Tom Price Iron Ore Mine

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The Mount Tom Price mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, near Tom Price.

The mine is fully-owned and operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore and is one of twelve iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara. In the calendar year 2009, the combined Pilbara operations produced 202 million tonnes of iron ore, a 15 percent increase from 2008. The Pilbara operations accounted for almost 13 percent of the world's 2009 iron ore production of 1.59 billion tonnes.

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.

Iron ore mines in the Pilbara region.Rio Tinto's iron ore operations in the Pilbara began in 1966, with the Mount Tom Price mine opening that year. Mount Tom Price was the companies first mine to open in the Pilbara. The mine has an annual production capacity of 28 million tonnes of iron ore, sourced from open-pit operations. The ore is processed on site before being loaded onto rail. Ore from Mount Tom Price, like Brockman, Paraburdoo, 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.

Ore from the mine is then transported to the coast through the Hamersley & Robe River railway, where it is loaded onto ships.

The mines workforce is residential and lives in Tom Price. In the calendar year 2009, the mine employed 1,515 people, a decrease in comparison to 2008, when it employed 1,701.

The mine is owned by Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto, which ownes six mines in the Pilbara, including Mount Tom Price, and partly owns two more mines in the region.

Details for the Mine:

Location: Approximately 370 kilometres south-east of Karratha.
Operation: Open pit operation with site-based processing facilities
Working arrangements: Employees live in the nearby town of Tom Price.
Capacity: 28 million tonnes per annum.
Products: Lump and Fines contributions to Pilbara Blend.
Geology: Brockman and Marra Mamba Bedded Iron Deposit.
First year of operation: 1966
Ownership: 100 per cent Rio Tinto.

Assets Dozers:
• 2 x D11T.
• 2 x D11R.
• 1 x D10T.

Dump Trucks:
• 31 x Komatsu 830E, A/C and D/C drive.
• 4 x 785-7 Komatsu.

Excavators:
• 3 x Hitachi EX3600 excavator.
• 2 x O&K RH170 face shovels.
• 1 x Hitachi EX5500 face shovel.
• 1 x O&K RH200 face shovel.
• 1 x O&K RH120 excavator.
• 1 x Komatsu PC 1250 excavator.

Graders:
• 2 x Cat 16H.
• 1 x Cat 16M.
• 1 x Cat 24H.

Loaders:
• 1 x Komatsu WA1200.
• 2 x Letourneau 1850.

Water Trucks:
• 2 x Cat 777.
• 1 x Cat 785C.
• 2 x Komatsu 785-5.

Crushing and screening plant.

Train loadout capability.