West Angelas mine
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  West Angelas mine Location in Western Australia | |
 | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Shire of East Pilbara, Pilbara |
| State | Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 23°10′23″S 118°45′53″E / 23.173010°S 118.764702°E |
| Production | |
| Products | Iron ore |
| Production | 35.0 million tonnes/annum |
| History | |
| Opened | 2002 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Rio Tinto Iron Ore (53%) Mitsui & Co (33%) Nippon Steel (10.5%) Sumitomo Metal Industries (3.5%) |
| Website | http://www.riotintoironore.com/index.asp |
| Year of acquisition | Rio Tinto: 2000 |
The West Angelas mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 110 kilometres North West of Newman.[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 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 on the Hamersley & Robe River railway line, 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 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:[1]
- Rio Tinto - 53% - operator
- Mitsui & Co - 33%
- Nippon Steel - 10.5%
- Sumitomo Metal Industries - 3.5%
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 Limited.[13][14]
