PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Western Australian state government has endorsed plans to grow capacity at the Port of Port Hedland by 41%, to 660-million tonnes a year under a revised development plan.

The government said this week that increasing iron-ore export capacity to 660-million tonnes a year would allow port proponents to invest in landside infrastructure upgrades and advance their investment and growth strategies.
 
The amended port development plan includes the development of an additional iron-ore export berth, Stanley Point Berth 3; a future bulk liquids berth in South West Creek; the development of a second general cargo berth at Lumsden Point; increased capacity allocations of approximately 25% for existing port proponents BHP, Fortescue Metals and Roy Hill; new allocations for the future development of Stanley Point Berth 3, which, subject to all necessary approvals to develop being obtained, would be allocated to the recently announced joint venture between Hancock Prospecting and Mineral Resources (MRL); and a new Fortescue shiploader on Anderson Point Berth 5 to support exports from the Iron Bridge project. 

The plan will also result in increased capacity at the common user berths within the port, supporting growth in direct shipping to the Pilbara and increased exports by junior miners.
  
Port proponents are being consulted on the key principles of the plan and formal documentation, including capacity allocations and development approvals, is expected to be finalised by mid-2022.
 
"This review commenced in 2020 and it is pleasing to reach this point. The Port of Port Hedland Plan was last reviewed in 2012, when it set a total throughput of 495-million tonnes a year,” said Ports Minister Rita Saffioti.
 
"We have well and truly exceeded this, with the port achieving a total annual throughput of 546-million tonnes last financial year, of which 523-million tonnes were iron-ore exports by port proponents.
 
"This in part was made possible by investing in world-leading maritime technologies to maximise port efficiency and safety, which has seen a 6.9% increase in potential shipping capacity at Port Hedland.
 
"We have made changes that will create jobs and provide certainty to industry. This updated plan will contribute to dredging and future development at Lumsden Point.
 
"I look forward to the plan being finalised in the coming months, which will support the long-term growth of the Port of Port Hedland."

MRL MD Chris Ellison said the port plans were key milestone in the company’s strategy to unlock stranded deposits in the Pilbara by developing pit-to-port solutions and expanding its capability to be a long-term, low-cost sustainable supplier of iron-ore to international markets.

“We acknowledge the extensive consultation and review work completed by the Minister for Ports, Rita Saffioti, and the team at the Pilbara Ports Authority to ensure the port development plan maximises exports and advances industry growth, which will lead to thousands of jobs for Western Australians for years to come.

“We look forward to working with the state government, the Pilbara Ports Authority, our valued partner Hancock and Roy Hill to progress this project.”

MRL and Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting and Roy Hill Holdings last year announced plans to jointly investigate the development of a new 50-million-tonne-a-year iron-ore export facility at the Port of Port Hedland’s Stanley Point Berth 3.

Under the terms of the agreement, Roy Hill would provide services to both MRL and Hancock for development and operation of the project, including rail haulage and port services.

Rinehart said this week that Hancock was uniquely placed to fast-track the delivery of this critical port infrastructure by leveraging off and integrating with existing facilities and tenure.

“This will unlock a suite of growth assets, some of which would have otherwise remained stranded assets, to bring more jobs, revenue and opportunities to Western Australians. We are delighted that the Western Australian government and Minister for Ports have provided their support to this important development,” Rinehart said.

“The agreement reached between Hancock and MRL late last year to jointly pursue the development of a new berth at the Port of Port Hedland, with Roy Hill providing rail haulage and port services to both MRL and Hancock, establishes an unprecedented model of cooperation in the Australian iron-ore industry,” she added.

Meanwhile, ASX-listed Brockman Mining has also welcomed the port expansion plans. Brockman has a joint venture agreement with MRL over its Marillana and Ophthalmia projects, under which MRL will provide a logistics system to transport the ore from the mines for export from the Port of Port Hedland.

“Brockman is delighted with this progress, which clears the path to unlock the significant value contained within the high-quality ores at Marillana and Ophthalmia,” the company said.