Mineral Resources (MinRes) has announced the completion of the Onslow Iron project’s dedicated haul road, which will support the planned conversion of MinRes road trains to autonomous operation.
Designed and developed in-house by MinRes’ engineering and construction team, the 150km sealed and fenced haul road is used to transport iron ore through the Pilbara, from Ken’s Bore Mine to the Port of Ashburton.
The project is ramping-up production to 35 million tonnes of iron ore per year.
The iron ore is transported from mine site to port using 330-tonne road trains operating on private roads and travelling through tunnels at North West Coastal Highway and Onslow Road, avoiding interaction with public vehicles.
MinRes says the haul road is one of the most technologically advanced pieces of transport infrastructure in Australia.
It has been specially-designed for the planned conversion of MinRes road trains to autonomous operation via a series of roadside monitoring bases positioned alongside the roadway.
MinRes chief executive officer of engineering and construction Darren Killeen said completion of the haul road is a significant achievement for the project.
“The haul road plays a critical role in the Onslow Iron operation, linking our mine site to the port, so we were pleased to safely deliver another quality asset to the project,” Darren said.
“Our teams have done a tremendous job in delivering this world-class transport infrastructure, which highlights the design, engineering and construction capability within our business.”
Executive general manager at Onslow Mike Tonkin added, “The Onslow Iron haul road is an impressive piece of infrastructure and the key to unlocking stranded iron ore deposits in the West Pilbara.
“A lot of foresight, planning and hard work has helped us complete this project and I congratulate everyone across the MinRes business who’s helped us reach this milestone.”
Recently, MinRes announced the sale of a 49 per cent stake in the haul road to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners for total expected proceeds of $1.3 billion.
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