Plans approved for sub-sea tunnel linking Finucane Island and Port Hedland port

3/8/95  

The State Government has approved plans for BHP to proceed with a $85 million sub-sea tunnel linking Finucane Island and Port Hedland port.

In the Pilbara today, Premier Richard Court said the tunnel - a first of its kind in the State - would link the two sides of Port Hedland Harbour and would carry iron ore to bulk loading berths in the Port's main channel.  It would also supply iron ore to BHP's hot briquette iron (HBI) plant to be built nearby.

"This is the first approval linked to BHP's hot briquette iron plant, which itself heralds the beginning of a new era of iron ore processing in Western Australia," Mr Court said.

The Premier said the construction of the tunnel was further proof of the unprecedented resources development boom now underway in the Pilbara.

"BHP's commitment to the Port Hedland facility underlines the increasing importance of the region to WA's economy," he said.

The Port Hedland Harbour Tunnel will serve to increase the capacity of the Nelson Point iron ore loading facility by making far better use of the mid-channel Finucane shiploader, as well as directly supplying fine iron ore from Nelson Point to the HBI/DRI plant.

The tunnel will allow the smaller ships, now loaded at Nelson Point, to be loaded at Finucane Island with ore taken through the tunnel. This will free-up valuable dock space at Nelson Point for larger vessels, increasing the efficiency of the port.

The project involves boring a one kilometre-long, concrete-lined tunnel under the harbour. The 4.3 metre-wide bore would contain a 1.8 m wide conveyor capable of moving 10,000 tonnes of lump ore per hour.

From mid-1997, the Finucane end of the conveyor will link with an overland conveyor to feed iron ore to BHP's $900 million hot briquette iron plant, announced last month, about 7.2 km south of Finucane Island.

The tunnel will be lit, drained, ventilated and fire-protected and at sufficient depth to allow future dredging of the channel to meet draught requirements for the proposed wharf south of the Finucane Island berth.

To minimise the risk of airborne dust arising from the handling process, the facility will include a series of fine water sprays, and the tunnel's ramped entry portals will be covered and protected from prevailing wind.

Construction is expected to take 20 months and will employ a peak labour force of 120 personnel - about 50 for tunnelling operations and 70 for materials handling.

Initial work will include minor land reclamation near the Nelson Point pier, to permit the construction of the tunnel portal and provide tunnel access.

The main tunnelling program will take place over the winter of 1996, and the conveyor is expected to be in operation by February 1997.