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 km (31 mi) west of Pannawonica.[2]
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Mesa A mine Location in Western Australia | |
| Location | Shire of Ashburton, Pilbara |
| State | Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 21°40′12″S 115°54′14″E / 21.669979°S 115.903999°E |
| 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%) |
| Year of acquisition | Rio Tinto: 2000 |
 | |
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 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
edit
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 mine's workforce is on a fly-in fly-out roster.[9]
The mine is located near the Mesa J mine. The new Mesa A mine was scheduled to replace the Mesa J mine which was nearing the end of its life span. Due to additional deposits found near the existing Mesa J site, a decision was made to operate the Mesa A mine as a FIFO site. The Mesa J site could then continue to run as a residential site based in Pannawonica. After a two-year construction period and expenses of A$1 billion, the mine began operation in February 2010. The mine was initially scheduled for a mine life of eleven years. But has now been extended due to an expansion for the mining of Mesa B and Mesa C deposits.[citation needed]
Robe River Iron Associates
editRobe River Iron, owner of the mine, is jointly owned by the following companies:[2]
- Rio Tinto Group – 53% – operator
- Mitsui and Co. (Australia) Ltd – 33%
- Nippon Steel Australia Pty Ltd – 10.5%
- Sumitomo Metal Australia Pty Ltd – 3.5%
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 Limited.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistic Digest 2008–09 Department of Mines and Petroleum website, accessed: 8 November 2010
- ^ a b MINEDEX website: Deepdale Mesa A search result Archived 2008-09-11 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 6 November 2010
- ^ a b Pilbara Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
- ^ Mining Archived 2010-06-12 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
- ^ Preparing for the future Archived 2011-07-15 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto presentation, published: 23 March 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
- ^ Global iron-ore production falls 6,2% in 2009 – Unctad report miningweekly.com, published: 30 July 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
- ^ Production of iron ore fell in 2009, but shipments continued to increase, report says[permanent dead link] UNCTAD website, published: 30 July 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
- ^ Iron fact sheet – Australian Resources and Deposits Archived 2011-02-18 at the Wayback Machine Geoscience Australia website, accessed: 7 November 2010
- ^ a b Mesa A mine Archived 2011-07-01 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
- ^ Rail Archived 2013-07-01 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
- ^ The Australian Mines Handbook – 2003–04 edition, editor: Ross Louthean, publisher: Louthean Media Pty Ltd, page: 243