| Location | |
|---|---|
  Mesa A mineLocation in Western Australia | |
| Location | Shire of Ashburton, Pilbara |
| State | Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 21°40′12″S 115°54′14″E / 21.669979°S 115.903999°E / -21.669979; 115.903999 |
| Production | |
| Products | Iron ore |
| Production | 25,000,000 tonnes (25,000,000 long tons; 28,000,000 short tons)/annum |
| History | |
| Opened | 2010 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Rio Tinto Iron Ore (53%) Mitsui & Co. (33%) Nippon Steel (10.5%) Sumitomo Metal Industries (3.5%) |
| Year of acquisition | Rio Tinto: 2000 |
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 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. In 2009, the combined Pilbara operations produced 202,000,000 tonnes (199,000,000 long tons; 223,000,000 short tons) of iron ore, a 15 percent increase from 2008. The Pilbara operations accounted for almost 13 percent of the world's 2009 iron ore production of 1,590,000,000 tonnes (1.56×10 long tons; 1.75×10 short tons).
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.
Overview
Rio Tinto iron ore operations in the Pilbara began in 1966. The mine itself began operations in 2010. The mine has an annual production capacity of 25,000,000 tonnes (25,000,000 long tons; 28,000,000 short tons) of iron ore, sourced from open-pit operations. The ore is processed on site before being loaded onto rail.
Ore from the mine is then transported to the coast through the Hamersley & Robe River railway, where it is loaded onto ships.
The mine's workforce is on a fly-in fly-out roster.
The mine is located near the Mesa J mine. The new Mesa A mine was scheduled to replace the Mesa J mine which was nearing the end of its life span. Due to additional deposits found near the existing Mesa J site, a decision was made to operate the Mesa A mine as a FIFO site. The Mesa J site could then continue to run as a residential site based in Pannawonica. After a two-year construction period and expenses of A$1 billion, the mine began operation in February 2010. The mine was initially scheduled for a mine life of eleven years. But has now been extended due to an expansion for the mining of Mesa B and Mesa C deposits.
Robe River Iron Associates
Robe River Iron, owner of the mine, is jointly owned by the following companies:
- Rio Tinto Group – 53% – operator
- Mitsui and Co. (Australia) Ltd – 33%
- Nippon Steel Australia Pty Ltd – 10.5%
- Sumitomo Metal Australia Pty Ltd – 3.5%
Robe River Iron operates the West Angelas, Mesa A and Mesa J mines. Rio Tinto acquired its share of 53% in late 2000, when it took over mining company North Limited.
References
- ^ Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistic Digest 2008–09 Department of Mines and Petroleum website, accessed: 8 November 2010
- ^ MINEDEX website: Deepdale Mesa A search result Archived 2008-09-11 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 6 November 2010
- ^ Pilbara Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
- Mining Archived 2010-06-12 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
- Preparing for the future Archived 2011-07-15 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto presentation, published: 23 March 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
- Global iron-ore production falls 6,2% in 2009 – Unctad report miningweekly.com, published: 30 July 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
- Production of iron ore fell in 2009, but shipments continued to increase, report says UNCTAD website, published: 30 July 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
- Iron fact sheet – Australian Resources and Deposits Archived 2011-02-18 at the Wayback Machine Geoscience Australia website, accessed: 7 November 2010
- ^ Mesa A mine Archived 2011-07-01 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
- Rail Archived 2013-07-01 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
- The Australian Mines Handbook – 2003–04 edition, editor: Ross Louthean, publisher: Louthean Media Pty Ltd, page: 243
External links
| Iron ore mining in Western Australia | |||||||
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| BHP |
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| Fortescue |
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| Rio Tinto |
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| Hancock Prospecting |
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| Atlas Iron |
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| Other operations |
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