Brockman no 2

The Brockman 2 Detrital Iron Ore Mine, located 55 kilometres from Tom Price in the Western Australian Pilbara region, that commenced mining operations in 1992, is owned by Rio Tinto through Rio Tinto Iron Ore's subsidiary Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd. The mine was temporarily closed in 2008 because of the adverse economical effects of the Global Financial Crisis on mineral prices. At the time the mine had been producing 1.6 million tonnes of iron ore a year.

Brockman No 2 Mine is Mined in a Conventional Open cut Method
The Brockman No 2 Mine consists of a number of primary open pits that either exist under the original mining approval, or subsequent approvals, that have taken into account various minor changes. Ore is mined at the Brockman No 2 open cut by means of a conventional open cut, trucking and shovelling method. It is both crushed and screened on the mine-site before it is loaded into railway wagons that take it to the port ship loading facilities at Dampier. Before loading the ore is blended with other ores mined from other Rio Tinto Pilbara mines.

Brockman Mine has up to Date Infrastructure Facilities
The infrastructure at the Brockman No 2 Mine and its seven primary pits include the haul roads,land bridges and ramps as well as the crushing, screening and stockpile areas that includes low grade stockpiles. There are also mineral waste dumps that cater for the waste rock and bore-fields to raise water from underground to supply the mines water needs. Other bores and pipelines are constructed to de-water certain pits when necessary. There is also a railway loop and railway that takes the ore from the mine- site to the ports on the coast for exporting purposes. The Brockman Mine also has accommodation units to house its on roster mining personnel who are flown in and out of the mine from their home base to their work base. On top of all this is the supporting infrastructure such as work shops and administrative buildings as well as an airfield. The Brockman No. 2 Mine should not be confused with the Brockman No 4 mine that is a different operation altogether, although both are owned and operated by Rio Tinto.

Brockman No 2 Mine is Capable of Producing 8.7 Million Tonnes of Iron ore a Year
While some of the open pits are undertaking mining activity others are being used for backfilling, the holding of surplus water, or as inactive mine voids. The Brockman No 2 Mine has a production capacity of around 8.7 million tonnes of lump and fines ore a year. Brockman fines have a maximum of 6.3mm and Brockman lumps a maximum of 31.5mm. Once the ore reaches the port it is blended and re-screened before being loaded onto the ships. The proven probable ore reserve at Brockman No 2 in December 2010 stood at 12 million tonnes grading at 62.6 percent. The indicated and inferred resource stood at 40 million tonnes grading at 62.56 percent.

The Brockman No 2 open cut iron ore mine is situated in the Hamersley Range that contains up to 80 percent of all identified iron ore reserves in Australia. It is one of the most important iron ore provinces in the world.
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