Cable protection a priority on RGP3
08 May 2007
Olex recently supplied approximately $5.5m of cable for BHP’s Rapid Growth Project 3. The cable supplied was made up of medium voltage, extra high voltage, multi-core control and rail cable.
A major requirement of the project was to provide termite protection of the cables, and this was achieved by the use of nylon and/or brass tapes on the cables. Mechanical protection was also required and this was achieved through steel wire armour in the case of the medium voltage cable and a corrugated stainless steel sheath in the case of the 66kV cable.
“The corrugated stainless steel sheath cable was one of the smallest of this design ever produced by us,” said Olex Market Manager – Industry, Peter Iannaccio.
BHP Billiton’s Rapid Growth Project 3 (RGP3) will increase capacity at its Area C iron ore mine in Western Australia by 20 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) to 42Mtpa.
The RGP3 scope includes the development of a new pit at the Area C ‘E Deposit’ and the construction of new crushing and screening facilities at the mine’s ‘C Deposit’.
Port and rail facilities will also be expanded to facilitate this capacity increase and position the business for further staged growth. The expansion will include a new stockyard, upgraded car dumper and ship loading facilities, as well as additional rolling stock and rail sidings.
Cable delivery for this project was completed in early 2007.
Back to articles