WHILE the Port of Esperance has imported hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sulphur over the years, it’s unusual to see the mineral going the other way.
When Jersey Spirit left the port on 29 January, bound for Port of Qingdao, it took with it the first export of sulphur in eight years. In the past the export of sulphur relied heavily on ship cranes rather than the Port of Esperance’s crane.
Esperance is the only regional port in WA to have a container crane.
The 33,000 tonnes of sulphur had been stockpiled at the port since First Quantum Minerals’ put its Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine into care and maintenance last year.
Southern Ports CEO Keith Wilks said while it’s unusual for the port to be exporting sulphur, it had demonstrated their ability to export small bulk quantities of all kinds.
Southern Ports, which operates the Port of Esperance, previously imported between 225,000 and 295,000 tonnes of sulphur each year for the Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine.
Southern Ports has invested $11.9 million over the past five years into its Berth 2 and container crane assets where it imports sulphur and fertiliser, and exports nickel, copper concentrate and spodumene.
Mr Wilks the port was doing its best to facilitate trade for customers, which often meant doing things differently or finding new solutions from far and wide.
“Through this process we’ve developed a new export approach for sulphur, taking advantage of our existing container crane and bringing in connecting rotating container technology from over east,” Mr Wilks said.