The 86m high reinforced concrete Power Station Stack was located south of the Refinery Demolition area, near Rio Tinto’s workshop and warehouse. Work was first completed to clean out all non-structural components from the windshield interior to allow for set out and initial blast preparations. In the weeks leading up to the scheduled blasts, hundreds of core holes were completed to the blast panels, then the removal of the breakout panels created the hinge point, and a horizontal heal was cut through the outer reinforcement. As confirmed by the ASI modelling, large Structural steel props were required to be installed to a prominent opening at the rear of the stack to reduce early compression failure and ensure that the stack maintained its intended direction of collapse throughout its initial rotation. 50mm steel blast plates were installed around the base of the stack to minimise any projectiles generated by the initiation of the blast. The stack reached the ground in some 11 seconds, collapsing on impact under its own weight, assisting the downsizing and processing activity to follow.
NHULUNBUY, Australia – Industrial Closure Contractor Liberty Industrial has delivered another three successful blasts in 2 hours as part of the Gove Refinery Demolition Project. These final blasts for the refinery site bring the total number of controlled explosions to five since the demolition of the refinery began in 2021.
Supported by a dedicated team of in-house engineers and explosive specialists, trusted consultants from around the world, Rio Tinto and local community stakeholders, the coordinated demolition of the Steam Power Station Stack, Silo Roofs and Stair Tower were delivered safely on the 19th of October 2025.
“Due to the height and the composition of these structures, some of which were significantly dilapidated, we determined early on that induced collapse using explosive demolition methods would be required to minimise risk and interruption to operational areas.” Said Simon Gill, Director, Liberty Industrial.
“This latest result is another example of our ability to deliver multiple blast events on the one day, safely, and exactly as designed. In particular, the dedication of our project team and partners ensured months of detailed planning and thorough pre-works on-site, culminated in a safe and successful outcome for the project.” Said Joe Clarke, Project Director, Liberty Industrial.
Liberty Industrial’s engineering team engaged in an 8-month intense planning phase in close collaboration with Rio Tinto and project stakeholders. The detailed demolition methodologies were analysed, refined and validated using proprietary ASI® Extreme Loading Software to ensure the structures behaved as designed throughout the induced collapse. The controlled explosion required the use of some 70kg of charges, comprising linear cutting charge and cartridge emulsion explosives.
Blast 1 - Steam Power Station Stack
Blast 2 - Three Alumina Silo Roofs
The three symmetrical silos reached a height of approximately 50m above ground, and were comprised of post tensioned reinforced concrete walls with structural steel roofs connected via gantry structures to the stair tower.
The silo roofs were collapsed simultaneously using linear cutting charges, while the brace connections to the stair tower were also severed using linear cutting charge. This design ensured all three roofs collapsed within the walls of the silos reducing the debris field.
Blast 3 - Stair Tower
The 70m high Stair Tower was the final structure to be brought to ground. In preparation for the Stair Tower blast, strategic locations at the base of the structure were both weakened and strengthened to control the method and direction of collapse.
As with the Stack preparation works, break out panels were completed to create the required hinge to control direction, with core holes completed to the blast panels to induce the collapse once the explosives were initiated.
The demolition of the Gove Refinery is one of the largest demolition projects in the Southern Hemisphere to date. All demolition works are being done in accordance with careful consideration for the long-term future of the site.