Diversified miner BHP has started testing two new automated shiploaders at its Port Hedland export facility in the Pilbara.
In what is a world first, 3D laser scan technology has been used in the A$50-million project, which will fully automate eight shiploaders by 2023, and is aimed at providing significant safety, production and cost benefits.
The eight shiploaders at BHP’s Nelson Point and Finucane Island operations are responsible for loading about 1 500 bulk ore carriers every year, exporting approximately 280-million tonnes of iron-ore to global customers in 2021.
The project is expected to enable an increase in production of more than one-million tonnes each year, through the combination of greater precision, reduced spillage, faster load times and equipment optimisation.
An additional 12 jobs have been created through this project, in the Integrated Remote Operations Centre in Perth.