THURSDAY 23 NOVEMBER     RV1

There were storms this morning, but it was still about 40 degrees, just more humid. We were getting some really interesting skies, that had me reaching for the camera.

BB and FMG had agreed that we were to source and fit a roller/security shutter across the counter in the site office. There was nothing like that in the original plan, but the Spotless manager had been jumping up and down about it. I would not have thought his paperwork was really so high security! So I spent a lot of the day on the phone, trying to arrange for quotes for that.

The rest of the Pod 2 rooms, and all of the Pod 3 ones, were handed over to Spotless – apart from 16 unsecured rooms where we were waiting on missing locksets. Big progress!

The Acco tip truck had a cracked windscreen ,after John did a tip trip with it today. I doubted it was now roadworthy.

HO had come up with the figures that we were charging FMG $250 per tip trip, plus tip charges, as contingency. Boy, that was going to add up!

There was a really interesting cloud roll formation today. I knew such phenomena happened up in the Gulf country – the famed Morning Glory cloud – but did not know they happened elsewhere. I really should try to read up on meteorology a bit more – as well as on identifying little reptiles!

The Hedland FMG boss phoned to say that they now had approval for us to dig a temporary tip hole at RV1. Fine – BUT – we no longer had any digging gear on site. It had all gone south.

N and S returned from their break.

R had not returned from his break yet, having been away ten days. It was rumoured that he would not be returning because he was having some kind of breakdown. That would not have surprised me – he was under so much pressure here. Pity, because I thought he was a really great guy.