Butch and Sundance, Hawke and Keating, Langer and Lewis.
All good partnerships end sometime.
It happened on the NSS lease this month when copper driver Trent Moony said ‘farewell’ to is old mate Lyall Bowsher to take up a new position off the lease.
The drivers shift some of the most valuable products manufactured in North Queensland to Townsville port for export.
The pair came as a team when NSS took over the transportation of cathode from Copper Refineries (CRL), sometimes backloading anode for processing.
Both have had years of experience with Toll on the copper run so it’s fair to say they could write the book on that side of the business.
Drivers load themselves at CRL’s Stuart-based facility, transport and unload the copper and turn around to do it again.
Accuracy is key. The 12-month price of copper peaked in July at USD5.82/lb and the commodity has its name on a bullet as supply questions surround the continuing electrification of the economy.
Lyall said good communication was central to running the lean, effective operation.
That’s especially the case when you’re manoeuvring a 85-tonne,12-axle double road train along the outskirts of Queensland’s largest regional city and through its major logistics hub.
“We’re dealing with heavy equipment, especially if we’re delivering loose product, we’re around the reach stackers and other machinery,” Lyall said.
“We may have a change in copper numbers or change in place, and I’m heading down there and they’re shunting the train. So if he (Trent) hadn’t have told me that, I would’ve made my way down there and then got myself in a whole world of loss.”
Lyall is training a new driver who’ll have big shoes to fill.