Mining and Heavy Industries

World first for thyssenkrupp in the Pilbara

thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions (Australia) has been awarded one of the largest fabrication and construction projects the company has ever handled in Western Australia.

In a contract valued at around A$250 million, thyssenkrupp will design, supply, construct, and commission large-scale stockyard machines for the BHP South Flank iron ore project.

thyssenkrupp will supply two stackers that deposit iron ore into stockyards for loading, and a reclaimer for loading the ore into trains for transport to Port Hedland. The machines will have a capacity of 20,000 tonnes per hour, making them the largest rail mounted stackers and reclaimer in the world.

The design of the machines incorporates the latest Australian design standard requirements, and technology improvements centred on safe construction, operation and maintenance activities.

“This is a very large deal for thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions and we are grateful to BHP for the confidence they have once again shown us,” Ben Suda told ABHR.

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The company’s head of sales said “We have a solid track record delivering stockyard equipment like this to BHP which has allowed us to demonstrate that thyssenkrupp is a low risk and reliable supplier.

“Unlike much of our competition, thyssenkrupp maintains an engineering centre of excellence for this type of equipment right here in Perth.  This along with our service support centres in Perth (Henderson) and the Pilbara (Port Hedland), and our extensive use of local subcontractors, is an advantage,” he said, as it allows interaction within the same time zone and demonstrates long term commitment to mining in the region.

The South Flank project is targeting first ore in 2021. Generating roughly 80 million tonnes of output per year, it will fully replace production from the existing Yandi mine which is reaching the end of its economic life. The project is expected to create many opportunities for Western Australian suppliers.

Andrew Howie, CEO thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions (Australia), said, “This project highlights our capability to deliver major engineering and construction projects in Western Australia. We are focused on providing opportunities for local businesses and communities and it is exciting to see our relationships with local clients and partners continue to grow.

Mr Suda confirmed, “thyssenkrupp will be manufacturing these machines in Western Australia utilising both internal resources and local subcontractors.”

The industrial solutions business area of thyssenkrupp partners with industry to provide engineering, construction and service of industrial plants and systems. Based on more than 200 years of experience, it supplies tailored, turnkey plants and components for customers in the chemical, fertiliser, cement, mining and steel industries.

For this project, thyssenkrupp worked closely with BHP to ensure the South Flank stackers and reclaimer are world class and designed to meet the company’s meticulous standards.

“Whilst this is a new design tailored for the production requirements for South Flank, the core design elements are based on proven operations developed through decades of experience delivering stockyard equipment all over the world, said Mr Suda.

“This ensured that whilst these machines will be largest capacity in the world, BHP can have the confidence that the design elements are proven and based on a massive global installed base.”

thyssenkrupp has tendered for other packages however its key focus was the stackers and reclaimer.

“Whilst I can’t go into detail as to what else we tendered for, our range includes a large assortment of minerals processing, materials handling and other mining system equipment,” said Mr Suda. “As such, we will typically try to be involved as a competitive tenderer anywhere that we can add value in these equipment spaces.”

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