PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Mining giant BHP Billiton on Tuesday approved a $240-million spend to upgrade facilities at Port Hedland.
The miner told shareholders that the funds would purchase six additional tugs and would fund the construction of a new eight-pen tug-harbour at Hunt Point, in the Port Hedland port.
The investment would also include the upgrade of workshop facilities, operational and service berths, and two small boat moorings at the existing Nelson Point tug harbor.
“The project will mitigate the risk of a channel blockage by ensuring the continued safe escort of vessels in and out of the Port Hedland inner harbour,” said iron-ore president Jimmy Wilson.
“This project will enable BHP to safely meet projected demand for tug services and effectively manage shipping risks for all users of the Port Hedland port.”
BHP in April this year announced plans to defer its inner harbour debottlenecking project, in the Pilbara, which would increase capacity to 290-million tonnes a year.
The miner said at the time that production from the iron-ore operations was expected to reach 250-million tonnes this year, with BHP saying that the company’s installed infrastructure had continued to exceed expectations. Further growth in supply chain capacity to 270-million tonnes a year was expected to be achieved without the need for additional fixed plant investment.
Meanwhile, earthworks for the tug harbour were scheduled to start in December this year, with construction to be completed by September 2016. The project would create up to 200 jobs in the region during construction.