The Roy Hill 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 f ...

mine in the

Chichester Range The Chichester Range is a range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The range rises abruptly from the coastal plain and is composed of rolling hills, escarpments, jagged peaks, gorges and winding tree-lined watercourses. The range is b ...

in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, located north of

Newman Newman is a surname of Germanic Anglo-Saxon origins. Newman is the modern English form of the name used in Great Britain and among people of British ancestry around the world (as is 'Numan'), while Neumann (with variant spellings) is used in Ger ...

and south of

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

. With indicated and inferred reserves of more than , it is expected to become one of the largest mining projects in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Mining operations will produce of iron ore per annum with an operating life of more than 20 years.

Gina Rinehart Georgina Hope Rinehart (, born 9 February 1954) is an Australian heiress, billionaire mining magnate and businesswoman. She is the executive chairwoman of Hancock Prospecting, a privately owned mineral exploration and extraction company foun ...

Hancock Prospecting Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd is an Australian-owned mining and agricultural business run by Executive Chairwoman Gina Rinehart and CEO Garry Korte. At various stages of its trading history, the company has been known as Hancock Prospecting Ltd ...

is the majority stakeholder in the project with a 70% interest. The remaining 30% stake is held by a consortium comprising

POSCO POSCO (formerly Pohang Iron and Steel Company) is a South Korean steel manufacturer headquartered in Pohang, South Korea. It had an output of of crude steel in 2015, making it the List of steel producers, world's sixth-largest steelmaker by thi ...

(12.5%),

Marubeni (, OSE: 8002, NSE: 8002) is a '' sōgō shōsha'' (general trading company) headquartered in Otemachi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the largest ''sogo shosha'' and has leading market shares in cereal and paper pulp trading as wel ...

(15%), and China Steel Corporation (2.5%). As part of the ownership agreement the various consortium partners have also secured their proportionate share of iron ore production from the Roy Hill Project, representing a combined per annum of iron ore at full production.

Mine development

Project work commenced in mid-2011 and so far major dredging work of the harbour at South West Creek, within

's inner harbour has been completed. Dredging will entail the removal of of material to a depth of below the low tide mark, and the construction of two new shipping berths: Stanley 1 and Stanley 2. Construction of the Ginbata Airport at the mine site and internal mine roads have also been completed, as has clearing of the centre line for the railway. Ginbata Airport is capable of handling

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

aircraft and will be the hub for transporting the

fly-in fly-out Fly-in fly-out is a method of employing people in remote areas by flying them temporarily to the work site instead of relocating employees and their families permanently. It is often abbreviated to FIFO when referring to employment status. This i ...

workforce. First shipment of iron ore from the mine commenced in December 2015.

Transport

A , heavy haul, standard gauge railway from the minesite to Port Hedland has been built. The rail system can deliver six 240-wagon train loads of of ore each per day. Capital costs to develop the project were estimated to be at least A$7 billion, and the first shipments from the mine were expected in 2015. The construction of the railway commenced in 2012 and was completed after 27 month, in 2015, with the first ore train travelling the line in December 2015. The new railway included eight bridges over waterways and three over roads and rails. The project jointly won the 2016 Railway Project Award of the Railway Technical Society of Australasia, alongside the Auckland Electrification Project. The combined construction cost of the mine, port and rail was A$10 billion, with a daily cost of A$10 million and a work force of 3,000 reported in 2014. Roy Hill took delivery of the first of 28 ES44ACIs diesel-electric locomotives in January 2015. Eight other locomotives were delivered between 29 January and 1 February 2015 via the vessel ''Ocean Charger''. A single span rail bridge carrying the Great Northern Highway over the Roy Hill rail line was completed on 15 February 2019. Lumsden Point General Cargo Facility is being built at Port Hedland, and there is also work to repair and upgrade facilities for tugboats. Roy Hill took delivery of the first of 65 AC44C6Ms diesel-electric locomotives Ex BNSF/GECX C44-9Ws In May 2023.

Indigenous inhabitants

The Indigenous inhabitants of the area are the Nyiyaparli people. The

Nyiyaparli language Nyiyaparli (Nyiyabali, Njijabali, or misspelled ''Nijadali'') is a nearly extinct Pama–Nyungan language spoken by the Palyku (Bailko) and Niabali (Jana) people of Western Australia. There's a formal language register In sociolinguistics, ...

is spoken. The indigenous frequently protest against the exploitation of their land.

References

External links

Roy Hill Deposit Summary
*
Roy Hill Iron Ore Mine Images and Info

MINEDEX website: Roy Hill Iron Ore
Database of the

Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety The Department of Energy, 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 & Petroleum and Department of Commerce. A ...

{{Iron ore mining in Western Australia, state=collapsed Iron ore mines in Western Australia Surface mines in Australia Fortescue River Shire of East Pilbara

Mine development

Transport

Indigenous inhabitants

See also

References

External links