Story 13. 1984. Mine For Sale.

1984.

CSR's ability to manage the mine was somewhat less than poor, it was top heavy, appointing three managers into a position where one competent person would do. It had sub-managers who never left the office, and appointed managers into position with absolutely no experience.

In five years I had made my way from pick axe to assistant shift boss, CSR continued to appointed a number of unqualified shift bosses above me as I could never rise any higher due to not having been originally employed directly by CSR.

These inexperienced appointed managers simply left me with the task of running the shift, organising production, while they rode about in the vehicle with me or sat the shift out in the mine office.
(The Phillips factor? where people are given higher and higher positions until they end up in a position one level above their capabilities and eventually quit or become incompetent in managing the role.  This idea is often taken as every one who has spent considerable time in a management position is actually one level above their competence.)

One equipment operator rose through the ranks, studied and achieved an unrestricted shot firers ticket, achieved the level of occupational first aid certificate, then went on to gain a Mine Managers diploma from Adelaide University and became the third most senior qualified person on site, but could never hold a position in management because of CSR's archaic management practice. When he finally left the company he was snatched up by other much more successful mining companies who not only recognised but actually valued his capabilities.

One dark March 31st night, both Les R and myself returned to the pit shortly after the shift had finished and everyone had left.
Borrowing a forklift from the truck shop Les drove it down the haul road and parked in front of the mine office where I had managed to man handle a large coke machine from the mine crib-room and using the forks transported it into the pit where we set it up near one of the lighting plants and plugged it in and turned on the bright flood lights to highlight the bright red machine standing tall and in stark contrast against the black of the night.
It was close to 2 am before we returned everything and got to bed.

The crew next morning immediately noticed the disappearance of their treasured coke machine from the crib-room and as the vehicles made their way into the pit there before them, standing in the middle of the dark pit, in all its bright red glory lit from all sides was the missing coke machine, standing like the monolith from Stanley Kubrick 2001 A Space Odyssey, ... cue the music.

It took some time before anyone realised it was the first of April.

The question of who could have done it was an unsolved mystery for many years after, helped along by the likely list of perpetrators all being so drunk they couldn't remember much of the night before and thought maybe they had.

By the middle of 1983 CSR decided with the low copper prices and high overheads they would close the mine, and we began a gradual reduction of employees as we headed for the eventual closure in mid 1984. almost six years from the date I started when I was told the mine would close in eighteen months.
As we approached closure the entire mine was advertised for a sale price of $4.2m AUS.
As the most senior non senior shift boss who could operate every thing on site and knew where it was at any given moment I was often given the task of showing likely buyers about.

One gentleman from Western Australia seemed more interested than most in buying all the machines, and we spent almost the entire day driving about site as he ticked off each machine from a list after climbing over it and giving it a good inspection.  Toward the end of the day we were driving out of the pit when he asked if there was anywhere he could take a photo of the pit with the machines in it.
We stopped off at one of the viewing areas and I waited while he took a couple of pictures, then turning to me said, I cant believe you have run out of ore.
A little shocked by his remark I pointed out there was $14m worth of ore exposed that CSR was simply going to walk away from, due to their high overheads and currently having just 48 actual workers on site there were now 80 CSR appointed managers who had a job for life.
My buyer suddenly became more interested in the conversation asked, You mean to tell me if I bought this mine today for $4.2m I could continue operating it tomorrow, just how long would it take to extract the $14m?
Knowing the mine volumes we shift I guessed four months.
And CSR is just leaving it? Just walking away from $14m? he asked.
Yup, I replied, adding that is $14m exposed there is another $10m or so ready to clean off so add another month for that .
Is it possible to actually see it? he asked.
We drove back into the pit and I drove along the edge of the exposed ore body pointing out the additional ore yet to be cleaned off.

It was dark by the time I dropped him off at the main office.

A week away from the final closing date I was called into DOC's office late one afternoon thinking it was the end.
We have a new owner who wants to carry on mining for nine months, DOC informed me. He wants to hire an completely new crew and keep just five of the original managers on site, no one from CSR is to be offered a job, you are one of the five he has asked to stay. 

I was a little shocked by the unexpected news.
You are asked not to tell anyone about this arrangement DOC replied. He will be bringing in an entirely new crew to run it.
For the three weeks during the ownership change over period I enjoyed the unique position of being paid by two separate companies at the same time.
Then I began spending time with the new operators teaching them how to drive the Dump Trucks while learning their way around the pit.

Late one afternoon I was summoned to a meeting in the board room on top of the main site office, the very same room I had first visited for my first unorganised CSR job interview almost six years previous.

As I entered I was surprised to discover all the workshop fitters seated around the table and a room full of cigarette smoke.
John Court introduced himself as the managing director of EMAC and now EMECO who now own the mine in partnership with Brian McMahon from McMahons.

Brian McMahon was a stocky gentleman I had never met, he stood up and continued.
First, he said, I know the workshop is a closed union shop I have no problems with that, As an owner of other interests, occasionally I may bring other equipment on site for repair plus I will also bring some of my own fitters on site who know this equipment to help out.  

While we run this project the company will continue to pay what you currently earn, plus we will also pay your union fees and we will continue to pay for any other agreements won by your union, for the rest of the fitters not in the union I will pay 15% more.
Anyone not happy with this deal your pays have been made up and are available for you down stairs.

I was stunned by the blatant way this new organisation stood up to the union, I expected trouble but there was none, most of the dedicated union men picked up their pay and moved on.