25 July 2019
Gym this morning and then we headed back to camp, where Mum and Dad were packed up and ready to go. We headed in to PH for a tour of the Fortescue Metal Group wharf facility. FMG have 5 berths that they load iron ore out of in an area called Herb Elliot Point. We saw the stackers and reclaimers operating and drove right underneath a ship unloader at work. All of that gear is operated remotely out of Perth, so during the hour or so that we were on the site, we only saw about 5 people – 2 of whom were hosing down. Seems like every mine site or smelter, there are the jobs of hosing down, trying to keep all the dust etc off the important pieces of equipment. Bit hard to automate that job I guess.
FMG are the second biggest exporter of iron ore out of PH with their 5 berths. They are planning on building two more, and they have just purchased 4 (I think) large vessels to transport the ore to Asia, and 6 of their own tug boats. They used to rely on the BHP tug boats, however that of course meant that the BHP ships always took precedence. Clearly FMG don’t think the bottom is going to fall out of the iron ore market any time soon. Neither does Gina, as she is also building another two berths.
We grabbed lunch from a bakery after the tour, and then headed towards Marble Bar, arriving at our campsite at Doleena Gorge a bit after 3pm. It is a beautiful spot, with a bit if water in it still. Unfortunately the water meant bugs of an evening, so we were driven in to bed, and lights out quite early as the bugs were small enough to fit through the fly wire of the tent and camper.
One of many conveyor belts at the FMG port.
Ship loading in progress.
A reclaimer. Each one of those buckets on the right hand end holds enough iron ore to make a Landcruiser.
A big pile of salt!
Travelling the Big Island 