Mount Tom Price mine

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Mount Tom Price mine
Mount Tom Price mine, September 2006.jpg
The Mount Tom Price mine
Location
Australia Western Australia location map.svg
Schlaegel und Eisen nach DIN 21800.svg
Mount Tom Price mine
Location in Western Australia
Location Shire of Ashburton, Pilbara
State Western Australia
Country Australia
Coordinates 22°44′58″S117°46′22″E / 22.749531°S 117.772697°E / -22.749531; 117.772697
Production
Products Iron ore
Production28 million tonnes/annum
History
Opened1966
Owner
Company Rio Tinto Iron Ore
Website Rio Tinto Iron Ore website
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. [1]

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. [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] with the Mount Tom Price mine opening that year. Mount Tom Price was the company's first mine to open in the Pilbara. [8] The mine has an annual production capacity of 28 million tonnes of iron ore, sourced from open-pit operations. The ore is processed on site before being loaded onto rail. [9] Ore from Mount Tom Price, like Brockman, Paraburdoo, Channar, Eastern Range, Marandoo and Yandicoogina are 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 rescreened. The maximum size for the lumps is 31.5 mm, while the fines are at a maximum of 6.3 mm. [10]

Ore from the mine is then transported to the coast through the Hamersley & Robe River railway, where it is loaded onto ships. [11]

The mine's workforce is residential and lives in Tom Price. [9] In 2009, the mine employed 1,515 people, a decrease in comparison to 2008, when it employed 1,701. [12]

The mine is owned by Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto, which owns six mines in the Pilbara, including Mount Tom Price, and partly owns two more mines in the region. [12] The company is building a 45MW/12MWh battery as a virtual synchronous machine to control the mine's electricity grid. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilbara Iron</span> 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%).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamersley Range</span> Mountain range in 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. Karijini National Park lies within the range.

<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">Brockman 2 mine</span> Iron ore mine in Western Australia

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

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

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

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

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

The Paraburdoo mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, near Paraburdoo.

The Channar mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 17 kilometres south-east of Paraburdoo.

The Eastern Range mine is an iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 10 kilometres south-east of Paraburdoo.

<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.

The Hope Downs mine is an iron ore mining complex located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It comprises four large open-pit mines. The mines are co-owned by the Hancock Group and Rio Tinto, and the complex was named after Hope Hancock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brockman 4 mine</span> 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.

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

References

  1. ↑ MINEDEX website: Mount Tom Price search result Archived 2008-09-11 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 6 November 2010
  2. 1 2 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 2017-02-18 at the Wayback Machine Geoscience Australia website, accessed: 2 Apr 2017
  8. ↑ The Australian Mines Handbook - 2003-04 edition, editor: Ross Louthean, publisher: Louthean Media Pty Ltd, page: 242
  9. 1 2 Mount Tom Price mine Archived 2010-09-06 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  10. ↑ Iron fact sheet - Mining Archived 2011-02-18 at the Wayback Machine Geoscience Australia website, accessed: 7 November 2010
  11. ↑ Rail Archived 2013-07-01 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  12. 1 2 Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistic Digest 2009 Department of Mines and Petroleum website, accessed: 8 November 2010
  13. ↑ Parkinson, Giles (1 July 2021). "Rio Tinto battery to be biggest of its type in world, and shine path to 100 pct renewables". RenewEconomy. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. The battery will be able to control the grid and hold it steady by itself
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