MPG Undertook a stability assessment of the dragline to determine the enabling works required prior to the explosive collapse of the boom and mast. The assessment showed that the MG Sets totalling 60t had to be removed to prevent any movement of the main structure once the boom had dropped.

For the controlled collapse of the dragline boom, the explosive team placed 8no charges on the mast support ropes. With the explosive cutting of the ropes, the mast and boom collapsed to the ground under its own weight. The boom and mast were then processed using MPG’s 33t excavator and steel shear progressively working through the structure processing into transportable sections.

The next step involved removing all the internal components and dragline housing using the 33t excavator. To enable the demolition of the housing, a demolition pad was created to ramp up to the rear of the housing. The excavator then progressively worked through the structure leaving the A-Frame structure.

The A-Frame structure was spilt into two sections and pre-weakened to allow the structure to collapse once the pull had been initiated. The remaining dragline structure was then dismantled using a combination of oxy-cutting, crane lifts, and induced collapses.

Finally, all steel was processed progressively using MPG’s excavator with shear attachment and oxy cutters.

In total, MPG undertook 12 induced collapse demolition drops and recorded a little over 3,300 man-hours. More than 1,300t of scrap steel was processed. There were 0 safety incidents during the whole duration of the works.