Brockman 2 mine

Last updated
Brockman 2 mine
Brockman 2 primary crusher, June 2020.jpg
The primary crusher at the mine by night
Location
Australia Western Australia location map.svg
Schlaegel und Eisen nach DIN 21800.svg
Brockman 2 mine
Location in Western Australia
Location Shire of Ashburton, Pilbara
State Western Australia
Country Australia
Coordinates 22°25′38″S117°20′29″E / 22.427290°S 117.341301°E / -22.427290; 117.341301 Coordinates: 22°25′38″S117°20′29″E / 22.427290°S 117.341301°E / -22.427290; 117.341301
Production
Products Iron ore
Production8.7 million tonnes/annum
History
Opened1992
Owner
Company Rio Tinto Iron Ore
Website Rio Tinto Iron Ore website
Brockman 2 mine

The Brockman 2 mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 60 kilometres north-west of Tom Price. [1] It should not be confused with Rio Tinto's Brockman 4 mine, also in the area. [2]

Contents

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. [3] [4] In the calendar year 2009, the combined Pilbara operations produced 202 million tonnes 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 1.59 billion tonnes. [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]

The mine is serviced by the Brockman Airport.

Overview

Iron ore mines in the Pilbara region. Iron ore Pilbara 2.svg
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 1992. The mine has an annual production capacity of 8.7 million tonnes 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] Ore from Brockman, like that from Mount Tom Price, Paraburdoo, Channar, Eastern Range, Marandoo and Yandicoogina, is 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 re-screened. The maximum size for the lumps is 31.5 mm, while the fines are at a maximum of 6.3 mm. [11]

The mine's workforce is on a fly-in fly-out roster. [9] In the calendar year 2009, the mine employed 539 people, an increase in comparison to 2008, when it only employed 445. [12]

The mine is located near the Nammuldi mine, also operated by Rio Tinto. [3]

Like the Channar mine, Brockman 2 was closed for a time in late 2008 during the global financial crisis, [13] with the operation mothballed. [14] The temporary closure, which halted its then monthly production of 1.6 million tonnes, came alongside selected production reductions at Rio Tinto's other Pilbara operations. [15]

The mine is owned by Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto, which owns six mines in the Pilbara, including Brockman, as well as partly owning two others in the region. [12]

On 16 August 2011, an employee was killed at the mine, being crushed by a hydraulic cylinder of a front-end loader, causing operations to be stopped for a number of days. It was the second fatality in less than three month in Rio Tinto's Pilbara operations, after having been fatality-free since August 2003. [16] [17]

Brockman 4

Rio Tinto's new Brockman 4 project is located close to the current Brockman 2 mine. It is a separate mine to the current one and opened in 2010. The mine, at a cost of US$1.520 billion, is initially scheduled to produce 22 million tonnes annually, [2] with a later doubling of capacity to achieve Rio Tinto's plan of raising iron ore production from the Pilbara from 220 million tonnes annually to 330 million. [18]

Related Research Articles

Pilbara Iron Mining company

Pilbara Iron is a wholly owned subsidiary of the multinational Rio Tinto Group, that manages assets for Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto, and Robe River Iron Associates, an unincorporated joint venture between Rio and three Japanese steel companies Mitsui Iron Ore Development P/L (33%), Nippon Steel Australia P/L (10.5%) and Sumitomo Metal Australia P/L (3.5%).

Hamersley Range Mountain range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia

The Hamersley Range is a mountainous region of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The range was named on 12 June 1861 by explorer Francis Thomas Gregory after Edward Hamersley, a prominent promoter of his exploration expedition to the northwest. Juukan Gorge lies within the ranges, as does Karijini National Park.

Hamersley & Robe River railway Private railway in Pilbara region of Western Australia

The Hamersley & Robe River railway, majority-owned by Rio Tinto, and operated by its subsidiary Pilbara Iron, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for the purpose of carrying iron ore. The network is larger than any other Australian heavy freight rail network in private ownership. The total length of its track is about 1,700 km (1,056.33 mi).

Cloudbreak mine Mine in Western Australia

The Cloudbreak mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 89 kilometres west-south-west of Nullagine, in the Chichester Range.

The Nammuldi mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 60 kilometres north-west of Tom Price.

Mount Tom Price mine

The Mount Tom Price mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, near the town of Tom Price.

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

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Paraburdoo mine Iron ore mine in Western Australia

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The West Angelas mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 110 kilometres North West of Newman.

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Brockman 4 mine Iron ore mine in Western Australia

The Brockman 4 mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 60 km (37 mi) north-west of Tom Price. The mine, located near the existing Brockman mine, was opened in 2010. The mine is fully owned and operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore, which owns many mines in the area. The mine is serviced by the Boolgeeda Airport.

Cape Lambert is a port facility operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is located 40 kilometres north of Karratha.

The Christmas Creek mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 61 kilometres south-south-west of Nullagine, in the Chichester Range.

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Iron ore mining in Western Australia, in the 2018–19 financial year, accounted for 54 percent of the total value of the state's resource production, with a value of A$78.2 billion. The overall value of the minerals and petroleum industry in Western Australia was A$145 billion in 2018-19, a 26 percent increase on the previous financial year.

Yandi mine Iron ore mine in Pilbara region of Western Australia

The Yandi mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 90 kilometres north-west of Newman. It should not be confused with Rio Tinto's nearby Yandicoogina mine, which is also sometimes shortened to Yandi.

References

  1. MINEDEX website: Brockman 2 search result Archived September 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine accessed: 6 November 2010
  2. 1 2 Expansion Projects Archived 2011-04-06 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 7 November 2010
  3. 1 2 3 Pilbara Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  4. Mining Archived 2010-06-12 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  5. Preparing for the future Archived 2011-07-15 at the Wayback Machine 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 [ permanent dead link ] UNCTAD website, published: 30 July 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
  8. Iron fact sheet - Australian Resources and Deposits Archived 2011-02-18 at the Wayback Machine Geoscience Australia website, accessed: 7 November 2010
  9. 1 2 Brockman mine Archived 2010-06-14 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  10. Rail Archived 2013-07-01 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  11. Iron fact sheet - Mining Archived 2011-02-18 at the Wayback Machine Geoscience Australia website, accessed: 7 November 2010
  12. 1 2 Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistic Digest 2009 Department of Mines and Petroleum website, accessed: 8 November 2010
  13. Sinosteel losses shut Rio mine The Sydney Morning Herald , published: 12 December 2008, accessed: 7 November 2010
  14. Australian miners cut iron output as China slows The Australian , published: 11 November 2008, accessed: 7 November 2010
  15. Rio Tinto output cut shows depth of financial crisis The Australian , published: 11 November 2008, accessed: 11 November 2010
  16. Fatal Accident Report 16/08/2011 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 25 August 2011
  17. Rio Tinto halts mine work after Pilbara death The Australian , published: 17 August 2011, accessed: 25 August 2011
  18. "Rio to double capacity at $US1.5bn Brockman mine, says Walsh". The Australian . 2 September 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2010.