Project Overview

Soilwicks Australia, in joint venture with Menard Oceania under the SWAMOJV, was proud to support our client Ventia in delivering a critical phase of the Ranger Mine Rehabilitation Project, undertaken for Energy Resources of Australia (ERA). This significant mine restoration work took place on Mirarr Country within Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory. Working alongside us, Polaris Marine Operations constructed and operated the barge system, proving to be an invaluable project partner.

Leadership & Expertise

We are especially proud of Soilwicks Australia’s Managing Director, Greg Ryan, who contributed to the planning and technical development of the wicking solution over two years prior to commencement. Greg was onsite with the Soilwicks team throughout the seven-month delivery phase to oversee successful execution, ensuring both quality and safety standards were met.

Scope of Works

In March 2023, the tailings dam wicking program at Pit 3 was successfully completed, with over 41,000 prefabricated vertical drains (PVD wicks) installed. These drains accelerated the consolidation of saturated mine tailings, enabling long-term capping works to proceed — a critical step in safe and sustainable mine rehabilitation.

Scale & Achievement

Each PVD wick installation ranged from 25 to 40 metres in depth. If laid end to end, the total length of wick drains installed would span the equivalent of the journey from Darwin to Alice Springs — a clear demonstration of the scale and capability of Soilwicks’ operations.

Innovation & Safety

A key innovation was the custom pond-water flooded mandrel system, developed by Soilwicks specifically to enable safe and precise wick drain installation in slurry conditions. This specialised system was operated from a floating modular barge built and managed by Polaris Marine, which was essential given the five metres of water covering the tailings dam.