Weir Minerals, the mining-focused division of The Weir Group PLC, is a global leader in engineered solutions for comminution, slurry handling and tailings management. Its core product families – including Enduron® high pressure grinding rolls (HPGRs), Warman® slurry pumps, Cavex® hydrocyclones, GEHO® positive displacement pumps and Isogate® valves – are designed to help mines reduce energy use, water consumption and total cost of ownership.

That expertise sits at the heart of Fortescue’s Iron Bridge magnetite project in the Pilbara, Western Australia – a US$2.6 billion investment designed to produce around 22 million tonnes per annum of high-grade magnetite concentrate from an orebody 145 km south of Port Hedland.  Fortescue challenged Weir Minerals to help deliver one of the world’s most energy- and cost-efficient magnetite plants, moving away from conventional, power-hungry tumbling mills. 

In 2019, Weir secured a record £100 million order to supply 12 Enduron® HPGRs and GEHO® pumps to Iron Bridge – the world’s largest HPGR installation in an iron ore application. The HPGR-based flowsheet cuts grinding energy by at least 30% versus traditional circuits and significantly reduces wet tailings, delivering major savings in both power and water for Fortescue.

This was followed in 2020 by a £95 million aftermarket contract for components and service over seven years, taking Weir’s total Iron Bridge order book to more than £200 million. The aftermarket scope spans Enduron HPGRs, GEHO and Warman pumps, Cavex hydrocyclones and Isogate valves, underpinning high availability in one of the world’s most advanced magnetite operations. 

To support Iron Bridge and other Pilbara mines, Weir is establishing a new service centre in Port Hedland, providing local repair, rebuild and field-service capability and creating new employment and training opportunities, with a particular focus on Aboriginal participation in the mining workforce. 

For Fortescue, the collaboration with Weir Minerals at Iron Bridge is about more than equipment supply. The co-developed HPGR flowsheet – described by Weir as the first large-scale plant of its kind without tumbling mills – showcases how close OEM–operator partnerships can unlock step-change reductions in energy, water and carbon intensity across the magnetite value chain. For Weir Minerals, Iron Bridge stands as a global reference site for sustainable, high-performance comminution – and a clear example of the role it plays in making modern mining more efficient and more responsible.


 

Fortescue Head Office

Ground Floor, 256 St Georges Terrace, Perth WA 6000

Phone: +61 8 6218 8888

Fenner Dunlop Australia, now operating under the Fenner Conveyors banner, is one of the country’s leading providers of complete conveyor solutions for mining and heavy industry. As a Michelin Group company, Fenner designs, manufactures, installs and services conveyor systems “from head to tail”, combining Australian-made belting, engineered structures, drive and control systems, and on-site services into one integrated offer. 

 

Over more than a century of conveying heritage – and decades on the ground in Australia – Fenner has built a reputation for keeping critical bulk-handling assets running safely and efficiently. Its portfolio spans conveyor belting, rollers, pulleys, modular and overland conveyors, belt-handling equipment, condition monitoring technologies and shut-down services, backed by one of the largest service-centre networks in the Australian resources sector. 

 

A major step in that capability was the acquisition of Australian Conveyor Engineering (ACE) in 2012. ACE added deep mechanical and electrical engineering expertise, allowing Fenner Dunlop Australia to deliver fully engineered conveyor systems – from concept and modelling through to fabrication, installation and commissioning – under a single brand. This “engineered conveyor solutions” approach means miners can work with one partner across the full life of their conveyor assets.  
 

That capability is on show at Newmont Gold’s Tanami operations in the Northern Territory. As part of a major underground mine expansion at Tanami, ACE engineered and supplied two advanced stacker conveyor systems to support increased production, using conveyor rollers and belting from across the Fenner group.  These stackers help Newmont safely stockpile ore underground and at surface while maximising throughput in a remote, high-demand environment.
 

Fenner Dunlop Australia also appears as a registered supplier on the Tanami Expansion 2 (TE2) project via the Industry Capability Network (ICN) Gateway, underlining its role in the broader upgrade of the mine’s materials-handling infrastructure. While individual work packages vary, Fenner’s involvement typically combines Australian-manufactured conveyor products with on-site engineering, installation and maintenance support – helping operators like Newmont lift capacity, reduce downtime and manage conveyor risk over the long term.  
 

From steel-cord belting and intelligent monitoring systems to turnkey conveyor projects in some of Australia’s harshest conditions, Fenner Dunlop Australia’s contribution to Tanami reflects what it does best: keeping critical production conveyors moving, safely and reliably, for the life of the mine


Head Office - Fenner Conveyors
268 Geelong Road, West Footscray, VIC 3012
Phone : +61 (03) 9680 4500