Location | |
---|---|
Location | Shire of East Pilbara, Pilbara |
State | Western Australia |
Country | Australia |
Coordinates | 20°36′47″S120°18′12″E / 20.6131155°S 120.3034013°E |
Production | |
Products | Iron ore |
Production | 2 million tonnes/annum |
History | |
Opened | 1993 |
Closed | 2014 |
Owner | |
Company | BHP (85%) Itochu (8%) Mitsui Iron (7%) |
Website | BHP Billiton website |
The Yarrie mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 90 kilometres north-east of Marble Bar. [1]
The mine is majority-owned (85 percent) [2] 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. [3] The Yarrie mine is part of the Mount Goldsworthy joint venture, together with the Area C and Nimingarra mine, with the later being in care and maintenance since 2007. [2]
BHP Billiton is the second-largest iron ore mining company in the Pilbara, behind Rio Tinto and ahead of Fortescue Metals Group. [4] As of 2010 [update] , BHP employs 8,000 people in its Pilbara operations. [3]
On 25 February 2014, BHP Billiton announced it was suspending iron ore output at Yarrie indefinitely in a drive to cut costs. [5] [6]
The first iron ore mine in the Pilbara to develop was the Goldsworthy mine in 1965, and the Goldsworthy railway line 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 Harvey S. Mudd. [7]
The Yarri mine opened in December 1993. [8] A number of iron ore mines have been operating in this area, along the Goldsworthy railway, among them the Goldsworthy, Nimingarra and Shay Gap mines, but of those, only Yarrie still remains active. The fixed plant at Yarrie, capable of producing 8 million tonnes of ore per annum, has been placed in care and maintenance as well, with only a smaller, mobile plant now operating at the mine. [2]
In 2007, BHP Billiton awarded a A$300 million contract to Ngarda Civil and Mining, an Aboriginal-owned company, to manage the mine, [9] the largest ever mining contract awarded to an Aboriginal company. [10] [11] As part of the five-year contract, BHP Billiton planned to increase the number of Aboriginal workers at the mine to 70, out of a total of 90 workers. The managing director of Ngarda, Brian Taylor, saw this contract as a positive step, moving Aboriginal people in the region away from government welfare and into permanent employment. Aboriginal Western Australians, in 2007, suffered from an unemployment rate of 14 percent, compare to 3.3 percent for the general population. [12]
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
The Railways in the Pilbara are a collection of railways in the Pilbara region of north-west Western Australia.