The proposal is to import ammonium nitrate through Esperance. The elements of the proposal are:
- there would be eight x 2000 tonne shipments per year
- ammonium nitrate would be imported in one tonne "bulka bags"
- some ammonium nitrate would be directly loaded from the ship to road or rail vehicles for transport to Kalgoorlie, and the remainder would be stored on an interim basis in the storage sheds at the Port of Esperance prior to such transport.
The ammonium nitrate in this proposal would be used in explosives manufacture, but is not itself explosive. The specificition for this product is similar to that of NITRAM, and is a "prilled", high density 99.5% purity material. The logistics of the transport operations will determine whether the ammonium nitrate is immediately transhipped by road or rail to Kalgoorlie and how much remains in interim storage.