Brockman 4 mine

The Brockman 4 mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 60 kilometres (37 mi) north-west of Tom Price.[1] The mine, located near the existing Brockman mine, was opened in 2010.[2] The mine is fully owned and operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore, which owns many mines in the area.[3][4] The mine is serviced by the Boolgeeda Airport.

Brockman 4 mine
The plant at the mine.
Location
Brockman 4 mine
Location in Australia
LocationPilbara
StateWestern Australia
CountryAustralia
Coordinates22°34′31″S 117°16′07″E
Production
ProductsIron ore
Production22 million tonnes/annum
History
Opened2010
Owner
CompanyRio Tinto Iron Ore
WebsiteRio Tinto Iron Ore website

In May 2020, Rio Tinto achieved notoriety for its blasting of archaeologically highly significant and also culturally sensitive Australian Aboriginal sacred sites in Juukan Gorge order to expand Brockman 4.[5][6] A government Inquiry was established to investigate the incident on 11 June 2020.[7]

The Hamersley Range, where the mine is located, is, with 80% of all identified iron ore reserves in Australia, one of the major iron ore provinces in the world.[8]

Overview
Iron ore mines in the Pilbara region.

Brockman 4 is located approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of the Brockman 2 mine. The mine, which cost US$1.520 billion to build, was initially scheduled to produce 22 million tonnes annually,[2] with a doubling of capacity planned by 2012, to help achieve Rio Tinto's goal of raising iron ore production from the Pilbara from 220 million tonnes annually (as of 2010) to 330 million.[9]

As of 2013 the ore body is approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) long and up to 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) wide, comprising the hills to the south of the Boolgeeda Creek Valley. Mining incorporates a fleet of fifteen Komatsu 830E haul trucks. The ore is processed on site in the plant to produce lump (<31.5mm, >6mm) and fines (<6mm) product. There is a primary Jaw Crusher, two secondary cone crushers, a six bin screening building and a 1.2 Million tonne capacity stockyard. Stockpiled ore is loaded onto rail and then transported to the coast through the Hamersley & Robe River railway, where it is loaded onto ships.[10]

The mine's workforce is on a fly-in fly-out roster.

Brockman 4 was estimated to have a mine life of 20 years.[11] It was officially opened on 2 September 2010.[12] Rio Tinto allocated a further A$1.24 billion in early December 2010, to expand the mine as well as develop its Western Turner Syncline project, with the aim of increasing the Pilbara production to 283 million tonnes per annum by late 2013. The expansion would make B4 Rio Tinto's second-largest mine in the Pilbara.[13]

References
  1. MINEDEX website: Brockman 4 search result Archived September 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine accessed: 8 November 2010
  2. Expansion Projects Archived 2011-04-06 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 8 November 2010
  3. Pilbara Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  4. Mining Archived 2010-06-12 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 8 November 2010
  5. Perpitch, Nicolas (23 August 2020). "Rio Tinto executives stripped of bonuses over destruction of Juukan Gorge rock shelters". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  6. Hirini, Rangi (17 June 2020). "Rio Tinto responds to allegations they're 'not sorry' for Juukan Gorge destruction". NITV. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  7. Jenkins, Keira (5 August 2020). "Rio Tinto tells Senate inquiry it could have avoided Juukan Gorge destruction". NITV. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  8. Iron fact sheet - Australian Resources and Deposits Archived 2011-02-18 at the Wayback Machine Geoscience Australia website, accessed: 7 November 2010
  9. Rio to double capacity at $US1.5bn Brockman mine, says Walsh The Australian, published: 2 September 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
  10. Rail Archived 2013-07-01 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 8 November 2010
  11. Brockman 4 Archived 2010-07-21 at the Wayback Machine theresourcechannel.com.au, published: 5 March 2010, accessed: 8 November 2010
  12. Rio Tinto opens Brockman 4 The Sydney Morning Herald, published: 2 September 2010, accessed: 8 November 2010
  13. Rio Tinto signals $1.24bn ore expansion The Australian, published: 2 December 2010, accessed: 4 December 2010
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