Western turner syncline

Facts concerning Rio Tinto owned Western Turner Syncline iron ore open pit in the Pilbara region of Western Australia include the following:

- The Western Turner Syncline is located 20 kilometres north west of Rio Tinto's first Western Australia, Pilbara mining venture, that started at Tom Price, in 1966. It is an open pit iron ore mine that currently has all its ore production processed at the Tom Price ore processing plant.

- Workers employed at the Western Turner Syncline open pit mine are flown in and flown out to the site to complete their rostered shifts. Whilst rostered on they are housed in the company's modern village accommodation at Tom Price.
The Western Turner Syncline Mine has the capacity to produce six million tonnes of iron ore a year. This production contributes to the company's Pilbara blend of fines and lump iron ore product.

- Production at the Western Turner Syncline open pit commenced in 2010 and although the mine is 100 percent owned by British based miner Rio Tinto it has joint venture arrangements with mining contractor NRW and the Eastern Guruma Group that comprises the traditional owners of the land on which the mine is established.

A Joint Venture Arrangement With NRW and the Eastern Guruma Group
The joint venture with the Eastern Guruma Group and NRW has included the designing, developing and operation of the mine, that includes road haulage and total mining services. The joint venture responsibilities include the mining of the ore and using a fleet of 785 and 777 dump trucks to take it to the Western Turner ROM pad. The ore is then taken to the Tom Price processing plant on a specially built haulage road by means of a fleet of four 350 tonne pit haulage off highway road trains. Mining contractor NRW have been mining six million tonnes of iron ore a year by following this method.

Contract let to Increase Production at Western Turner Syncline
Rio Tinto have recently awarded a contract to an Australian company, Monadelphous, to construct an iron ore processing plant to service the Brockman Western Turner Syncline iron ore production into the future. This new plant will assist in lifting Rio Tinto's total Pilbara iron ore production to 360 million tonnes by 2015. The new plant is due to be completed in the last quarter of 2013 and will be capable of lifting Western Turner Syncline capacity from the current six million tonnes of iron ore annually to 15 million tonnes from 2013 forward.

Planned Iron Ore Production to Reach 360 Million Tonnes by 2015
Rio Tinto have been producing 237 million tonnes of iron ore annually from its Pilbara mining operations in Western Australia. This is to increase to 290 million tonnes in 2013 with the current expansion programs taking place. It is the company's aim to be in the position to be able to produce 360 million tonnes of iron ore a year by 2015 from its 14 Pilbara mines, the largest privately owned heavy freight railway system in Australia and three shipping terminals.
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