For a couple of decades, Clayton Springs attracted a range of colorful characters. Now, the area is privately owned and the family maintain the springs as a camping and swimming site to amuse passing tourists, and to protect the historical value of the area.

The average age of the passing drivers must be close to 70 yrs. The increase in the price of petrol has not chased away the grey nomads. They are still everywhere. And when you come across a tourist bus, the average age of the tourist jumps another decade. All these nursing homes must be empty. The oldies are all in the desert in South Australia.   

Luxury accommodation at William Creek

About 50 km before William Creek, we saw Lake Eyre South - our first sighting of the main purpose of this trip. What we were seeing appeared to cover a huge area but in reality was just one fraction of the “real” Lake Eyre.

Business cards, hats, thongs decorate the walls
of the pub at William Creek

The final stages of the road into William Creek was the worst we have travelled on - so many corrugations we were nearly shaken apart. As for the “town” - the population is 2! Walked into the pub to check into our room and were directed to the camp-ground to find our “room” was one of 6 in a shed like a shipping container! Opened the door and there was room for a double bed - nothing else! A hook on the wall for hanging. The door to the room even had to open out! The pub itself was something else - every inch of its walls was covered with business cards, hats, caps etc - and the bar was busy. Cowboy hats a-plenty -especially on Saturday night when the whole group of cowboys preparing for the Anna Creek Cattle Round-up hit town!

Anna Creek Station covers about the area of Belgium - the largest cattle station in the world! We were told that it carried 3,000 head of cattle (no sheep) and this drought lightened load is down from the maximum of 6,000 head. These numbers seem small for the largest cattle station in the world. When flying over the station, you can understand the modest carrying capacity. The desert has no grass or saltbush except in the (dry) river valleys. Six people are sufficient to run the place.

After a night that was much warmer and quieter than we expected [one benefit of the cold night - the campers all had to retreat early!] we scraped the ice off our windscreen [3 degrees!] and prepared for our flight. We changed our flight to an earlier time (to make better use of our day) and as a result flew over the Cooper River and Warburton River contributories, and missed out on seeing the painted hill… still a 2-hour flight. Six of us were seated according to weight - to balance the plane - and the pilot then decided there was a problem with his plane! Confidence boosting! However his technician decided it was just a bit of dust on the mechanism somewhere so off we went! Fantastic sights - hard to hear some of the commentary but we saw Donald Campbell’s track area [now covered with water], the pelican breeding ground, lots of other birds, and felt privileged to see the Cooper Creek flowing for the first time in 20 years. The pelican migration was interesting. They eat the perch fish [only a couple of centimeters long] as they are carried down the tributaries. When the fresh water of the tributaries hits the salt water of the lake, the fish are stunned and float to the surface. The pelicans get a free lunch with very little energy [if you ignore the 2,000 klm flight from the east coast.] They nest, to hatch their eggs, on an island in the lake for protection against rats and dingoes. The surface of the big lake is 15m below sea level. Only on the 50 year flood does the water of the North Lake Eyre flow through channels into South Lake Eyre. As we looked down on hundreds of square mile of the lake, we were surprised to be told that it would all evaporate before November. No fauna or flora seems to live in the salt part of the lake. The fresh water carries a brown colour until it mixes with the salt and reflects a smoother viscous blue surface. It is hard to find value to be attributed to Lake Eyre. It is a vast evaporation pan. It accumulates vast amounts of salts [that currently, nobody needs]. It supports no life… no vegetation chooses to grow on its edge. Even tourists take to air rather than dirty their boots tramping the gooey mud of the lake bottom.

Different water colours
were intriguing 

 Lake Eyre was 70% full. When 100% full,
Lake Eyre North floods into Lake Eyre South

The Cooper River in flow - first time
in 20 yrs

Horses to be used in the

Anna Creek Round-up

Leigh Creek Coal Mine - Getting Ready for the Carbon Trading Price

Leigh Creek was a 'company town'
maintained with terrific infrastructure 

The third day of the tour was a day to recuperate. We slept the night at Leigh Creek. This is the site of South Australia’s only coal mine. Its sends one train-load per day to Port Augusta (some 500 km away) in 162 trolley-cars that make up Australia’s longest trains (2.8 km long). We learned all these statistics through meeting a guy who was training to drive the train. He has decades of experience driving coal trains in the Hunter Valley… and has taken up relieving duties at Leigh Creek for a bit of a change. The township of Leigh Creek is a Company Town… all buildings are owned and maintained by the coal company. The old site for the town was changed in 1980 to allow coal to be dug under the old town. The new town was designed and built while the coal mine was owned by the State Government. As a result, the standard of infrastructure in the town is first class. The town has a massive water supply. We went out to the dam this afternoon in search for more yellow-footed rock wallabies (without success). The town parks and street trees are fed from serviced sewerage waste. The 28,000 native trees planted in the town make it an oasis in the desert. The mine has an expected life of 7 more years. The population of 600 will then move on and one thought is that the town will then probably pass to aboriginal ownership.

Loading Coal onto Train 

As part of our ’quiet day’, we took the Coal Mine tour. The mine was recently (5 years ago) sold for $330 million… a bargain when compared to the infrastructure invested in the town and the mine… but probably reasonable when discounting future net earnings. The coal produced is classed as ’brown coal’ because of its high sulphur content and other impurities. The power station at Port Augusta had to be specially designed to burn the type of brown coal mined at Leigh Creek. At the end of the tour, we were given a sample of coal and it looked pretty black to me. Another participant in the Mine tour was a retired fellow from the Pilbarra in Western Australia. He had driven and taught other drivers to handle the giant trucks used to shift the overburden and coal. He also was a font of wisdom on his subject matter. The tour guide indicated that there was coal with deeper overburden… but with a price on carbon likely through a CTS arrangement of one kind or another, most staff were making plans to end their work at Leigh Creek at the end of 7 years. It is a pity that this town built to defy a desert in such style has such a limited future.  If you can think of a prosperous future for the good folk of Leigh Creek, drop your suggestions into the local Progress Association.

By-the-way, we did stand by the track to count the 162 trolley-cars of the coal train as it went by. Got up to 35... Looked at the length of the line still to come and decided to accept the facts of the experts… it’s a long train! We were at Copley, (very close to the mine), famous for its Quandong Café, which serves quandong pie. Unfortunately for us all these native peach tarts had already been consumed by the bus load of tourists who arrived just before we did! Luckily we had already sampled this pie the previous day at Blimnan!