Infrastructure

Slurry Pipeline

It is planned to transport the magnetite concentrate in slurry form by buried pipeline from the Southdown site into the Albany port area where it will be dewatered in a filter plant prior to stockpiling.

The proposed pipeline alignment (see Fig 6) is to be secured via registered easements which affect 47 freehold or leasehold landowners. Wherever possible the proposed pipeline alignment is sited across cleared land and along property boundaries.

In respect to road reserves, Unallocated Crown Land and other Crown Reserves negotiations with a variety of government agencies for pipeline access is ongoing and will be concluded once the freehold easement alignment is secured.


Figure 6: Proposed Slurry Pipeline Route

Power Supply

Grange will require a reliable power supply for the concentrator, slurry pipeline pumps, mine site facilities, concentrate filtration plant at Albany, port material handling facilities, and return waterline pumps.

Western Power has undertaken a study to evaluate the optimum network arrangements for the supply of electricity to the Southdown mine and concentrator. A new 220kV transmission line has been proposed. This line is expected to have a capacity of approximately 150MW, well in excess of the Project’s ultimate requirement of approximately 75MW. This power line will also add significantly to regional power infrastructure and is expected to improve power supply to many existing consumers.

Grange has contracted Western Power to obtain the easement for this transmission line and formal landowner and stakeholder consultation in respect to the easement alignment commenced in July 2006. A number of possible alignment solutions are currently being investigated. Consultation with potentially affected landowners and various other stakeholders is ongoing.

The Southdown Project will be classed as a contestable customer so Grange will be able to negotiate electricity supply terms and price from market participants. Grange has recently contacted potential power suppliers to update likely supply capacity and costs.

Water Supply

Significant effort has been undertaken to define process water solutions for the project. Process design work has determined that the annual make-up water requirement for 6.6 Mtpa magnetite concentrate production will be 2.7 Gigalitres (2.7 x 109 litres) per annum (approximately 85 litres/second).

Potential make-up water supply sources include:
  • Pit dewatering from groundwater and rainfall inflows;
  • On-site rain water runoff capture;
  • On/off-site groundwater extraction, and
  • Treated waste water from the Water Corporation’s Albany Tree Farm.

A Site-wide Water Balance Study and Water Management Plan undertaken for Grange’s Feasibility Study has identified that from year 5 of mining onwards pit dewatering and rain water runoff from impacted areas on site such as the waste dump, tailings storage facility and other mining affected areas could provide a significant amount of the project’s total water requirements.

The Water Corporation has advised that at least 5,000 Kilolitres/day (1.8 Gigalitres per annum) of treated waste water could be supplied to the project if required.

Albany Port

The Company continues to work closely with the Albany Port Authority (APA) in respect to the need to expand the port to meet the requirements of the Southdown operations. Work undertaken has included:
  • Completion of environmental studies required for the submission of the Albany Port Expansion Public Environmental Review (PER) which is a separate environmental assessment.
  • Under keel clearance modelling to ascertain the required channel depth for the likely ship type.
  • Two channel depths are being considered; 15.0m with average high tides to give a vessel loading of 15.8m and 16.0m with average high tides to give a vessel loading of 16.8m.
  • Identifying a preferred tenderer for the conduct of a Magnetometer Survey of the existing and proposed shipping channel within Princess Royal Harbour and King George Sound to determine the location of Unexploded Ordnance. The aim of this survey will be to identify within the survey area any Unexploded Ordnance fired from the old coastal defence batteries that operated up until the 1960’s or that were dumped at sea after the end of World War II. The survey will be completed before the commencement of dredging for the port expansion.
  • Design of the seawall at berth 7.
  • Calling for Expressions of Interest for the design and construction of berth 7 and shiploader.