Koodaideri

The Koodaideri iron ore mining project that is located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 110 kilometres northwest of Newman, received environmental approval from the Western Australian government, to proceed with development, in November, 2014.

The Koodaideri iron ore open cut mine, when productive, would produce 70 million tonnes of iron ore a year for more than 30 years and lift Rio Tinto's total Pilbara production to 270 million tonnes annually.

Koodaideri Mine Environmental Approval Application Submitted by Mount Bruce Mining

The Koodaideri Project environmental application was submitted to the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority by Rio Tinto's fully owned subsidiary, Mount Bruce Mining Pty Ltd. The project is fully owned by Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd which, in turn, is wholly owned by Rio Tinto Limited. Mount Bruce Mining undertook the initial exploration of the Koodaideri iron ore deposit during the 1970's.

Koodaideri ore to be Railed to Dampier and Cape Lambert

When construction begins on the Koodaideri iron ore open cut mine, main access to the site will be made available from the Great Northern Highway along the Roy Hill Road. A second access road from the south will be constructed to link with the Yandicoogina Access Road. The ore will be taken 167 kilometres, by rail, to the ports at Cape Lambert and Dampier, to be exported to the company's mainly Asian customers, the railway will need to be constructed to connect to the company's existing Dampier to Tom Price railway line.

Koodaideri Accommodation Village to Accommodate 700 Personnel

The Koodaideri mine will receive electric power from Rio Tinto's own transmission network by linking into the company's 220kv transmission line that exists between Yandicoogina and Juna Downs. Rio Tinto are designing an accommodation village which has employee health and wellbeing in mind as it will accommodate up to 700 personnel.

The mine will initially produce up to 35 million tonnes of iron ore annually until about 2030, when it will be increased to 70 million tonnes a year. It has been estimated that around 2,000 people will be required to construct the project and approximately 700 will be needed to operate the mine on a permanent basis once it is built. Fly-in-fly-out mine workers will be flown into the Barimunya airport and will be transported to the mine via the southern corridor access road.

Infrastructure, such as workshops, explosive storage and other buildings will be modelled on existing Rio Tinto iron ore facilities at other company operations in the Pilbara, with any changes made as a result of practical experience, to make them more efficient where necessary.

Koodaideri to be one of the Largest Iron ore Mines in the Pilbara

A central hub will be constructed at the Koodaideri mine site to house all non-process support facilities, it is to be built near the existing Roy Hill to Munjina road to facilitate access and be central to the accommodation village, the ore processing plant and the mine. The explosive facility will be built to the south of the main pit and will be of a similar design to those constructed at the company's other more recently constructed Pilbara mines. Water will be obtained from underground by means of bores. The Koodaideri mine, once productive, will be one of largest operating iron ore mines in the Pilbara.