Savage River mine - Grange Resources - mines for magnetite, an iron oxide mineral and is used in making steel. Savage River is mainly an open-cut mine, but they do have underground tunnels. On our excursion, we were shown the two main open-cut areas, the north and south mine. They use explosives and heavy machinery to mine for the magnetite.

We were also shown the service buildings, where people are trained to operate the dump trucks, and where the dump trucks are serviced. The reason the mine is called ‘Savage River’ is because of the river running through the mine is named ‘Savage River'. The mine is located near the West coast of Tasmania in Savage River National Park, about half an hour west of Waratah.

My favourite part was the dump truck simulators and seeing how the operators are trained to drive these huge machines. It was a cool experience. In the simulator, you experience the rocking of the seat and the vibration of the engine, which feels just like it would if you were actually in the truck. We were able to see a truck and sit in the cabin. You don’t understand the actual scale of the trucks until you are standing beside one. The excursion was just an awesome experience overall.

By Miguel Guthrie