Mesa J mine

The Mesa J mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 16 kilometres south-west of Pannawonica.[1]

Mesa J mine
Location
Mesa J mine
Location in Australia
LocationPilbara
StateWestern Australia
CountryAustralia
Coordinates21°45′00″S 116°14′32″E
Production
ProductsIron ore
Production7 million tonnes/annum
History
Opened1994
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 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, 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 new Mesa A and Brockman 4 mines is A$2.4 billion.[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.[12] Rio Tinto acquired its share of 53% in late 2000, when it took over mining company North Limitd.[13]

References
  1. MINEDEX website: Deepdale Mesa J search result Archived 2008-09-11 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 6 November 2010
  2. Pilbara Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  3. Mining Archived 2010-06-12 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  4. Preparing for the future Archived 2011-07-15 at the Wayback Machine 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 Archived 2011-02-18 at the Wayback Machine Geoscience Australia website, accessed: 7 November 2010
  8. Mesa J mine Archived 2010-06-14 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  9. Rio's Pilbara railway extension begins operating Archived 2012-06-03 at the Wayback Machine perthnow.com.au, published: 22 February 2010, accessed: 8 November 2010
  10. Rail Archived 2013-07-01 at the Wayback Machine Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010
  11. Iron fact sheet - Mining Archived 2011-02-18 at the Wayback Machine Geoscience Australia website, accessed: 7 November 2010
  12. Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistic Digest 2008-09 Department of Mines and Petroleum website, accessed: 8 November 2010
  13. The Australian Mines Handbook - 2003-04 edition, editor: Ross Louthean, publisher: Louthean Media Pty Ltd, page: 243
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