In 2014 the first ship was loaded in Wollongong with copper concentrate using ships cranes and ISG Pit To Ship solutions™ containers.
At the mine site the ISG containers have their lids removed by the ISG mine site lid lifter. The ISG containers are then loaded with copper at the mine site using a front end loader , the lids are then replaced by the ISG lid lifter.
Each container is placed onto trucks and taken to the railhead where they are loaded onto the train. The copper is then delivered by rail from North Parkes mine. The train arrives into the Patrick terminal in Wollongong where the loaded containers are swapped for the unloaded containers, the train then returns to Parkes.
The loaded containers are taken around to the key side and using the ships crane and a tippler the containers are placed into the ship’s hull. Using the patented ISG lid lifter the containers are rotated 360 degrees and the copper is placed into the ship’s hull making this a dust free solution.
he following photos show the loading process using ships crane , tippler and the ISG containers, note the ISG patented lid lifter in operation:
