Steel Production and Iron Ore Mining in Western Australia

Introduction

• Steel is foundational to modern society.
• Two main ingredients in steel: one of them is iron ore.
• Western Australia, particularly the Pilbara region, is a major producer of iron ore.
• This presentation is part one of a two-part series about iron ore mining, transport, and shipping.

Pilbara Region

• A 200,000 square mile region known for iron ore production.
• Largest producer of iron ore in the world.

Gudai-Darri Mine

• Operated by Rio Tinto, one of 16 operations in Pilbara.
• Opened in 2022, with an expected mine life of 40 years.
• Produces about 40 million tons of iron ore annually.

Mining Operations

• Fly in Fly out Workforce: Workers live on site, and the workforce is flown in.
• Drilling and Blasting:
  • Autonomous drills operate without operators on site.
  • Drills are controlled remotely from a command center in Perth.
  • Blasting exclusion zones: 300m for equipment, 600m for people.
  • Explosives loaded using GPS and drilling data to optimize fragmentation.

Excavation and Loading

• Use of large excavators (Caterpillar 6060s) and loaders (Cat 994).
• Autonomous haul trucks used for transporting iron ore.
• Autonomous water carts manage dust suppression efficiently using minimal water.

Maintenance and Service

• Autonomous equipment cycles into service shop based on service intervals.
• Importance of continuous operation for profitability.

Processing Plant

• Purpose: Size the iron ore into premium and fine products.
• Uses screens and Shaker decks to sort ore by size.
• Coarse material crushed further; fine material separated for export.

Laboratory Operations

• Fully automated laboratory for testing and analyzing ore samples.
• Samples help determine ore grade and guide mining operations.

Rail Load-out

• Final step in the mining process.
• Each train has 240 cars and carries approximately 28,000 tons of ore.
• Loading is efficient, taking about 200 minutes per train.
• 5 to 6 trains loaded daily, 365 days a year.

Conclusion

• Part one focuses on mining and processing iron ore.
• Part two will cover the transport of iron ore to shipping points.
• Acknowledgment to Rio Tinto for hosting the visit.