Gold Valley adds Bunbury to export ports

GOLD VALLEY is adding the Port of Bunbury to its existing deal with the Port of Esperance.

Gold Valley has exported iron concentrate out of the Port of Bunbury for the first time, adding to its shipments from Esperance.

The company has exported a total of 93,000 tonnes of iron concentrate from the South West port across two shipments over the past two months, both headed to China.

Southern Ports CEO Keith Wilks said he was pleased to see the strong working partnership with Gold Valley in Esperance open the door to trade opportunities through the Port of Bunbury.

“We’re always actively seeking new and expanded trade opportunities with current and potential customers to help diversify our services and stimulate trade,” Mr Wilks said.

“It’s fantastic to see that our partnership with Gold Valley has led to new opportunities to export through another one of our ports.”

Gold Valley purchased the iron concentrate from Iluka Resources, which Mr Wilks said was itself a longstanding Southern Ports customer.

The first Gold Valley shipment to leave the Port of Bunbury was loaded onto the Bao Yue Ling over a seven-day period before the ship sailed for China on 9 March, followed by its second shipment on the Bao Xing Ling in mid-April.

Gold Valley Chairman Yuzheng Xie said the existing partnership with Southern Ports gave the company confidence to use the Port of Bunbury.

“We were confident working with Southern Ports to export the product for the long term, knowing it would be beneficial for Gold Valley and the port,” Yuzheng Xie said.

“This iron concentrate supplements our iron ore that we export through the Port of Esperance to our global steel manufacturer with Gold Valley currently supplying over seven countries,” he said.

Mr Wilks said the operation is a win for everyone involved – and for the prosperity of the South West region through trade growth and diversification.

“We believe that strong regional ports contribute to strong regions and this is the perfect example of this vision in action.”

Gold Valley has exported more than 925,000 tonnes of iron ore through the Port of Esperance aboard eight vessels since its first shipment in mid-October.