Iron Bridge

The Iron Bridge Mine is a magnetite mine located 145km south of Port Hedland in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, and is a joint venture between Fortescue and Formosa Steel. It encompasses the North Star, Eastern Limb and Glacier Valley magnetite iron ore deposits.

DBM Vircon’s Scope of Work:

The Iron Bridge Project included the construction of a new process plant, including a wet and dry plant; non-process infrastructure; slurry and return water pipelines; raw water pipelines; and concentrate handling facilities.

DBM Vircon delivered the steel modeling for the dry plant, accounting for 58% of the overall steelwork at 25,250T. The dry plant consisted of 2 primary grinding, 2 secondary crushing facilities, course ore stockpile, tertiary crushing, 2 dry screening plants, 2 air classifying plants, 24 conveyors and associated transfer stations and infrastructure. Modular construction was a key feature, with 640 modules organised into 82 design work packs of varying sizes.

Due to the enormous amount of steel required, fabrication was completed both onshore at multiple Australian facilities, and offshore in China. DBM Vircon catered for this within its delivery by providing deliverables to suit each fabrication team, including fabricator specific data and deliverables, and also dual language deliverables using Chinese text to improve the efficiency of communication.

To mitigate potential construction challenges and optimize efficiency, DBM Vircon actively addressed constructability and erectability challenges during the early design stages with preliminary design information to avoid possible subsequent rework and onsite inefficiencies.

Given the project’s highly modularised nature, careful coordination between modules was essential. Additionally, all deliverables were meticulously interfaced with services and vendor equipment. To further streamline the delivery process, a subassembly approach was employed.

Project Highlights & Challenges:

Global Collaboration: DBM Vircon effectively coordinated across its Perth, Manila, and Chennai offices, delivering over 440,000 hours on the project, leveraging a team of internal 240 members as well as 124 subcontracting personnel, to deliver high-quality detailing services. The team provided Design Assist and Detailing services using advanced software tools like Tekla Structures, Advanced Steel, and Navisworks.

Integrated Collaborative Delivery: The project followed a collaborative approach, working closely with Hatch, Multiplan and Mechwest, ensuring efficient communication and execution across all stakeholders.

The Iron Bridge Project highlights DBM Vircon’s capability in managing large-scale, complex detailing projects. With evolving design requirements and high volume of RFIs, the team utilized their technical expertise to overcome challenges and deliver high-quality results.

Image Credit: Fortescue