Miners have been warned Pilbara infrastructure will need to be re-engineered to account for increasing frequency and severity of storms.
Miners have been warned Pilbara infrastructure will need to be re-engineered to account for increasing frequency and severity of storms.
The red flag comes after several rain events this year hampered Rio Tinto and BHP’s exports and severely damaged Mineral Resources’ Onslow Iron haul road.
Speaking at this year’s Pilbara Summit on Wednesday, GHD hydrology technical director Nick Deeks said the storms causing such disruptions could almost double in severity by the end of the century.
“This isn’t a distant future threat, but something we are facing now,” he said.
“No matter which climate future you think we are tracking against we are already facing storms 17 per cent bigger than what they were in the past.
“The frequency of storm events Is increasing, and the historical one-in-100-year storm now has probability of one-in-40- to- 60 years.
“By the end of the century this could be as frequent as one in 7 years.”
Rio Tinto’s East Intercourse Island export facility was taken offline for five weeks due to flooding from ex-tropical cyclone Sean in February.
BHP’s felt minor impacts from several flooding events over the 2024-25 wet season.
Mineral Resources was also hit – flood damage to its $2.6-billion haul road in February impacted shipments and necessitated repairs.
Mr Deeks said building infrastructure based on historical data was leaving the region’s mines and towns exposed.
“Our infrastructure is sized for the historical climate, whether it is a culvert or the floor level of a substation,” he said.
“All the rain gauge and stream gauge records we use to derive statistics… they are all backwards looking.
“We are ill-prepared for what is coming.”
Mr Deeks said larger levees, bigger catchment basins and more robust bridges were examples of what was needed to account for the storms of the future.
He said there had already been some good work in this field.
His speech harks back to the 2019 edition of the Pilbara Summit when, amid a procession of proponents spruiking their grand plans, one speaker warned those companies needed to account for the warming climate of the North West.
That speech warned climate projects showed the North West would likely be too hot to live and work in productively by the end of the century unless climate change could be mitigated.
