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Australia
South Flank Mine

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 Location:
290 km S from Port Hedland, Western Australia, Australia

  Regional Office:
125 St Georges Terrace
Perth
Western Australia, Australia
6000
Phone  ...  Subscription required
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  • Overview
  • Owners
  • Geology
  • Mining
  • Processing
  • Production
  • Reserves
  • Fleet
  • Personnel
  • Filings & News

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Overview

StageProduction
Mine TypeOpen Pit
Commodities
  • Iron Ore
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Processing
  • Crush & Screen plant
Mine Life25 years (as of Jan 1, 2021)
South Flank sustaining project in Western Australia achieved first ore in May 2021 and is expected to enhance our product mix in FY2022.
Latest NewsClough construction plays its part at South Flank     November 16, 2021


Owners

Source: p. 200,201,232
CompanyInterestOwnershipInvestor's Info
Mitsui Iron Ore Corporation Pty Ltd. 7 % Indirect
ITOCHU Minerals & Energy of Australia Pty Ltd. 8 % Indirect
BHP Group Ltd. 85 % Indirect
BHP Billiton Minerals Pty Ltd. (operator) 85 % Indirect
BHP 85%, Mitsui Iron Ore Corporation 7%, ITOCHU Minerals and Energy of Australia 8%.

Deposit Type

  • Banded iron formation


Summary:

The Pilbara bioregion, where the Proposal (Mining Area C/South Flank) is located, is situated in the south-eastern comer of the Pilbara Craton. The cratonic basement comprises Archaean granite-greenstone and is unconformably overlain by the late Archaean to Early Proterozoic deposits of the Hamersley Basin. The Hamersley Basin can be divided into three stratigraphic groups: the Fortescue, Hamersley and Turee Creek groups. Of these groups, the Fortescue and Hamersley groups outcrop in the immediate area Mining Area C.

The Hamersley Group is seen throughout the Hamersley Basin and forms the outcrop of Mining Area C. It is a sedimentary sequence comprising banded iron formations (BIFs), shales and dolomites with minor felsic volcanics and intrusive dolerite dykes and sills. The group contains both the Brockman and Marra Mamba Iron formations, which together host most of the known major iron ore deposits in the Pilbara region. The six lowermost formations of the Hamersley Group that exist within the area are listed below in order of increasing age:

1. Weeli Wolli Formation.

2. Brockman Iron Formation. Ore mineralisation from the Packsaddle Range deposits is contained within the Brockman Iron Formation, composed of a sequence of interbedded Banded Iron Formation, shales, siltstones and cherts. The four members comprising of the formation are:
- Yandicoogina Shale Member (shale and BIF);
- Joffre Member (BIF with minor shale bands);
- Whaleback Shale Member (interbedded shale, chert and BIF); and
- Dales Gorge Member (interbedded BIF and shale).

3. Mount McRae Shale (graphitic and chloritic shales interbedded with BIF). The Mount McRae Shale (~30 m thick) consists of alternating bands of black carbonaceous shale and chert and is commonly capped with pyritic chert bands. The Mount McRae Shale forms the basal unit to the ore horizons in the Brockman Iron Formation and contains a limited enriched ore zone. BHP Billiton Iron Ore informally subdivides this lithology into five units based on lithology and pyrite content. Several zones within the unit contain abundant pyrite nodules, thus, the formation is commonly regarded as a significant AMD risk throughout the Pilbara region.

4. Mount Sylvia Formation (shale, dolomite and BlF bands).The Mount Sylvia Formation (~2.5 Ma) has a thickness of ~50 m in the vicinity of the town of Newman, WA, and consists of three BIFs separated by interlayered shale and dolomite as well as small amounts of chert.

5. Wittenoom Formation. The Wittenoom formation is located stratigraphically above and is younger than (2.6 – 2.5 Ma) the Marra Mamba Formation. The Wittenoom Formation has been deeply eroded in the development area and is mostly covered by Tertiary Detritals. The formation is predominantly comprised of calcareous and manganiferous shales, cherts and dolomite and includes the following members comprising:
- Bee Gorge Member (calcareous shale and dolomite);
- Paraburdoo Member (dolomite – karstic in part); and
- West Angela Member (manganese-rich shale with minor BIF and chert bands).

The South Flank project will be the major contributor to a material increase in WAIO Total Marra Mamba Ore Reserves.
he South Flank project will be the major contributor to a material increase in WAIO Total Marra Mamba Ore Reserves.

6. The Marra Mamba Iron Formation consists of:
· The lowermost Nammuldi Member (approximately 80 m thick) which includes thick bedded, poddy cherty BIF interbedded with thin shales.
· The MacLeod Member (approximately 75 m thick) which includes BIF, cherts and carbonates with numerous interbedded shales.
· The upper Mount Newman Member (approximately 65 m thick) which includes podded BIF with interbedded carbonates and shales. The Member has been sub-divided by BHP into three sub- members based upon shale band content to allow for detailed modelling and estimation; lower N1, central N2 and upper N3. Iron ore mineralisation within Marra Mamba hosted deposits occurs as either martite-goethite or martite-ochrous goethite formed primarily by supergene enrichment processes. The Mount Newman Member is the main mineralised horizon within the formation although lesser amounts of mineralisation can be found in the Nammuldi and MacLeod Members and within the overlying West Angela Member shales of the Wittenoom Formation.


Mining Methods

  • Truck & Shovel / Loader


Summary:

Mining at South Flank will be undertaken utilising conventional open-cut mining for iron ore. Campaign mining involves drilling, blasting, and categorisation of blasted material into iron ore or waste rock. Iron ore will be extracted from the three South Flank deposits - Highway, Vista Oriental and Grand Central.

By September 2023, the entire fleet of 41 Komatsu 930E-5 haul trucks at South Flank will have been converted for autonomous operation, along with about 180 other pieces of equipment that support mining operations including excavators, dozers, front-end loaders, water trucks and site vehicles.


Crushing and Grinding
Flow Sheet: Source
Crusher / Mill TypeModelSizePowerQuantity
Gyratory crusher ....................... Subscription required 2
Cone crusher ....................... Subscription required 4

Summary:

The two primary crushing stations will each have a name plate capacity of 40Mtpa increasing the Mining Area C processing capacity to 150Mtpa.

Secondary crushing building containing four secondary crusher bays (Metso MP1250s).


Processing

  • Crush & Screen plant

Flow Sheet: Subscription required

Summary:

Ore from the South Flank via Vista Oriental (PC1) and Grand Central North (PC2) will be processed through two primary crushing (PC) facilities, each with a nameplate capacity of 40Mtpa. The two primary crushing stations (PC1 and PC2) will have a dual truck dump apron located at the top of a mechanically stabilised earth wall designed to accept ultra-class mining trucks of up to 363t capacity. Each primary crusher will have a nameplate capacity of 40Mtpa. The mining trucks will feed into the Run of Mine (ROM) bin located over a gyratory crusher that will crush the iron ore to a -250mm top size. The crusher will discharge to a surge vault directly beneath. An apron feeder draws ore from the surge vault and loads the discharge conveyor, which feeds onto the overland conveyor (OLC) system.

Each the primary crushing facility includes:
- Rock catchers, truck dump slabs and anchor blocks;
- Primary crushing building including rock breakers;
- Dust suppression (fogger ........


Production:

CommodityUnitsAvg. Annual (Projected)
Iron Ore Mt 80
All production numbers are expressed as lump & fines.


Reserves at June 30, 2018:
A single cut-off grade was applied in WAIO per deposit ranging from 50-58%Fe.

WAIO – Cut-off grades used to estimate Ore Reserves range from 50–62%Fe for all material types.

CategoryTonnage CommodityGrade
Proven 360 Mt Iron 62.4 %
Probable 1,320 Mt Iron 61.5 %
Proven & Probable 1,680 Mt Iron 61.7 %
Measured 700 Mt Iron 62.2 %
Indicated 1,650 Mt Iron 61.1 %
Inferred 5,380 Mt Iron 59.7 %
Total Resource 7,730 Mt Iron 60.2 %


Heavy Mobile Equipment:
HME TypeModelSizeQuantityRef. Date
Excavator ....................... Subscription required 600 t ....................... Subscription required Apr 6, 2022
Truck (haul) ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Jan 12, 2022
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Mine Management:

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 27, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 27, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 27, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 27, 2021
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Staff:

Total WorkforceYear
Subscription required 2021

Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
Other 2022
Other 2022
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
Other 2018
Press Release 2018
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

News:

NewsDate
Clough construction plays its part at South Flank November 16, 2021
BHP launch of South Flank creates world’s largest iron ore hub May 20, 2021
BHP enters final quarter of South Flank development August 18, 2020
BHP advances South Flank project construction January 14, 2020
Komatsu strikes BHP deal for 41 South Flank autonomous trucks September 5, 2019
Primero secures South Flank contract for world’s largest balance machines August 27, 2019
Fenner Dunlop receives conveyor contract at South Flank April 2, 2019
Monadelphous builds $212m South Flank contract portfolio March 29, 2019
Civmec contract at South Flank to create up to 80 jobs February 28, 2019
Monadelphous contract at BHP’s South Flank to create 400 jobs February 19, 2019
BHP hands out South Flank contract to Clough February 19, 2019
BHP awards $250m South Flank contract to Thyssenkrupp November 29, 2018
Primero bolstered by contract win at South Flank November 16, 2018
Work starts at BHP’s South Flank project July 30, 2018

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