West Angelas mine

The West Angelas mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 110 kilometres North West of Newman.[1]

West Angelas mine
Location
West Angelas mine
Location in Australia
LocationPilbara
StateWestern Australia
CountryAustralia
Coordinates23°10′23″S 118°45′53″E
Production
ProductsIron ore
Production35.0 million tonnes/annum
History
Opened2002
Owner
CompanyRio Tinto Iron Ore (53%)
Mitsui & Co. (33%)
Nippon Steel (10.5%)
Sumitomo Metal Industries (3.5%)
WebsiteRio Tinto Iron Ore website
Year of acquisitionRio Tinto: 2000

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 the calendar year 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.

Rio Tinto's iron ore operations in the Pilbara began in 1966.[2] The mine itself began operations in 2002. The mine has an annual production capacity of 29.5 million tonnes of iron ore, sourced from open-pit operations. The ore is processed on site before being loaded onto rail.[8]

Ore from the mine is then transported to the coast through the Hamersley & Robe River railway, where it is loaded onto ships.[9] Ore from West Angelas, like from Mesa J, is taken to Cape Lambert by rail to be exported as fines. The fines have a maximum size of 9.5 mm.[10]

The mine's workforce is on a fly-in fly-out roster.[8] In the calendar year 2009, the mine employed 989 people, an increase in comparison to 2008, when it only employed 867.[11]

West Angelas is the site of Rio Tinto's "Mine of the future" project. The mine operates automated trucks, automated rockbreakers, automated drills and blasts, which are controlled from a Perth operations centre rather than local operators on site.[12]

Robe River Iron Associates

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

Robe River Iron operates the West Angelas, Mesa A and Mesa J mines.[11] Rio Tinto acquired its share of 53% in late 2000, when it took over mining company North Limitd.[13]

References
  1. MINEDEX website: West Angelas search result accessed: 6 November 2010
  2. Pilbara Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  3. Mining Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  4. Preparing for the future 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 UNCTAD website, published: 30 July 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
  7. Iron fact sheet - Australian Resources and Deposits Geoscience Australia website, accessed: 7 November 2010
  8. West Angelas mine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  9. Rail Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  10. Iron fact sheet - Mining Geoscience Australia website, accessed: 7 November 2010
  11. Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistic Digest 2009 Department of Mines and Petroleum website, accessed: 7 November 2010
  12. Automatic Response: Rio Tinto's Mine of the Future mining-technology.com, published: 29 September 2008, accessed: 8 November 2010
  13. The Australian Mines Handbook - 2003-04 edition, editor: Ross Louthean, publisher: Louthean Media Pty Ltd, page: 244
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