Pit to ship progress for Onslow
Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) has marked a new milestone at its Onslow iron project, in the west Pilbara region of WA, with more than 10mt of iron ore shipped out of the Port of Ashburton.
The project is expected to increase production to more than 35mt annually over its 30-year life span.
After achieving first ore on ship ahead of schedule in May last year, development across all aspects of the pit to ship supply chain has continued to increase.
At the Port of Ashburton, the project’s marine and port infrastructure continues to be a crucial part of the supply chain. Innovative 20,000t shallow transhippers are being used to ferry the ore to larger ocean-going vessels anchored 40km offshore.
MinRes continues to expand its transhipping fleet with the recent arrival of a fifth vessel, the MinRes Peak, which arrived last month and is currently undergoing commissioning works.
While 19 ocean-going vessels were loaded with more than 3.6mt of iron ore during the April quarter, the frequency of severe cyclones over the period caused significant disruptions and resulted in the loss of more than two weeks of transhipping days.
Recent efforts have contributed to the project’s transhipping operations exceeding 10mt within the last year, reinforcing the reliability and efficiency of MinRes’ unique transhipping marine solution.
At the Ken Bore mine site, further works are underway to prepare the Cardo Bore East deposit for mining and haulage activity. Once operational the site will deliver another high-grade ore deposit to the Ken Bore’s crushing and processing facility.
The company continues to progress works on its dedicated 150km private haulage road that link Ken’s Bore to the Port of Ashburton. Haulage is still ongoing despite the construction and upgrades remain on schedule for completion.
In the March quarter more than 16,200 road trains trips were completed along the road.
Autonomous haulage testing also progresses at the Ken’s Bore site, with the company having received the final prime mover converted to autonomous technology from project partner Hexagon.