Precision core drilling and wire sawing for structural implosion preparation
Advanced Sawing & Drilling was engaged by Liberty Industrial to carry out the precision cutting works required ahead of the controlled implosion of a major structure at the former Mobil Refinery site in Altona. This kind of work demands absolute accuracy, every cut and every core hole is part of an engineered sequence designed to bring a structure down exactly where, and how, it’s meant to fall.
Our team carried out two key scopes on site:
We cored approximately 260 holes at 32mm diameter to a depth of 1.2m, each one positioned to a precise structural pattern. These holes were strategically placed throughout the structure to weaken key load-bearing points, forming part of the overall implosion engineering designed to collapse the structure inward and downward as intended.
Working alongside the coring program, our wire sawing crews cut through columns approximately 2.5 metres in cross-section, executing the cuts in an octagonal pattern around each column. This shape was critical to controlling exactly how and where the columns would fail during detonation, guiding the collapse sequence with millimetre-level precision.
In early August 2026, Liberty Industrial successfully detonated the refinery structure at night, with the implosion executed exactly as engineered. The precision of the coring and wire sawing work carried out by Advanced Sawing played a critical role in enabling a clean, controlled collapse, allowing demolition works to continue safely and the site clearance to proceed without delay.
Projects like this highlight the level of accuracy and reliability that large-scale demolition and civil contractors depend on when engaging Advanced Sawing for structural sawing and drilling works. When a single core hole out of place can affect the outcome of a multi-tonne structural collapse, precision isn’t optional, it’s the whole job.
