The Eastern Range mine is an

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

mine in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, 10 kilometres south-east of Paraburdoo. The mine is partly owned and operated by

Rio Tinto Iron Ore Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

and is one of twelve iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara.Pilbara
Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010Mining
Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010 In 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 The Hamersley Range is a mountainous region of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The range was named on 12 June 1861 by explorer Francis Thomas Gregory after Edward Hamersley (senior), Edward Hamersley, a prominent promoter of his explo ...

, where the mine is located, contains 80 percent of all identified iron ore reserves in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and is one of the world's major iron ore provinces.

Overview

Rio Tinto iron ore operations in the Pilbara began in 1966. The mine itself began operations in 2004. The combined production capacity of the Paraburdoo, Eastern Range and

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 fifteen iron ore mines the company operat ...

s is 20 million tonnes of iron ore. The ore is processed both at Eastern Range and at Paraburdoo before being loaded onto rail, being transported from Eastern Range to Paraburdoo by conveyor belt.Eastern Range mine
Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010 Ore from the mine is then transported to the coast through the

Hamersley & Robe River railway The Hamersley & Robe River railway, majority-owned by Rio Tinto, and operated by its subsidiary Pilbara Iron, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for the purpose of carrying iron ore. The network is larger than ...

, where it is loaded onto ships.Rail
Rio Tinto Iron Ore website, accessed: 6 November 2010 Ore from Eastern Range, like Brockman, Mount Tom Price, Paraburdoo, Channar, Marandoo and Yandicoogina 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 lives residential in Paraburdoo. In 2009, the combined operations of Paraburdoo, Channar and Eastern Range employed 1,081 people, a decrease in comparison to 2008, when it employed 1,324. The mine is jointly owned by Rio Tinto, who holds 54% and Chinese company Shanghai Baosteel Group Corporation, who owns the remaining 46%. Shanghai Baosteel acquired its share in the mine in April 2004 in order to secure a long-term, stable supply of resources for the Chinese economy. Rio Tinto's share of the mine is owned through Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary, which owns six mines in the Pilbara, and partly owns two more mines in the region, including Eastern Range.Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistic Digest 2009

Department of Mines and Petroleum The Department of Mines and Petroleum was a department of the Government of Western Australia until it was superseded by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety on 1 July 2017.

website, accessed: 8 November 2010 While the Eastern Range deposit was known for two decades, it took China's emergence as a major steel producer and oversees investor to develop the mine.Booming China Devouring Raw Materials
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', published: 21 May 2004, accessed: 7 November 2010

References

External links

Rio Tinto Iron Ore website

MINEDEX website
Database of the

{{Iron ore railways in the Pilbara Iron ore mines in Western Australia Surface mines in Australia Rio Tinto Iron Ore 2004 establishments in Australia Shire of Ashburton