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South Australia Strives for a World-Class Deep Sea Export Facility

South Australia Strives for a World-Class Deep Sea Export Facility

Spencer Gulf Port Link Consortium plans to open the doorway for numerous mining companies to SA, writes Corrina Trimarchi.

The Port Bonython development will give a world-class export facility to South Australia, and will open the doorway for numerous mining companies. The ports and infrastructure corridors will become common-user facilities with several mining companies sharing the infrastructure.

Mining and Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the state wanted to avoid the bottlenecks that had stalled developments in Western Australia and Queensland. After a slow start, progress on the development of the proposed bulk commodities export facility at Stony Point, near Port Bonython on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, is finally picking up pace.

By according this project ‘major development status’ in March 2012, declaring the project to be of major environmental, social and economic importance to the State under section 46 of the Development Act 1993, the South Australian government provided critical impetus for its progress.

Acknowledging the significance of such facilities to not only the mining sector, but also to the economic growth of the state, South Australian Infrastructure Minister Patrick Conlon stated that “not only will this project reaffirm South Australia’s status as a global mining hub, but the economic benefits will reverberate across the state with the purpose-built port providing employment for approximately 400 people during its construction phase and ongoing local employment, with the ability to meet export demand of more than 50 million tonnes of product annually.”

The proposed development, at an estimated cost of up to $700 million, will incorporate a 17.5 kilometre railway spur, connecting to the existing line between Whyalla and Port Augusta, an onshore bulk ore handling and storage facility, as well as a 3 kilometre long jetty, reaching into deep water, with enclosed conveyors and a ship loader.

The jetty is designed to accommodate ‘Cape’ size ships, carrying up to 180,000 tonnes of cargo. Privately funded through the Spencer Gulf Port Link Consortium (SGPL), representing a combination of Australian and international interests in rail operations, investment, construction and mining, and operations logistics, the Port Bonython development represents a capital investment in critical infrastructure to support the continued growth of the state’s mineral industry.

MINING SOUTH AUS

The members of the Spencer Gulf Port Link Consortium are: 

  • Macquarie Bank
  • Flinders Ports
  • BIS Industrial Logistics
  • ARTC (The Australian Rail Track Corporation Ltd)
  • Leighton Contractors

Each member entity will take responsibility for the operational domain relevant to their specialisation (see Consortium operational flowchart below).

chart

Vincent Tremaine, Director of the Spencer Gulf Port Link Consortium and CEO of Flinders Ports, has emphasized “the necessity of such a deep sea export facility to not only the mining industry, but to the state of South Australia”, noting that, “whilst modest in comparison to the capacity of other ports operating around the nation, the Port Bonython development will enable export capacity in the region to double its current capacity of 24 million tonnes”.

With iron ore resources in South Australia estimated to total 6 billion tonnes, the proposed Port Bonython development offers the only suitable means of exporting it economically.  Mr Tremaine emphasized the critical need for the deep sea port as a means of instituting economies of scale in iron ore exports, stating that implementing these scale economies is an absolute necessity in the current iron ore export market. He envisions this development as a fundamental infrastructure investment for the future viability of the minerals export market in South Australia.

The independent Development Assessment Commission (DAC) has reviewed the development proposal and, on the 9th August 2012, issued guidelines that will inform the submission of an Environmental Impact Statement. These guidelines include an exhaustive list of precautionary environmental considerations that SGPL must address within its submission.

This comprehensive list categorically addresses the need to protect the unique marine ecology of the Spencer Gulf, in addition to an extensive list of other sustainability considerations, whilst still facilitating the development of such critical infrastructure for the growth of the South Australian minerals industry.

There has been vocal public opposition to the development from conservation advocates, articulating concerns that the increased sea traffic, with the attendant possibility of oil spills, has the potential to incur long term, irreversible damage to the vulnerable marine ecology of the Spencer Gulf.

However, Mr Tremaine has pledged the consortium’s commitment to applying and maintaining the highest possible environmental standards in this development, stating that the EIS process is in place to ensure that all possible environmental concerns are appropriately addressed, noting that “SGPL has also referred the project to the Commonwealth Government for consideration under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, as a further commitment towards transparency in the assessment of this project.” 

Mr Tremaine has further assured that “we will continue to work closely with the SA Government to better understand the local and cumulative impacts of this and other major infrastructure projects emerging in the Upper Spencer Gulf”.  The emphasis of the EIS process is to ensure that all possible environmental impacts are identified and mitigated, with the SGPL in no haste to expedite the project until all potential sustainability risks are appropriately accounted for.

It is indicative of the commitment of the consortium to proceed conservatively through the process that it has contracted Arup, an international design, engineering and environmental consultancy, to undertake the environmental impact assessment. With a reputation for facilitating sustainable developments with environmental integrity, Arup has contributed to the Australian structural landscape since 1963 and are highly qualified to address the very specific local context required for the Spencer Gulf port development. Details of the Environmental Impact Assessment will be made available for public comment upon completion, after which an assessment report will be prepared by the Minister for Infrastructure.

Port Bonython has been acknowledged by the South Australian government as the most appropriate location, with Infrastructure Minister Paul Conlon noting that “the location provides the most suitable option for the new port facility, being within an existing harbour able to cater for large ships, whilst providing land availability with access to rail infrastructure and its proximity to mining projects in the region.”

The project is envisaged as a prime opportunity to solidify South Australia’s position in the international minerals export market, representing a key economic strategy for the state, with Mr Tremaine noting that it will become “a world-class infrastructure development – one vital to the future prosperity of this state,”.

Estimating a construction phase of three years, with the potential for employment of approximately 400 workers during the process, the Port Bonython project offers a boost to the local construction industry, as well as the benefit of ongoing employment across industries such as transport, mining and logistics which it will stimulate once it is in operation.

Mr Tremaine suggests that even the nearby city of Whyalla, developed in anticipation of a much larger population than it currently boasts, will benefit from the development of the port, through an increase in employment opportunities, and the attendant  residential occupation, afforded by the Port Bonython project.

Whilst a specific timeframe has not been mandated for the submission of the EIS, the Port Bonython development is a priority for the continued growth of the burgeoning South Australian minerals industry and one that is predicted to facilitate greater prosperity for the state.

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