Abydos

When the Atlas Iron owned Abydos open pit mine, 130 kilometres south of Port Hedland in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia, was officially opened on Thursday, October 10, 2013, it became the company's fourth operating mine to begin production since the company began iron ore mining in the latter half of 2008.

Abydos Mine Creates 150 Ongoing Jobs

Since it began production, the Abydos mine has obtained a production rate of between two and three million tonnes of iron ore a year. A production level that has helped the company reach between 9.8 and 10.3 million tonnes for the 2013 calendar year. The Abydos mine has created 150 permanent jobs. Atlas Iron is expecting its fifth mine, Mount Webber, to come on line in the first half of 2014. This will lift its iron ore production to 12 million tonnes a year.

Abydos Mine has Iron Ore Resource of 20.5 Million Tonnes

The Abydos mine has a life of mine expectancy of between six and 10 years at its current production rate, as it has an iron ore resource totalling 20.5 million tonnes, with good prospects of being able to expand its resources base in the future. The ore mined at the Abydos mine is transported to Utah Point from where it is exported to Atlas Iron's overseas customers.

Abydos Mine owner Atlas Iron Established in 2004

Atlas Iron is an independent Australian mining company that focuses on mining and exporting DSO (direct shipping ore) from its northern Pilbara mines. It has grown fast as an iron ore and exploration company since it was first listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in the latter half of 2004.

Abydos Access Road Built by Brierty Contractors

The Abydos mine has its own crushing and screening plant as well as a new access road that was built by contracting company Brierty. Brierty constructed the 60 kilometres ore haulage link road under a contract that included the bulk earthworks, pavement construction, culvert and drainage placement, road formation and traffic management.

MACA Wins Contract to Operate the Abydos Mine

The contract to operate the Abydos iron ore open pit mine was awarded to civil contracting company MACA. The contract gives MACA full responsibility for the major construction work at the mine as well as the ongoing mining services and ore processing requirements. The mining service contract covers all the civil infrastructure needs, production drilling, blasting and ROM ( run-of-mine) loading and hauling. Pre-strip work on the project began in December 2012. The crushing services contract makes MACA responsible for the developing and operating of the crusher and screening plant. MACA also provides crushing services at Atlas Iron's Pardoo and Dove iron ore mines.

The Abydos mine is situated within the Abydos Cattle Station property that covers 248,800 acres of land that has been a part of Western Australian mining history since the early days of last century. There have been many mines on the property over the years, such as the Mount York, Lynas Find Goldfield, Leeds tin mine and the Lallah Rookh gold mine, as well as the Sulphur Springs zinc and copper mine. The area is known for its nickel, silver, lead, zinc, copper and gold deposits. Shaw River Manganese Limited worked the area in 2008, mainly for gold and copper.