MINEMAKERS PTY LTD Wonarah Rock Phosphate Proposal Wonarah Mine Road Scoping Requirements 301012-00970-RL-0002 19-Oct-09 Level 7, QV1 Building 250 St Georges Terrace Perth WA 6000 Australia Tel: +61 8 9278 8111 Fax: +61 8 9278 8110 www.worleyparsons.com WorleyParsons Services Pty Ltd ABN 61 001 279 812 © Copyright 2009 WorleyParsons Services Pty Ltd MINEMAKERS PTY LTD Wonarah Rock Phosphate Proposal Wonarah Mine Road Scoping Requirements CONTENTS 1. SUMMARY..........................................................................................................................4 2. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................5 3. ROAD TRAFFIC REVIEW ..................................................................................................6 3.1 Existing Road Network .......................................................................................................6 3.2 Unplanned Road Closures..................................................................................................6 3.3 Basis and Limitations..........................................................................................................6 3.4 Accident History..................................................................................................................6 4. ROAD TRANSPORT ..........................................................................................................7 5. METHODOLOGY FOR TRAFFIC STUDY .........................................................................8 6. ROAD TRAFFIC ANALYSIS...............................................................................................9 6.1 Traffic data..........................................................................................................................9 6.2 Scenario 1- Throughput 1Mtpa...........................................................................................9 6.3 Scenario 2- Throughput task 3Mtpa .................................................................................12 7. ROAD MAINTENANCE ....................................................................................................16 7.1 Gravel Roads....................................................................................................................16 7.2 Sealed Roads ...................................................................................................................16 7.3 Road Train Licensing Costs-Road Maintenance Component ..........................................16 8. TRAFFIC REVIEW CONCLUSIONS................................................................................17 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: BARKLY HWY ACCIDENTS 2007 TO 2008 APPENDIX 2: 2008 ANNUAL TRAFFIC REPORT i:\projects\i00970 wonarah transport logistics study\2.0 reports\revised report_07_aug_09\301012-00970-rl-0002_0\301012-00970-rl-0002_0.doc Page iii 301012-00970-RL-0002 : Rev 0 : 19-Oct-09 MINEMAKERS PTY LTD Wonarah Rock Phosphate Proposal Wonarah Mine Road Scoping Requirements 1. SUMMARY This report has investigated the capacity of the existing road network and examined the impacts of mine generated traffic onto the Stuart and Barkly Highways. The key conclusions from the analysis are: The current road network has an existing capacity of 6,000 AADT. The peak transport demand including public road users projected for this proposal is 400 AADT. The impact of the proposed increase in traffic on the road system is negligible. At no point in the analysis do the projected figures approach the available lane capacity. The proposed increase in traffic will conform to all State Registration controls and contribute to taxes and other legislative requirements for road maintenance. As such there will be no changes in maintenance requirements outside the expected fair wear and tear of road usage. According to the Northern Territory’s Department of Planning and Infrastructure’s (DPI) Annual Traffic Report-2008, there were no unplanned road closures during the last two years on these sections of the highways. This supports the assumption of 351 operational days per year for road haulage in the phosphate logistics study. There have been 14 accidents along these sections of highway in the past two years. Most of the accidents have occurred at two locations. It is recommended that further investigation be conducted into these incidents to ensure that any issues with geometry or alignment are not potential hazards to this project. Page 4 301012-00970-RL-0002 : Rev 0 : 19-Oct-09 MINEMAKERS PTY LTD Wonarah Rock Phosphate Proposal Wonarah Mine Road Scoping Requirements 2. INTRODUCTION The aim of this report is to determine the impacts of mine generated traffic onto the Stuart and Barkly Highways. The outcome of this report is to measure the following issues: The assessment of future mining traffic on the existing road network. The capacity of the existing infrastructure. Make an assessment of the impact of the future mining related traffic on the existing infrastructure. Page 5 301012-00970-RL-0002 : Rev 0 : 19-Oct-09 MINEMAKERS PTY LTD Wonarah Rock Phosphate Proposal Wonarah Mine Road Scoping Requirements 3. ROAD TRAFFIC REVIEW 3.1 Existing Road Network The sections of public road affected by the mining operation are: The Barkly Highway from Wonarah Mine to the intersection with the Stuart Highway. The Stuart Highway from the intersection with the Barkly Highway to the intersection with the Warrego Road. Warrego Road. These roads are considered the most important review sections for this study due to the level of public use. 3.2 Unplanned Road Closures According to the Northern Territory’s Department of Planning and Infrastructure’s (DPI) Annual Traffic Report-2008, there were no unplanned road closures during the last two years on these sections of the highways. This supports the assumption of 351 operational days per year for road haulage in the phosphate logistics study. 3.3 Basis and Limitations The available information for the Barkly and Stuart Highways are accident history (refer to Appendix 1) and traffic counts, vehicle classifications (refer to Appendix 2). 3.4 Accident History Data available between Jan-2007 and Dec-2008 on the Barkly Highway has recorded 14 accidents; the majority involving passenger cars or light vehicles and resulting in vehicles overturning or running off the road. The complete list of the accidents and the location of these accidents are detailed in Appendix 1. The majority of the accidents have occurred at two locations. It is recommended that further investigation be conducted into these incidents to ensure that any issues with geometery or alignment are not potential hazards to this project. Page 6 301012-00970-RL-0002 : Rev 0 : 19-Oct-09 MINEMAKERS PTY LTD Wonarah Rock Phosphate Proposal Wonarah Mine Road Scoping Requirements 4. ROAD TRANSPORT The phosphate ore will be transported to the Tennant Creek Terminal by road utilising triple side tipper road trains. The operation will be carried out 24hours/day for 351 days/year. The route to be used from the Wonarah mine to the Tennant Creek Bulk Minerals Terminal is as follows: 8.5 km road from the Mine head to the Barkly Highway. 260 km along the Barkly Highway to the intersection with the Stuart Highway. 22 km along the Stuart Highway to the intersection with the Warrego Road. 16km along the Warrego Road to the Tennant Creek Bulk Mineral Terminal. The highway sections are considered the most exposed to public use from the existing traffic perspective. The proposed phosphate transport route and locations of the counters are illustrated below. Stuart Highway RTVDP007 RTVDP009 RTVDP001 RTVDP003 RTVDP006 RTVDP002 Tt Stuart Highway Wonarah Mine entry Figure - 1 Proposed road route from Wonarah Mine to the railhead at Warrego Road Page 7 301012-00970-RL-0002 : Rev 0 : 19-Oct-09 MINEMAKERS PTY LTD Wonarah Rock Phosphate Proposal Wonarah Mine Road Scoping Requirements 5. METHODOLOGY FOR TRAFFIC STUDY Traffic data was obtained from the traffic counters located along the proposed route: RTVDP007 positioned 100 km east of Tennant Creek on the Barkly Highway; and RTVDP003, positioned 5 km south of Three Ways Junction on the Stuart Highway. These locations are shown on Figure 1. The month of July was selected because it is the peak traffic period for the year. In order to predict future traffic flows across the network the following have been undertaken: a) The two trucking operations: 1Mtpa and 3Mtpa will be considered. The mine traffic generated in both scenarios will be overlayed upon the current traffic volumes. b) Analysis of the data for the full range of vehicle classes (1 - 12), with special reference to class 12 (triple road trains). c) Tables showing existing traffic flow counts and projected traffic numbers for both scenarios have been constructed. The tables identify both the number of vehicles per class and the percentage of the total number of vehicles. d) No allowance has been included for vehicles between classes 1 to 11 as it could be expected that there would be a marginal increase during the life of the Wonarah phosphate project. The term ‘inbound’ loosely refers to the loaded vehicles traveling West and ‘outbound’ to the empty vehicles traveling east. Page 8 301012-00970-RL-0002 : Rev 0 : 19-Oct-09 MINEMAKERS PTY LTD Wonarah Rock Phosphate Proposal Wonarah Mine Road Scoping Requirements 6. ROAD TRAFFIC ANALYSIS 6.1 Traffic data The traffic counts measured at various locations