Mineral Resources (MinRes) is on track to meet its long-term targets, despite a short-term revision in volume guidance due lower availability of road trains for haulage.
MinRes has revised its 2024–25 financial year (FY25) volume guidance for Onslow Iron to 7.8–8 million tonnes (Mt) on a 100 per cent basis (13.8–14.1Mt), slightly down from its previous estimate of 8.5–8.7Mt.
The adjustment reflects lower-than-expected contractor haulage availability and daily cycle times.
Despite these constraints, Onslow Iron is building momentum, as the project has shipped 1.7Mt to date in May, and is on track to reach 1.9Mt by month-end.
This is a 600,000-tonne (t) increase from April’s 1.3Mt total, representing a shipping run rate of 23Mt per annum.
Recent loading performance has been particularly strong, averaging 74,000t per day over the past week, with several days during May exceeding 80,000t and one peak day recording a milestone 100,000t.
This upward trend highlights the success of MinRes’ ramp-up strategy, with Onslow Iron remaining on schedule to achieve its nameplate capacity of 35Mt per annum in the first quarter of FY26.
Looking ahead, MinRes expects to ship between 2.3–2.6Mt in June, equivalent to 75,000t to 87,000t per day and a run rate of 28-31Mt per annum.
The arrival of the fifth transhipper, MinRes Peak, now in commissioning at the Port of Ashburton, along with its support tug, is set to further boost Onslow Iron’s shipping capacity and operational efficiency. The company’s fourth transhipper arrived on March 25, measuring 123m long and 36m wide.
The MinRes transhippers can hold 20,000t of ore to be distributed throughout the hold via a self-loading system. Each transhipper has a loading rate of 8000t per hour and an unloading rate of 6000t per hour.
Each transhipper has a shallow 7m draft to reduce its environmental footprint and associated costs.
Onslow Iron’s first three transhippers – MinRes Airlie, MinRes Coolibah and MinRes Montebello – arrived in 2024.
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