Portsite is a vital part of our operations, a facility for receiving necessary materials and equipment and shipping our concentrate.

Activities at Portsite

Concentrate Dewatering and Storage

Concentrate slurry is dewatered using 3 rotary vacuum disc filters and one new pressure filter. Concentrate cakes from the rotary vacuum disc filters are then dried in 3 rotary kilns. Dewatered concentrate with a 9% moisture content is stored in a concentrate barn with a total capacity of approximately 135,000 metric tons. Additional storage space is provided in pads adjacent to the dewatering plant.

Concentrate Shipment

  Filter pressure dryer

In the final process, concentrate from the barn is loaded onto vessels on conveyors. Loading onto a concentrate vessel is partly conducted at the concentrate jetty and the vessel is then moored to the (offshore) Sea Buoy A to complete the loading process using barges. The use of barges is necessary because the water depth does not allow full loading onto the vessel. We ship our concentrate aboard more than 100 vessels every year.

Power Plant

A 195MW (3x65MW) - capacity coal-fired steam power plant (PLTU) is located in Portsite. Coal shipments are received and moved to coal barges before being unloaded at our coal jetty and stored in the coal barn. Electricity from the power plant is supplied to the mill by way of a 115 km-long 230KV distribution grid.

Cargo Dock

Materials and equipment are received and unloaded at the cargo dock for transporting to our various operating sites. The cargo dock area in Portsite functions as a goods distribution hub to all sites.