Last month Andrew Keith, Mining Infrastructure Leader at Aurecon, presented a paper at the Innovative Bulk Material Export Solutions for Mining conference, held in Perth, Western Australia. The conference looked at innovative solutions to shiploading, transhipment and port infrastructure for mineral assets. Asked what the current trends are in the mining industry, Keith replied, “Ore transport is becoming more challenging as a result of climate change concerns in the community, greater expansion into remote locations, and the increased length and cost of the ore chain. Bulk exporters are looking for innovative and economical solutions to traditional export infrastructure, due to its high capital cost and access limitations, while maximising capacity”.

He added, “Miners wanting to capitalise on the current commodities boom are considering alternative export methods to avoid the need to build large-scale facilities, which can take a long time to achieve”.

The Australian Financial Review reported in May this year that, “More than 28 mining companies on four continents are considering similar concepts to reduce the huge amount of capital required to build land-based export facilities and cash in on the commodities boom”.

Keith presented a comparison of a range of ore export methods, such as transhipment versus shore based terminals. He also examined the capital and operating costs of floating and shore based systems.

Aurecon provides a fully integrated service across all engineering disciplines to deliver complete, cost-effective, whole-of-life mine development and bulk materials handling projects to suit clients’ requirements.