Mesa A mine
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  Mesa A mine Location in Western Australia | |
 Interactive map of Mesa A mine | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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,[1] is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 50 km (31 mi) west of Pannawonica.[2]
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.[3][4] 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.[5] The Pilbara operations accounted for almost 13 percent of the world's 2009 iron ore production of 1,590,000,000 tonnes (1.56×109 long tons; 1.75×109 short tons).[6][7]
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.[8]
Rio Tinto iron ore operations in the Pilbara began in 1966.[3] The mine itself began operations in 2010. Operation of the mine was contracted to HWE Mining.[9] 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.[10]
Ore from the mine is then transported to the coast through the Hamersley & Robe River railway line, where it is loaded onto ships.[11]
The mine's workforce is on a fly-in fly-out roster.[10]
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 fly-in fly-out 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 $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.[citation needed]
