The Esperance Port Authority's decision to ban shipments of fine lead concentrate, after traces of lead and nickel were found in rainwater tanks in the region, has yet to affect other ports in the state.
The Esperance Port Authority's decision to ban shipments of fine lead concentrate, after traces of lead and nickel were found in rainwater tanks in the region, has yet to affect other ports in the state.
Department of Planning and In-fra-structure freight adviser, Mark Brownell, said it was too early to draw any conclusions from the Esperance situation.
“The feeling is that the examination has yet to conclude and is yet to arrive at any firm recommendations about the source of the problem and how it will be dealt with,” he said.
“The other regional ports, to the extent that they’re handling the [lead and nickel] products, are watching to see what transpires at Esperance before initiating any particular action.”
Mr Brownell said that, while dust was an issue when handling bulk mineral products, WA ports had significant safety systems in place.
“There have been considerable advances in addressing dust issues at all of our ports,” he said. “A number of ports have put in place enhanced dust-control measures. Esperance has been something of a role model, to date.”
Nickel and lead products are currently exported from five of the 16 ports operating in Western Australia.
Of the eight port authority-operated ports in WA, only Esperance, Geraldton and Fremantle export lead or nickel products, while non-port authority Wyndam and Derby are also export points.
Fremantle exports both nickel briquettes and nickel matte for BHP Billiton Nickel West, sourced from the company’s Kwinana refinery, and Minara Resources.
Esperance is the only port in WA to export lead carbonate, sourced from Magellan Metals, although the company announced this week that it would consider exporting from another port if forced to continue stockpiling concentrate at its mine near Wiluna.
LionOre Mining International and Jubilee Mines also export nickel concentrate in bulk through Esperance.
A relatively small volume of lead sulfide is exported from Geraldton, by gold miner Oxiana Golden Grove.
Derby port is set to recommence exporting lead next month, once Canadian-based miner Teck Cominco’s Lennard Shelf project is up and running.
The project, which was formerly operated by Western Metals, will produce both lead sulfide and zinc, to be exported in a damp form. The company aims to be exporting concentrates by late April or early May.
Nickel is also exported from Wyndam, by Sally Malay’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Kimberley Nickel.
The company exports nickel in a concentrate form, using a concentrate storage facility leased from the port authority.
Nickel West’s $1.8 billion Ravens-thorpe nickel operation, which is forecast to be online in the first quarter of calendar year 2008, is intending to export from Esperance port, although the nickel product will be fully containerised on the mine site before being transported by truck to the port.
Purpose-built container handling facilities have been constructed to load the containers by crane, with the product to be shipped to Townsville, Queensland.
The company ceased regular shipment of nickel concentrate from Esperance in 2005.
Another project being planned is Heron Resources’ jump-up dam nickel project, near Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
The project is expected to be online by 2010, with the containerised product to be exported from either Esperance or Fremantle.
Meanwhile, the Oakajee port and rail project, to be built north of Geraldton, will handle mainly iron ore.
Yilgarn Infrastructure is one of three groups to have submitted plans for the project, under the state government’s consultative process.
A company representative told WA Business News that iron ore dust at the port was an issue that was being considered as a matter of routine.
