Ageing bulk-handling gear threatens Australia exports

Hatch has warned that ageing bulk-handling infrastructure is increasing the risk of disruption to Australia's export industry, with the problem spreading across mining, ports and shipping.

Large machines used to move iron ore and coal through export terminals are increasingly operating beyond their intended lifespan, the engineering group said. Many were supplied by manufacturers that no longer exist or no longer support older equipment, leaving operators with limited access to original design knowledge, spare parts and specialist engineering support.

The issue affects a major part of the Australian economy. Australia exported AUD $132.3 billion in goods in the March quarter, with mining accounting for 62 per cent of that revenue and about 10 per cent of GDP.

Equipment at the centre of the problem includes bucket wheel stacker-reclaimers and shiploaders, which are common across bulk export operations. Individual machines can cost more than AUD $1 million, while a full bulk-handling system can exceed AUD $100 million to design and install.

When these assets fail, the impact can quickly spread beyond a single site. Operators can face production losses, lengthy repairs and major capital costs, especially when replacement is the only option or technical records are incomplete.

Knowledge gap

Hatch said the strain is being compounded by a decline in engineering knowledge across heavy industry. As experienced specialists retire and operators reduce in-house engineering teams, companies are losing practical understanding of legacy systems built decades ago and often modified over time.

Matthias Goeing, Director of Bulk Materials Handling Products at Hatch, said the pool of manufacturers able to support these systems had narrowed sharply.

"Over the past two decades, the number of original equipment manufacturers capable of supporting large bulk-handling systems has declined significantly. Today, only a small number of suppliers remain globally, leaving operators with ageing infrastructure but limited access to original design knowledge, spare parts or specialist engineering support.

Many operators have reduced their in-house engineering teams over the past decade, which has caused a huge - and growing - loss of technical knowledge in the area," Goeing said.

This decline in support has created what the sector increasingly describes as orphaned assets: machines that remain essential to operations but no longer have a clear path to original technical backing. In export supply chains that run continuously and handle millions of tonnes a year, even a short interruption can have an outsized effect.

Simon Nitschke, Managing Director of Technologies at Hatch, said the problem was already widespread in Australia.

"Across Australia alone, there are dozens of multi-million-dollar machines operating in mines and ports that were supplied by companies that no longer exist or no longer support older equipment," Nitschke said.

Cost pressures

Replacing old machinery outright is often commercially difficult. New bulk-handling systems require long procurement lead times, major engineering work and large capital outlays. Operators must also manage the risk of shutdowns during installation and commissioning.

That has pushed more companies to consider life-extension work instead. This can include redesigning components, rebuilding lost engineering documentation, analysing structural loads and fatigue, and reverse-engineering parts when original drawings no longer exist.

Hatch said operators were also adapting older machines to new operating conditions rather than simply keeping them running in their original form. Many systems were designed for different throughput levels, loading patterns and duty cycles from those now required at mines and ports.

One recent case involved rebuilding a bucket wheel stacker-reclaimer after a major structural failure. Hatch said the work helped the operator identify the root cause of the damage and avoid replacing the machine entirely, sidestepping a multimillion-dollar cost.

Modernisation drive

The broader shift reflects a change in how infrastructure owners view legacy equipment. Instead of treating old machinery as a candidate for retirement at the first sign of strain, some are investing in targeted redesigns and maintenance strategies to extend useful life and improve reliability.

This can include structural integrity assessments, condition monitoring, risk-based maintenance planning, automation upgrades and digital changes aimed at improving the performance of ageing systems. For operators dealing with assets that no longer have original manufacturer backing, independent engineering support is becoming more important.

The commercial incentives for established equipment makers can also be misaligned with this kind of work. Hatch said many original manufacturers derive most of their margins from manufacturing and delivering new machinery, making intricate redesign projects on older equipment less attractive.

For Australia's export economy, the problem sits at the intersection of ageing physical assets, shrinking specialist expertise and rising pressure on throughput. In sectors where bulk materials handling remains fundamental to revenue, the ability to maintain and adapt ageing machines is emerging as a more immediate concern than full replacement.