Boral Quarries Deer Park
Riding Boundary Road
Deer Park VIC 3023
Australia
Introduction
Boral's Deer Park operations are the premier facilities of the building and construction materials business in Victoria.
Strategically located on the western fringe of Melbourne, the precinct hosts three major Boral sites which supply materials directly to the Melbourne CBD and wider western suburbs.
The operations include a hard rock quarry, asphalt plant and concrete batch plant. Each makes a substantial contribution to the ongoing growth and development of Melbourne.
About Us
The Boral Deer Park Quarry was established in 1965 as a major source of hard rock aggregate for the burgeoning Melbourne metropolitan market.
Occupying 1100 hectares of land just off the Western Freeway at Ravenhall, the quarry produces between two and three million tonnes of basalt-based aggregate each year.
These aggregates provide the base material to produce concrete, asphalt and other items commonly used in building and construction applications.
The quarry's relatively close location in relation to the Melbourne CBD has allowed it to make a substantial contribution to the city's skyline over time.
As a 24 hour a day, six days per week facility, the quarry efficiently supplies material to city infrastructure projects such as rail and tramway work carried out after hours.
Quarry aggregates underpin much of the commercial and residential development of recent years around Caroline Springs, Derrimut, Rockbank, Brimbank, Melton, Laverton, Altona and the Ports Precinct.
Today's operations employ 48 full time staff and supply work for up to 45 transport drivers.
Deer Park Quarry Plant Replacement Project
During November 2015, Boral received planning approval from Melton City Council for the building of a new quarry processing replacement plant at the Deer Park Quarry.
The current plant was built as part of the original establishment of operations in 1965. Although it has been subject to various upgrades over the decades, parts of the plant remain essentially the same as they were when constructed in the 1960s.
Given the ongoing criticality of the quarry as a major component in Boral’s Melbourne supply chain, a decision was taken to replace the processing plant and infrastructure with a modern facility. Major works started in early 2016, with the replacement plant scheduled for completion by late 2018.
Reflecting similar projects at other sites, the new plant will realise significant gains in noise and dust controls, as well as integrate the latest in technology and best industry practice. The redeveloped plant will include features designed to improve aesthetics and assist with noise mitigation, including landscaping and the establishment of bunding (an embankment of earth, which forms a barrier around the perimeter of the compound).
It is expected the quarry will also gain significantly in terms of productivity, efficiencies and output as a result of the new plant. This will enhance Boral’s ability to service the Melbourne CBD and western metropolitan building and construction industries, while maintaining the employment of almost 100 staff.
For more information, see below.
Alternatively, you can contact:
Luke Brown
Deer Park Quarry Plant Replacement Project
Ph: 03 9981 2882
Em: luke.brown@boral.com.au
Julia Preston
Stakeholder Relations Advisor (Southern Region)
Ph: 03 9981 2925
Em: julia.preston@boral.com.au
About Boral Deer Park Asphalt
Boral Deer Park Asphalt is the company's largest asphalt production facility in Victoria. It produces up to 250 000 tonnes of asphalt per year using aggregates from the neighbouring Boral Deer Park Quarry.
Opened in 1993, today's operations employ 15 full time staff and a range of contractors. Work for up to 20 transport drivers is provided by the site. Asphalt Victoria's quality assurance lab is also based at the site.
Asphalt produced at Deer Park can be found on numerous major and suburban roads across the Melbourne metropolitan area, particularly around the Melton and Wyndham Council areas.
A great example can be seen immediately adjacent to the Boral Deer Park Operations. The Deer Park Bypass component of the Western Freeway was exclusively surfaced using asphalt from the site.
Deer Park Asphalt has also been used in a range of new residential and commercial subdivisions across the city, and even at Melbourne Airport on runways and internal roads.
As with most of Boral's Asphalt operations, Boral Deer Park Asphalt is able to produce high quality product which meets the stringent specifications of VicRoads for use on major roads.
The site also has the capacity to integrate recycled asphalt product (RAP) into production, with the consequent benefit of reduced raw resource use.
About Boral Deer Park Concrete
Boral Deer Park Concrete is one of 18 'batch' plants operated by the company across Melbourne. It began production in 2001 following relocation of the plant to Deer Park after the Burnley Tunnel Project.
The plant supplies an average of 200 cubic metres per day to commercial and residential sites around the greater western Melbourne area. This equates to around 40 loads via Boral's and contractor concrete 'agitators' (trucks).
The concrete plant has a staff of 15 operators and transport drivers.
Raw materials for the plant are supplied by the Boral Deer Park Quarry (hard rock) and Boral Bacchus Marsh Quarry (sand).
General Operating Approvals
The first of the Boral Deer Park Operations was the Boral Deer Park Quarry, established in 1965.
The quarry was followed by the Asphalt plant (1993) and the Concrete plant (2001). Despite being different operations, it is the quarry's permissions which influence all sites.
The quarry's main approval is Extractive Industry Work Authority 97 (WA97), issued under the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990. This allows the operation of extractive activities at the site.
WA97 is supported by Planning Permit PA2001/249, issued by Melton City Council, which provides planning permission to operate the quarry. This permit is itself a requirement of WA97.
The quarry is also governed by the terms of EPBC 2002/862, issued under the auspices of the national Environment Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
This approval relates to the extension of the quarry in the early 2000s and accounts for native vegetation and species identified in the area.
Approval has also been granted to the quarry for the extraction of groundwater. Licence WLE034486 is in place for the Operation of Works, while the quarry also has a 'Take and Use' Licence (BEE030888) for groundwater.
Both the Asphalt and Concrete plants, which sit adjacent to the quarry within the approved WA97 area, are operated within the parameters of these permissions.
Resources
The rock quarried at Boral Deer Park is a high quality grey-brown basalt which comes from a single flow forming part of the Western Basalt Plains of Victoria.
The fine grained, unweathered reserves are interspersed with clay pockets which can create difficulties during the extraction process, especially in the cooler months.
The remaining reserves on Boral's current landholding are estimated to be around 50 to 60 years. Rock taken from the reserves is crushed into the base aggregates used by the asphalt and concrete plants in production.
Products
The Boral Deer Park Quarry produces 87 different products based on crushed rock made from the basalt resource on-site.
These include a variety of different graded aggregates, 'dust' and other products to customer specification.
A large amount of the Quarry's output is taken by the Boral Deer Park Asphalt and Concrete plants which in turn produce a range of asphalt and concrete materials.
Operations
Boral's Deer Park Operations play a key role in the ongoing growth, development and management of the Melbourne metropolitan area.
To make this contribution, a wide variety of activities take place at each of the three sites.
Boral Deer Park Quarry
The main activities at the quarry include:
- Stripping - the removal of 'overburden' (soil, sub-soil and other material which sits on top of the hard rock resource);
- Drilling and blasting - use of controlled implosions to expose the hard rock for processing;
- Loading and hauling - transfer of rock to the processing plant;
- Crushing and screening - to produce the various grades of aggregate; and
- Stockpiling, sales and transportation - storage and movement of products to market.
On-site maintenance on plant and equipment is also carried out as part of daily operations.
Boral Deer Park Asphalt
The main activity at the asphalt plant is the production of asphalt as customers require it.
The production process requires the use of aggregates from the neighbouring quarry, sand from the Boral Bacchus Marsh Quarry, and bitumen from oil refineries around Melbourne.
A quality assurance laboratory is also located at the asphalt site. Several Boral Logistics transport vehicles are kept at the plant, and contract compaction testing is also managed from the site.
Boral Deer Park Concrete
As with the asphalt plant, the concrete plant's primary activity is the production of pre-mix concrete for building and construction.
This production process also relies upon aggregates from the neighbouring quarry and sand from the Boral Bacchus Marsh Quarry. Cement from Boral's Waurn Ponds Works is the differing 'ingredient'.
The site houses several Boral Logistics 'agitators' (concrete trucks) for the delivery of product to customers.
Hours of Operation
Through the relevant approvals, activity can take place around the Boral Deer Park Operations up to 24 hours a day, seven days per week.
The three operations tend, however, to operate predominantly from Monday to Friday. Hours are determined by both customer demand and the permitted hours of work under the various planning approvals.
For example, as most major road works are conducted by VicRoads contractors overnight, the Operations must accordingly be in a position to deliver relevant supply.
Boral Deer Park Concrete tends to operate between 5am to 6pm, Mon-Fri and 6am to 12pm Sat, but has the flexibility to alter these hours (including Sun operations) according to customer need.
Boral Deer Park Asphalt operates during night hours between Sunday sand Thursdays in daylight savings months to meet demand for roadwork projects.
Transportation
The movement of materials is a critical part of Boral's business. As with many large organisations, the ability to transfer volumes of raw resources and finished products is essential to the company's success.
To meet its needs, Boral operates a significant fleet of heavy vehicles and is a customer of a range of haulage contractors across Australia.
Boral recognises the safety obligations accompanying the large scale use of heavy vehicles on public roads. The business tries to ensure the highest standards of driving and vehicle maintenance are obtained to meet this objective.
We encourage all members of the community to give us feedback if they observe behaviour or incidents not aligning with this goal. Specifics such as time, location, vehicle registration and colour help us to further investigate and take appropriate action.
Protection of Listed Flora and Fauna
During the early 2000s, the Boral Deer Park Quarry sought permission to extend quarry operations, including the extraction pit.
One of the approvals Boral was required to obtain was through the Federal Department of the Environment under the Environment Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
The main motivation for this was the positioning of the quarry on the 'ecologically vulnerable community' (EVC) of the Western Basalt Plains of Victoria.
Under the terms of the resulting approval EPBC 2002/862, Boral entered an agreement to set aside a 95 hectare portion of its lands as a conservation reserve. This land is now referred to internally as the 'northern grasslands'.
Boral engages specialist land management contractors to control and conserve the native grasses and reduce pest species within the grasslands.
The establishment of the northern grasslands has also provided Boral with an ideal site to relocate two vulnerable listed species known to be present around the Boral Deer Park Operations.
These are the Striped Legless Lizard (Delmar impar), and the Spiny Plains Rice Flower (Pimlea).
Boral has worked with specialist contractors over the ensuing years on both monitoring and transferal of examples of each species. This work is ongoing today.
To date many lizards have been identified within the operations and transferred to the grasslands, along with a significant number of rice flowers which have been replanted and are beginning to flourish.
Although the agreement has resulted in significant costs to Boral, the company remains committed to continuing the conservation of this unique piece of Victorian natural asset.
Minimising Resource Use
There are a number of measures in place at each of the Boral Deer Park Operations which are designed to ensure use of natural resources is kept to a minimum.
Boral Deer Park Quarry
Water conservation - The quarry uses water from two on-site bores for production purposes. Mains water is only used for amenities.
A Water Conservation Plan has been devised for the operation which has helped keep water usage very low - each tonne of aggregate produced requires only 0.04 litres of water use.
Dust emission management - active dust suppression measures concentrated on dust sources are in place at the quarry (as well as the other sites).
A water cart is in regular use on the site to keep dust emissions down on internal roads. Parts of the plant have sprays installed to also minimise dust escape.
Boral Deer Park Asphalt
Recycled Asphalt Product (RAP) - Boral Asphalt is seeking ways to increasingly incorporate RAP into the production of new asphalt. Deer Park is a leading operation in these efforts.
Dust management - Holding bins for base aggregates, often a source of dust, are enclosed at Deer Park. The plant also features modern 'baghouse' technology which traps dust emissions - these can then be returned to the production process for use.
Noise management - typical noise sources such as fans, burners and compressors are enclosed, reducing decibel levels external to the site.
Electricity consumption - Off -peak electricity is used to heat and maintain bitumen kettles on site.
Odour and air quality - Regular monitoring of odour is undertaken, and plant stack emissions are measured in line with best practices.
Boral Deer Park Concrete
Water consumption - Due to the concrete plant's high need for water, an extensive water reclaimation system has been installed at the site.
The system is capable of storing up to 120 000 litres for use by the batch plant as required.
Waste minimisation - Concrete washout (unused material from the 'agitator' trucks) is returned to the quarry for inclusion in processing.
Quarry Environmental Review Committee (QERC)
One of the primary channels of communication between Boral's Deer Park Operations, surrounding residents and other stakeholders is the QERC.
The QERC consists of community members, representatives from Government and departmental regulators, and the three Boral businesses located in the precinct.
Its purpose is to share information about the latest happenings at Boral's business sites, review operational and environmental performance, and discuss any matters of concern.
The QERC was re-formed in 2015 after the sale of the neighbouring landfill business to Transpacific Industries required a change to community engagement in the precinct (an Environment Review Committee had previously operated between 2010-12).
Terms of Reference and a list of current members can be found below.
You can also view the minutes from past QERC meetings below:
- 25 October 2018 Minutes
- 25 October 2018 Presentation
- 16 March 2017 Minutes
- 16 March 2017 Presentation
- 17 November 2016 Minutes
- 7 July 2016 Minutes
- 7 July 2016 Presentation
- 17 March 2016 Minutes
- 17 March 2016 Presentation
- 10 December 2015 Minutes
- 10 December 2015 Presentation
- 20 August 2015 Minutes
- 20 August 2015 Presentation
- 7 May 2015 Minutes
Community Newsletter
The Boral Deer Park Operations issue a community newsletter from time to time to keep local residents up to date with happenings at the sites.
You can view it here.
Boral Deer Park Community Meetings
Boral's Deer Park Operations have hosted a variety of community meetings since 2010. You can review the minutes of the sessions held during the past below.
Other Land Users at Boral Deer Park
Given the size of the landholding at Boral's Deer Park operations, Boral has lease arrangements with several external parties for the use of surplus parts of the site.
Details for each are listed below. Boral wishes to advise it does not take responsibility for activities conducted by any of these leaseholders and enquiries should therefore be directed to the relevant party.
During March 2015, operation of the Melbourne Regional Landfill (formerly Boral Western Landfill) transferred to Transpacific Industries (Cleanaway) as the result of a sale.
All enquiries about the Landfill can be directed to 1800 213 753.
Pinegro Products Pty Ltd
Activity: Landscaping supplies
Ph: 03 9390 0555
Melocco Stone
Activity: Dimension stone supplies
Ph: 03 9546 0211 (head office)
National Masonry
Activity: Blocks and pavers
Ph: 03 9363 1944
Victoria Police
Activity: Special Operations Group
Ph: 03 9247 6666 (Police Headquarters)
Melbourne Regional Landfill
The former Boral Western Landfill is now officially under the operation of Transpacific Industries, trading as Cleanaway. The facility is now known as the Melbourne Regional Landfill (MRL).