Cloud Break mine
Cloudbreak Mine in distance - 2008
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| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pilbara |
| State | Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 22°19′26″S 119°23′49″E / 22.323978°S 119.396942°ECoordinates: 22°19′26″S 119°23′49″E / 22.323978°S 119.396942°E |
| Production | |
| Products | Iron ore |
| Production | 40 million tonnes/annum |
| History | |
| Opened | 2008 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Fortescue Metals |
| Website | Fortescue website |
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.
The mine is fully owned and operated by the Fortescue Metals Group, FMG, and is one of four iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara, the others being Christmas Creek mine (located 50 kilometres east of Cloudbreak) and the Kings Mine and Firetail Mine at the Solomon Project.
Fortescue is the third-largest iron ore mining company in the Pilbara, behind Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.
The mine is situated within the boundaries of Mulga Downs Station which is currently owned by Gina Rinehart.
Fortescue acquired the Cloudbreak and Christmas Creek tenements during 2003. The company begun 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 mine itself began in October 2006.
Fortescue began mining at Cloudbreak 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 before being loaded onto rail. The product is then transported to the coast at Port Hedland through the Fortescue railway, where it is loaded onto ships. Construction on the 280 kilometre long line from Cloudbreak to the Herb Elliott Port at Port 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 lead to delays. The first train from the mine to the port travelled on 5 April 2008.
The mine's workforce is on a fly-in fly-out roster. FIFO arrivals and departures take place at Fortescue Dave Forrest Airport, which is approximately 5 kilometers away.
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Wikipedia