 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mining |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founder | Rio Tinto Robe River Iron Associates |
| Headquarters | |
| Products | Iron Ore |
| Parent | Rio Tinto |
| Subsidiaries | See below |
| Website | www.pilbarairon.com |
Pilbara Iron manages assets for Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd, a subsidiary ofRio Tinto, andRobe River Iron Associates, an unincorporatedjoint venture between Rio Tinto (53%) and Japanese steel companiesMitsui Iron Ore Development (33%) andNippon Steel (14%).[1]All of these companies are involved in themining ofiron ore, predominantly from thePilbara region ofWestern Australia.
All of these companies are involved in themining ofiron ore, predominantly from thePilbara region ofWestern Australia.
In 2004, it was announced that Hamersley and Robe River would merge their operations as Pilbara Iron.[2][3] The concept had been tested by the formation of Pilbara Rail in 2001, which generated more than $16 million in savings. Pilbara Rail was folded into Pilbara Iron in 2005.[4] Each company continues to market products separately and retains ownership and profits from the underlying mines, as well as strategic development of their own mineral resources.[5]
Mine sites currently operating:
All iron ore mined at the sites is transported on theHamersley & Robe River railway, one of the world's largest privately owned railways toDampier andCape Lambert. From there the ore is shipped across the world, with China and Japan the largest markets as of 2007.[6]
July 1962: Hamersley Holdings Pty Ltd is formed to develop deposits in the Hamersley Range.[7]
September 1962: Thomas Moore Price dies shortly after receiving news of the discovery of promising deposits at what would later be called Mount Tom Price.[8]
August 1963, Hamersley Holdings Pty Ltd, a subsidiary owned by Conzinc-Riotinto of Australia (60%) andKaiser Steel (40%), signed a 30-year agreement with theGovernment of Western Australia for the development of iron ore leases held by the company and for the eventual establishment of an integrated iron and steel industry.[9][10] The $175 million over 30 years program was established in anticipation of supplying iron ore to the Japanese steel industry.[11]
February 1964: a proposal is announced for Hamersley Iron to export 65 million tons over 15 years starting in 1967 to the Japanese steel industry. Reserves estimated at five billion tons of 50% to 66% by Kaiser Steel. Ten involved Japanese steel works cited in theIron Age article.[7]
1964: Japanese firms sign contract to buy five million tons from theWestern Mining Corporation for $69 million with deliveries to start in 1966.[12]
January 1965: Hamersley Iron signed a contract to sell over a 15-year period starting in 1966 65.5 million tons at a price of $600 million. A 176-mile railway line and a port at King Bay for ore carriers up to 100,000 tons was to be constructed. Mount Goldsworthy Mining Associated, a joint venture ofCyprus Mines Corporation ofLos Angeles,Utah Construction Company ofSan Francisco,Consolidated Gold Fields ofLondon, signed a $164 million contract for 16.5 million tons of Western Australia ore with Japanese buyers. Also a $60 million contract for pellets fromTasmania to Japan was signed at the time.[13] Reported as an 82 million tons, $757 million over 17-year contract byInternational Commerce.[12]
June 1965: Hamersley Iron agreed to sell 16 million tons of iron ore pellets to Japan at one million tons per year and planned to build a pelletizing plant at King Bay.[14]
August 1965: Hamersley agreed to sell toKobe Steel $16 million worth of low grade iron ore from Mount Tom Price bringing the total in sales contracts to $825 million.[15]
In June 1979, Kaiser Steel sold its 28% shareholding in Hamersley Holdings to Conzinc Riotinto for $207.5 million, bringing the Rio Tinto share of the company to 82%.[17][18]
The filmRed Dog, based on stories about an actual wandering dog of the Pilbara region, was made at Hamersley Iron locations.
