Mobile Heavy Diesel Mechanics at Fairplay.

Service Requirements at Fairplay

Diesel fleet maintenance at a remote Goldfields-Esperance open pit gold operation demands a contractor configuration that can absorb the full mechanical load of hard-rock haul cycles without reliance on nearby workshop infrastructure. Fairplay's geology — quartz vein mineralisation hosted within dolerite and gabbro mafic units — imposes abrasive, high-torque operating conditions on haul truck drivetrains, final drives, and hydraulic braking systems that accelerate wear beyond standard OEM service intervals. The site's access via unsealed haul road, combined with its position approximately 2 km from the nearest processing facility at Higginsville, means that any mechanical breakdown translates directly into extended downtime unless the contracted mobile diesel mechanic capability is self-sufficient and pre-positioned. Alacer Gold Corporation (formerly; now absorbed via subsequent mergers — current operational entity unconfirmed) established the operational baseline for this site; procurement teams issuing scope documentation must account for the possibility that current site management and maintenance protocols have evolved through subsequent corporate transitions. Given the site's unconfirmed operational status, scope documentation must be written to remain valid across a range of activity levels — from periodic equipment preservation runs through to active fleet deployment. Scope documentation should specify minimum response capability for a mixed fleet of open-pit mobile equipment including haul trucks, excavators, and ancillary diesel plant as a minimum performance threshold.

• Ambient temperature capability: Demonstrated service delivery in sustained ambient temperatures of 40°C, with documented procedures for peak thermal events reaching 44°C — including engine cooling system diagnostics, hydraulic fluid viscosity management, and heat-affected component inspection protocols. Evidence must reference prior Goldfields-Esperance or equivalent arid-zone site exposure within the last five years.
• Fleet coverage breadth: Contractor must demonstrate OEM-authorised or OEM-endorsed service capability across a minimum of two heavy equipment classes relevant to open-pit gold operations (e.g. rigid haul trucks ≥100t payload class, hydraulic excavators ≥50t operating weight, or equivalent ancillary diesel plant), with supporting documentation of completed service records from comparable sites.
• Goldfields site exposure: Lead diesel mechanic personnel must hold a minimum of 18 months' continuous or cumulative site exposure on Goldfields-Esperance region mining operations within the last five years, verified by prior employer references or certified site attendance records submitted with tender response.

Site-Specific Operational Constraints

Conditions procurement must communicate to all bidders in tender documentation for Fairplay.

• Environment: Fairplay sits within the semi-arid Coolgardie district, where sustained summer ambient temperatures reach 40°C and peak conditions reach 44°C. Unsealed haul road access generates persistent fine silica dust that accelerates air filter loading and fuel system contamination — contractors must specify dust-mitigation procedures for mobile workshop equipment and parts storage as part of their method statement.
• Logistics: The site is approximately 554 km from Perth and approximately 113 km from Kalgoorlie, the nearest regional hub for parts supply and personnel staging. All tender responses must include a documented logistics plan covering parts procurement lead times from Kalgoorlie, emergency freight escalation pathways, and minimum on-site consumable inventory holdings sufficient for a minimum 72-hour autonomous operation window.
• Response SLA: Emergency mechanical breakdown response: 2–4 hours from call-out to on-site attendance for contractors with pre-positioned personnel in the Kalgoorlie–Coolgardie corridor. Extended mobilisation from Perth-based resources: maximum 12–24 hours. Scheduled preventive maintenance windows must be documented in the contractor's method statement with minimum 48-hour advance notice protocols.
• Roster: FIFO rotation plans must be submitted as part of the contractor method statement, accounting for the 554 km Perth logistics envelope. Roster proposals must demonstrate continuity of coverage — no single-point-of-failure crew configurations will be accepted. Minimum crew overlap of one shift during changeover is required to maintain uninterrupted service availability.
• Camp/facilities: Given the site's unconfirmed operational status and its remote location relative to established camp infrastructure, contractors must declare in their tender response whether they require site-provided accommodation or are self-sufficient. Method statements must address ablution, catering, and rest facility arrangements independently of any assumed site provision.

Contractor Capability Checklist

Minimum evaluation criteria for shortlisting Mobile Heavy Diesel Mechanics contractors at Fairplay. Each criterion must be verifiable via documentation submitted with tender response.

• Technical certifications: OEM authorisation or OEM-endorsed service approval for at least two heavy equipment classes relevant to open-pit gold operations; current certification must be submitted with tender response. Compliance with AS 3788 (pressure equipment in-service inspection) is required where applicable to diesel plant components.
• Personnel tickets: All field personnel must hold a current WA Certificate of Competency relevant to their trade classification (e.g. Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanic or equivalent under WA licensing framework). Site-surface competency cards and valid Construction Induction (White Card) are mandatory. Personnel performing electrical diagnostics on diesel-electric drive systems must hold the relevant WA electrical licence.
• Mobilisation SLA: Contractors must provide documented evidence of achieving 2–4 hour emergency response times from at least one comparable Goldfields-Esperance operation within the last 24 months. Evidence must include client-verified call-out logs or contract KPI reports — self-declared response times are not acceptable.
• Public Liability insurance: Minimum AUD $20M per occurrence (Certificate of Currency required with tender submission).
• Professional Indemnity: Minimum AUD $10M aggregate — required where contractor scope includes technical specification of replacement components, maintenance programme design, or written engineering advice on fleet condition.
• Workers Compensation: Full statutory cover under WA law (WorkCover WA — Injury Management Plan required and must be submitted with tender response).
• Site exposure: Minimum 18 months' demonstrated exposure on open-pit gold or equivalent hard-rock mining operations in the Goldfields-Esperance region within the last five years. Exposure on dolerite or mafic-hosted deposit operations is advantageous and must be declared in the capability statement.
• Safety systems: Contractor must operate under an HSE management system certified to ISO 45001 or demonstrate equivalent documented compliance. ICAM (Incident Cause Analysis Method) investigation capability is required — at least one ICAM-trained lead must be nominated in the contractor's personnel schedule submitted with tender.

Regulatory & HSE Framework

The applicable regulatory framework is the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA) and the Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations 2022 (WA), administered by WorkSafe WA. For mobile diesel mechanics operating on a surface mine site, the WHS (Mines) Regulations 2022 impose specific obligations on contractors relating to plant registration, risk management for mobile plant interaction, and competency verification — all of which must be addressed in the contractor's safety management plan prior to mobilisation. Given that Alacer Gold Corporation (formerly; now absorbed via subsequent mergers — current operational entity unconfirmed) has undergone corporate transition, the confirmed supplier registration portal for the current operational entity is not publicly confirmed at the time of this briefing. Operator confirmation via Minedex is required before scope issuance to establish the correct principal contractor chain and ensure that site-specific WHS entry requirements are accurately reflected in tender documentation. All contractors must complete site-specific induction procedures aligned with the principal contractor's requirements before mobilisation, and must maintain current induction records for all personnel on site.

Sourcing Qualified Contractors

Recent procurement activity observed: No public tender notices, contract awards, or procurement announcements for mobile heavy diesel mechanics from Alacer Gold Corporation (or its successor, SSR Mining) related to a Fairplay (Gold) mine in Coolgardie, Western Australia, were found in the last 24 months. The existence and current operator of a Fairplay (Gold) mine in Coolgardie, WA, could not be confirmed; the Coolgardie Gold Mine is owned by Focus Minerals Limited and has been in care and maintenance since June 2013. Procurement teams must conduct independent Minedex verification and direct operator engagement before issuing any RFQ documentation.

The regional labour pool for mobile heavy diesel mechanics is centred on Kalgoorlie, approximately 113 km from the Fairplay site. The Goldfields-Esperance region supports an estimated 10–20 active providers of mobile heavy diesel mechanics services, reflecting the density of operating gold and nickel mines in the corridor. This pool provides a viable competitive field for a properly scoped RFQ, provided that tender documentation accurately reflects the site's access constraints, thermal operating conditions, and the self-sufficiency requirements outlined above. No specific incumbent contractors for this service at Fairplay could be publicly confirmed; the market should therefore be approached as an open competitive process with capability-based shortlisting criteria applied consistently. No confirmed supplier portal for the current operational entity is available at this time — allow a minimum of four to six weeks for operator confirmation, portal registration (once confirmed), and prequalification processing before targeting RFQ issue.