The Jimblebar 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 located 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 ...

, 41 kilometres east of Newman. The mine is fully owned and operated by

BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

, and is one of seven iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara.BHP Billiton Annual report 2010
BHP Billiton website, accessed: 10 November 2010 The company also operates two port facilities at

Port Hedland A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

, Nelson Point and Finucane Island, and over 1,000 kilometres of rail in the Pilbara. BHP is the second-largest iron ore mining company in the Pilbara, behind

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, a ...

and ahead of

Fortescue Metals Group Fortescue Metals Group Limited (often referred to as Fortescue Metals Group, FMG, or simply Fortescue) is an Australian iron ore company. As of 2017, Fortescue is the fourth-largest iron ore producer in the world. The company has holdings of ...

.Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistic Digest 2009
Department of Mines & Petroleum website, accessed: 8 November 2010 As of 2010, BHP employs 8,000 people in its Pilbara operations.About BHP Billiton Iron Ore
BHP Billiton website, accessed: 10 November 2010

Overview

The origins of mining in the Newman area date back to when the Mount Whaleback deposit was discovered in 1957 by Stan Hilditch but not publicised until 1960, when the

Federal Government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

lifted the embargo on iron ore exports it had put in place because of concerns the mineral was in short supply. The first mine to develop was the

Goldsworthy mine Goldsworthy (named after the geographical feature Mount Goldsworthy) is a former mining town in Western Australia, east of Port Hedland, Western Australia, Port Hedland and located in the Shire of East Pilbara. It was the first iron ore mine in t ...

in 1965 and a railway line, the

Goldsworthy railway The Goldsworthy railway, owned and operated by BHP, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore. It is one of two railway lines BHP operates in the Pilbara, the other being the Mount Newman railw ...

, 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 ''Harvey S. Mudd''.History of the Iron Ore Industry and the Pilbara
BHP Billiton website, accessed: 10 November 2010 BHP's operations in Newman began in 1968, when the

Mount Whaleback mine The Mount Whaleback mine, officially the Newman West operation, is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, six kilometres west of Newman. The mine is majority-owned (85 percent) and operated by BHP, and is one of fiv ...

was opened, the biggest single-pit open-cut iron ore mine in the world. The mine is 1.5 kilometres wide and more than five kilometres long.Mining and Processing
BHP Billiton website, accessed: 10 November 2010 A new town, Newman, was constructed, as well as a 426 kilometre railway line, the

Mount Newman railway The Mount Newman railway, owned and operated by BHP, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore. It is one of two railway lines BHP operates in the Pilbara, the other being the Goldsworthy rail ...

. The first train left Newman on 1 January 1969 and the first shipment of Newman ore left port on 1 April 1969 on board ''Osumi Maru''. The Jimblebar mine, 41 kilometres from Newman, was opened in March 1989 and has the capacity to produce 14 million tonnes of iron ore annually via a two-stage crushing circuit. Originally known as ''McCamey's Monster'', after prospector Ken McCamey, the mine was acquired by BHP in 1992. While the mine is fully owned by BHP Billiton, it does also process ore from the Wheelara deposit, which is jointly owned by BHP and a number of Chinese and Japanese companies. Ore from the mines is transported by rail to Port Hedland through two independent railways. The Mount Newman railway carries ore from Mount Whaleback, Orebodies 18, 23, 25 and 29, Jimblebar, Yandi and Area C. The

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 (85 percent)Rail
BHP Billiton website, accessed: 10 November 2010 Jimblebar is at the end of a 32 kilometre spur line of the Mount Newman railway. Ore from the Mount Whaleback and the other Newman mines, as well as the Yandi mine is transported to the port at Nelson Point, while ore from Area C and Yarrie goes to Finucane Island. Ore is transported through a 1.16 kilometre long tunnel from Nelson Point to the port at Finucane Island. The average loading time for a ship is 30 hours, and 800 ships are loaded annually at Port Hedland.Ports
BHP Billiton website, accessed: 10 November 2010 Jimblebar is part of an expansion project, launched in 2010 and aimed at increasing production from the Pilbara mines to 240 million tonnes of iron ore annually by 2013. The expansion of Jimlebar, together with an expansion of the inner harbour at Port Hedland and works on the duplication of rail tracks is estimated to cost A$2.15 billion. The project was originally titled ''Rapid Growth Project 6'', but is now under the umbrella of "Iron Ore Major Projects"'. In March 2011 Thiess was awarded the $166 million contract to provide bulk earth works and selected infrastructure for Jimblebar.Thiess Wins Iron Ore Infrastructure Project
Thiess, published: 29 March 2011, accessed: 30 November 2012 ALE has been awarded the contract for the BHP Billiton Iron Ore Rapid Growth Project (RGP) 6 as part of the Jimblebar mine site development, Australia. The project involves receiving and transportation over 140 items of cargo, including 110 modules, over a 7-month period. ALE will utilise more than 70 axle lines of SPMT, 120 axle lines of conventional hydraulic trailers, and up to 10 tractor units.

References

External links

MINEDEX website: Jimblebar-Wheelarra-Hashimoto / BHPB
Database of the

Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety is a department of the Government of Western Australia. The department was formed on 1 July 2017, out of the former Department of Mines and Petroleum and Department of Commerce. A restr ...

{{Iron ore mining in Western Australia, state=collapsed Iron ore mines in Western Australia Surface mines in Australia Shire of East Pilbara BHP 1989 establishments in Australia