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As 2020 draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on the past year and can honestly say (and I imagine you will agree) that we could not have predicted the year that was and the changes it has brought. Whilst it has been an incredibly memorable year for obvious reasons, for me it will also be memorable for the remarkable projects Pensar was able to deliver under extraordinary circumstances through flexibility, adaptability and determined commitment.
Some of my highlights this year include.
In February we were engaged by the Torres Strait Regional Council to deliver an essential upgrade to heavily dilapidated water infrastructure on Hammond Island. This project was successfully delivered under unique circumstances due to its location and the uncertainty of COVID-19, with all other local projects shutdown in the Torres Straits Island region. The project team were able to remain in the Hammond Island community upon the announcement of the pandemic and provided COVID-19 safe management solutions and controls to the client, including batching and sampling their own work and transferring it to Cairns for testing. Hydrostatic pressure testing and QA was completed via video link.
The site location and front-end procurement required high level time management to organise barges, wharf space, quarries, and transport suppliers. Where possible, Pensar attained labour and materials locally and works were completed six weeks ahead of schedule. It was truly a pleasure to upgrade this essential infrastructure, improving the water quality on Hammond Island.
Kris Saunders heads up our New South Wales Water Division and together we have seen considerable growth this year. With over 12 years’ experience in the water and wastewater industry, Kris is incredibly competent in delivering a wide range of water infrastructure projects. He has successfully completed projects for a variety of clients including local councils and public and private water authorities.
His project experience includes Beams Road Pump Station D&C gravity sewer, green field developments of the Box Hill Local Water Centre and Cooranbong Local Water Centre, Green Square Storm Water Pump Station for Flow Systems and the Muswellbrook RWTP weir modifications. Most recently Kris successfully delivered a gravity sewer amplification for the Central Coast Council.
Under Kris’ direction we recently opened two new offices in Somersby and Newcastle CBD. I look forward to Pensar providing its expertise on future opportunities in New South Wales and continuing to improve essential regional infrastructure.
In the latter half of this year, Pensar was engaged by Ravenswood Gold to deliver an expansion of the existing TSF structure as part of the Ravenswood Gold Mine master plan expansion. The site is owned and operated by Ravenswood Gold and is located adjacent to the township of Ravenswood, 95 km south of Townsville and 65 km east of Charters Towers in north-east Queensland. The expansion project includes the upgrade of the existing processing plant and development of a tailings dam.
As part of TSF expansion works, we are in the process of constructing an embankment which when complete will feature a 20m high zoned rockfill earth bund. An exposed bituminous geomembrane will then be installed and cover the entire impoundment area. Ravenswood Gold’s vision is to build and operate the largest gold mine in Queensland and Pensar is excited to be contributing to this.
When looking back on the year that was, I would like to say a very genuine thank you to our clients, industry partners and Pensar people. It has been a year filled with uncertainties, but together we have achieved many successes. I look forward to continuing our journey of great partnerships into 2021.