【Ferro-alloys.com】: Iron-ore producer Mineral Resources (MinRes) has wrapped up upgrades to its Onslow Iron private haul road in Western Australia, clearing the way for trucks to return to normal operating speeds.

Onslow has been in the spotlight over safety and design concerns on its 150-km private haul road, which was only completed in October last year. Problems with the spray seal and binder have been compounded by high temperatures, water ingress and heavy loads, while flooding further damaged sections of the pavement. MinRes has spent  A$230-million on a works programme to strengthen the road and address those issues.

The roadworks involved seal binder upgrades, cement stabilisation to strengthen the pavement and improve moisture resistance, and asphalting along the entire sealed stretch of the road.

The company said minor off-road works were still being finalised and were expected to be completed next month.

The upgraded private haul road now spans 11 sealed metres from edge to edge – about two metres wider than typical Pilbara public haulage roads.

Despite the roadworks, Onslow Iron shipped a record 3.2-million tonnes of ore in August.

“Onslow Iron has continued to perform very strongly even during the upgrade of the private haul road. The resumption of unconstrained haulage marks another significant milestone as we focus on safely delivering the project’s FY26 volume guidance," said MinRes MD Chris Ellison.

• [Editor:Alakay]