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Nathan River Resources – Roper Bar Iron Ore Project

Project Overview

Nathan River Resources (NRR) has entered into an agreement with TSA for the provision of transhipment services relating to the Roper Bar Iron Ore Project in the Northern Territory.

The Project includes an open cut mining operation, haul roads, barge loading facility, tug and barge operation, ship loading transhipment and will produce around 2 million tonnes per annum of ore over a 2-3 year period.

Iron Ore from the project is suitable as a high-grade direct shipping product. Ore is transported by barge to the transhipment site, approximately 18 nautical miles offshore and loaded into ocean going vessels for shipping to customers.

Ocean going vessels of 60,000 tonnes are loaded at the transhipment anchorage sites. Barges are loaded and Iron Ore is transported to OGV’s 24 hours per day with barges having a capacity of approximately 4,500 tonnes to meet production volumes.

Scope of Work

During project development stage, TSA was contracted to assist in the establishment of the Port which included the procurement, maintenance, and commissioning of the new and existing marine infrastructure and port assets. TSA also developed the suite of marine safety and operational management plans and conducted hydrographic surveys of the ship anchorage locations and barging channel. This all required significant liaison with the relevant marine authorities, port authorities, and NRR to ensure suitable, fit for purpose and compliant marine facilities and management plans were in place on time and within budget.

Now in operation, TSA is contracted to provide transhipment services until late  2022, which will extend a further year if the project continues beyond that time. TSA utilises a fleet of tugs and barges to transfer ore from NRR’s Bing Bong Loading Facility to Ultramax geared bulk ore carriers anchored in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

In addition to product loading, stevedoring and tug and barge transhipment operations, TSA also provides pilotage and loadmaster services, and manages routine maintenance of marine and port assets for Nathan River Resources.

TSA’s partnership with NRR from the initial project development stage ensured that a cost effective and fit-for-purpose transhipment solution was devised and implemented. This has been critical to the success of the project and TSA is now the primary contractor for all shiploading operations on behalf of Nathan River Resources.

This project demonstrates further, TSA’s proven capability and track record in delivering safe, reliable, and efficient tug and barge transhipment operations in remote locations.