Buchanan Liberia Iron Ore Export Terminal
Client
NIRAS Ports and Maritime |
for |
Sable
Mining Africa |
Completion Date
January, 2014
Project Description
Sable Mining Africa (SMA)
is undertaking the development of the Nimba Iron Ore
Project in southeast Guinea.� The iron
ore will be railed via an existing 260km railroad to the Port of Buchanan,
Liberia.� This existing port, which is
seen in the aerial and photo below, is designed to accommodate Panamax vessels.� A
new, dedicated export facility will be constructed at the port.� As currently conceived, the system will
receive iron ore by rail and load Panamax size
vessels, which will transload the iron ore to Cape
size vessels at an offshore transshipment area.�
Operations will begin at a 3.0 MTPA level and increase to 10.0 MTPA over
some yet undefined time period.� Energy
Associates examined:
1.
the design basis for the project;
2.
a variety of design concepts for rail unloading,
stacking/reclaiming, and shiploading that could be
considered;
3.
transloading
options including different designs for self-unloading vessels;
4.
prepared a rough order-of-magnitude capital cost estimate;
5.
obtained preliminary technical and pricing information from
candidate, major equipment suppliers, including ThyssenKrupp Resource
Technologies (who was currently furnishing equipment to ArcelorMittal�s
adjacent iron ore port facility); and
6.
obtained preliminary technical and pricing information from CSL
for using an existing self-unloader from their fleet of ships and examined a
new Articulated Tug/Barge self-unloader per a design submitted by Bay
Engineering.