Miner BHP Group said on Tuesday it plans to expand its iron-ore export capacity from Port Hedland, the largest global shipping hub for the steel-making commodity, by up to 40-million tonnes a year to 330-million tonnes a year.
The move comes as improvements across BHP’s supply chain have opened the way to raise shipments if market conditions allow, Tim Day, BHP’s acting asset president Western Australia Iron Ore, said in a statement.
The company has begun community consultation, which could take four to six weeks, and would then apply to regulators for the added capacity in a process that is likely to take the rest of the year.
Its focus in the medium term, however, remains on reaching its current capacity at the port of 290-million tonnes a year, Day said.