Lead miner Magellan Metals Ltd, a subsidiary of Canadian lead producer Ivernia Inc, has started a community information program in Fremantle, explaining their plans to ship 500 containers of lead per month through the port city.
Lead miner Magellan Metals Ltd, a subsidiary of Canadian lead producer Ivernia Inc, has started a community information program in Fremantle, explaining their plans to ship 500 containers of lead per month through the port city.
The information program is part of the company's application for government approval for the use of the facility, after bird deaths due to lead poisoning in Esperance resulted in the port's licence being revoked.
The company said in an announcement that the export of lead in shipping containers would provide "almost no risk" of fugitive dust spillage.
Magellan managing director Pat Scott said the containers would not need to be opened again until received by customers.
"If approved, the plan is to rail about 500 containers a month into Fremantle - the only major commercial port in WA at present able to handle safely and efficiently that volume of containers for multiple shipping lines," he said.
Magellan will ship the lead after loading, sealing and cleaning containers at its Magellan lead mine, near Wiluna, trucking them to Leonora and then being railed to Fremantle, via Kalgoorlie, Southern Cross and the Kewdale goods yard in Perth.
The full text of a company announcement is pasted below
Magellan Metals, owner of the world's largest pure lead mine near Wiluna in Western Australia, has initiated a community information program in the Fremantle area to explain and seek comment on its proposal to export lead concentrate in sealed shipping containers through the Port of Fremantle.
The information program is part of the company's application to the WA Government for approval to ship its product through the Port of Fremantle.
Containerised shipment means there is almost no risk of fugitive dust or spillage of concentrate during normal transport and holding operations. Previous bulk shipment through the Port of Esperance was stopped and mine production suspended following the discovery of lead contamination in Esperance.
Magellan's Managing Director, Mr Pat Scott, said today: "Magellan has resolved that the most prudent and feasible way forward is to load, transport and ship our concentrate in sealed steel shipping containers.
"The containers will not need to be opened again until received by Magellan's customers overseas.
"If approved, the plan is to rail about 500 containers a month into Fremantle - the only major commercial port in WA at present able to handle safely and efficiently that volume of containers for multiple shipping lines.
"The detailed proposal that we are putting to stakeholders in the Fremantle area has been developed by a team of leading environment experts, together with the Magellan operations team, and incorporates input from WA Government regulatory agencies.
"The proposal includes risk identification and avoidance measures and the use of an independent inspector to certify that outgoing containers and vehicles have been properly sealed and washed free of concentrate as they leave the minesite."
