Solomon

The Solomon Hub in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia is owned by Fortescue Metals Group Limited, the fourth largest iron ore producer in the world. The Solomon Hub is located 60 kilometres north of the mining centre of Tom Price and, when complete, will be capable of producing 60 million tonnes of iron ore a year from its Kings (40 million tonnes a year) and Firetail (20 million tonnes a year) deposits, with a total workforce of 1,000 personnel. The Firetail deposit has been the first open cut operation to begin production at the Solomon Hub having been officially opened in May 2013 although its first train load of ore was taken from the mine to Port Hedland for export in December 2012. The Kings deposit is being developed as the second stage of the project.

The Solomon Hub Project is at the Centre of Fortescue Tenement Holdings
Fortescue Metals Group have tenement holdings of over 87,000 square kilometres in the Western Australian Pilbara Region which makes it the largest holder of mining tenements in the state. The Solomon Hub project, that is situated in the centre of Fortescue Metal Group tenement area, has almost twice the resource and half the strip ratio of the company's Chichester Hub. Fortescue have identified a resource of 2.86 billion tonnes of iron ore at Solomon Hub with exploration prospects of up to another five billion tonnes. When the Solomon Hub Project is complete, Fortescue Metals Group will have the capacity of producing 155 million tonnes of iron ore annually, a target it is aspiring to meet in 2013.

Solomon Hub Ore to be Blended with Chichester ore to Create the 'Fortescue Blend'
Solomon Hub iron ore is a valuable addition to the Fortescue Group's iron ore production as comes from a low cost mining operation and will be blended with the Chichester ores to enhance the overall product for its customers. It is to be known as the new 'Fortescue Blend.'

Solomon Hub Contract Awarded to Leighton Contractors
The contract to operate the Solomon Hub iron ore mining operation on behalf of the Fortescue Metals Group has been awarded to Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd. It is the largest single contract Leighton contractors have received. In September, 2012, Leighton Contractors were awarded the contract to supply full whole of mine management services to the Solomon Hub project on a five year contract, with an option of a two year extension. The initial contract was for the mining of the Firetail orebody and the later awarding of the Kings deposit contract gave Leighton Contractors full scope over the whole project. The contract covers the maintaining and operating of the open cut mining fleet, mine planning, quality control of the mined ore, the operating of the ore processing plant, airport and accommodation village. Fortescue Metals provided most of the funding to purchase the mining equipment and associated plant required by Leighton Contractors to enable them to carry out their contractural obligations.

Commitment Made to Lift Indigenous Employment to 20 Percent in Three Years
Fortescue and Leighton Contractors are committed to providing employment opportunities for indigenous sub-contractors and joint ventures, when possible, in an effort to increase indigenous employment on mining sites generally. To this end Leighton Contractors have committed themselves to having 20 percent indigenous employment at the mine within the next three years.

Fortescue Metals Group have ensured that 80 percent of the expenditure
involved in constructing the Solomon Hub mining operation has been spent with Australian suppliers, with most of the money going to Western Australian companies.†

Flyover of the Fortesque Solomon Project