Tag Archives: Pilbara

REMA TIP TOP adds more conveyor belting to Monadelphous South Flank contract

Bulk handling, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

REMA TIP TOP Australia says it has been contracted by Monadelphous to install a further 24 km of conveyor belting and provide expert splicing services for the “outflows infrastructure” at BHP’s South Flank iron ore project, in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

It follows a contract to install more than 50 km of conveyor belting at South Flank that was awarded last year. Monadelphous, meanwhile, was awarded a major infrasture package for the mine build in February 2019.

The new contract is the third in a series of agreements that sees REMA TIP TOP supporting Monadelphous to deliver key infrastructure projects for the region’s largest miners.

This includes an agreement to provide splicing capabilities across more than 10 km of new overland conveyor and modifications to three existing plant conveyors at Rio Tinto’s West Angelas Deposits C & D project.

REMA TIP TOP Industry Australia CEO, Michel Ciepelinski, said: “This new contract is a testament to Monadelphous’ faith in our ability to deliver. We have demonstrated that we have both the skills and capacity to provide expert services in full conveyor solutions and this new agreement extends our successful relationship.

“Now, more than ever before, we are committed to helping Australian industry keep moving and its projects like this that are critical in ensuring our economy and the nation maintains momentum.”

The new contract will see the delivery of belt installation works across 13 conveyors, which tie into the existing BHP Mining Area C stock yard.

Cundaline Resources to work on Iron Bridge magnetite project

Mineral project development, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , ,

Fortescue Metals Group has awarded 100% Aboriginal owned company, Cundaline Resources Pty, with the contract for the West Canning Basin earthworks at its majority owned Iron Bridge magnetite project, in Western Australia.

The award, which continues FMG’s longstanding commitment to supporting local and Aboriginal businesses, will see the group carry out the earthworks, access preparation and rehabilitation services associated with the hydrogeology drilling program for the Iron Bridge project.

The Iron Bridge project will deliver 22 Mt/y (wet) of high grade 67% Fe magnetite concentrate product, according to FMG, with the first stage completed successfully by building and operating a full-scale pilot plant at the North Star mine site. This pilot project included the use of a dry crushing and grinding circuit, which FMG plans to leverage in stage two.

The second stage of the project comprises the construction of a large-scale process plant, and port infrastructure to support the production of 22 Mt/y (wet) of iron ore.

In FMG’s March quarter results, released late last month, the company said the $2.6 billion project was progressing on schedule and budget, with first concentrate production planned in the first half of calendar year 2022.

Key milestones in the three-month period included detailed engineering passing the halfway mark, procurement of major long lead process equipment committed and the first blast at the ore processing facility site, enabling bulk earthworks to commence.

Fortescue’s Chief Executive Officer, Elizabeth Gaines, said Fortescue’s Aboriginal procurement initiative, Billion Opportunities, has awarded over A$2.5 billion ($1.6 billion) in contracts and sub-contracts to Aboriginal businesses and joint venture partners since the program began in 2011.

“We are committed to building on this proud track record through our growth projects, Eliwana and Iron Bridge, which have already awarded over A$60 million in contracts to Aboriginal businesses,” she said.

“Importantly, Billion Opportunities is focused on building the capability and capacity of Aboriginal businesses, and it is very pleasing to see Cundaline, a business which commenced operations as a labour hire company, now expand into earthworks and mechanical maintenance contracting areas.”

Cundaline’s Managing Director, Brenden Taylor, said: “The West Canning Basin Earthworks contract is a milestone project and the first of a number of potential opportunities on the Iron Bridge magnetite project for Cundaline.

“We have worked hard to transition our company from a labour hire specialist to a contracting entity managing and delivering our own projects. I am particularly proud of my team for their professionalism and ‘can do’ attitude and not giving up during the tough times.

“Along this journey we have worked together with other Aboriginal businesses and I especially want to acknowledge Fortescue, through the Billion Opportunities initiative, for making a real difference for a local and Aboriginal business like Cundaline to continue to grow our capacity and capability into the future.”

EPA project approval bodes well for improved Pilbara renewable energy options

Environmental, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Power supply for mines, , , , , , ,

Miners in the Pilbara could soon have greater access to renewable energy options after Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) gave a large-scale development project the thumbs up.

The EPA said it had recommended environmental approval for the wind and solar renewable energy project, subject to conditions including managing and monitoring impacts on migratory birds.

EPA Chair, Dr Tom Hatton, said the proposed Asian Renewable Energy Hub comprised a series of onshore wind turbines and solar panels situated about 220 km east of Port Hedland, with a transmission cable corridor to the coast and subsea cables to the edge of state waters.

The Asian Renewable Energy Hub will generate up to 15,000 MW of renewable energy in Western Australia, with up to 3,000 MW dedicated to large energy users such as new and expanded mines and downstream mineral processing, the owners of the project say. “The bulk of the power will enable large scale production of green hydrogen products for domestic and export markets,” they added.

Dr Hatton said NW Interconnected Power Pty Ltd’s proposal included the construction and operation of a large-scale renewable energy project with an expected operational lifespan of 50 years.

“One of the key environmental issues the EPA considered was the proposed clearing of 11,962 ha of native vegetation, and its potential impact on fauna habitat, flora and vegetation,” he said. “The EPA also considered the potential impact from the construction and operation of four subsea cables on benthic communities and habitat, marine environmental quality and marine fauna.”

Fire management was also considered a key issue, with a staged fire management strategy proposed to monitor the potential impacts and benefits of a landscape-scale prescribed burns program, according to Dr Hatton.

The proposal involves the construction of up to 1,743 wind turbines, solar panels, above and below ground transmission cables and four subsea power cables, covering an onshore and offshore development envelope of 662,400 ha, the EPA said.

“The EPA recommended that the proposal be implemented, subject to conditions including consultation on management plans with relevant stakeholders, including traditional land owners,” it said.

The EPA’s report on the Asian Renewable Energy Hub to the Minister for Environment is now open for a two-week public appeal period, closing on May 18. The Minister for Environment will make the final decision on the proposal, it added.

National Group’s NPE delivers Cat 994K wheel loader to Rio’s Marandoo iron ore site

Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , ,

National Group says its National Plant & Equipment (NPE) subsidiary has delivered Australia’s first rental Cat 994K wheel loader to Rio Tinto’s Marandoo iron ore mine in Western Australia.

After arriving in Perth from the Caterpillar manufacturing facility in Decatur, Illinois, USA, the wheel loader began pre-assembly on February 17 by WesTrac at its Reid Road facility, in WA. From there, the oversized load was disassembled for transportation from Perth to the Pilbara, where final assembly took place on site at Marandoo before being handed over to Rio Tinto to begin work in early May.

Marandoo is one of Rio’s Pilbara iron ore assets to feature autonomy. Back in 2017, Cat and Rio Tinto signed an agreement to retrofit 19 Cat 793F mining trucks for autonomous operation at the site, making it the first fleet of Cat autonomous trucks deployed by Rio Tinto.

National Group said Cat large wheel loaders are well known as the ‘top of their class’ due to their sheer size and durability that ensures maximum availability through multiple life cycles. “The 994K doesn’t disappoint, with a net power of 1,297 kW, an operating weight of over 240 t and a bucket capacity range of 19.1 – 24.5 m³ for hard-rock conditions (up to 43.6 m³ for soft rock), making it the largest wheel loader currently manufactured by Caterpillar,” it said.

Mark Ackroyd, National Group Managing Director, said: “With optimised performance and simplified serviceability, the 994K allows mine sites to move more material efficiently and safely at a lower cost per tonne.

“They are the ideal machine for large mining companies such as Rio Tinto to maximise their efficiency and productivity and reduce the level of ongoing maintenance required.”

Geoff Bailey, WesTrac Executive General Manager of Sales, said: “WesTrac have worked closely with NPE for more than seven years and we’re proud to continue to support the business with industry-leading equipment and technology.

“The 994K can handle large payloads even in tough conditions, loading a matched Cat 789 or 793 haul truck in five to six passes, respectively. It’s a highly efficient option for our WA mining customers.”

Ackroyd said there was currently less than 10 994Ks in Australia, “so we are very excited to own a brand new model and to see it go to work with one of our key clients”.

As many businesses and industries come to a halt due to COVID-19 restrictions, National Group says it is preparing to deliver a range of other machinery to mine sites around Australia in the coming months.

Mining demand sees Flender set up shop in Western Australia

Bulk handling, Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, , , , , ,

Flender, a global supplier of mechanical drives and a subsidiary of Siemens, has announced plans for an expansion into Western Australia.

Its new state-of-the-art facility in Tonkin Highway Industrial Estate, in Bayswater, will allow the company to grow in the region, helping it meet increasing customer demand especially in the wind energy and mining sectors, Flender said.

The investment will include a new purpose-built 3,500 sq.m facility set for completion in September. When complete, the new premises will be the only OEM facility on the West Coast with a 1.5 MW test bench capable of testing complete drive systems up to a voltage of 6.6 kV, it said.

Kareem Emara, CEO and Managing Director of Flender Australia, said relocating to Tonkin Highway Industrial Estate will allow Flender to centralise operations and get closer to customers in Western Australia.

“Flender has been renowned for high performance, innovation, quality and reliability of mechanical components for over 120 years,” he said. “We have been growing exponentially the last few years and now have the biggest installed base in mining and wind turbine gearboxes compared to any other OEM in Australia.”

He added: “Regardless of where we are, being close to our customers is the cornerstone of our business model. Western Australia has been an excellent market for us in the recent years. It’s only natural for us to reinvest in this key market and be where our customers are to offer them the combined brains trust of over 50 facilities worldwide through this new state-of-the-art centre.”

Flender says it has the largest installed base of industrial drives in Western Australia. Some installations have been in operation since the 1970s and are still in service today in mine and port locations across the Pilbara and other regions of Western Australia.

The facility will also be designed to cater for projected growth in ‘geared’ wind turbines over the next couple of decades, enabling Flender to combine sales, project delivery, engineering and training in one location, it said.

Emara concluded: “Whilst COVID-19 has presented challenges to Australian economy, we take a long-term view and are confident in our expansion plans to help set up the right support structure for the nation’s critical energy infrastructure and industry.

“We are supporting critical industries such as mining now and are preparing for future growth in other industries.”

This announcement follows the $5 million investment into Rockhampton service centre, in Queensland, in 2017.

BHP studying iron ore export expansion at Port Hedland

Bulk handling, Environmental, Mining safety, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable mining, , , , , , ,

BHP says it is looking into options to increase its iron ore export capacity at Port Hedland, in Western Australia, with the potential for a 40 Mt/y boost if “market conditions allow”.

The company is currently focused on hitting its 290 Mt/y capacity (on a 100% basis) in the medium term, but it said it wanted to be able to respond to further growth opportunities in the future if conditions allow.

BHP, prior to the spread of the COVID-19 virus, said it expected to ship 273-286 Mt of iron ore on a 100% basis in its 2020 financial year to June 30, 2020.

A public consultation on the expansion plan has begun ahead of BHP submitting an application to the Western Australia Government to gain a licence for this increased iron ore export capacity.

The licence application is the first step in a broader process. The company anticipates submitting the application next month once the consultation has occurred and the process towards the approval taking most of the rest of 2020.

BHP said the move was about “providing future options”, and “should not in any way be construed as a forecast or target”.

This is not the first time the company has talked about expanding capacity beyond the 290 Mt/y mark at Port Hedland. During the last boom when the company was still heading for 155 Mt/y capacity, it tabled an ambitious and expensive Outer Harbour development at Port Hedland. While the project was scrapped as the downturn ensued, it could have seen capacity rise to 450 Mt/y (on a 100% basis).

One area where the company has made a definitive pledge to invest in the Pilbara is around air quality and dust emissions.

BHP said it planned to spend A$300 million ($194 million) over the next five years to improve air quality and dust emissions across its Pilbara operations. This investment, it said, reinforces its commitment to the long-term, sustainable future of the Pilbara region as an economic powerhouse and follows A$400 million in projects already delivered over the past decade to minimise dust emissions across its supply chain.

BHP General Manager Port, Nilson Davila, said: “BHP has reviewed global best practice dust management and air quality control methods and identified new opportunities to further improve our approach. We recognise we have a shared responsibility to address dust issues in the Pilbara.”

The Pilbara air quality program involves:

  • The construction of wind fences at port operations, a method that has been proven to significantly reduce the potential for dust lift-off from stockpiles;
  • Trialling, with a view to “at-scale construction”, of vegetation barriers to capture dust in the West End in Port Hedland, in partnership with Curtin University and Greening Australia; and
  • Implementation of operational dust control projects across its entire Pilbara supply chain, such as moisture management systems, ore conditioning and monitoring infrastructure, and improvements across its existing controls at mines and port.

BHP said individual projects will still be subject to all necessary internal and state government approvals.

“The planned investment signals BHP’s strong commitment to the Pilbara, and particularly to the revitalisation of the West End into a vibrant commercial hub,” Davila said.

BHP said it remained committed to working with government, industry and the local community on the recommendations of the Port Hedland Dust Management Taskforce Report, including the development by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation of best practice guidelines for bulk handling facilities and their implementation.

Multotec makes an impact in the Pilbara with Ceradox screen panel

Equipment maintenance, Mineral processing, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

Multotec has combined Hardox blocks and alumina ceramic tiles to come up with a new high impact screen panel that, it says, cuts plant downtime and boosts mine productivity.

The Ceradox panel boasts more than double the wear life of traditional rubber panels, according to Multotec, with the innovation developed during 2019 in response to a request from an iron ore mining customer in Australia’s Pilbara region.

Three months of testing delivered results that exceeded expectations, according to Multotec Screening Product Manager, Shawn Faba.

“The customer needed a panel with an extended wear life, so that they only needed to conduct replacements during the regular maintenance shutdown every 12 weeks,” Faba said. “Our testing demonstrated that the panels were lasting 24 weeks and longer.”

Through a close collaboration between Multotec South Africa, Multotec Australia and the customer, a solution was developed and proved for a demanding application on scalper screens, it said.

Faba explained: “Designed for the impact area of the scalper screen, the Ceradox panel must withstand the impact of material up to 300 mm in size falling from a discharge height of up to 3 m. It must also resist high levels of abrasion from the ore.”

The resulting design leverages the impact strength of the Hardox blocks and the abrasion resistance of the ceramic tiles, embedded in Multotec’s proprietary rubber formulation, helping absorb the energy of the falling material, according to the company. The panels are manufactured locally at Multotec’s high-volume facilities in Gauteng, South Africa, which include a rubber mixing plant run by experienced specialists.

Faba noted that the 305 mm square Ceradox panels can be manufactured to different thicknesses from 50 mm to 100 mm.

“With our local manufacturing capability, we can achieve short lead times and deliver to anywhere in the world,” he said.

Multotec says it already supplies about 35% of the screening media to the iron ore mines in the Pilbara area.

Rio increases scope of Primero work at Koodaideri, Robe Valley

Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining project news, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

Primero says it has been awarded variation extensions to contracts it already has in place with Rio Tinto at the in-development Koodaideri iron ore project and the Robe Valley iron ore operations, both in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

The multi-disciplinary engineering and contracting firm said the extensions have a combined value of around A$20 million ($12.3 million).

The variations awarded under the Mesa K (Robe Valley) contract reflect additional civil works at the Mesa J PP2 (process plant 2) wet processing facility, currently being developed as part of Rio Tinto’s Robe Valley sustaining projects, Primero said.

Back in October 2018, Rio, together with joint venture partners Mitsui and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal, approved an investment of $1.55 billion to sustain production capacity at two projects forming part of the Robe River joint venture, which also includes Robe Valley.

The additions to the Koodaideri contract, meanwhile, reflect additional “options selections” that have now been confirmed and included for implementation, according to Primero.

Construction on Koodaideri Phase 1 started in 2019 with first production expected in late 2021. Once complete, the $2.6 billion mine will have an annual capacity of 43 Mt, underpinning production of the company’s flagship iron ore product, Pilbara Blend.

Primero Group secured a A$115 million contract with Rio Tinto’s iron ore division to design, fabricate, supply, deliver, construct, install, test and commission the Mine Infrastructure Area and associated facilities at Koodaideri back in late 2019.

The Mesa J works (under the Mesa K contract) are expected to be completed in 2020, Primero said. The additional Koodaideri works are planned to be completed in-line with the original contracted time frame of mid 2021.

New thyssenkrupp stacker starts up at Rio Tinto’s East Intercourse Island facility

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thyssenkrupp is celebrating the first ore aboard a new stacker at the bulk handling facilities of Rio Tinto’s East Intercourse Island (EII), in the Port of Dampier, Western Australia.

The engineering company confirmed this week that “Stacker ST1EN” had reached the iron ore milestone at the project, which involves the manufacture, installation and commissioning of three replacement stackers and associated equipment as part of an almost A$70 million ($39.8 million) upgrade.

When the upgrade was announced back in August 2017, Rio said design and fabrication work was expected to commence in 2018, with installation and commissioning anticipated in late 2020.

Rio also said at the time that thyssenkrupp Australia would manufacture, assemble and fabricate the stackers required for the refurbishment before transporting the 1,860 t of stacker weight to the Pilbara.

MACA wins early civil works contract at Atlas Iron Corunna Downs project

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MACA is to upgrade an existing public road and develop access road at the Corunna Downs iron ore project following a contract award from Atlas Iron.

The project, 33 km south of Marble Bar in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, will see Atlas develop five open pits using conventional drill and blast, and load and haul methods. Some 23.3 Mt of iron ore will be mined above the water table over an approximate timeframe of six years, according to a filing with the Environmental Protection Authority.

MACA’s contract is expected to generate revenue of around A$38 million ($23 million) over the eight-month term of the project. This includes the upgrade of a 22 km section of public road and the development of 13 km of access road. At its peak, the project will employ around 80 people, according to MACA.

The project is expected to commence in the June quarter for completion this year.

MACA has a long-standing working relationship with Atlas having previously provided services at the Pardoo, Mt Dove, Abydos and Wodgina operations. It is currently providing crushing services for Atlas at its Mount Webber operations.

MACA CEO, Mike Sutton, said: “MACA is delighted to have been awarded these early civil works for Atlas demonstrating the civil capability within our end to end mining service offering. We look forward to being part of the successful development of Corunna Downs and continuing our long-standing relationship with Atlas.”

Separately, MACA also advises it has received notice of a 12-month extension to its Eastern Ridge mobile crushing contract for BHP extending the project to April 2021.