Mesa J mine
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  Mesa J mine Location in Western Australia | |
 | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Shire of Ashburton, Pilbara |
| State | Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 21°45′00″S 116°14′32″E / 21.750059°S 116.242203°E |
| Production | |
| Products | Iron ore |
| Production | 7 million tonnes/annum |
| History | |
| Opened | 1994 |
| 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 J mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 16 kilometres south-west of Pannawonica.[1]
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 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]
Rio Tinto's iron ore operations in the Pilbara began in 1966.[2] The mine itself began operations in 1994. The mine has an annual production capacity of 7 million tonnes of iron ore, sourced from open-pit operations. The ore is processed on site before being loaded onto rail.[8] At the height of production, the mine produced 35 million tonnes of iron ore annually.[9]
Ore from the mine is then transported to the coast through the Hamersley & Robe River railway line, where it is loaded onto ships.[10] Ore from Mesa J, like from the West Angelas, is taken to Cape Lambert by rail to be exported as fines. The fines have a maximum size of 9.5 mm.[11]
The mine's workforce is predominantly a Residential mine with workers taking residence in Pannawonica, and around 20% of the workforce on a fly-in fly-out roster.[8]
The mine is located near the Mesa A mine.[2] The new Mesa A mine is scheduled to replace the Mesa J mine which is nearing the end of its life span. The combined investment of Rio Tinto in the Mesa A and Brockman 4 mines was $2.4 billion.[12]
