Jimblebar mine

Last updated
Jimblebar mine
Location
Australia Western Australia location map.svg
Schlaegel und Eisen nach DIN 21800.svg
Jimblebar mine
Location in Western Australia
Location Shire of East Pilbara, Pilbara
State Western Australia
Country Australia
Coordinates 23°23′04″S120°07′23″E / 23.384341°S 120.123142°E / -23.384341; 120.123142
Production
Products Iron ore
Production67 million tonnes/annum [1]
Financial year2021
History
Opened1989
Owner
Company BHP
Website https://www.bhp.com/what-we-do/global-locations/australia/western-australia/jimblebar
Year of acquisition1992
Jimblebar mine

The Jimblebar mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 41 kilometres east of Newman. [2]

Contents

The mine is fully owned and operated by BHP, and is one of seven iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara. [3] The company also operates two port facilities at Port Hedland, Nelson Point and Finucane Island, and over 1,000 kilometres of rail in the Pilbara. [4]

BHP is the second-largest iron ore mining company in the Pilbara, behind Rio Tinto and ahead of Fortescue Metals Group. [5] As of 2010, BHP employs 8,000 people in its Pilbara operations. [4]

Overview

Iron ore mines in the Pilbara region Iron ore Pilbara 2.svg
Iron ore mines in the Pilbara region

The origins of mining in the Newman area date back to when the Mount Whaleback deposit was discovered in 1957 by Stan Hilditch but not publicised until 1960, when the Federal Government lifted the embargo on iron ore exports it had put in place because of concerns the mineral was in short supply. The first mine to develop was the Goldsworthy mine in 1965 and a railway line, the Goldsworthy railway, as well as port facilities at Finucane Island were constructed. On 1 June 1966, the first shipment of iron ore from the Pilbara left on board Harvey S. Mudd. [6]

BHP's operations in Newman began in 1968, when the Mount Whaleback mine was opened, the biggest single-pit open-cut iron ore mine in the world. The mine is 1.5 kilometres wide and more than five kilometres long. [7] A new town, Newman, was constructed, as well as a 426 kilometre railway line, the Mount Newman railway. The first train left Newman on 1 January 1969 and the first shipment of Newman ore left port on 1 April 1969 on board Osumi Maru. [6]

The Jimblebar mine, 41 kilometres from Newman, was opened in March 1989 and has the capacity to produce 14 million tonnes of iron ore annually via a two-stage crushing circuit. [3] Originally known as McCamey's Monster, after prospector Ken McCamey, the mine was acquired by BHP in 1992. [8] While the mine is fully owned by BHP Billiton, it does also process ore from the Wheelara deposit, which is jointly owned by BHP and a number of Chinese and Japanese companies. [9]

Ore from the mines is transported by rail to Port Hedland through two independent railways. The Mount Newman railway carries ore from Mount Whaleback, Orebodies 18, 23, 25 and 29, Jimblebar, Yandi and Area C. The Yarrie mine is serviced by the separate, shorter Goldsworthy railway. [10] Jimblebar is at the end of a 32 kilometre spur line of the Mount Newman railway. [3]

Ore from the Mount Whaleback and the other Newman mines, as well as the Yandi mine is transported to the port at Nelson Point, while ore from Area C and Yarrie goes to Finucane Island. Ore is transported through a 1.16 kilometre long tunnel from Nelson Point to the port at Finucane Island. The average loading time for a ship is 30 hours, and 800 ships are loaded annually at Port Hedland. [11]

Jimblebar is part of an expansion project, launched in 2010 and aimed at increasing production from the Pilbara mines to 240 million tonnes of iron ore annually by 2013. The expansion of Jimlebar, together with an expansion of the inner harbour at Port Hedland and works on the duplication of rail tracks is estimated to cost A$2.15 billion. [12] The project was originally titled Rapid Growth Project 6, [13] but is now under the umbrella of "Iron Ore Major Projects"'.

In March 2011 Thiess was awarded the $166 million contract to provide bulk earth works and selected infrastructure for Jimblebar. [14]

ALE has been awarded the contract for the BHP Billiton Iron Ore Rapid Growth Project (RGP) 6 as part of the Jimblebar mine site development, Australia. The project involves receiving and transportation over 140 items of cargo, including 110 modules, over a 7-month period. ALE will utilise more than 70 axle lines of SPMT, 120 axle lines of conventional hydraulic trailers, and up to 10 tractor units.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newman, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Newman, originally named Mount Newman until 1981, is a town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is located about 1,186 kilometres (737 mi) north of Perth, and 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north of the Tropic of Capricorn. It can be reached by the Great Northern Highway. Newman is a modern mining town, with homes contrasting with the surrounding reddish desert. As of the 2021 census, Newman had a population of 6,456. The Hickman Crater, a meteorite impact crater discovered in 2007, is 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Newman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldsworthy, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Goldsworthy is a former mining town in Western Australia, east of Port Hedland and located in the Shire of East Pilbara. It was the first iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamersley & Robe River railway</span> 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 mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldsworthy railway</span> Private railway in Pilbara region of Western Australia

The Goldsworthy railway, owned and operated by BHP, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore. It is one of two railway lines BHP operates in the Pilbara, the other being the Mount Newman railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Newman railway</span> Private railway in Pilbara region of Western Australia

The Mount Newman railway, owned and operated by BHP, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore. It is one of two railway lines BHP operates in the Pilbara, the other being the Goldsworthy railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fortescue railway</span> Private railway in Pilbara region of Western Australia

The Fortescue railway, owned and operated by Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore. It opened in 2008. When it was completed, it was the heaviest haul railway in the world, designed for 40 tonne axle loads, 2.5 to 5 tonnes heavier than the other Pilbara iron ore rail systems. On 4 November 2014, FMG Rail commenced trialling 42-tonne axle loads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Angelas mine</span> Iron ore mine in Western Australia

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

The Yandicoogina mine, often shortened to Yandi, is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 95 kilometres north-west of Newman. it should not be confused with BHP Billiton's Yandi mine, which is located nearby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Whaleback mine</span> Iron ore mine in Western Australia

The Mount Whaleback mine, officially the Newman West operation, is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, six kilometres west of Newman.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron ore mining in Western Australia</span> Mining in Western Australia

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.

The Area C mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 92 kilometres west-north-west of Newman.

The Pardoo mine was an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 75 kilometres east of Port Hedland.

The Wodgina mine is an exhausted iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 90 kilometres south of Port Hedland.

The Yarrie mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 90 kilometres north-east of Marble Bar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yandi mine</span> Iron ore mine in 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.

The Orebodies 18, 23 and 25 mine, part of BHP's Eastern Ridge hub and officially referred to as the Newman East operation, is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 8 kilometres east of Newman. The mine is majority-owned and operated by BHP, and is one of seven iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara. The company also operates two port facilities at Port Hedland, Nelson Point and Finucane Island, and over 1,000 kilometres of rail in the Pilbara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Port Hedland</span> Seaport in Western Australia

Port Hedland is one of the largest iron ore loading ports in the world and the largest in Australia. In 2022, it had the largest bulk cargo throughput in Australia. With the neighboring ports of Port Walcott and Dampier, Port Hedland is one of three major iron ore exporting ports in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The Railways in the Pilbara are a collection of railways in the Pilbara region of north-west Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Hill railway</span> Private railway in Pilbara region of Western Australia

The Roy Hill railway, officially the Roy Hill Infrastructure railway, owned and operated by Hancock Prospecting, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore.

References

  1. ↑ "BHP Annual report 2021" (PDF). www.asx.com.au. BHP. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  2. ↑ MINEDEX website: Jimblebar search result Archived 2008-09-11 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 6 November 2010
  3. 1 2 3 BHP Billiton Annual report 2010 BHP Billiton website, accessed: 10 November 2010
  4. 1 2 About BHP Billiton Iron Ore BHP Billiton website, accessed: 10 November 2010
  5. ↑ Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistic Digest 2009 Department of Mines & Petroleum website, accessed: 8 November 2010
  6. 1 2 History of the Iron Ore Industry and the Pilbara BHP Billiton website, accessed: 10 November 2010
  7. ↑ Mining and Processing BHP Billiton website, accessed: 10 November 2010
  8. ↑ The Australian Mines Handbook - 2003-04 edition, editor: Ross Louthean, publisher: Louthean Media Pty Ltd, page: 240
  9. ↑ BHP reveals $11bn China iron ore deal Sydney Morning Herald , published: 2 March 2004, accessed: 14 November 2010
  10. ↑ Rail Archived 2009-04-10 at the Wayback Machine BHP Billiton website, accessed: 10 November 2010
  11. ↑ Ports BHP Billiton website, accessed: 10 November 2010
  12. ↑ BHP approves a $2bn expansion of WA iron ore operations The Australian , published: 29 January 2010, accessed: 14 November 2010
  13. ↑ BHP boosts Pilbara despite EU threat to Rio joint venture The Australian , published: 30 January 2010, accessed: 14 November 2010
  14. ↑ Thiess Wins Iron Ore Infrastructure Project Thiess, published: 29 March 2011, accessed: 30 November 2012
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.