The Paraburdoo mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, near Paraburdoo.MINEDEX website: Paraburdoo search result accessed: 6 November 2010
The mine is owned and operated by Rio Tinto, and is one of twelve iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara.Pilbara Rio Tinto Iron Ore, accessed: 6 November 2010Mining Rio Tinto Iron Ore, accessed: 6 November 2010 In 2009, the combined Pilbara operations produced 202 million tonnes of iron ore, a 15% increase over 2008.Preparing for the future Rio Tinto presentation, published: 23 March 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010 The Pilbara operations accounted for almost 13% of the world's 2009 iron ore production of 1.59 billion tonnes.Global iron-ore production falls 6,2% in 2009 - Unctad report miningweekly.com, published: 30 July 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010Production of iron ore fell in 2009, but shipments continued to increase, report says UNCTAD published: 30 July 2010, accessed: 7 November 2010
The Hamersley Range, where the mine is located, contains 80% of all identified iron ore reserves in Australia and is one of the world's major iron ore provinces.Iron fact sheet - Australian Resources and Deposits Geoscience Australia, accessed: 7 November 2010
Overview
Rio Tinto's iron ore operations in the Pilbara began in 1966. The mine itself began operations in 1972.Proposed Joint Venture Development of Channar Mining Area Hamersley Range Western Australia Channar Mining September 1987 The combined production capacity of the Paraburdoo, Eastern Range and Channar mines is 20 million tonnes of iron ore. The ore is processed on site before being loaded onto rail.Paraburdoo mine Rio Tinto Iron Ore, accessed: 6 November 2010 Ore from Paraburdoo, like Brockman, Mount Tom Price, Channar, Eastern Range, Marandoo and Yandicoogina are transported as lump and fines ore product from the mines to Dampier via rail. Before being loaded onto ships for export, the product is blended and rescreened. The maximum size for the lumps is 31.5 mm, while the fines are at a maximum of 6.3 mm.Iron fact sheet - Mining Geoscience Australia, accessed: 7 November 2010
Ore from the mine is then transported to the coast via the Hamersley & Robe River railway line, where it is loaded onto ships.Rail Rio Tinto
The mine's workforce lives in Paraburdoo. In 2009, the combined operations of Paraburdoo, Channar and Eastern Range employed 1,081 people, a decrease compared to 2008 when it employed 1,324.Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistic Digest 2009 Department of Mines & Petroleum 2010
The mine is owned by Hamersley Iron, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, which owns six mines in the Pilbara, including Paraburdoo, and partly owns two more mines in the region.
References
External links Rio Tinto Iron Ore MINEDEX Database of the Department of Mines & Petroleum