According to Mining News Pro - The 10 modules for South Flank’s rail-mounted stacker and reclaimer arrived in Port Hedland last week and are critical to South Flank achieving first ore in 2021.

They weigh in at 1594 tonnes and are part of $110 million worth of fabrication being completed locally by 540 Western Australian workers on the Kwinana strip.

“It’s awesome to be here at Port Hedland receiving the big kit critical to South Flank production, and it’s (all) made in Western Australia by Western Aussies,” BHP logistics specialist Sarah Killeen said.

The stackers and reclaimer built by thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions are the largest of their kind in the world and will each have the capacity of 20,000 tonnes per hour.

BHP began construction at South Flank in July 2018 and hit a halfway point to completion last October.

Rail construction is scheduled to begin at the end of January.

Once completed, the South Flank project will be one of the largest iron ore operations in the world and it will be the first smart mega-mine to open in Australia.

The South Flank project will replace the Yandi mine, which is reaching the end of its economic life.

It will engage a workforce of more than 9000 people over its 25 year-plus mine life.