BHP has begun construction of a sixth car dumper at its Nelson Point iron ore port operations in Western Australia, marking one of the company’s largest port infrastructure projects to date.
The new facility forms part of BHP’s $1.4 billion Port Debottlenecking Project 2 (PDP2) at Port Hedland, aimed at unlocking additional capacity, improving productivity and strengthening supply chain resilience across its Pilbara operations.
BHP Western Australian Iron Ore (WAIO) asset president Tim Day said the project would support the company’s medium-term production target of 305 million tonnes per year.
“We have medium-term plans to maintain WAIO’s production of 305 million tonnes per year, and this upgrade of infrastructure and technology allows us to support it,” Day said when the project was announced in September last year.
“The Pilbara is the engine room of the Australian economy, and this investment will ensure it keeps firing.”
Car dumpers at Port Hedland tip two 135-tonne rail cars simultaneously, enabling up to 16,000 tonnes of Pilbara iron ore to be unloaded each hour.
The ore is then transported via approximately five kilometres of conveyor systems to stockpiles or directly to ships for export.
BHP currently operates five car dumpers across its Nelson Point and Finucane Island port facilities.
The project will also enhance ore blending and screening capabilities at the port.
According to BHP’s 2025 annual report, CD6 will create the capacity needed to maintain production above 305 million tonnes per annum (100 per cent basis) from the fourth quarter of the 2028 financial year through a period of planned major car dumper renewals beginning in FY2029.