Gym Workouts lift spirits

Fly-in, fly-out workers at a mining camp near Karratha have a state-of-the-art gym to lift weights and workout.

The gymnasium opened at CITIC Pacific Mining’s Sino Iron Project, 100km south-west of Karratha, was opened recently with the help of local company Powerlift.

Powerlift helped with the 250sqm facility’s fit-out, which was built with a focus on CrossFit and has specialist equipment such as weighted sleds and monkey bars.

The custom-built gym was designed and built over eight weeks by ATCO Structures & Logistics in Perth but site delivery was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Citic Pacific Mining manager facilities and logistics Wei Tang said giving workers a comfortable home-away-from-home was critical to staff attraction and retention — particularly during COVID.

“Our people work very hard — downtime is important for them to recharge and refresh,” he said.

“We want them to be as comfortable here as they are at home.

“So that means providing all the amenities they are used to, whether that is working out in a gym, playing sport, swimming or enjoying a quiet beer with mates.”

The facility is open 24 hours a day.