Christmas Creek Mine, Roy Hill Station, East Pilbara Shire, Western Australia, Australiai
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Christmas Creek Mine | Mine |
| Roy Hill Station | Station (farming) |
| East Pilbara Shire | Shire |
| Western Australia | State |
| Australia | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
22° 22' 15'' South , 119° 38' 57'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Locality type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Nullagine | 215 (2014) | 71.6km |
Owned/operated by:
Fortescue Metals Group (100%)
Iron ore mine, owned and operated by Fortescue Metals Group. 50 kilometres to the east of the Cloud Break Mine. 61 kilometres west south-west of Nullagine. Fortescue was formed by mining magnate Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest, and is the fourth largest iron ore producer in the world.
Ore is processed on site, then trucked to the Cloud Break mine, where the ore is then railed to Port Hedland. The mine commenced production in May 2009.
March 2007, two employees were killed at a FMG rail camp, when cyclone George destroyed the mining camp. Late 2013 two workers were killed in separate incidents. The first incident the company was found not guilty, while contractors in the last two incidents were fined minor amounts.
The Christmas Creek mine is located south of the Chitchester Range on plains bordering the northern side of the Fortescue Marsh. The marsh
and nearby areas has been some of few areas the Night Parrot has been seen. This is a very rare species, only seen by a handful of people.
The ore body is flat lying, with an ore reserve of 997 Mt, significantly higher than Cloud Break at 628 Mt. The mine was constructed when iron ore prices were at record highs. At the time of writing, the price for the commodity had plunged due to the combined factors of a Chinese economic slow down, and increased production from Pilbara mines. Fortescue has been on a cost cutting programme, sacking workers, and reducing pay and conditions.
Most ore comes from the Nammuldi Member. To the south, this Member is overlain by Tertiary clays and alluvium which forms the soils of the Fortescue Marsh. The ore is a mixture of hematite, goethite and martite.
The shallow pit is largely continuous but has been arbitrarily sub-divided into sections, from the west named Flinders, Vasse, Windich, Mokare, Young, Cathedral and Eyre pits. Future expansion will be to the west.
The mine site comprises an area of some 701sq kilometres.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
2 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Goethite Formula: α-Fe3+O(OH) Reference: FMG (2015), Public Environmental Review. Christmas Creek Iron Ore Mine Expansion, 25/03/2015 |
| ⓘ Hematite Formula: Fe2O3 Reference: FMG (2015), Public Environmental Review. Christmas Creek Iron Ore Mine Expansion, 25/03/2015 |
| ⓘ Hematite var. Martite Formula: Fe2O3 Reference: FMG (2015), Public Environmental Review. Christmas Creek Iron Ore Mine Expansion, 25/03/2015 |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Goethite | 4.00. | α-Fe3+O(OH) |
| ⓘ | Hematite | 4.CB.05 | Fe2O3 |
| ⓘ | var. Martite | 4.CB.05 | Fe2O3 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Goethite | α-Fe3+O(OH) |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| O | ⓘ Goethite | α-Fe3+O(OH) |
| O | ⓘ Hematite var. Martite | Fe2O3 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| Fe | ⓘ Goethite | α-Fe3+O(OH) |
| Fe | ⓘ Hematite var. Martite | Fe2O3 |
References
Sort by
Year (asc) Year (desc) Author (A-Z) Author (Z-A)WAtoday (2015), FMG Sacks Workers at Christmas Creek Cloudbreak Mine Sites, 2015.
Australian Mining (2015), FMG Shuts One Camp at Christmas Creek Mine, 16/07/2015.
Australian Mining (2014), Contractor Fined $115 000 Over Death at FMG's Christmas Creek Mine, 21/10/2014.
FMG (2015), Public Environmental Review. Christmas Creek Iron Ore Mine Expansion, 25/03/2015.
ENV Australia Pty Ltd (2013): Christmas creek life of mine flora and vegetation assessment - update, Prepared for Fortescue Metals Group Ltd.
External Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Creek_mine
http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/News/Mesa-West-Pty-Ltd-fined-20-000-18639.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_George
http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/News/Mesa-West-Pty-Ltd-fined-20-000-18639.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_George
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Australia
- Western Australia
- Fortescue BasinBasin
- Hamersley BasinBasin
- Pilbara CratonCraton
- Warakurna Large Igneous ProvinceGeologic Province
- West Australian ElementCraton
Australian PlateTectonic Plate
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