C O M P A N Y O V E R V I E W
Roy Hill:
Inside the Making of Roy Hill
The $10 billion project will be the largest single feed proce plant in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, providing of economic and social benefits to the country. Barry Fitzg reveals the inner workings of the project as well as the com legacy for the future. Written by: Robert Spence Produced by: Vince Kielty
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he long awaited Roy Hill project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia is finally coming to fruition. Representing the next era in iron ore mining, the $10 billion project is expected to unlock a treasure trove of iron ore— 55 million tons per year—through an integrated mine, rail and port operation, while providing significant economic and social benefits in the process. The Roy Hill operation is scheduled to load its first shipment of iron ore for export later this year. The Inner Workings The goal for Roy Hill is to develop 39
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a vertically integrated pit-to-port business strategy utilizing a mine, rail and port system to efficiently mine, transport and export iron ore. Roy Hill’s independently owned and operated railway is a 344km standard gauge, single line, heavy haul railway built to transport 55 million tons of iron ore from the Roy Hill Mine to the dedicated Port stockyard facility, in the Boodarie Industrial Estate south of Port Hedland. “Five ore trains per day will operate from the Roy Hill Mine, each consisting of two diesel electric locomotives hauling 232 ore
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cars with a total payload of 31,132 tons of ore,” said Roy Hill CEO, Barry Fitzgerald. “Due to the undulating nature of the terrain to the north of the mine, for the first 30 kilometres of the journey to Port Hedland, each train will initially be assisted by rear located, manned banker locomotives.” The train system will include a wide array of state-of-theart technology, including a communications-based automatic train protection system that will provide improved safety for all track related activities and increased operational efficiencies.
“The adoption of this full vehicle tracking communication based technology is the first of its kind to be used in Australia and will set new benchmarks for iron ore railways in the Pilbara,” said Fitzgerald. After transportation via rail, Roy Hill will then export shipments through its world-class iron ore port facility at Port Hedland. The facility is capable of receiving, stockpiling, screening and exporting 55 million tons of iron ore, including the capacity to store more than 2.3 million tons. The company will be controlling all of this through its Remote w w w. r o y h i l l . c o m . a u
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SUPPLIER PROFILE
WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff is one of the world’s leading engineering and professional services consulting firms. We provide services to a broad range of government and private clients in both the economic and social infrastructure sectors. Our expertise includes full engineering services, environmental services, urban planning, architecture, advisory and programme and project management services. We have approximately 31,000 employees in more than 500 offices across 39 countries worldwide. Our Resources team draws together the expertise of our global business with a depth of skills, experience and resources that are seamlessly integrated to achieve your project’s vision. In addition to a wealth of experience delivering engineering solutions to the resources sector, we can provide tailored or fully integrated project, engineering, procurement, construction, contracts, commercial and planning management services. We are leading the way in providing effective project management services for clients undertaking major projects using an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) form of contract. Our core values embed integrity, innovation, team work, and sustainability in everything we do. Our organisation is committed to providing a safe environment for our employees and those we work with. We have world class SHEQ processes and systems enabling us to effectively manage major projects and rapidly respond to the dynamic environment with effective risk management solutions. This combined strength and our commitment to meeting our clients’ needs to get their products to market, position us with the skills, personnel, and experience needed for mining projects of virtually any size and complexity. Websites: www.wspgroup.com | www.pbworld.com
ROY HILL Operational Centre (ROC) in Perth. “The amalgamation of these business functions into a truly vertically integrated business provides a coordinated and integrated approach to the planning, operation and overall management of our corporate, mining, processing, rail and port operations,” said Fitzgerald. “The co-location of the corporate headquarters and ROC provides us with the ability to seamlessly integrate the operations, marketing and corporate services functions from end to end.” The ROC will consist of a demand chain team that is responsible for the operational planning, scheduling and execution of production, maintenance and supply activities across all areas of operations. Their focus will be collecting and validating data, reporting it in real-
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time to be used in operational decision making. “The ROC drives productivity and continuous improvement across the business, by focusing on how the individual functions of the business —operations, marketing and corporate—operate together most effectively as a whole,” said Fitzgerald. “This approach ensures that the business is maximizing throughput and quality conformance, as well as managing variation to effectively minimize operating costs.” Dream Team Along with developing the next generation of mining operations, Roy Hill intends on developing the next generation of employees. “We want to be a knowledgebased organization with a focus on innovative thinking that helps
“The Remote Operations Centre drives productivity and continuous improvement across the business, by focusing on how the individual functions of the business —operations, marketing and corporate—operate together most effectively as a whole.” – Barry Fitzgerald, CEO w w w. r o y h i l l . c o m . a u
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Powering Australia’s most visionary resource project The development of the Roy Hill Project is world-class, and Alinta Energy is proud to power the project that will energise Western Australia’s resource sector now and into the future.
At Alinta Energy, our challenge is to make energy more affordable, and we are excited to build on our strong history in WA by bringing a secure and competitive power solution to the Roy Hill Project. To supply the full power requirements of the Roy Hill Mine, Alinta Energy successfully completed the construction of a new high-voltage 121km transmission line from its Newman Power Station to the Roy Hill Mine – demonstrating a tailored approach to providing end-to-end power solutions.
Powering the Pilbara into the future The Roy Hill Project has opened doors for futher investment in power supply solutions in the Pilbara Region. With a diverse portfolio of assets that generates, distributes and retails energy, we are committed to continuing to deliver reliable energy solutions to Pilbara customers.
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SUPPLIER PROFILE
Alinta Energy has an established history in the Pilbara region through operation of the gasfired Newman and Port Hedland Power Stations since 2004. Alinta Energy is proud to build upon this history by supplying the full power requirements of the world class Roy Hill Mine under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA). Demonstrating our tailored approach to providing end-to-end power solutions, Alinta Energy successfully completed the construction and commissioning of a new 121km 220kV transmission line from Alinta Energy’s Newman Power Station to the Roy Hill Mine. In conjunction with the transmission line development, Alinta Energy also constructed a 6MW diesel power station at the Roy Hill Mine site as part of this project. The new transmission line infrastructure and diesel power station are both owned and operated by Alinta Energy. The project was delivered ahead of schedule and within budget. Construction of the project was approximately 12 months in duration after almost 18 months of extensive planning activities, encompassing permitting and tenure associated with the transmission line build. Alinta Energy recorded no lost time injuries throughout the 430,000 hours worked on the construction of the project, highlighting the strong safety performance of both our employees and contractors. Successful completion of the project included 23 major crossings of both public and private roads, high voltage infrastructure and rail. Alinta Energy consulted closely with key government stakeholders and landowners in order to obtain the necessary approvals in a very short timeframe for a project of this nature. Close collaboration with the Roy Hill Project delivery team, during both planning and construction phases, was also vital to the overall success of the project. “As gas fired generation has a significantly lower cost than diesel, the construction of the line not only brings a reliable, but also a competitive solution to additional customers in the region”, said Alinta Energy Executive Director for Power Generation, Ken Woolley. “The costs of operating in the Pilbara are high and energy is a significant proportion of these costs. Enabling the region’s commercial contributors to operate more efficiently maximises their profitability and, therefore, sustainability in the region. Alinta Energy’s successful completion of the transmission line creates exciting opportunities for additional customers in the Pilbara region who are seeking competitive and reliable power solutions, beginning with Roy Hill”, said Mr Woolley. Websites: www.alintaenergy.com.au
ROY HILL drive productivity and business improvements, so that we continue to deliver what we say we will deliver,” said Fitzgerald. “We are creating an organization that is free of bureaucracy, where efficiency through streamlined processes drives high performance and delivers cost effective, fit for purpose outcomes.” The company aims to cultivate a work environment that is conducive to creativity and collaboration, where people actively contribute and realize their full potential. “We want to cultivate a great work environment for our employees—a place where people are engaged and committed to achieving success. We want to be an organization where people feel proud about what they’ve done and about working for Roy Hill.”
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To ensure employees are properly trained and updated on new safety precautions, the company implements a wide range of training programs for new and old employees, as well as unique initiatives to help them get acclimated with the company. “We implement a range of training for our people starting with the induction training when they first join to introduce them to the vision, and values of the company and the behaviours we expect from our people. We run regular safety and operational capability and accreditation training and all staff attend a cultural awareness training program that is run in collaboration with the three traditional owner groups whose country the project operates in – the Nyiparrli, Palyku and Kariyarra people.”
“We want to be an organization where people feel proud about what they’ve done and about working for Roy Hill.” – Barry Fitzgerald, CEO
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// U N R I VA L L E D PA R T N E R S H I P
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ROY HILL Leaving A Legacy Another reason for the significance of the Roy Hill project is the immense economic and social benefits it brings to Australia. Construction of the massive project, including railway and port facilities, has created around 5,600 jobs at its peak, and ongoing operations will require 2,000 workers. The project has generated more than 39,000 direct and indirect jobs, including 600 people currently working directly for Roy Hill, which will increase to more than 2,000 when the project reaches full production.
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Another unique aspect of the Roy Hill project is their approach to reducing their environmental footprint. According to Fitzgerald, Roy Hill already has plans in place for rehabilitation and mine reclamation for the project. “The nature of the Roy Hill deposit means we will be mining from multiple shallow pits, this allows us to progressively backfill mined pits using the overburden waste material being removed as a result of mining from each pit. These mined out pits will then be rehabilitated using previously removed original topsoil, which facilitates better growth of
SUPPLIER PROFILE
Hitachi Construction Machinery (Australia) Pty Ltd (HCA) is a subsidiary of Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (HCM). Since the establishment of our parent company, HCM in 1949, it has evolved into a leading global manufacturer of Hitachi mining equipment, including both AC Drive mining trucks and hydraulic mining excavators. We are part of the global and diversified Hitachi Group, one of the world’s largest companies and leading manufacturer of new technologies across a range of industries—including consumer electronics, automotive and transportation systems, information and telecommunications, and power generation. At HCA, we deliver comprehensive sales, service and parts support to Australian customers across the mining, construction, quarry, forestry, material handling and recycling industries through a wholly-owned national branch network. We are the exclusive distributors of Hitachi, Bell and John Deere products in Australia—three of the most renowned and innovative Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) brands in the world. Website:
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ROY HILL indigenous flora. There is a twofold benefit to this rehabilitation method, it considerably reduces waste removal costs through shorter haul distances, but also once mining has been completed, we will have returned the landscape to its natural state leaving very little evidence of mining activities.” Roy Hill also plans to go the extra mile in terms of corporate social responsibility. In accordance with its values, the company is actively seeking to go beyond just the Roy Hill
Project to leave a lasting legacy in the communities in which it operates. “Our plan for leaving a positive legacy in the communities in which we operate is unique to the approach from others in the industry,” said Fitzgerald. “We have established the Roy Hill Community Foundation, a charitable trust established to focus on delivering education, training and employment, community development, business development and culture and arts programs to these communities.”
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Fitzgerald concludes, “The difference with the Roy Hill Community Foundation is that we have invited our contractors, business partners and suppliers working on the project to join us in leaving a lasting legacy in the Pilbara, by making monetary or in kind donations to the foundation. We believe that by working in partnership, we can make a significant difference by maximizing opportunities and addressing community issues that companies may not have the resources or expertise to tackle on their own. We have also introduced a high level of governance with our Foundation partner Samsung C&T and our platinum sponsors, Downer EDI, National Australia Bank and Hitachi having a direct influence on the programs the Roy Hill Community Foundation will implement.”
Company Information INDUSTRY
Mining HEADQUARTERS
Perth, Western Australia, Australia EMPLOYEES
Approx. 2000 at full production PRODUCTS/ SERVICES The Roy Hill Project is a 55 million ton per annum (Mtpa) iron ore mining, rail and port project being developed in West Australia’s Pilbara region. Situated approximately 115 kilometers north of Newman, Roy Hill is a world-class, low phosphorus, Marra Mamba iron ore deposit located in the Pilbara—one of the world’s premier iron ore provinces— and the only independent iron ore project with West Australian majority ownership.
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ROY HILL Address 5 Whitham Road Perth, Western Australia, Australia, 6105 Tel. +61 (0)8 6242 1000 Fax. +61 (0)8 6242 1200 info@royhill.com.au https://www.royhill.com.au