Iron Ore Mining & Export

[GWR]

Ever wondered if Chao Phraya River Barges were carrying anything other than rice and other agricultural commodities.

One answer is that they are or have been used to export iron ore. The company seems to run a small mine in Northern Thailand - perhaps Loei Province. It's then carried to a lighter terminal on the Chao Phraya in Ayuthaya Province. It's then transhipped on Koh Sri Chang Island to small ore carriers. It looks like there is a business for a small ore producer in servicing China's insatiable mineral needs.

A few details and pictures at this site. Links to the two most interesting picture as are shown below.:-

http://www.eceurope.com/showrooms/showroom_homepage.htm?session=&userID=10014123#

The Mine:-

http://www.worldbid.com/user_images/showrooms/10014123.2560554

Low-Cost Lighter Terminal:-

http://www.worldbid.com/user_images/showrooms/10014123.5119013

[ncr]

Interesting, never heard about iron ore extraction in Thailand. What makes you think the mine might be in Loei? The text says it's in Northern Thailand, and the company has stockpiles in Loei and Ayutthaya.

So the lighters go down the river and then cross the Bight of Bangkok to deliver their cargo?

But yes, there's a lot of transshipping going on around Ko Sichang for whatever reasons. (Why not in a port? Is it a way to save the money for usage fees??? And why is the activity concentrated in this area?) I have been to the island twice, and when you take the ferry from Si Racha you'll notice all the ships anchored between the island and the mainland, often surrounded by barges and using their derricks to load/unload goods. On the way back last time, the ferry even stopped at one of the ships to pick up a sailor on his way to Si Racha.

Most of them are similar in size and appearance to this one (http://www.eceurope.com/showrooms/details.htm?session=&itemID=1031781) on the page linked by GWR. (How cute, by the way: "Our company associated with the international ship owner. We choose the high quality vessel to export." :D )

By the way, the island is here (http://www.wikimapia.org/#y=13152537&x=100857754&z=13&l=0&m=h) (southwest of Chonburi, northwest of Laem Chabang). Many of those ships are visible in the satellite imagery. An example (http://www.wikimapia.org/#y=13151352&x=100844203&z=18&l=0&m=h), with barges alongside.

[GWR]

It looks to me like a fairly small operation, that uses a great deal of fairly small truck transport to move the ore around. I asked myself why anyone would want to stockpile iron ore in a remote and upland area unless that was where it was being extracted. And perhaps someone else has the real deal.

[ncr]

On the website (http://www.dmr.go.th/eng/knowledges.htm)of the Department of Mineral Resources that you mentioned in the maps section of this forum, there's a Metallogenic Map of Thailand (http://www.dmr.go.th/eng/met.pdf) with accompanying article available for download.

It shows that Loei does have some iron deposits, but so do other provinces.

[GWR]

Navakun mining wins iron-ore exploration licence
By Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul
The Nation
Published on August 8, 2008

Navakun Mining, a local steelmining arm of Australia's Oxiana, has won a licence to explore for iron ore on 90,000 rai in Rayong and Chanthaburi provinces, the country's biggest ever deal by scale.

According to Primary Industries and Mines Department directorgeneral Anusorn Nuangpholmak, former industry minister Suwit Khunkitti signed the exploration licence days before he left office following the Cabinet reshuffle. The licence lasts five years.

Anusorn said the company would spend around Bt150 million on its first exploration phase.

Navakun submitted the application to explore 26 fields covering 200,000 rai in the East. The operation is the biggest ever, given that most explorers are dealing with areas of between 100 and 200 rai.

Navakun Mining is a subsidiary of Oxiana, which is Australia's third largest diversified mining company. Oxiana has expanded its mining business in several countries in Southeast Asia including Laos.

Peter Albert, executive general manager for Asia of Oxiana, said that if the exploration was successful, the company would start production and supply to upstream steel smelters in the country. The firm also plans to export iron ore to China, which is one of the world's largest markets.

Meanwhile, the Primary Industries and Mines Department will develop a standard to control the quality of scrap in local steel blast furnaces.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/08/08/business/business_30080075.php

[Wisarut]

Interesting, never heard about iron ore extraction in Thailand. What makes you think the mine might be in Loei? The text says it's in Northern Thailand, and the company has stockpiles in Loei and Ayutthaya.

So the lighters go down the river and then cross the Bight of Bangkok to deliver their cargo?

But yes, there's a lot of transshipping going on around Ko Sichang for whatever reasons. (Why not in a port? Is it a way to save the money for usage fees??? And why is the activity concentrated in this area?) I have been to the island twice, and when you take the ferry from Si Racha you'll notice all the ships anchored between the island and the mainland, often surrounded by barges and using their derricks to load/unload goods. On the way back last time, the ferry even stopped at one of the ships to pick up a sailor on his way to Si Racha.

Most of them are similar in size and appearance to this one (http://www.eceurope.com/showrooms/details.htm?session=&itemID=1031781) on the page linked by GWR. (How cute, by the way: "Our company associated with the international ship owner. We choose the high quality vessel to export." :D )

By the way, the island is here (http://www.wikimapia.org/#y=13152537&x=100857754&z=13&l=0&m=h) (southwest of Chonburi, northwest of Laem Chabang). Many of those ships are visible in the satellite imagery. An example (http://www.wikimapia.org/#y=13151352&x=100844203&z=18&l=0&m=h), with barges alongside.

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