No more stage fright at Qld coal port

The addition of a new 416.5m wharf, a 7200tph coal loader and new conveyor system at a total cost of $115m has taken port capacity from 44.5Mtpa to 55.5Mtpa.

Since the Queensland government privatised terminal, selling it to Prime Infrastructure in August 2001, a new master plan has been prepared for the port.

This recognises the traditional government approach of building large stages extensions at coal ports and then waiting for the demand to fill them is not the most cost effective way forward.

For Prime Infrastructure - and for the mines themselves that would be paying upfront for unused capacity - the costs are high.

Instead, the new master plan calls for a series of up to 18 smaller stages to be implemented as demand builds up to an eventual capacity of 74Mtpa.

So instead of a large Stage 7 expansion there would be smaller 7A and 7B expansions that will minimise capital expenditure.

The originally planned Stage 7, for example, called for a new berth 4 and dredging. Now, Stage 7A would only require upgrading of conveyors, stackers, ship loader booms, coal moisture content control and some minor civil works.

General manager, operations Greg Smith tells Australian Mining that an essential part of the new plan is close discussion with the coal miners of the Bowen Basin about future demands.

He expects this contact will flag necessary increments to capacity some 12 months out, which should be sufficient time for most increments to be implemented.

The key to this is to smooth the Goonyella Supply Chain from mine to port to ship. Although there are some recalcitrant mines that still treat the port as an extension of the mine stockpiles, Smith says almost are supportive of the basic thrust of the new master plan.

Dalrymple Bay handles 22 different coal products and there is an increasing demand for these to be blended to meet specific customer’s demands.

If this blending has to be done from existing coal stockpiles at port, then the throughput of the whole terminal slows down because of yard machine conflict.

On the other hand, if a system could be initiated where coal only leaves the mine when a vessel is nominated, then the trains containing the various coals to be blended could be scheduled to arrive together, so that the coal could be blended at the in-loading system onto a specific cargo assembly area.

The blend would then go straight to a specific stockpile and thence to the vessel.

This would mean some mines might have to extend their own stockpile areas and train loading equipment.

There is also the importance of involving Queensland Rail, and any private rail operators, to ensure compatibility and that there is no net loss of capacity.

Many mine operators have commented privately to Australian Mining that the Qld government, through Queensland Rail and the period when it operated the port, regarded it as a milk cow. There was no incentive to maximise operational flexibilities.

Increased emphasis at Dalrymple Bay is now being placed on controlling dust emissions and noise. Plans are underway to secure a supplementary water supply to control dust, while all future equipment and upgrades will involve assessment of potential noise increases and the potential for using treatments such as low noise conveyor idlers, low noise drives and sound-absorbing materials.

For the future, the Dalrymple Bay terminal believes that it does not need to increase the terminal footprint for immediately foreseen expansions to take capacity to 73Mtpa.

Dalrymple Bay services mines not operated by the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, which ships through the neighbouring Hay Point Services terminal.

These mines are Blair Athol, Riverside, German Creek, Oaky Creek North Goonyella, Burton, Moranbah North, Foxleigh and Coppabella.

Feasibility studies are being conducted into the Moorvale mine, south of Coppabella, which is also expected to export through Dalrymple Bay.