Pardoo mine
Encyclopedia
The Pardoo mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia
, 75 kilometres east of Port Hedland
.
The mine is fully owned and operated by Atlas Iron Limited and was, at the time of commencemenet of production, the company's only operational mine. Atlas Iron is an iron ore explorer, developer and producer, predominantley active in the Pilbara region.
Atlas Iron is a minor iron ore mining company, especially compare to the three big Pilbara iron ore miners, BHP Billiton
, Rio Tinto
and the Fortescue Metals Group
.
s to Port Hedland, where the ore is shipped from. The mine cost A$12 million to develop but, on start up of production, was troubled by the Global financial crisis, with Atlas having hopped to sell its production on the spot market. Falling demands at the time however proved to be a challenge for the company as it had to find buyers for its ore. Atlas was able to recover from this position and, by the second half of 2009, sharply increasing revenue from its mine.
Mining is carried out in an open pit operation. In its first year of operation, the mine produced 1.08 million tonnes of ore, but in full production, the mine is scheduled to produce 2.4 million tonnes of iron ore annually.
In 2010, Atlas commenced production on its Wodgina mine
, also located in the Pilbara. The company plans to lift production from its Pilbara operations to 12 million tonnes of iron ore by 2012, up from 6.5 million tonnes in late 2010. Of these, 10 million tonnes are scheduled to come from the new Turner River hub, which is to blend and process ore from the company's northern Pilbara projects, located at Wodgina, Abydos and Mt Webber.
Atlas is hopeful to come to terms with BHP Billiton in regards to using the company's rail infrastructure, the Goldsworthy railway
, in the future. BHP, in late 2010, had agreed to a joint feasibility study into how an arrangement might work.
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, 75 kilometres east of Port Hedland
Port Hedland, Western Australia
Port Hedland is the highest tonnage port in Australia and largest town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with a population of approximately 14,000 ....
.
The mine is fully owned and operated by Atlas Iron Limited and was, at the time of commencemenet of production, the company's only operational mine. Atlas Iron is an iron ore explorer, developer and producer, predominantley active in the Pilbara region.
Atlas Iron is a minor iron ore mining company, especially compare to the three big Pilbara iron ore miners, BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...
, Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto Group
The Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the...
and the Fortescue Metals Group
Fortescue Metals Group
Fortescue Metals Group is an Australian iron ore mining company. The company has holdings of more than 87,000 km² in the Pilbara region of Western Australia making it the largest tenement holder in the state. It is listed as FMG on the Australian Securities Exchange .In 2008, the group loaded...
.
Overview
The mine commenced production in October 2008 and was the first producing mine to be operated by Atlas Iron. Ore is crushed and screened on site before being hauled by road trainRoad train
A road train or roadtrain is a trucking concept used in remote areas of Argentina, Australia, Mexico, the United States and Canada to move freight efficiently. The term "road train" is most often used in Australia. In the U.S. and Canada the terms "triples," "turnpike doubles" and "Rocky Mountain...
s to Port Hedland, where the ore is shipped from. The mine cost A$12 million to develop but, on start up of production, was troubled by the Global financial crisis, with Atlas having hopped to sell its production on the spot market. Falling demands at the time however proved to be a challenge for the company as it had to find buyers for its ore. Atlas was able to recover from this position and, by the second half of 2009, sharply increasing revenue from its mine.
Mining is carried out in an open pit operation. In its first year of operation, the mine produced 1.08 million tonnes of ore, but in full production, the mine is scheduled to produce 2.4 million tonnes of iron ore annually.
In 2010, Atlas commenced production on its Wodgina mine
Wodgina mine
The Wodgina mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 90 kilometres south of Port Hedland.The mine is fully operated by Atlas Iron Limited and is the company's second operational mine, after Pardoo, which opened in 2008...
, also located in the Pilbara. The company plans to lift production from its Pilbara operations to 12 million tonnes of iron ore by 2012, up from 6.5 million tonnes in late 2010. Of these, 10 million tonnes are scheduled to come from the new Turner River hub, which is to blend and process ore from the company's northern Pilbara projects, located at Wodgina, Abydos and Mt Webber.
Atlas is hopeful to come to terms with BHP Billiton in regards to using the company's rail infrastructure, the Goldsworthy railway
Goldsworthy railway
The Goldsworthy railway, owned and operated by BHP Billiton, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for the purpose of carrying iron ore. It is one of two railway lines the group operates in the Pilbara, the other being the Mount Newman railway.Additionally to the BHP...
, in the future. BHP, in late 2010, had agreed to a joint feasibility study into how an arrangement might work.
External links
- Atlas Iron Limited website
- MINEDEX website Database of the Department of Mines and PetroleumDepartment of Mines and PetroleumThe Department of Mines and Petroleum is a department of the Government of Western Australia. The department was formed on 1 January 2009, out of the former Department of Industry and Resources and Department of Consumer and Employment Protection, which were split into three new departments, the...