Preparing the next sweep at Karara
Our team at Karara - a site situated 200km south-east of Geraldton WA and where we provide major tailings management and operational handling services for Karara Mining - is gearing up for the commencement of Sweep 10, the next major sweep for Australia’s only mobile dry Tailings Storage Facility (TSF).
The TSF mobile conveyer stacking system provides a highly effective method of dry stacking ore waste and compared to wet tailing facilities, dry tailings deliver significant environmental credentials, operational efficiencies and cost competitiveness.
The upcoming Sweep 10, scheduled to begin in early 2023 will see the mobile conveyer stacking system move from the current radial sweep (Sweep 9) to a linear sweep that will measure an area of 1.2km long and 300m wide. It will likely take 18 months and by the end, approximately 4.7million cubic metres of ore waste will have been stacked.
Sweep 10 is also significant for an additional reason. Ahead of its commencement, the Bis team will be replacing the full 2.5km extendable/moveable conveyor (called CV 103) on the TSF mobile stacking conveyer.
The mobile TSF has been operational at the iron ore production facility for nearly a decade. It operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is supported by Bis’ fleet of specialised earthmoving equipment.
