A backyard inventor whose patented wheel chocks are being used at a number of Bowen Basin mines has developed a new line to protect dragline cable connections.
Norwich Park dragline operator Aidan Gorlick said he had designed his ARG Plug Boat to float in order to keep the connections - which carry about 44,000 kilowatts of electricity - out of the water.
The steel device also secures the connections to prevent plugs coming apart when cables are pulled, helping reduce damage.
Skids assist in moving the connections, which can weigh about 300kg.
"There are similar things around, but the ones I've seen don't float and aren't as user-friendly as mine - the blokes don't have to touch the plug at all (to move them)," Mr Gorlick said.
Mr Gorlick, a qualified boilermarker, said he was still working to fill an order for 25 of the ARG Plug Boats for Mines in the Bowen basin, then another mine was seeking six and he had interest from other operations as well, he said.
Mr Gorlick has enlisted the help of Bundaberg Sandblasting to produce more of the dragline plug boats.
Meanwhile, a line of wheel chocks he designed and patented is now being produced in Brisbane by SDI Plastics.
The chocks, which Mr Gorlick previously manufactured from steel in his backyard workshop in Dysart, are being used in half a dozen coal mines in his local area. "We only make them in plastic now," Mr Gorlick said.
"They are even easier to handle and we can keep up with demand a lot quicker than manually producing them in our shed."
Mr Gorlick said he and wife Robyn - a partner in the ARG business - had been determined to ensure the chocks remained an Australian manufactured product.
Mr Gorlick said he was considering giving up his job at the mine this year to focus fulltime on the ARG business.
He believed his devices would find a ready market among mines further afield if he was able to devote some time to promoting them throughout the industry.
We will be attending The Surat basin Mining Expo in June in Toowoomba and will be showcasing both these products see us at Tent OS9 The Gorlicks hope to make inroads into the New South Wales and West Australian mining sectors as well.
"We are hoping to do a trip over there (Western Australia) and attend a mining expo sometime this year," Mr Gorlick said.