Western Turner Syncline 2 PROJECT

Lorbrand carry idler frames and rollers on the 13 km overland conveyor that moves in-pit-crushed ore to the Greater Tom Price hub.

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PROJECT REFERENCE

Western Turner Syncline Phase 2 Overland Conveyor

Western Turner Syncline Phase 2 is a strategic expansion of Rio Tinto's Greater Tom Price iron ore hub, the birthplace of Western Australia's iron ore industry. Rather than build a new processing plant, Rio Tinto chose to crush new and existing deposits at WTS2 in-pit and convey the crushed ore 13 km to an existing transfer facility that feeds the Tom Price processing plant. Lorbrand supplied the conveyor frames and the steel and impact rollers.
Location Pilbara, Australia
Operator Rio Tinto Iron Ore
Lorbrand supply 2020
Industry Iron ore mining
WTS
WTS2 loadout station after welding
PROJECT DATA

Scale of the operation.

13 km
Overland Conveyor
~32 Mt/y
Production Rate
−3.5%
Mine-Gate GHG
A$1 billion
Capital Investment
COMPARISON

Why Western Turner Syncline 2 took a different route.

✕ Alternative

Expanded Road Haulage

The expansion alternative was an enlarged truck fleet hauling crushed ore by road, carrying roughly 3.5% higher mine-gate greenhouse-gas emissions across a mine sustaining ~32 Mt/y for up to 15 years.

✓ Selected

13 km Overland Conveyor

A 13 km overland conveyor carrying in-pit-crushed ore to the existing Tom Price transfer facility, chosen specifically to cut mine-gate GHG emissions by approximately 3.5% against the equivalent truck fleet, a significant lifetime CO₂ saving.

Western Turner Syncline Phase 2 sits about 35 km north-west of Tom Price in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore through Hamersley Iron. It draws Brockman-grade ore that feeds the Pilbara Blend. The Greater Tom Price hub is the birthplace of Western Australia's iron ore industry, which makes WTS2 a continuation of one of the state's foundational mining operations.
The decision to convey the ore was a defining choice of the project. Truck fleet haulage could have been used, but would have carried roughly 3.5% higher greenhouse-gas emissions, resulting in a significant total for a mine sustaining ~32 Mt/y for up to 15 years. The A$1 billion (≈US$749 million) investment was delivered with Mondium, the Monadelphous and Lycopodium joint venture, awarded a package of approximately A$400 million for the process plant, overland conveyor and non-process infrastructure, a benchmark Pilbara EPC scope.
LORBRAND SCOPE

Engineered for Western Turner Syncline 2.

Lorbrand supplied the conveyor frames and the steel and impact rollers for the 13 km overland flight: high-accuracy, belt-friendly carry idler frames built for the Pilbara heat and the high abrasion of run-of-mine iron ore.
FEA report extract of the high accuracy “belt friendly” overland carry idler frames
PROJECT OUTCOME

The overland conveyor cuts mine-gate greenhouse-gas emissions by approximately 3.5% against the equivalent truck fleet, a significant lifetime CO₂ saving on a mine sustaining ~32 Mt/y for up to 15 years. Lorbrand frames and rollers run on this flagship Rio Tinto growth project, which reached first ore in 2021.

— Western Turner Syncline 2 · 2020
Western Turner Syncline Conveyor
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