Marandoo mine

Marandoo mine
Location
Marandoo mine
Location in Australia
Location Pilbara
State Western Australia
Country Australia
Coordinates 22°38′25″S 118°07′15″E / 22.640150°S 118.120796°E / -22.640150; 118.120796Coordinates: 22°38′25″S 118°07′15″E / 22.640150°S 118.120796°E / -22.640150; 118.120796
Production
Products Iron ore
Production 15 million tonnes/annum
History
Opened 1994
Owner
Company Rio Tinto Iron Ore
Website Rio Tinto Iron Ore website

The Marandoo mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 45 kilometres east of Tom Price.[1]

The mine is fully owned and operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore and is one of twelve iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara.[2][3] In the calendar year 2009, the combined Pilbara operations produced 202 million tonnes of iron ore, a 15 percent increase from 2008.[4] The Pilbara operations accounted for almost 13 percent of the world's 2009 iron ore production of 1.59 billion tonnes.[5][6]

The mine, alongside the rail, is within a narrow corridor that splits Karijini National Park into a northern and a southern half.[2] The Hamersley Range, where the mine is located, contains 80 percent of all identified iron ore reserves in Australia and is one of the world's major iron ore provinces.[7]

Overview

Iron ore mines in the Pilbara region.

Rio Tinto iron ore operations in the Pilbara began in 1966.[2] The mine itself began operations in 1994. The mine has an annual production capacity of 15 million tonnes of iron ore, sourced from open-pit operations. The ore is processed on site before being loaded onto rail.[8]

Ore from the mine is then transported to the coast through the Hamersley & Robe River railway, where it is loaded onto ships.[9] Ore from Marandoo, like Brockman, Mount Tom Price, Paraburdoo, Channar, Eastern Range and Yandicoogina are transported as lump and fines ore product from the mines to Dampier via rail. Before being loaded onto ships for export, the product is blended and rescreened. The maximum size for the lumps is 31.5 mm, while the fines are at a maximum of 6.3 mm.[10]

Marandoo opened in October 1994 and was, at the time, the showpiece mine in regards to best practice design for Hamerley Iron.[11]

The mines workforce is on a Fly-in fly-out roster,[8] having originally been based residential, until the town became too small for the workforce.[12] In the calendar year 2009, the mine employed 355 people, an increase in comparison to 2008, when it only employed 250.[13]

The mine can be seen from Mount Bruce, the second-highest mountain in Western Australia, located within the Karijini National Park.[14]

The mine is owned by Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto, which owns 13 mines in the Pilbara, including Marandoo.[13]

References

  1. ↑ MINEDEX website: Marandoo search result accessed: 6 November 2010
  2. 1 2 3 Pilbara Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  3. ↑ Mining Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  4. ↑ Preparing for the future Rio Tinto presentation, published: 23 March 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
  5. ↑ Global iron-ore production falls 6,2% in 2009 - Unctad report miningweekly.com, published: 30 July 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
  6. ↑ Production of iron ore fell in 2009, but shipments continued to increase, report says UNCTAD website, published: 30 July 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
  7. ↑ Iron fact sheet - Australian Resources and Deposits Geoscience Australia website, accessed: 7 November 2010
  8. 1 2 Marandoo mine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  9. ↑ Rail Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  10. ↑ Iron fact sheet - Mining Geoscience Australia website, accessed: 7 November 2010
  11. ↑ The Australian Mines Handbook - 2003-04 edition, editor: Ross Louthean, publisher: Louthean Media Pty Ltd, page: 241
  12. ↑ Fly in, fly out plans for Marandoo mine ABC News, published: 26 May 2005, accessed: 7 November 2010
  13. 1 2 Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistic Digest 2009 Department of Mines and Petroleum website, accessed: 7 November 2010
  14. ↑ Karijini National Park - Top 5 attractions Karijini National Park website, accessed: 7 November 2010

External links

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