South Flank is a US$3.6b project that will fully replace production from the 80mtpa Yandi mine, which is expected to end its economic life in the mid-2020. South Flank iron ore project will be the largest iron ore processing facility ever built in Western Australia. Reinforced Earth were originally engaged by the consultant Jacobs in 2018 to carry out detailed design of two identical TerraMet® dump walls labelled Primary Crusher 1 and Primary Crusher 2 on the project. This progressed into the manufacture and supply of the walls through engagement by NRW holdings in 2019.
The integrated arrangement of the TerraMet® walls with the insitu reinforced concrete dump pocket (designed by others) resulted in challenges when considering differential settlement and interaction between the 2 different structures.
The complex shape of the dump pocket portion of the TerraMet® walls with a number of corners and vertical joints meant that sufficient care and regular monitoring would need to be implemented to ensure the walls were aligned at the completion of construction.