Where is cloudbreak mine western australia

In both processes, the original iron, which is present as magnetite bands within the BIF, is oxidised to hematite and goethite. Contemporaneous with the iron enrichment, the original gangue minerals are partially to fully leached out or may be replaced by iron minerals.

These processes increase the iron content of the BIF depending upon the degree of enrichment. A volume loss of up to 35 per cent can occur with enrichment due to loss of gangue minerals. This is interpreted to occur due to hypogene enrichment of the MMIF in proximity to tectonic structures faults or tight folds , which have allowed upward fluid flow, and low-grade metamorphism of the parent rock, resulting in extensive hematite mineralisation.

The majority of the iron mineralisation at the Chichester deposits, is interpreted to be martite-goethite resulting from supergene enrichment of a magnetite-rich BIF oxidised to martite parent rock. Hardcapping ferricrete development of portions of the mineralisation has been identified in mapping and drilling. This process, which occurred during latter stages of geological development Tertiary , has changed the physical and geochemical properties of the upper portions of the mineralisation up to 10mthickness.

Hardcapped material, which can be quite vuggy, typically has a higher density, being pervasively cemented by goethite and commonly has vitreous goethite included in the matrix.

An associated increase in gangue content may be seen in hardcap due to the near surface processes of ferricretisation. The NammuldiMember is characterised by extensive, thick and podded iron rich bands, separated by equally extensive units of siliceous and carbonate rich chert and shale. The Nammuldi Member in the Chichester Range is interpreted to be up to 60m in truethickness. Underlying the Nammuldi Member rocks are black shales and volcanic rocksbelonging to the Jeerinah Formation.

Limited iron mineralisation also occurs in the overlying CID and Tertiary alluvial material. Upper limit of mineralised domain is located between 0m to m below the surface.

Lower limit of mineralised domain is located between 1m and m below the surface. The average thickness of the mineralised domain is 7. The mining model is based on strip mining.

Mining at Cloudbreak will continue to be carried out as open pit strip mining. The pits are developed progressively, where a starter pit is opened with overburden from the starter pit placed in a small overburden stockpile. As the mining face progresses, the open pit is progressively backfilled and rehabilitated.

The majority of the ore will be mined using surface miners. Surface miners can cutto an accuracy of 0. Ore is loaded from the surface miner into trucks for transfer to the OPF. The crushing and sizing process will size material to less than — mm such that it can be transported by conveyor to the OPF.

The OPF is able to produce three market products; namely lump, special and rocket fines. Rocket and special fines are currently the primary products being produced.

Combined production numbers are reported under Chichester Hub Operation. Reserves at June 30, Mineral Resources are quoted above a cut-off of Ore Reserve: Cloudbreak Data Access UserName is required. Lucy Nash received a tour of the Cloudbreak village with Cindy and Shayne, a couple from Perth who pack up their bags every eight days to work at the Pilbara iron ore mine site.

They show us around the village, the gym, the wet and dry mess centres. They share the what living in the community is like at Cloudbreak. SkillsOne recently visited tradies who work in the mining industry in the Pilbarra, in Western Australia, run by the Fortescue Metals Group.

Fortescue's port, rail and mine project commenced construction in February with the turning of the first sod at the Company's port site at Anderson Point in Port Hedland. Construction is underway to extend the conveyor by a further 10km. It comprises the Firetail, Kings Valley and Queens Valley mines which together have a production capacity of 75mtpa.

The expansion to Queens Valley will help maintain production of the Kings Fines product. Solomon represents a valuable source of production by blending higher iron grade, low cost Firetail ore with low phosphorous Chichester ore to create Fortescue Blend. Fortescue is developing the Western Hub, which includes significant amounts of high iron content bedded iron ore and is now home to the Eliwana mine.

Located km to the west of Solomon, the Eliwana mine spans over 50km and commenced operations in December The operation includes km of rail linking to the Hamersley rail line and a 30mtpa dry OPF.

Fortescue wholly owns and operates our purpose designed rail and port facilities, constructed to deliver iron ore from our mines to Port Hedland for shipment to our customers. The port has five operating berths and our current infrastructure is capable of safely and efficiently exporting in excess of mtpa. Fortescue has been granted approval to increase the licensed throughput capacity of Herb Elliott Port from mtpa to mtpa, in line with our strategy to deliver growth through investment in significant projects including the Iron Bridge Magnetite Project.

The Judith Street Harbour towage infrastructure and our fleet of tugs provide safe and reliable towage services that maximise the efficiency of our operations, while offering competitive third party towage services within the port.

Designed to complement our port infrastructure, the fleet of eight , tonne capacity Fortescue Ore Carriers deliver approximately 11 per cent of our shipping requirements, while improving load rates and efficiencies and reducing operating costs. Our shipping fleet completes our mine to market supply chain.

The innovative process design, including the use of a dry crushing and grinding circuit, will deliver globally competitive capital intensity and operating costs. The Iron Bridge project includes the installation of a km concentrate slurry pipeline to Port Hedland, together with a return water pipeline. In FY21, Fortescue completed a week technical and commercial assessment of the project to validate the capital cost and schedule, with first production scheduled by December and a ramp up period of 12 to 18 months.

The construction of a module offload facility at Lumsden Point in Port Hedland commenced in FY21 to address logistical constraints relating to the delivery of large modules fabricated offshore. Fortescue has an integrated operating and marketing strategy, focused on meeting the needs of our customers while maximising value. Fortescue products are sold to a global customer base, with the majority of tonnes sold to long-term customers in China. In , we established our wholly owned Chinese sales entity FMG Trading Shanghai, a portside sales capability to supply our products directly to Chinese steel mills from regional ports.

This capability is now well established and has allowed us to enhance our service to small and medium-sized customers through direct supply in Renminbi, complementing our existing contractual seaborne arrangements.