Downer EDI has signed a $450 million contract with Australian iron ore company Fortescue Metals for mining and maintenance services at Eliwana iron ore mine as it prepares to go fully autonomous.
Located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, it is the second Eliwana project to be signed by Downer after the first bulk earthworks contract with work underway in late 2019.
Under the agreement, Downer will complete early works operations over two years as the mine site is established.
After the initial two-year term, the operations will transition to Fortescue’s autonomous mining fleets.
Downer will remain at the mine site and provide maintenance services for a further three years.
“Downer has a long-standing relationship with Fortescue and we are very pleased to be expanding our services,” Downer chief executive Grant Fenn says.
“We are proud to be supporting the development of the Western Hub and the communities that will benefit from the mine.”
The Eliwana iron ore and rail project is a $1.27b development with an estimated annual production rate of 170 million tons through its anticipated mine life of 20 years.
It involves the construction of an open-pit mine, a dry ore processing facility with a capacity of 30 million tons per annum and a 143km rail line.
Fortescue expects to be producing the first iron ore from the site in December 2020. The project is expected to create 1100 construction and 650 operational jobs.
Autonomous truck fleet milestone
Fortescue autonomous haul trucks have moved more than one billion tonnes of material across 33.5 million kilometres, with the milestone marked in September last year.
The company was the first in the world to deploy Caterpillar’s autonomous haulage technology (AHS) on a commercial scale at the Solomon Hub operations in 2012.
Since then the fleet has expanded with a total of 175 trucks to be converted to autonomous technology by 2020.
Fortescue will be the first iron ore company in the world to have a fully autonomous haulage operation.
“Our autonomous fleet has not only moved more than one billion tonnes of material, it has also delivered a 30 per cent improvement in productivity and reflects our commitment to increasing operational efficiency through industry leading technology and innovation,” Fortescue chief executive Elizabeth Gaines says.
“Importantly, the introduction of AHS technology has led to improved safety outcomes for our team members through reduced interaction between heavy equipment and people in mining areas having safely travelled over 33.5 million kilometres.
“As we expand our autonomous haulage fleet, our focus remains on ensuring that our workforce is prepared for the changing industry landscape through our training and redeployment program which has successfully transferred or upskilled employees to new roles across the business, resulting in no forced redundancies,” Gaines says.
