BHP announces plans for new iron ore facility

Posted: 2012-02-02

With plans underway for yet another mining related building project, it seems that work is booming in the engineering construction subsector.

The Australian reports that BHP Billiton has today (February 2) announced plans to go ahead with a pre-commitment package that would see the addition of the Port Headland iron ore facility.

It is planning to spend US$779 million on the waterfront development that will likely transport more than 100 million tonnes of the mineral each year.

Building on the outer harbour is set to begin in 2016 and take place over four stages, with work getting underway on major infrastructure such as the railway link and then moving on to smaller projects.

Employment in the area will also likely increase given that this particular construction project will take at least eight years to complete.

And while larger companies are usually on top of the many issues that surround a development of this kind, it can still act as an important reminder for small to medium sized operators to follow their example and have all necessary paperwork in place before starting a new project.

Employers who are taking on new work in 2012 may need to increase their staff numbers, which will also result in an update to their business insurance policy.