The aim of the open day was to allow the families of those who work at the mine to see what their mums, dads and partners do all day. It included tours of the coalface, and walkarounds of equipment – including the Komatsu dump trucks, dozers and graders at the mine.
More than 600 people attended the open day, with Komatsu NZ providing drink bottles, sunscreen and insect repellent to cope with the very warm conditions, along with giveaway pens, notebooks and bags – and models for the raffle draw.
Included in the static display at the mine was one of its Komatsu 730E dump trucks, a D375A-5 dozer and a GD825-3 grader – which gave visitors to the open day an opportunity to look over the equipment.
The 730E on static display was one of 10 of these trucks operating at the mine. Other equipment includes a 400 tonne PC4000 excavator.
The Rotowaro operation, which Leighton has operated since 2006, is the largest mining operation in New Zealand, with annual production of approximately 1.6 million tonnes of coal a year and overburden removal of up to 43 million tonnes a year.
It employs more than 200 people, the majority of whom live locally.
Steve Haines, Komatsu NZ’s sales manager, said this was the first family day Leighton had held in New Zealand, although the company has held similar events in Australia with great success.
"We were delighted to be involved with this community event; it was a terrific opportunity for the mining industry here in NZ to showcase itself to workers’ families and therefore the community at large," he said.
"Leighton is a major customer for Komatsu throughout Australasia, and we were also happy to support the company, the community and the industry as a whole.
"It’s great to see an organisation such as Leighton giving back to the community and showing the importance of its role supporting and developing New Zealand infrastructure and resources," said Steve.