Yandicoogina Iron Ore Mine

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The Yandicoogina mine, often shortened to Yandi, is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 95 kilometres north-west of Newman. It should not be confused with BHP Billiton's Yandi mine, which is located nearby.

As of Dec 2010 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 1998. The mine has an annual production capacity of 52 million tonnes of iron ore, sourced from open-pit operations. The ore is processed on site before being loaded onto rail.

Ore from the mine is then transported to the coast through the Hamersley & Robe River railway, where it is loaded onto ships. Ore from Yandicoogina, like Brockman, Mount Tom Price, Paraburdoo, Channar, Eastern Range and Marandoo 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.

The mine's workforce is on a fly-in fly-out roster. In the calendar year 2009, the mine employed 953 people, a slight decrease in comparison to 2008, when it employed 957.

In September 2010, Rio Tinto began operating flights from Derby in order to bolster its workforce at its mines located in the Pilbara and especially at the Yandicoogina mine. It is part of a program to fly Aboriginal Rio Tinto employees from their communities like Meekatharra, Nullagine, Carnarvon and Broome to their workplace at the mines.

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

The following are details of the operation:

Location: 95km north-west of Newman, Western Australia.
Operation: Open pit operation with site-based processing facilities.
Working arrangements: Fly-in / fly-out roster.
Capacity: 52 million tonnes per annum.
Products: Hamersley Iron Yandicoogina Fines (HIY-F).
Geology: Channel Iron Deposit.
First year of operation: 1998
Ownership: 100 per cent Rio Tinto. (as of Dec 2010)

Assets Haul trucks:
• 11 × Komatsu 730E (190 tonne capacity).
• 11 × Komatsu 830E (220 tonne capacity).

Loading units:
• 2 × Hitachi EX3600 - 3500 tonnes per hour.
• 6 × Komatsu WA1200 - 3500 tonnes per hour.

Auxiliary equipment:
• 3 × Reedrill SKS 10 5/8 rotary drills.
• 3 × Caterpillar D11 dozers.
• 1 x WA900 loader
• 2 × Caterpillar 16H grader.
• 2 × WD900 Komatsu wheel dozer.
• 1 x 24 mtpa dry crushing and screening plant
• 1 x 12 mtpa wet crushing and screening plant
• 1x 16 mtpa dry crushing and screening plant

Dual train loadout capability