Onslow Iron transitions to gas

Operations at the Port of Ashburton, a critical link in Mineral Resources’ (ASX: MIN) Onslow Iron supply chain, are now running entirely on natural gas.

The complete transition from diesel to natural gas for port operations will reduce greenhouse gas emissions whilst streamlining operations through the removal of extensive diesel logistics and handling, according to the miner.

The change will result in displacing about 60 million litres of diesel every year for power generation at the port.

Site infrastructure includes a 14MW gas-fired power station which is now connected to the Wheatstone Ashburton West Gas Pipeline.

MinRes power station operations manager Gary Stevens comments on the milestone.

“The introduction of a gas-fired power station at the port represents a major step towards delivering cleaner and more sustainable mining and export infrastructure,” he said.

“Bringing something of this scale together and operational is a huge piece of work and couldn’t be done without the team’s dedication, diligence and expertise.”

The Port of Ashburton, located about 150km from Ken’s Bore mine site in West Pilbara, plays a critical role at Onslow as it is where iron ore is loaded onto purpose-built 20,000t transhippers for transfer to bulk carriers offshore.

MinRes general operations and development manager Rowan Hill commented on the company’s commitment to investing into greener technologies.

“We consider clean energy critical to the sustainability of our industry and the communities where we operate,” he said.

“We’re continually exploring ways to reduce emissions across our operations and by connecting the port to the gas lateral, we’re reducing our diesel consumption and taking another positive step towards more cost-effective and cleaner operations.”