Pilbara region of Western Australia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Pilbara is a large, dry, thinly populated region

Regions of Western Australia

Regionalisations of Western Australia are systems by which Western Australia is divided into distinct geographic regions. The most commonly known regionalisation is the governmental division of the state into regions for economic development purposes, of which there are nine.Other regionalisations...

in the north of Western Australia

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...

known for its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is one of nine regions of the Regional Development Commissions Act 1993
Regional Development Commissions Act 1993
The Regional Development Commissions Act 1993 is legislation passed by the Parliament of Western Australia:to establish regional development commissions, to coordinate and promote the development of regions and to establish a regional development council.The Act falls under the control of the...

, and is also a bioregion under the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia

Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia

The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian Government's Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts...

(IBRA).

The region has an estimated population of 48,610 as of June 2010. The Pilbara covers an area of 502,000 km², which includes some of Earth's oldest rock formations. It includes landscapes of coastal plains and mountain ranges with cliffs and gorges. The major settlements of the region are 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 ....

, Karratha

Karratha, Western Australia

-Facilities:A range of hotel, motel, B&B and caravan/RV accommodation is available for visitors. However, as the town is booming, accommodation is often hard to come by.The town has restaurants, a tavern, two hotels and two night clubs...

and Newman

Newman, Western Australia

Newman, located about 1186 km north of Perth and 9 km north of the Tropic of Capricorn, is a town in the Pilbara region. It can be reached by the Great Northern Highway...

.

The area is known for its petroleum, natural gas and iron ore deposits, which contribute significantly to Western Australia

Economy of Western Australia

The Western Australian economy is a state economy dominated by its resources and services sector and largely driven by the export of iron-ore, gold, liquefied natural gas and agricultural commodities such as wheat. Covering an area of 2.5 million km2, the state is Australia's largest, accounting...

's economy. Other than mining, pastoral activities as well as fishing and tourism are the main industries.

Etymology

The Western Australia Gas Industry claims that the region takes its name from pilbarra, an Aboriginal word for the mullet

Mullet (fish)

The mullets or grey mullets are a family and order of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and in some species in fresh water. Mullets have served as an important source of food in Mediterranean Europe since Roman times...

and that the name was derived from the Pilbara Goldfield, discovered in 1885, which was itself named after Pilbara Creek (originally spelt "Pilbarra") a tributary of the Yule River

Yule River

The Yule River is an ephemeral river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.The headwaters of the river rise in the Abydos Plain between the Chichester Range and the Mungaroona Range in the Scientific Reserve then flow in a north westerly direction crossing the North West Coastal Highway...

.

Alternatively, Wangka Maya (Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre) says in its publication Bilybara (p. ii) that it derives from the name for the Pilbara region in Nyamal and Banyjima, bilybara meaning 'dry'.

History

The first European to explore the area was Francis Thomas Gregory

Francis Thomas Gregory

Francis Thomas Gregory was an English-born Australian explorer and politician.-Biography:Gregory was born at Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire, England, and was the younger brother of the explorer Augustus Gregory...

in 1861. Settlements along the coast at Cossack

Cossack, Western Australia

Cossack is an historic ghost town located 1,480 km north of Perth and 15 km from Roebourne in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The nearest town to Cossack is Wickham. At the 2006 census, Cossack had a population of 236....

, Roebourne

Roebourne, Western Australia

Roebourne is an old gold rush town in Western Australia's Pilbara region. It is 202 km from Port Hedland and 1,563 km from Perth, the state's capital. It prospered during its gold boom of the late 19th century and was once the biggest settlement between Darwin and Perth...

and Shellborough were established over ensuing decades as agricultural and pastoral centres. However, after c. 1900, these largely went into decline with the growth of other, more productive agricultural areas of the state. Mining in the area started in 1937 in Wittenoom Gorge, and following the discovery of iron ore in the Hamersley Range

Hamersley Range

The Hamersley Ranges is a mountainous region of the Pilbara, Western Australia. The range runs from the Fortescue River in the northeast, 460 km south. The range contains Western Australia's highest point, Mount Meharry, which reaches approximately AHD. There are many extensively-eroded...

s in the 1960s, the area became pivotal to the state's economy and towns built to accommodate mining and allied services boomed. On the 3 October 1952, the British conducted their first atomic bomb tests on the Montebello Islands

Montebello Islands

The Montebello Islands, also known as the Monte Bello Islands, are an archipelago of around 174 small islands lying north of Barrow Island and off the Pilbara coast of north-western Australia. Montebello is Italian for "beautiful mountain"...

as part of Operation Hurricane

Operation Hurricane

Operation Hurricane was the test of the first British atomic device on 3 October 1952. A plutonium implosion device was detonated in the lagoon between the Montebello Islands, Western Australia....

Aboriginal people

The Indegenious population of the Pilbara considerably predates the European settlement of the region.In 2006, it was estimated that 15% of the population of the Pilbara was of Indiginous backround, approximately 6,000 people. Near the town of Dampier, is a peninsula known as Murujuga

Murujuga

Murujuga , is a peninsula often known as Burrup Peninsula in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, adjoining the Dampier Archipelago and near the town of Dampier...

. Murujuga contains a large collection of world heritage listed petroglyph

Petroglyph

Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...

s, dating back thousands of years.

Working conditions in the pearling and pastoral industries for Aboriginals in the Pilbara region around 1900 have been described as slavery with no wages paid, kidnapping as well as severe and cruel punishments for misbehaviour and absconding all common practices. The first strike by Indegenious people in Australia took place in 1946

1946 Pilbara strike

The 1946 Pilbara strike was a landmark strike by Indigenous Australian pastoral workers in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for human rights recognition and payment of fair wages and working conditions...

in the Pilbara, when Aboriginal pastoral workers walked off the stations in protest at low pay and bad working conditions, a strike that lasted for over three years.

Clans in the Pilbara who were influenced by mining prospector, Don McLeod, developed skills for mining and the concentration of rare metals

Precious metal

A precious metal is a rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical element of high economic value.Chemically, the precious metals are less reactive than most elements, have high lustre, are softer or more ductile, and have higher melting points than other metals...

. For a short period money accumulated, which, according to Aboriginal law was to be used for traditional ways. Eventually the funds were used to establish an independent Aboriginal-controlled school. The concept has expanded into a movement with around twenty similar schools established in northern Western Australia by the mid 1990s.

A 1971 survey conducted by Pat McPherson found that most of 1,000 Aboriginals contacted has one or more serious diseases. At the McClelland Royal Commission

McClelland Royal Commission

The McClelland Royal Commission or Royal Commission into British nuclear tests in Australia was an inquiry by the Australian government in 1984-1985 to investigate the conduct of the British in its use, with the then Australian government's permission, of Australian territory and soldiers for...

into British nuclear testing, Aboriginals from the Pilbara provided evidence regarding the explosion on the Montebello Islands.

Location and description

Under the Regional Development Commissions Act Pilbara is situated south of the Kimberley

Kimberley region of Western Australia

The Kimberley is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northern part of Western Australia, bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami Deserts, and on the east by the Northern Territory.The region...

, and is made up of the local government areas

Local Government Areas of Western Australia

The Australian state of Western Australia is divided into 141 local government areas...

of Ashburton, East Pilbara, Port Hedland

Town of Port Hedland

The Town of Port Hedland is a Local Government Area in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for the twin towns of Port Hedland and South Hedland. It has a census population of 11,959 , of which only a few hundred live outside the settlement boundaries...

and Roebourne

Shire of Roebourne

The Shire of Roebourne is one of the four Local Government Areas in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The Shire covers an area of and has a population of about 19,100 , most of which is located in its seat of government, the town of Karratha, and the major towns.-History:In 1887, the...

.

The Pilbara region covers an area of 507,896 km² (including offshore islands). It has a population of just under 40,000 people, most of whom live in the western third of the region, in towns such as 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 ....

, Karratha

Karratha, Western Australia

, Wickham

Wickham, Western Australia

Wickham is a townsite located 1,572 km north of Perth and 13 km north of Roebourne in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.-History:...

, Newman

Newman, Western Australia

Newman, located about 1186 km north of Perth and 9 km north of the Tropic of Capricorn, is a town in the Pilbara region. It can be reached by the Great Northern Highway...

and Marble Bar

Marble Bar, Western Australia

-North Pole:An ironically named locality nearby is known as North Pole , no doubt for its heat. It is the location of rock formations considered to have evidence that puts the origin of life on earth back to 3,400–3,500 mya, due to stromatolites in particular rock sequences...

. A substantial number of people also work in the region on a fly-in/fly-out

Fly-in fly-out

Fly-in fly-out is a method of employing people in remote areas. It is often abbreviated to FIFO when referring to employment status. This is common in large mining states in Australia...

basis.

The Pilbara consists of three distinct geographic areas. The western third is the Roebourne coastal sandplain, which supports most of the region's population in towns and much of its industry and commerce. The eastern third is almost entirely desert, and is sparsely populated by a small number of Aboriginal

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

peoples. These are separated by the inland uplands of the Pilbara Craton

Pilbara craton

The Pilbara craton , along with the Kaapvaal craton are the only remaining areas of pristine Archaean 3.6-2.7 Ga crust on Earth...

, including the predominant Hamersley Range

Hamersley Range

which has a considerable number of mining towns, the Chichester Range

Chichester Range

The Chichester Range is a range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.The range rises abruptly from the coastal plain and is composed of rolling hills, escarpments, jagged peaks, gorges and winding tree-lined watercourses....

and others. These uplands have a number of gorges and other natural attractions. Pilbara contains some of the world's oldest surface rocks, including the ancient fossilised remains known as stromatolites and rocks such as granite

Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...

s that are more than three billion years old. In 2007, some of the oldest evidence of life on Earth was found in 3.4 billion-year-old sandstones at Strelley Pool, which preserve fossils of sulphur-processing bacteria. The mineralized spheres, which were found on an ancient beach and have a cell-like morphology

Morphology (biology)

In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....

, were chemically analysed, revealing that they used sulfur

Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...

for fuel.

Climate

The climate of the Pilbara is arid

Arid

A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...

and tropical. It experiences high temperatures and low irregular rainfall that follows the summer cyclone

Cyclone

In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...

s. During the summer months, maximum temperatures exceed 32°C (90°F) almost every day, and temperatures in excess of 45°C (113°F) are not uncommon.

The Pilbara town of Marble Bar

Marble Bar, Western Australia

set a world record of most consecutive days of maximum temperature

Temperature

Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...

s of 100 degrees Fahrenheit

Fahrenheit

Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Within this scale, the freezing of water into ice is defined at 32 degrees, while the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 degrees...

(37.8 degrees Celsius

Celsius

Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...

) or more, during a period of 160 such days from 31 October 1923 to 7 April 1924.

The average annual rainfall in the region is between 200 mm and 350 mm. Flooding is a major hazard in the Pilbara with periods of torrential rainfall between November and May. Like most of the north coast of Australia the coastal areas of the Pilbara experience occasional tropical cyclones. The frequency of cyclones crossing the Pilbara coast is about seven every 10 years. Due to the relatively low population density in the Pilbara region cyclones rarely cause large scale destruction or loss of life.

Economy

The Pilbara's economy is dominated by mining

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

exports and petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

export industries.

Most of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

's iron ore is mined in the Pilbara, with mines mostly centred around Tom Price

Tom Price, Western Australia

Tom Price, situated in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, is an industrial town. The town is located inland, at the edge of the Hamersley Range...

and Newman

Newman, Western Australia

Newman, located about 1186 km north of Perth and 9 km north of the Tropic of Capricorn, is a town in the Pilbara region. It can be reached by the Great Northern Highway...

. The iron ore industry employs 9000 people from the Pilbara area. The Pilbara also has one of the world's major manganese

Manganese

Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...

mines, Woodie Woodie, situated 400 kilometres (248.5 mi) southeast of Port Hedland.

Iron ore reserves were first discovered by Lang Hancock

Lang Hancock

Langley Frederick George "Lang" Hancock was an Australian iron ore magnate from Western Australia who maintained a high profile in the competing spheres of business and politics...

, and considerable portions of the Pilbara region are still claimed by his daughter Gina Rinehart

Gina Rinehart

Georgina "Gina" Hope Rinehart is a mining heiress. She is the heiress of Hancock Prospecting and the daughter of the late mining magnate Lang Hancock and Hope Margaret Nicholas...

and the family company Hancock Prospecting

Hancock Prospecting

Hancock Prospecting is a Western Australian mining company chaired by Gina Rinehart the daughter of Lang Hancock. At stages of its trading it has been known as Hancock Prospecting Ltd, Hancock Resources, Hanwright Pty Ltd, Hancock & Wright Ltd, and Hancock Prospecting Pty. Ltd.The Hancock Group of...

continues to gain from its interests in the region - as well as commencing its own mine workings. Blue asbestos was first mined in Wittenoom Gorge in 1943.

Geoscience Australia calculates that the country's "economic demonstrated resources" of iron currently amount to 24 gigatonnes, or 24 billion tonnes. It is being used up at a current rate of 324 million tonnes a year. In the 1960's it was reportedly called "one of the most massive ore bodies in the world" by Thomas Price, then vice president of US-based steel company Kaiser Steel.

According to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, that resource is being used up at a rate of 324 million tonnes a year, with rates expected to increase over coming years. Experts Dr Gavin Mudd (Monash University) and Jonathon Law (CSIRO) expect it to be gone within 30 to 50 years (Mudd) and 56 years (Law).

The region also has a number of sheep-grazing stations and a substantial tourist sector, with popular natural attractions including the Karijini

Karijini National Park

Karijini National Park is a National Park centred in the Hamersley Ranges of the Pilbara region in northwestern Western Australia . It is just north of the Tropic of Capricorn, approximately 1055 km from the State's capital city, Perth...

and Millstream-Chichester

Millstream-Chichester National Park

Millstream Chichester National Park is a national park in the Pilbara region of Western Australia , and is located north of the state capital, Perth....

national parks, the Dampier Archipelago

Dampier Archipelago

The Dampier Archipelago is a group of islands near Dampier, Western Australia. It is named after William Dampier, an English buccaneer and explorer who visited in 1699. Dampier named one of the islands, Rosemary Island.-History:...

and the Ningaloo Reef.

The currently (2010) active iron ore mines in the Pilbara are:

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...
- Area C mine
  Area C mine
  The Area C mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 92 kilometres west-north-west of Newman.The mine is majority-owned and operated by BHP Billiton, and is one of seven iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara...
- Jimblebar mine
  Jimblebar mine
  The Jimblebar mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 41 kilometres east of Newman.The mine is fully owned and operated by BHP Billiton, and is one of seven iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara...
- Mount Whaleback mine
  Mount Whaleback mine
  The Mount Whaleback mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 6 kilometres west of Newman.The mine is majority-owned and operated by BHP Billiton, and is one of seven iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara...
- Orebodies 18, 23 and 25 mine
  Orebodies 18, 23 and 25 mine
  The Orebodies 18, 23 and 25 mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 8 kilometres east of Newman.The mine is majority-owned and operated by BHP Billiton, and is one of seven iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara...
- Yandi mine
  Yandi mine
  The Yandi mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 90 kilometres north-west of Newman. It should not be confused with Rio Tinto's nearby Yandicoogina mine, which is also sometimes shortened to Yandi....
- Yarrie mine
  Yarrie mine
  The Yarrie mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 90 kilometres north-east of Marble Bar.The mine is majority-owned and operated by BHP Billiton, and is one of seven iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara...

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...
- Christmas Creek mine
  Christmas Creek mine
  The Christmas Creek mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 61 kilometres south-south-west of Nullagine, in the Chichester Range....
- Cloud Break mine
  Cloud Break mine
  The Cloudbreak mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 89 kilometres west-south-west of Nullagine, in the Chichester Range....

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...
- Brockman mine
  Brockman mine
  The Brockman mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 60 kilometres north-west of Tom Price. It is sometimes also referred to as Brockman 2 mine to differentiate between it and Rio Tinto's new Brockman 4 mine project, also in the area.The mine is fully owned and...
- Brockman 4 mine
  Brockman 4 mine
  The Brockman 4 mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 60 kilometres north-west of Tom Price. The mine, located near the existing Brockman mine, is scheduled to open in 2010....
- Channar mine
  Channar mine
  The Channar mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 17 kilometres south-east of Paraburdoo.The mine is partly owned and operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore and is one of twelve iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara...
- Eastern Range mine
  Eastern Range mine
  The Eastern Range mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 10 kilometres south-east of Paraburdoo.The mine is partly owned and operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore and is one of twelve iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara...
- Hope Downs mine
  Hope Downs mine
  The Hope Downs mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 100 kilometres northwest of Newman.The mine is partly owned and operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore and is one of twelve iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara...
- Marandoo mine
  Marandoo mine
  The Marandoo mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 45 kilometres east of 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...
- Mesa A mine
  Mesa A mine
  The Mesa A mine, sometimes also referred to as Waramboo mine, is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 50 kilometres west of Pannawonica....
- Mesa J mine
  Mesa J mine
  The Mesa J mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 16 kilometres south-west of Pannawonica.The mine is owned by Robe River Iron Associates and operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore and is one of twelve iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara...
- Mount Tom Price mine
  Mount Tom Price mine
  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...
- Nammuldi mine
  Nammuldi mine
  The Nammuldi mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 60 kilometres north-west of 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...
- Paraburdoo mine
  Paraburdoo mine
  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...
- West Angelas mine
  West Angelas mine
  The West Angelas mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 110 kilometres west of Newman.The mine is owned by Robe River Iron Associates and operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore and is one of twelve iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara...
- Yandicoogina mine
  Yandicoogina mine
  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....

Atlas Iron
Atlas Iron
Atlas Iron an Australian mining company and an iron ore explorer, developer and producer, predominantley active in the Pilbara region.The company operates two iron ore mines in Western Australia, the Pardoo mine, which opened in 2008, and the Wodgina mine, which opened in July 2010.-Company...
- Pardoo mine
  Pardoo mine
  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...

Moly Mines
- Spinifex Ridge
  Spinifex Ridge
  Spinifex Ridge is a molybdenum/copper and iron ore mining project in the Pilbara region of Australia, northeast of Marble Bar.Moly Mines awarded production contracts to BGC Contracting in August 2010...
  
  (molybdenum
  Molybdenum
  Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores...
  
  , copper
  Copper
  Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
  
  , iron ore)

Transport

The first railway in the Pilbara region was the narrow-gauge Marble Bar Railway

Marble Bar Railway

The isolated Port Hedland to Marble Bar railway was a Western Australian Government Railways gauge branch line that was opened in July 1911. It was the second railway in the Pilbara region running from the north coast of Western Australia...

between 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 ....

and Marble Bar

Marble Bar, Western Australia

.

Currently four heavy-duty railways are associated with the various iron-ore mines, with a fifth line proposed to serve the Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. mines. The railways are all standard gauge

Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

and are built to the heaviest North American standards. Between 2008 and 2012, Rio Tinto proposes to convert to driverless trains

Automatic train operation

Automatic train operation ensures partial or complete automatic train piloting and driverless functions.Most systems elect to maintain a driver to mitigate risks associated with failures or emergencies....

on its railways. An additional 300km line is planned from the Roy Hill mine to a port at Boodarie, near Port Hedland.

The ports of the Pilbara are:

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 ....
- Nelson Point and Finucane Island (operated by 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...
  
  )
- Herb Elliott Port (operated by 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...
  
  )
Dampier
Dampier, Western Australia
Dampier is a major industrial port in the north-west of Western Australia. The Dampier Port is part of the Dampier Archipelago. The port services petrochemical, salt, iron ore and natural gas export industries. Rio Tinto exports large volumes of iron ore through the port, and in September 2010...

(operated by 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...

)
Cape Lambert
Cape Lambert
Cape Lambert is a port facility operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is located 40 kilometres north of Karratha.-Overview:...

(operated by Rio Tinto)

Ecology

The dominant flora of the Pilbara is acacia

Acacia

Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...

trees and shrubs and drought-resistant Triodia

Triodia (plant genus)

Triodia is a large genus of hummock-forming grass endemic to Australia; they are commonly known as spinifex, although they are not a part of the coastal genus Spinifex. There are currently 64 recognised species...

spinifex grasses. Several species of acacia (wattle) trees are endemic to the Pilbara and are the focus of conservation programs along with wildflowers and other local specialities.

The Pilbara is home to a wide variety of endemic species adapted to this tough environment, including dozens of species of stygofauna

Stygofauna

Stygofauna are any fauna that live within groundwater systems, such as caves and aquifers, or more specifically small, aquatic groundwater invertebrates, though terrestrial air-breathing subterranean animals are also sometimes included...

; microscopic invertebrates which live underground in the aquifers of the region. The Pilbara olive python, the Western Pebble-mound Mouse

Western Pebble-Mound Mouse

The Western Pebble-mound Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is native to and found only in Australia, where it lives in pebbly soils in arid tussock grassland and acacia woodland...

, and the Pilbara Ningaui

Pilbara Ningaui

The Pilbara Ningaui , sometimes known as Ealey's Ningaui, is a tiny species of marsupial carnivore found in Australia. It rarely exceeds 5.8cm in body length, with a tail 6-7.6cm long and a weight of 5-9.4g...

of the Hamersley Range are among the many species of animals within the fragile ecosystems of this desert ecoregion. Birds include the Australian Hobby

Australian Hobby

The Australian Hobby or Little Falcon is a falcon found mainly in Australia. It is also a winter migrant to Indonesia and New Guinea...

, Nankeen kestrel

Nankeen Kestrel

The Australian Kestrel or Nankeen Kestrel is one of the smallest falcons, and unlike many, does not rely on speed to catch its prey. Instead, it simply perches in an exposed position, but it also has a distinctive technique of hovering over crop and grasslands...

, Spotted Harrier

Spotted Harrier

The Spotted Harrier, Circus assimilis, also known as the Smoke Hawk, is a large Australasian bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.-Description:It is similar to the Swamp Harrier, distinguished by grey upperparts, chestnut facial disc and dark rump...

, Mulga Parrot

Mulga Parrot

The Mulga Parrot , also known as the Many-coloured Parrot, is endemic in arid scrublands and lightly timbered grasslands in the interior of southern Australia.-Taxonomy:...

, budgerigar

Budgerigar

The Budgerigar , also known as Common Pet Parakeet or Shell Parakeet informally nicknamed the budgie, is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot, and the only species in the Australian genus Melopsittacus...

s, and Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Cacatua galerita, is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia and New Guinea. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being considered pests...

s.

Wildlife has been damaged by the extraction of iron, natural gas and asbestos but the protection of culturally and environmentally sensitive areas of the Pilbara is now advanced by the delineation of several protected areas including the Millstream-Chichester and the Karijini National Park

Karijini National Park

External links

Pilbara Development Commission
NASA-Macquarie University Pilbara Education Project
Olive Python captive breeding program
Wattles of the Pilbara
Yamatji Marlpa Barna Baba Maaja Aboriginal Corporation, the Native Title Representative Body incorporating the Pilbara Native Title Service

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Etymology

History

Aboriginal people

Location and description

Climate

Economy

Transport

Ecology

See also

Further reading

External links