The Western Ridge Crusher project in Western Australia is progressing to the execution stage, with the BHP Board announcing that the project has been approved.
The Western Ridge Crusher, located on Nyiyaparli Country, approximately 21km southwest of Newman, is a sustaining tonnes proposal for Newman Operations.
BHP WA Iron Ore Asset President, Tim Day, said this was a significant milestone and project, with an expected total investment of USD$943 million (100 per cent basis).
“We expect to award more than USD$45 million (100 per cent basis) in contracts to local and Indigenous businesses – both via BHP direct and indirect engagements. This will achieve significant social value for the communities in which we operate.”
First production is expected in in Q1 FY2027, and the project is expected to deliver an average of 25 Mtpa, providing around 12 years of products for WAIO to replace production from depleting orebodies around Newman.
The project scope includes new ore processing and transportation infrastructure, including construction of a new 30 Mtpa primary crusher and a 12km overland conveyor to transport the ore from the Mount Helen and Silver Knight iron ore deposits to the Newman West ore processing hub.
