WICET, Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal, is one of the latest very large projects opened in the Gladstone region. At a cost of $2.6 billion, it will grow to be one of the largest coal export terminals in Queensland. Incorporating the WIRP (Wiggins Island Rail Project), amongst other projects, the effects of this huge project range as far as Bluff, Blackwater, and Moura, with massive expansions of the rail network to accommodate this new coal terminal. The current plan is for approx 27 million tonnes of coal to be exported through WICET per annum. Further expansion in the future will see this figure rise dramatically.
The cache location is near where the 5.6km overland conveyor passes under the Mt Larcom road. This conveyor carriers up to 7600 tonnes of coal per hour from the unloading facility (the large white building at the southern end of the conveyor) to the stockpiles seen to the north of this location. The cache location should become very obvious when you arrive near GZ. Please be careful of your little ones, as the road nearby is EXTREMELY busy, but fortunately there is a large flat area where you can pull off safely. If heading west towards Mt Larcom, you can do a U turn a further kilometre or so down the highway. Some care will be required after wet weather to avoid getting bogged. The original plan, so I am lead to believe, was for trains to run out to the stockpiles itself, until it was realised the tidal mudflats you see around you would not hold the weight of the 10000 tonne plus trains, hence the use of the long conveyor.