ROY Hill’s first shipment of iron ore departed from Port Hedland on December 10, 2015, and in 2019, the company hit a milestone of more than 925 shipments departing the port since the commencement of operations.

Within a short space of time, it achieved production of 55mtpa of iron ore and became a profitable operation.

Roy Hill’s iron ore has been delivered to key markets largely in Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan, with the majority of its tonnage going to minority partners.

Roy Hill has received approval to increase shipping to 60Mtpa, from its current 55Mtpa.

On a WHIMS

In supporting the move to achieve 60Mtpa, Roy Hill’s Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separator (WHIMS) plant has been installed and operation is currently underway.

The WHIMS plant captures high-grade ultrafine iron ore that otherwise would end up in its tailings dam.

Using two types of magnets, the WHIMS plant captures ultrafine product and redirects the material via the existing processing plant to the fines stockpile.

The WHIMS plant reduces environmental impacts by decreasing tailings waste and is expected to provide more than 4mtpa additional iron ore without increasing the amount of material mined.

Roy Hill believes it is on track to achieve the new 60Mtpa run rate in the coming months.

The mine site itself is located 344km south east of Port Hedland in WA’s mineral-rich Pilbara region.

With an integrated mine, rail and port facilities, Roy Hill is set to continue to deliver enormous benefits to WA and the country.

Roy Hill’s operations include a conventional open pit mine with multiple production benches, 60mtpa wet processing plant, an independently owned and operated single-line heavy-haul railway, dedicated stockyard facilities in the Boodarie Industrial Estate, a purpose-built two-berth iron ore port facility at Port Hedland and an integrated corporate headquarters and Remote Operations Centre (ROC) based adjacent to Perth Airport.

Automation

Roy Hill announced a partnership in February this year with Epiroc and automation specialist ASI Mining to convert its mixed fleet of 77 Hitachi and Cat haul trucks from manned to autonomous use.

This partnership will allow Roy Hill to implement a safe, productive and inter-operable solution for its truck fleet.

The project will see a phased implementation, with testing and production verification of up to eight trucks undertaken in the initial phase, prior to the second phase of full fleet expansion from mid-2021.

A key aspect of the haul truck solution being implemented by Epiroc is its ability to expand to other mining vehicle types and manufacturers, as well the capability to integrate with existing and future Roy Hill systems.

By taking an inter-operable approach, Roy Hill is well-positioned to consider additional opportunities that support end-to-end automation.

Roy Hill staff based at the Remote Operating Centre (ROC) in Perth.

Roy Hill is committed to an automation journey that creates an environment in which its people can develop new skills critical to the workforce of the future.

As part of its automated drills program, the company’s onsite drillers were retrained and joined the ROC-based workforce as drill controllers and operating up to four drills per person using a control console and a screen.

It is anticipated truck automation will create similar opportunities for Roy Hill’s people, together with the opportunity to work closer to home.

With the automation program, following the conversion of its fleet of nine Atlas Copco (Epiroc) Pit-Viper 271 drills, productivity targets have been consistently met and exceeded, achieving working hours of greater than 21 hours and drilled metres increasing by 14pc.

Automation technology has also reduced the variation in daily results, enabling Roy Hill people to focus on operational discipline, forward planning and further improvement opportunities.

Roy Hill executive chairman Gina Rinehart, chief executive Barry Fitzgerald and the owners Hancock Prospecting, Marubeni, POSCO and China Steel Corporation led the introduction of autonomous haulage from the start of the project.

Roy Hill chief executive Barry Fitzgerald said people were always at the forefront of the decision to undertake truck automation.

“The driving force was staff safety and sustainable productivity,” he said.

“Roy Hill’s commitment extends to the effective transition of impacted operators and on setting people up to succeed and further contribute to the Roy Hill community.

“Reskilling and redeployment plans will assist operators transition to new roles within the business and give many opportunities for our people to work closer to their families.”

Roy Hill Community Foundation

The Foundation was set up to deliver sustainable initiatives to the Pilbara communities in areas of education, health and the arts.

The Foundation supports the Pilbara Mentors program, a partnership with EdConnect Australia, that supports vulnerable young people who are at risk of disengaging from education in the Pilbara.

To-date, more than 600 hours of support have been provided to students at three Port Hedland schools.

The Foundation won the Community Interaction Award at the 2018 Australian Mining Prospect Awards, in recognition of this.

The Foundation has also partnered with Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation and funded Pilbara Faces, an innovative program which uses 3D facial imaging technology to aid in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of rare diseases in Aboriginal children.

The technology enables quicker and less invasive diagnoses for families, giving insights into complex disorders that were previously undiagnosable.

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