The Utah Point Berth Project involved the design of the dust suppression system for an iron ore stockpiling and exporting facility in Port Hedland. This was the first time this type of project was undertaken by NDY.
Ore is transported and stored at the stockpiling facility in 18 metres high by 1.4 km stockpiles until the required ship is at the wharf. The ore is then transported via a conveyor network to the wharf and loaded onto the waiting ship.
The project involved the design of an automated stockpile and dump point dust suppression system, the water supply for conveyor transfer stations, conveyor wash boxes, mobile reclaim hoppers, stackers and the shiploader dust suppression system.
The dust suppression system utilises a series of water cannons and sprinklers throughout the materials handling process that maintains dust extinction moisture levels and prevents windborne dust from affecting nearby towns. The system is fully automated via remote weather sensors, proximity sensors and solenoid actuated valves.
The control was integrated into the site control system.
The fire hydrant and dust suppression system pipework was integrated, eliminating the need for separate pipework and storage tanks. Due to the scale of the site, this reduction of pipework had a significant impact upon capital expenditure for the project. We believe that these two systems have not previously been combined in a similar application.
Spreadsheets were developed to model water usage on site, to size the water storage tanks and maximise the utilisation of recycled water. They were also adopted to minimise the required water input into the system, reducing the headwork’s charges.
Through the implementation of NDY’s innovative design solutions, the system could be optimised resulting in substantial cost savings for the client.
