Braemar Infrastructure
Braemar Infrastructure Pty Ltd (BIPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Lodestone Mines, is planning to develop multi-purpose infrastructure that will provide a low cost – high volume export solution for iron ore mined in the Braemar Region.
The total infrastructure package includes railroad loading and unloading facilities, roads, electricity and water, port facilities and other support facilities - all to make possible the commercial mining and processing of the magnetite resources of the Braemar Iron Province.
The geographical spread of the infrastructure is approximately +300km from export ship loading facilities in Spencer Gulf to the town of Olary. From Olary it can be extended across the NSW border to Broken Hill if required.
Lodestone will ensure the infrastructure developed for Olary Flats Project and other projects maximises positive social, environmental and economic impacts.
Components
1 / Road, railroad and slurry pipeline transportation systems;
2 / Ore processing plants at the mine and ship loading facilities at Port Adelaide, and in future located in Spencer Gulf, where large exports vessels (i.e. greater than 180,000 dwt) can receive the iron ore concentrates for export
3 / A transmission line from the existing South Australia electricity network to the Braemar Region
4 / A process water supply network for mining and processing of the ores from the Braemar Iron formation;
5 / A control, maintenance and operations base in country SA; and
6 / A marine supply base in proximity to the future port.
Expansion Plans
From a start up tonnage in the range of 1.5 million tonnes per year, it is envisaged that Olary Flats will be expanded in stages to 25 million tpy, as outlined below
Starting from the port end of the project.
Shipping of Concentrates to Market
We will transition from geared bulk carriers to larger cape size bulk carriers loaded from our own port or from barges via our own high volume trans-loading system.
Concentrate Delivery
Rail to Port
Railroad operations will transition to appropriate high volume loading and unloading equipment, maximum capacity wagons, a rail spur built from Olary town to Olary Flats and a rotary car dumper adjacent to a port.
Concentrate Process Plant at Mine
The process plant (financed as much as possible with export credits) will consist of Loesche Vertical Roller Mills for dry grinding in a single step from 100mm to liberation size. To make the magnetite concentrate we have a choice between dry magnetic separation and wet magnetic separation followed by hydro separation.