The Fortescue story – from exploration to the third largest iron ore producer in Australia
| Autor: | W. G. Rowley, J. M. F. Clout |
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| Rok vydání: | 2010 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Applied Earth Science. 119:122-131 |
| ISSN: | 1743-2758 0371-7453 |
| DOI: | 10.1179/1743275811y.0000000005 |
| Popis: | In late 2003 Fortescue Metals Group Ltd commenced exploration for iron ore in the Pilbara region of WA using a new exploration model. This paper describes the steps from exploration discovery in 2004 of the Cloudbreak and Christmas Creek deposits to the rapid establishment of an integrated iron mining, processing and infrastructure project by 15 May 2008, when the first shipment of iron ore departed for China. Production from the Cloudbreak and Christmas Creek mine in the 12 months to 30 June 2010 resulted in total shipments of 38·9 million wet metric tonnes with a grade of 58·8%Fe (64·0%Fe calcined), 4·6%SiO2, 2·06%Al2O3 and 0·052%P. The project success depended on many technical breakthroughs including a new exploration model, application of the surface miner as the main mining production unit, a processing flowsheet for upgrading of 2·4%Al2O3 run-of-mine to 1·9%Al2O3 in product, design of a new fine ore product, 40 t axle loads for the heavy haul railway and a high capacity highly automated por... |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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