IronClad Mining Looks at Switching to Floating Harbour

By Joel ScanlonMay 4 2011

IronClad Mining Ltd had signed an agreement with Sea Transport Corporation to use a multi-user port facility concept developed by Sea Transport Corporation.

IronClad Mining made the announcement at the second day of the South Australian Resources & Energy Investment Conference in Adelaide. This will be the first multi user bulk shipping port facility that involves a floating harbour for the state.

The company expects to save $20/mt in cost as it switches to the floating harbour facility at Lucky Bay in Spencer Gulf for its Wilcherry Hill mining operations. The operational cost will also reduce from $65 /mt to $85 /mt as the iron ore will be transported to a warehouse at Lucky Bay directly. Cape sized vessels will be loaded from the floating harbour with a capacity of 150,000 tonnes or iron ore per ship.

The distance travelled by the iron ore from Wilcherry Hill to a ship would go down from 540 km to 154 km as it begins to use the Lucky Bay harbour as opposed to the current route followed to the Port Adelaide facility. Wilcherry is currently targeting mining 2 million tons of iron ore annually for the next two years. The expansion plans hope to see it raise its production to 10 million tons in three expansion phases.