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Yandi mine

Coordinates: 22°44′01″S 119°07′06″E / 22.733650°S 119.118202°E / -22.733650; 119.118202
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Yandi mine
The Yandi mine seen from the air in October 2021
Location
Yandi mine is located in Western Australia
Yandi mine
Yandi mine
Location in Western Australia
LocationShire of East Pilbara, Pilbara
StateWestern Australia
CountryAustralia
Coordinates22°44′01″S 119°07′06″E / 22.733650°S 119.118202°E / -22.733650; 119.118202
Production
ProductsIron ore
Production68.5 million tonnes/annum[1]
Financial year2021
History
Opened1991
Owner
CompanyBHP (85%)
Itochu (8%)
Mitsui Iron (7%)
Websitehttps://www.bhp.com/what-we-do/global-locations/australia/western-australia/yandi
Map

The Yandi mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 90 kilometres north-west of Newman.[2] It should not be confused with Rio Tinto's nearby Yandicoogina mine, which is also sometimes shortened to Yandi.

The mine is majority-owned (85 percent)[3] and operated by BHP. As of 2021 the mine has commenced its end-of-life ramp-down, but is still used to provide supply chain flexibility at a lower level of production.[4]

The company also operates two port facilities at Port Hedland, Nelson Point and Finucane Island, and over 1,000 kilometres of rail in the Pilbara.[5]

As of 2009 BHP Billiton is the second-largest iron ore mining company in the Pilbara, behind Rio Tinto and ahead of Fortescue Metals Group.[6] As of 2010, BHP employs 8,000 people in its Pilbara operations.[5]

Overview

[edit]
Iron ore mines in the Pilbara region

The first iron ore mine in the Pilbara to develop was the Goldsworthy mine in 1965 and a railway line, the Goldsworthy railway, 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.[7]

Operations at Yandi commenced in 1991, with the first ore shipment taking place in 1992. The plant was upgraded from 1994 to 2003 to its current capacity of 41 million tonnes annually. The mine consists of 3 processing plants and two train loading facilities.[3]

Mining operations within BHP throughout the Pilbara were briefly suspended in September 2008 to focus on safety after two fatalities at the Yandi mine within 10 days of each other.[8]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "BHP Annual report 2021" (PDF). www.asx.com.au. BHP. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  2. ^ MINEDEX website: Yandi search result accessed: 6 December 2010
  3. ^ a b BHP Billiton Annual report 2010 BHP Billiton website, accessed: 6 December 2010
  4. ^ "BHP Annual Report 2021".
  5. ^ a b About BHP Billiton Iron Ore BHP Billiton website, accessed: 6 December 2010
  6. ^ Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistic Digest 2009 Department of Mines & Petroleum, accessed: 6 December 2010
  7. ^ History of the Iron Ore Industry and the Pilbara BHP Billiton website, accessed: 6 December 2010
  8. ^ BHP suspends WA iron works after second mining death The Australian, published: 5 September 2008, accessed: 12 November 2010