More Mineral Resources trucks roll over on the company’s critical Onslow haul road

A fourth truck has crashed within four months on Mineral Resources’ private Onslow haul road network in the West Pilbara, which is a key piece of the company’s new $3 billion flagship mining operation. On Sunday a multi-trailer truck tipped over while transporting iron ore across the 147 kilometre haul road that runs from the Kens Bore mine to Onslow port. “MinRes road trains operating at Onslow Iron have been involved in four separate incidents since August. Of these, one incident occurred on the dedicated haul road,” a MinRes spokesman said on Friday. The Sunday incident was the one crash on the actual haul road, the other three have been on service roads that feed into the haul road. “Separately, a single rear trailer of a contractor road train transporting construction material tipped on the shoulder of the private mine access road on September 14,” the spokesman said. “The incidents are under investigation. Onslow Iron’s production ramp up continues to remain on schedule.” A spokesman for the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety said three of the rollovers have happened since the start of October. “Investigations into these incidents are ongoing,” he said. MinRes and DEMIRS would not say if anyone was injured from any of the crashes. MinRes finalised the sale of a 49 per cent stake in the Onslow haul road to Morgan Stanley for an upfront payment of $1.1 billion in September. The miner will receive an additional $200m if the haul road achieves its planned capacity by 2026. MinRes has allocated nearly $800m for more work on the Onslow Iron project this financial year, including finishing off the haul road. The video from Sunday shows large piles of iron ore spilled onto the side of the haul road. “The Onslow Iron dedicated haul road remains scheduled for completion of construction in late October,” the MinRes spokesman said in September. About 35 million tonnes of iron ore per year is slated to be transported on the haul road, meaning every few minutes a new large truck will come onto the road. MinRes boss Chris Ellison in August said he is aiming to make the trucks that traverse the haul road autonomous by March or April next year. He said that could save MinRes up to $100m a year in truck driver salaries. Mr Ellison is also looking to add a fourth trailer to the trucks of his Onslow fleet. “We could drop a fourth trailer on behind these things now, so we go from 80km/h down to 78km/h . . . we’re heading down the path,” he said in August. Onslow produced first iron ore in May. The project’s operational performance, plus a bouyant iron ore price, will be crucial in MinRes’ ability to pay off its large debts.