Essential marine cargo for Mineral Resources’ (MinRes) Onslow iron ore project has arrived at the Port of Ashburton thanks to the Happy Dover, a heavy load carrier from BigLift.
BigLift specialises in heavy lift and project cargoes, with the Happy Dover vessel having a 900-tonne lift capacity.
The Onslow project is located 150 kilometres east of Onslow. It is expected to ship around 35 million tonnes of iron ore per year and is set to be one of Western Australia’s largest iron ore operations.
The project is being developed by MinRes through a joint venture partnership with Baowu, AMCI, and POSCO.
The cargo on the vessel that was delivered to MinRes included 20-metre high berthing dolphins, the loading wharf that was transported in two modules, and the landside port infrastructure such as conveyors and transfer stations.
The vessel is built with two 450 tonne cranes to lift and place the cargo directly onto the piles, with the wharf modules weighing 150 tonnes each and the largest dolphins weighing 270 tonnes each.
MinRes Onslow iron project director Darren Hardy said the marine cargo arriving at the Port of Ashburton is an important milestone for the project.
“Marine works are well underway at the Port of Ashburton, with the arrival of the BigLift vessel enabling wharf infrastructure to be installed,” Hardy said.
“Work is also progressing on the enclosed storage facility that can store up to 220,000 tonnes of product – all of the 340 foundation piles have been installed, with steel works commencing shortly.
“The installation of the wharf is integral to the operation of the transhippers that will be working 24/7 to carry iron ore to capesize vessels anchored 40 kilometres off the coast.”