Staff at Mossman Mill are working to make up for lost time after a problem-filled start to a hugely increased cane season.

Wet weather, mechanical failures and train derailments have added up to 24 days of lost operations for the Mill, which has a crushing order of over a million tons this year, double that of 2013.

A train lost three bins of cane a stone’s throw from the Mill last week and a serious derailment in late July on the South Mossman River rail bridge also resulted in disrupted operations. 

A boiler tube leak and a feed issue also caused interruptions last week, with a hire alternator experiencing a major electrical issue in the aftermath of the South Mossman River rail bridge derailment causing a 12-hour shutdown. 

Unusually wet weather at the start of the season also caused several days of shutdown.

Despite these setbacks Mossman Mill manager Haydn Slattery said the mill and its staff were up to the challenged of a doubled crushing order this season, with staff working hard to fix issues.

“The mill is able to handle the increased tonnage - in fact, if it was not for the unseasonal wet start to the season, the mill would be well ahead of target,” Mr Slattery said. 

“The first season with the increased volume at Mossman was always going to be challenging, with the mill training 30 new employees, implementing a new transport system and changing operation mode to a 7-day per week operation.

“I’m very pleased with the way our people have risen to the challenge and have displayed their devotion to the task.

So far the mill has crushed over 375,000 tonnes of cane with an average CCS of 12.41.