| Mesa J mine | |||||||||||
| Pushpin Map: | Western Australia | ||||||||||
| Pushpin Label: | Mesa J mine | ||||||||||
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Western Australia | ||||||||||
| Coordinates: | -21.7501°N 116.2422°W | ||||||||||
| Place: | Shire of Ashburton, Pilbara | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Type: | State | ||||||||||
| State/Province: | Western Australia | ||||||||||
| Country: | Australia | ||||||||||
| Owner: | Rio Tinto Iron Ore (53%) Mitsui & Co. (33%) Nippon Steel (10.5%) Sumitomo Metal Industries (3.5%) | ||||||||||
| Acquisition Year: | Rio Tinto: 2000 | ||||||||||
| Products: | Iron ore | ||||||||||
| Amount: | 7 million tonnes/annum | ||||||||||
| Opening Year: | 1994 | ||||||||||
| Module: |
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The Mesa J mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 16 kilometres south-west of Pannawonica.[1]
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.[2] [3] In 2009, the combined Pilbara operations produced 202 million tonnes of iron ore, a 15 percent increase from 2008.[4] The Pilbara operations accounted for almost 13 percent of the world's 2009 iron ore production of 1.59 billion tonnes.[5] [6]
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.[7]
Rio Tinto's iron ore operations in the Pilbara began in 1966. The mine itself began operations in 1994. The mine has an annual production capacity of 7 million tonnes of iron ore, sourced from open-pit operations. The ore is processed on site before being loaded onto rail.[8] At the height of production, the mine produced 35 million tonnes of iron ore annually.[9]
Ore from the mine is then transported to the coast through the Hamersley & Robe River railway, where it is loaded onto ships.[10] Ore from Mesa J, like from the West Angelas, is taken to Cape Lambert by rail to be exported as fines. The fines have a maximum size of 9.5 mm.[11]
The mine's workforce is predominantly a Residential mine with workers taking residence in Pannawonica, and around 20% of the workforce on a fly-in fly-out roster.[8]
The mine is located near the Mesa A mine. The new Mesa A mine is scheduled to replace the Mesa J mine which is nearing the end of its life span. The combined investment of Rio Tinto in the new Mesa A and Brockman 4 mines is A$2.4 billion.[12]
Robe River Iron, owner of the mine, is jointly owned by the following companies:
Robe River Iron operates the West Angelas, Mesa A and Mesa J mines.[12] Rio Tinto acquired its share of 53% in late 2000, when it took over mining company North Limited.[13]