Long term outlook?, page-34

"Talk on this thread of not pelletising is unrealistic. The fine product is too difficult to ship without pelletising."

Hi Greatone

It cannot be too difficult to ship as the plan for Southdown is to ship concentrate. SD will not be making pellets.

Concentrate is a fine powder. To get the most energy efficient use of the proposed slurry line the particle size is typically around 30 microns (dust).

The proposed Port at Albany is too shallow for a loaded panamax to leave the dock. There would be a huge amount of dedging necessary or a very long jetty or use barges to load panamaxes anchored offshore.

Agree that the fine dust may be a hazard to marine life. (as an example: MGX had to relocate a lot of marine life after taking over from BHP.)

Agree the moisture in the fine dust has been known to precipitate out and make ships unstable, particularly in rough seas.