Paraburdoo Iron Ore Mine

 open-pit mine, iron mine

 Upload a photo

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

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. The mine itself began operations in 1972. 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. 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.

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 lives residential in Paraburdoo. In the calendar year 2009, the combined operations of Paraburdoo, Channar and Eastern Range employed 1,081 people, a decrease in comparison to 2008, when it employed 1,324.

The mine is owned by Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto, which owns six mines in the Pilbara, including Paraburdoo, and partly owns two more mines in the region.Location: 80 kilometres south of Tom Price.
Operation: Open pit operation with site-based processing facilities.
Working arrangements: Employees live in nearby Paraburdoo.
Capacity: 20 million tonnes per annum (total Greater Paraburdoo Operation: - Paraburdoo, Eastern Range and Channar).
Products: Lump and Fines contributions to Pilbara Blend.
Geology: Brockman Bedded Iron Deposit.
First year of operation: 1972
Ownership: 100 per cent Rio Tinto.

Assets Shared from the Greater Paraburdoo Operations pooled fleet:

Terex Unit Rig MT4400
• 06H1
• 06H2
• 06H3
• 06H4
• 06H5
• 06H6
• 06H7
• 06H8
• 06H11
• 06H12
• 06H13
• 06H14
• 06H15
• 06H16
• 06H17
• 06H18
• 06H19
• 06H20
• 06H114
• 06H115

Caterpillar 785C Haul Truck
• 06H160
• 06H161
• 06H162
• 06H163

Loading Units:
• Shovel O&K RH200C, 15H2046.
• Letourneau L180, 07H1496, 07H1697, 07H168.
• Hitachi EX3600 15H2052, 15H2053, 15R02, 15H901.
• Hitachi EX2500 15H179.

Auxillary Equipment Drill
• Reedrill SKS12 21H2101.
• Reedrill SKS15 21H2026.
• Reedrill QXR920 21H109.
• Reedrill QXR920 21H2029.
• Reedrill QXR920 21H2191.

Dozer
• Caterpillar D11R 08H1061, 08H1062, 08H1063, 08H397.
• Caterpillar D10R 08H93, 08H94.
• Caterpillar D10T 08H93, 08H94.

Grader
• Caterpillar 16M, 14H & 24H, 12H200, 12H201, 12H219, 12H204, 12H224.

Front End Ldr
• Caterpillar 992, 07H101.
• Caterpillar 998, 07H103.
• Caterpillar AN Loader, 07H109.
• Komatsu WA250, 07H122, 07H123.
• Komatsu WA900, 07H1486.

Articulated Truck
• Moxy, 06H185.

Water Truck
• Caterpillar 777D and Caterpillar 785C, 06H107, 06H108, 06H180, 06H254, 06H257.

Float
• Terex Unit Rig Float 11H92.
• Caterpillar 793 Float 11H93.

Tyre Dozer
• Tiger 855 08H80.
• Komatsu WD900, 08H87, 08H89.

Crushing and screening plant, fines processing plant.

Train loadout capability.