Mesa J mine

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Mesa J mine
Location
Australia Western Australia location map.svg
Schlaegel und Eisen nach DIN 21800.svg
Mesa J mine
Location in Western Australia
Location Shire of Ashburton, Pilbara
State Western Australia
Country Australia
Coordinates 21°45′00″S116°14′32″E / 21.750059°S 116.242203°E / -21.750059; 116.242203
Production
Products Iron ore
Production7 million tonnes/annum
History
Opened1994
Owner
Company Rio Tinto Iron Ore (53%)
Mitsui & Co (33%)
Nippon Steel (10.5%)
Sumitomo Metal Industries (3.5%)
Year of acquisitionRio Tinto: 2000
Mesa J mine

The Mesa J mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 16 kilometres south-west of Pannawonica. [1]

Contents

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. [2] [3] In 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 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 Iron ore Pilbara 2.svg
Iron ore mines in the Pilbara region

Rio Tinto's 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 7 million tonnes of iron ore, sourced from open-pit operations. The ore is processed on site before being loaded onto rail. [8] At the height of production, the mine produced 35 million tonnes of iron ore annually. [9]

Ore from the mine is then transported to the coast through the Hamersley & Robe River railway line, where it is loaded onto ships. [10] Ore from Mesa J, like from the West Angelas, is taken to Cape Lambert by rail to be exported as fines. The fines have a maximum size of 9.5 mm. [11]

The mine's workforce is predominantly a Residential mine with workers taking residence in Pannawonica, and around 20% of the workforce on a fly-in fly-out roster. [8]

The mine is located near the Mesa A mine. [2] The new Mesa A mine is scheduled to replace the Mesa J mine which is nearing the end of its life span. The combined investment of Rio Tinto in the Mesa A and Brockman 4 mines was $2.4 billion. [12]

Robe River Iron Associates

Robe River Iron, owner of the mine, is jointly owned by: [1]

Robe River Iron operates the West Angelas, Mesa A and Mesa J mines. [12] Rio Tinto acquired its share of 53% in late 2000, when it took over mining company North Limited. [13] [14] [15]

References

  1. 1 2 MINEDEX website: Deepdale Mesa J search result Archived 2008-09-11 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 6 November 2010
  2. 1 2 3 Pilbara Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  3. ↑ Mining Archived 2010-06-12 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  4. ↑ Preparing for the future Archived 2011-07-15 at the Wayback Machine 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 [ permanent dead link ] UNCTAD website, published: 30 July 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
  7. ↑ Iron fact sheet - Australian Resources and Deposits Archived 2011-02-18 at the Wayback Machine Geoscience Australia website, accessed: 7 November 2010
  8. 1 2 Mesa J mine Archived 2010-06-14 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  9. ↑ Rio's Pilbara railway extension begins operating Archived 2012-06-03 at the Wayback Machine perthnow.com.au, published: 22 February 2010, accessed: 8 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 2008-09 Department of Mines & Petroleum website, accessed: 8 November 2010
  13. ↑ Rio wins North deal The Guardian 5 August 2000
  14. ↑ The Australian Mines Handbook – 2003–04 edition, editor: Ross Louthean, publisher: Louthean Media, page: 243
  15. ↑ The Australian Mines Handbook - 2003-04 edition, editor: Ross Louthean, publisher: Louthean Media Pty Ltd, page: 243
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