| Mesa A mine | |
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| Location | |
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Mesa A mine
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| Location | Pilbara |
| State | Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Owner | |
| Company | Rio Tinto Iron Ore (53%) Mitsui & Co. (33%) Nippon Steel (10.5%) Sumitomo Metal Industries (3.5%) |
| Website | Rio Tinto Iron Ore website |
| Year of acquisition | Rio Tinto: 2000 |
| ASX | RIO |
| Production | |
| Products | Iron ore |
| Production | 25 million tonnes/annum |
| History | |
| Opened | 2010 |
The Mesa A mine, sometimes also referred to as Waramboo mine,[1] is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 50 kilometres west of Pannawonica.[2]
The mine is owned by Robe River Iron Associates (53% Rio Tinto) and operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore and is one of twelve iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara.[3][4] In the calendar year 2009, the combined Pilbara operations produced 202 million tonnes of iron ore, a 15 percent increase from 2008.[5] The Pilbara operations accounted for almost 13 percent of the world's 2009 iron ore production of 1.59 billion tonnes.[6][7]
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.[8]
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Rio Tinto iron ore operations in the Pilbara began in 1966.[3] The mine itself began operations in 2010. The mine has an annual production capacity of 25 million tonnes of iron ore, sourced from open-pit operations. The ore is processed on site before being loaded onto rail.[9]
Ore from the mine is then transported to the coast through the Hamersley & Robe River railway, where it is loaded onto ships.[10]
The mines workforce is on a Fly-in fly-out roster.[9]
The mine is located near the Mesa J mine.[3] The new Mesa A mine is scheduled to replace the Mesa J mine which is nearing the end of its life span.[1] After a two year construction period and expenses of A$1 billion, the mine began operation in February 2010. The mine is initially scheduled for a mine live of eleven years.[11]
Robe River Iron, owner of the mine, is jointly owned by the following companies:[2]
Robe River Iron operates the West Angelas, Mesa A and Mesa J mines.[1] Rio Tinto acquired its share of 53% in late 2000, when it took over mining company North Limitd.[12]
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