About BHP Billiton Iron Ore
BHP Billiton Iron Ore currently has operations in Western Australia and Brazil. Its Australian Iron Ore assets are based in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
BHP Billiton Iron Ore is one of the world’s premier suppliers of iron ore, employing 8 000 people across the Pilbara - around 18 per cent of the region’s total population. The Company’s operations involve a complex integrated system of seven mines, more than 1,000km of rail and two separate port facilities.
BHP Billiton Iron Ore is a 50/50 joint venture partner with Vale at the Samarco operations in Brazil. This operation has an annual production capacity of more than 12 million tones of iron ore pellets and one million tones of concentrates. The Samarco operations include open pit mines, a concentration plant, two pellet plants, port facilities and a 396 kilometre concentrate slurry pipeline between the mine and the pellet plants.
BHP Billiton Iron Ore is currently carrying out concept studies in Guinea (West Africa) to determine the economic viability, sustainability impacts and management implications of operations in this area. We are also considering development opportunities in India.
Area C expansion developments - Newman, Port Hedland.
Phased Expansion Approach
BHP Billiton Iron Ore is in a phase of significant growth. The past six expansion projects have been delivered on time and on budget.
This phased expansion started with the development of Mining Area C, followed by the Products and Capacity Expansion project, Accelerated Expansion project and Rapid Growth Projects 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (RGP1, RGP2, RGP3, RGP4 and RGP5).
RGP5 is the Company’s next step in its phased growth path. It will increase installed capacity across our Western Australia Iron Ore operations by 50 million tonnes to 205 million tonnes per annum during Calendar year 2011.
In pursuing ongoing growth plans, BHP Billiton Iron Ore is committed to working with its local communities to support sustainable development in the region and ensure their needs are incorporated into growth plans.
Long Life Reserves and Resources
Our expansion program will continue to grow with market demand for iron ore, which is expected to remain strong for some time as China continues its industrialisation phase. This growth will also have a flow-on effect to other steel producers in the Asian region and will underpin our current and proposed expansion activities.
Accordingly, we have substantially expanded our resource evaluation capability to further extend the life of our high quality Pilbara resource and reserve base.
To do this, we have increased the size of our drilling group by 60 per cent and are currently operating 16 drilling shifts per day. This large-scale drilling program is aimed at improving our reserve knowledge at:
- Mt Whaleback and the surrounding satellite mines
- Area C mine corridor
- Yandi mine corridor
History
Find out about the history of the Pilbara.
Contact Us
BHP Billiton Iron Ore Pty Ltd Public Affairs Department
225 St George's Tce Perth WA 6000
Phone (61 8) 6224 4444
Facsimile (61 8) 6224 4178
General Enquiries
kathryn.ackroyd@bhpbilliton.com
Iron Ore Sales
damon.buckley@bhpbilliton.com
Site Visit Enquiriesaileen.wong@bhpbilliton.com
