Day 96 - BHPB's Whaleback Mine and Opthalmia Dam

60km today around Newman.  We did the mine tour of BHPB's Whaleback Mine.  What an experience.  The "Hole" is 5km long by 2.5km wide.  It is, according to our calculations about 650m deep.  They use 13x190t  and 50x240t trucks to haul the ore to the crushers, where it is crushed to grapefruit size. A beneficiation process involving flotation and separation of impurities, relying on the high density of the iron ore, yields an ore with an iron content in excess of 68% iron.  The ore is then transported to an ore pile covering a rail tunnel.  The ore is dumped into the rail cars as they pass underneath. The ore then goes to Port Hedland.  There are 12 other satellite mines around the area sending ore to Newman for processing.  It is the biggest open cut iron ore mine in the world. There is another 60 years of ore to be mined from Whaleback alone.

In the afternoon we visited the Opthalmia Dam.  It is a dam designed to recover water during the wet season and then relying on the water to percolate downwards to replenish the underground aquifers which are the sources of water for the town.  It is done this way to overcome the extreme evaporation rates in summer.  The rate is five times greater than the annual rainfall.

110714 Two of the 50x240t ore trucks.  There are also
13x190t trucks operating

110714 One side of the Mount Whaleback mine

110714 Another view of the Whaleback Mine

110714 An area where mining has finished

110714 A big picture view of the mine

110714 Rigs drilling holes for explosives to release the rock 

110714 Ore pile over the tunnel carrying the ore train for loading

110714 Newman from the town lookout

110714 The other half of Newman from the town lookout

110714 Opthalmia Dam 20km from Newman

110714 Opthalmia Dam 20km from Newman