Yarrie mine
Encyclopedia
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 (85 percent) and operated by BHP Billiton
, and is one of seven iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara. The company also operates two port facilities at Port Hedland, Nelson Point and Finucane Island, and over 1,000 kilometres of rail in the Pilbara. The Yarrie mine is part of the Mount Goldsworthy joint venture, together with the Area C
and Nimingarra mine, with the later being in care and maintenance since 2007.
BHP Billiton is the second-largest iron ore mining company in the Pilbara, behind Rio Tinto
and ahead of the Fortescue Metals Group
. As of 2010, BHP employs 8,000 people in its Pilbara operations.
, as well as port facilities at Finucane Island were constructed. On 1 June 1966, the first shipment of iron ore from the Pilbara left on board of the Harvey S. Mudd.
The Yarri mine opened in December 1993. A number of iron ore mines have been operating in this area, along the Goldsworthy railway, among them the Goldsworthy, Nimingarra and Shay Gap mines, but of those, only Yarrie still remains active. The fixed plant at Yarrie, capable of producing 8 million tonnes of ore per annum, has been placed in care and maintenance as well, with only a smaller, mobile plant now operating at the mine.
In 2007, BHP Billiton awarded a A$300 million contract to Ngarda Civil and Mining, an Aboriginal
-owned company, to manage the mine, the largest ever mining contract awarded to an Aboriginal company. As part of the five year contract, BHP Billiton planned to increase the number of Aboriginal workers at the mine to 70, out of a total of 90 workers all up. The managing director of Ngarda, Brian Taylor, saw this contract as a positive step, moving Aboriginal people in the region away from government welfare and into permanent employment. Western Australian Aboriginals, in 2007, suffered from an unemployment rate of 14 percent in the state, compare to 3.3 for the general population.
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...
, 90 kilometres north-east of 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...
.
The mine is majority-owned (85 percent) and 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...
, and is one of seven iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara. The company also operates two port facilities at Port Hedland, Nelson Point and Finucane Island, and over 1,000 kilometres of rail in the Pilbara. The Yarrie mine is part of the Mount Goldsworthy joint venture, together with the Area C
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...
and Nimingarra mine, with the later being in care and maintenance since 2007.
BHP Billiton is the second-largest iron ore mining company in the Pilbara, behind 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 ahead of 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...
. As of 2010, BHP employs 8,000 people in its Pilbara operations.
Overview
The first iron ore mine in the Pilbara to develop was the Goldsworthy mine in 1965 and a railway line, the Goldsworthy railwayGoldsworthy 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...
, as well as port facilities at Finucane Island were constructed. On 1 June 1966, the first shipment of iron ore from the Pilbara left on board of the Harvey S. Mudd.
The Yarri mine opened in December 1993. A number of iron ore mines have been operating in this area, along the Goldsworthy railway, among them the Goldsworthy, Nimingarra and Shay Gap mines, but of those, only Yarrie still remains active. The fixed plant at Yarrie, capable of producing 8 million tonnes of ore per annum, has been placed in care and maintenance as well, with only a smaller, mobile plant now operating at the mine.
In 2007, BHP Billiton awarded a A$300 million contract to Ngarda Civil and Mining, an Aboriginal
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
-owned company, to manage the mine, the largest ever mining contract awarded to an Aboriginal company. As part of the five year contract, BHP Billiton planned to increase the number of Aboriginal workers at the mine to 70, out of a total of 90 workers all up. The managing director of Ngarda, Brian Taylor, saw this contract as a positive step, moving Aboriginal people in the region away from government welfare and into permanent employment. Western Australian Aboriginals, in 2007, suffered from an unemployment rate of 14 percent in the state, compare to 3.3 for the general population.
External links
- BHP Billiton website
- Ngarda Civil & Mining 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...