Production

Shipping

 

Road Transport

MRM's bulk concentrate is trucked from the mine to the loading facility at Bing Bong 120 kilometres away. From Bing Bong a purpose-built barge, the MV Aburri, transports the concentrate to ships waiting at sea. The concentrate is then exported to refineries around the world.

The contract fleet of road-trains used for trucking have fully covered, side-tipping trailers with a payload of approximately 120 tonnes. They consist of prime movers with two quad-axle trailers and an AB configuration.

They deposit the concentrate in a storage shed at Bing Bong which has the capacity to hold 60,000 tonnes.

A range of safety procedures are followed to ensure there are no dust emissions from the road-trains. These include:

  • wheel washes at the exit to the mine site and Bing Bong to wash away any dirt and materials that may have accumulated from the site
  • protective covers over each trailer to prevent dust and spillage
  • speed limiters to 85 kilometres per hour on the road trains
  • fully covered unloading dock at Bing Bong
  • specific procedures for tipping into the storage shed which prevents concentrate spilling onto ramps and clearing all concentrate from the road train.

 

Shipping

MRM manages the Bing Bong facility and the loading of concentrate onto the bulk carrier, MV Aburri. Carpentaria Shipping Services (CSS) operates the Aburri. CSS is a joint venture involving Indigenous Business Australia and a local indigenous enterprise, the Mawurli and Wirriwangkuma Aboriginal Association (MAWA).

The Aburri was designed specifically for MRM. Its dimensions are 79.95 metres by 18.5 metres with a draft of 3.5 metres and a capacity to carry 3,200 tonnes. It self-loads and discharges at an average of 900 to 1,000 tonnes per hour. The cargo capacity of each shipping consignment varies between 6,400 and 45,000 tonnes.

The bulk carrier was built to all applicable Northern Territory Marine and Australian Standards and has an International Lloyd’s classification of ‘100 A1’.

Lighting of the wharf, Aburri and navigation channel enable 24 hour operations.

The Offshore Transfer Zone, where concentrate is transferred from the Aburri to ocean-going ships, is defined by a precise longitude and latitude and has an average depth at low tide of 14.75 metres.

All stages of the loading and discharging operations are managed by computer process control systems and overseen by closed-circuit cameras.

Numerous safety procedures are in place to ensure the security of the concentrate against spillage including:

  • an ‘auto-dock’ system to secure the Aburri in a set position against the wharf using a hydraulic claw and swing arm. This guarantees its precise location under the loading chute and ensures the concentrate is enclosed at all stages of the loading process
  • controls on the conveyor to only operate if the loading chute is securely in place
  • preventative maintenance and inspection processes
  • automatic shutdowns in case of a fault between the Aburri and the concentrate loader
  • water containment and management to ensure small amounts of concentrate caught in the system (including the conveyor and the Aburri) can be hosed, collected and managed through the wharf sump and site run-off pond 
  • discharge procedures which take into consideration the prevailing weather conditions.