Iron Bridge mine
Iron ore mine in Western Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Iron Bridge mine is an iron ore mine which opened in 2023 in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 145 km (90 mi) south of Port Hedland.[1]
  Iron Bridge Mine Location in Western Australia | |
 Interactive map of Iron Bridge Mine | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Marble Bar, Pilbara |
| State | Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 21°16′S 119°02′E |
| Production | |
| Products | Iron ore |
| Production | 22 million tonnes/annum |
| History | |
| Opened | 2023 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Fortescue |
| Website | Fortescue website |
The mine is fully owned and operated by Fortescue and is one of several iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara, the others being Christmas Creek mine, Cloudbreak mine and the Kings Valley mine and Firetail mine at the Solomon Project.[2]
Background
The geology is banded iron formation with reserves of 716 million tonnes of iron ore.[3]
Construction
Operation
The 12 grinding rolls use 93 MW to reduce the ore to 80 microns, and 10 grinding mills use 50 MW to further reduce to 35 microns. The powder at 0.028mm is mixed with water to slurry and sent by pipeline 135 km to Port Hedland.[6][3]
The mine is connected to Fortesque's power grid, and got a 26 MW short-duration battery in 2023.[7] The 100 megawatt North Star Junction solar park opened in 2024 (15 km east of the Great Northern Highway and the Turner River), supplying some of the mine's power.[8] A 50 MW / 250 MWh grid forming battery was ordered in late 2024 for the solar farm,[7] and started operating in January 2026.[9]
The mine gets 25 billion liters of water per year from the Canning Basin, and also uses return water piped from Port Hedland.[6]
The mine's workforce is around 900 on a fly-in fly-out roster.[6][3] FIFO arrivals and departures take place at the mine's own airport with a 8,300 ft asphalt runway, 15 km west of the mine.[10]