Mesa A mine

Mesa A mine
Location
Mesa A mine
Location in Australia
Location Pilbara
State Western Australia
Country Australia
Coordinates 21°40′12″S 115°54′14″E / 21.669979°S 115.903999°E / -21.669979; 115.903999Coordinates: 21°40′12″S 115°54′14″E / 21.669979°S 115.903999°E / -21.669979; 115.903999
Production
Products Iron ore
Production 25,000,000 tonnes (25,000,000 long tons; 28,000,000 short tons)/annum
History
Opened 2010
Owner
Company

Rio Tinto Iron Ore (53%)

Mitsui & Co. (33%)

Nippon Steel (10.5%)

Sumitomo Metal Industries (3.5%)

Website Rio Tinto Iron Ore website
Year of acquisition Rio Tinto: 2000

The Mesa A mine, sometimes also referred to as Waramboo mine,[1] is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of Pannawonica.[2]

The mine is owned by Robe River Iron Associates (53% Rio Tinto) and operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore and is one of twelve iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara.[3][4] In the calendar year 2009, the combined Pilbara operations produced 202,000,000 tonnes (199,000,000 long tons; 223,000,000 short tons) of iron ore, a 15 percent increase from 2008.[5] The Pilbara operations accounted for almost 13 percent of the world's 2009 iron ore production of 1,590,000,000 tonnes (1.56×109 long tons; 1.75×109 short tons).[6][7]

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.[8]

Overview

Iron ore mines in the Pilbara region.

Rio Tinto iron ore operations in the Pilbara began in 1966.[3] The mine itself began operations in 2010. The mine has an annual production capacity of 25,000,000 tonnes (25,000,000 long tons; 28,000,000 short tons) of iron ore, sourced from open-pit operations. The ore is processed on site before being loaded onto rail.[9]

Ore from the mine is then transported to the coast through the Hamersley & Robe River railway, where it is loaded onto ships.[10]

The mines workforce is on a Fly-in fly-out roster.[9]

The mine is located near the Mesa J mine.[3] The new Mesa A mine is scheduled to replace the Mesa J mine which is nearing the end of its life span.[1] After a two-year construction period and expenses of A$1 billion, the mine began operation in February 2010. The mine is initially scheduled for a mine life of eleven years.[11]

Robe River Iron Associates

Robe River Iron, owner of the mine, is jointly owned by the following companies:[2]

Robe River Iron operates the West Angelas, Mesa A and Mesa J mines.[1] Rio Tinto acquired its share of 53% in late 2000, when it took over mining company North Limitd.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistic Digest 2008-09 Department of Mines and Petroleum website, accessed: 8 November 2010
  2. 1 2 MINEDEX website: Deepdale Mesa A search result accessed: 6 November 2010
  3. 1 2 3 Pilbara Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  4. ↑ Mining Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  5. ↑ Preparing for the future Rio Tinto presentation, published: 23 March 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
  6. ↑ Global iron-ore production falls 6,2% in 2009 - Unctad report miningweekly.com, published: 30 July 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
  7. ↑ Production of iron ore fell in 2009, but shipments continued to increase, report says UNCTAD website, published: 30 July 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
  8. ↑ Iron fact sheet - Australian Resources and Deposits Geoscience Australia website, accessed: 7 November 2010
  9. 1 2 Mesa A mine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  10. ↑ Rail Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  11. ↑ Rio starts production at Mesa A/Warramboo The West Australian, published: 22 February 2010, accessed: 8 November 2010
  12. ↑ The Australian Mines Handbook - 2003-04 edition, editor: Ross Louthean, publisher: Louthean Media Pty Ltd, page: 243

External links

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