Christmas Creek mine
Encyclopedia
The Christmas Creek mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia
, 61 kilometres south-south-west of Nullagine
, in the Chichester Range
.
The mine is fully owned and operated by the Fortescue Metals Group
, FMG, and is one of two iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara, the other being the Cloud Break mine
, located 50 kilometres west of Christmas Creek.
Fortescue is the third-largest iron ore mining company in the Pilbara, behind Rio Tinto
and BHP Billiton
.
The ore from the mine is processed on site. Initially, it was loaded onto trucks and transported to Cloud Break and then on to the coast at Port Hedland through the Fortescue railway
, where it is loaded onto ships. Construction on a 280-kilometre-long railway from Cloud Break to the Herb Elliott Port at Point Hedland was begun in November 2006. The line was scheduled to be fully operational within 18 month. A cyclone in March 2007 killed two workers at the project and led to delays. The first train from the mine to the port travelled on 5 April 2008. A 50 km railway linking Christmas Creek to Cloud Break, allowing ore to be taken all the way to the port by rail, opened in December 2010; further improvements to railways are planned.
The mine's workforce is on a fly-in fly-out
roster.
Originally, FMG planned to increase the production at Cloud Break to 55 million tonnes through a US$220 million upgrade of the plant, but this had to be abandoned in October 2009 because of funding difficulties through its Chinese
investors. Instead, Fortescue decided to develop the Christmas Creek deposit, at a cost of US$360 million, by building a mine and process plant there and linking it to its existing rail network. Christmas Creek is scheduled to produce 16 million tonnes of iron ore in its first year of operation. Fortescue plans to reach an annual production of 95 million tonnes of iron ore by 2012, downgraded from an earlier target of 120 million.
The Christmas Creek operation began transporting ore by truck to Cloud Break for processing in June 2009. Construction on the processing facility began in November 2009 and is expected to be completed within 13 month. Commissioning of the new ore processing facility at Christmas Creek is scheduled to begin in February 2011.
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, 61 kilometres south-south-west of Nullagine
Nullagine, Western Australia
Nullagine is an old goldrush town in Western Australia's Pilbara region. It is located on the Nullagine River 296 km south-east of Port Hedland and 1,364 km north-north-east of Perth on the old Great Northern Highway....
, in the Chichester Range
Chichester Range
The Chichester Range is a range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.The range rises abruptly from the coastal plain and is composed of rolling hills, escarpments, jagged peaks, gorges and winding tree-lined watercourses....
.
The mine is fully owned and operated by the Fortescue Metals Group
Fortescue Metals Group
Fortescue Metals Group is an Australian iron ore mining company. The company has holdings of more than 87,000 km² in the Pilbara region of Western Australia making it the largest tenement holder in the state. It is listed as FMG on the Australian Securities Exchange .In 2008, the group loaded...
, FMG, and is one of two iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara, the other being the Cloud Break mine
Cloud Break mine
The Cloudbreak mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 89 kilometres west-south-west of Nullagine, in the Chichester Range....
, located 50 kilometres west of Christmas Creek.
Fortescue is the third-largest iron ore mining company in the Pilbara, behind Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto Group
The Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the...
and BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...
.
Overview
Fortescue acquired the Cloud Break and Christmas Creek tenements during 2003. The company began constructing port facilities at Port Hedland in February 2006, followed by a A$3.2 billion capital raising in August 2006 to finance its projects. Construction on the Cloud Break mine began in October 2006 and Fortescue began mining at Cloud Break in October 2007. Iron ore production at the mine began in 2008 and, in its first full year of operation, the mine produced 28 million tonnes of iron ore.The ore from the mine is processed on site. Initially, it was loaded onto trucks and transported to Cloud Break and then on to the coast at Port Hedland through the Fortescue railway
Fortescue railway
The Fortescue Railway, owned and operated by the Fortescue Metals Group , is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for the purpose of carrying iron ore. It is the only railway line the group operates in the Pilbara, having opened in 2008...
, where it is loaded onto ships. Construction on a 280-kilometre-long railway from Cloud Break to the Herb Elliott Port at Point Hedland was begun in November 2006. The line was scheduled to be fully operational within 18 month. A cyclone in March 2007 killed two workers at the project and led to delays. The first train from the mine to the port travelled on 5 April 2008. A 50 km railway linking Christmas Creek to Cloud Break, allowing ore to be taken all the way to the port by rail, opened in December 2010; further improvements to railways are planned.
The mine's workforce is on a fly-in fly-out
Fly-in fly-out
Fly-in fly-out is a method of employing people in remote areas. It is often abbreviated to FIFO when referring to employment status. This is common in large mining states in Australia...
roster.
Originally, FMG planned to increase the production at Cloud Break to 55 million tonnes through a US$220 million upgrade of the plant, but this had to be abandoned in October 2009 because of funding difficulties through its Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
investors. Instead, Fortescue decided to develop the Christmas Creek deposit, at a cost of US$360 million, by building a mine and process plant there and linking it to its existing rail network. Christmas Creek is scheduled to produce 16 million tonnes of iron ore in its first year of operation. Fortescue plans to reach an annual production of 95 million tonnes of iron ore by 2012, downgraded from an earlier target of 120 million.
The Christmas Creek operation began transporting ore by truck to Cloud Break for processing in June 2009. Construction on the processing facility began in November 2009 and is expected to be completed within 13 month. Commissioning of the new ore processing facility at Christmas Creek is scheduled to begin in February 2011.