Mon, 19th Sept, 2016 Visitor Centre carpark, Newman to Bush camp beside Gascoyne River (Middle Branch), WA (Mt Whaleback Mine tour)

7.30am 20 degrees. Steve headed off to get the tyres on the truck balanced as they have made the normal shimmy terrible when he changed the tyres over. I did some blog then joined the group doing the mine tour. Had to wear clothed-in shoes, long pants and long sleeve shirt then we had to put on the safety vest, hard hat and safety glasses and we were going in a bus!!

Tara, our guide was very informative. The Visitor Centre buildings are made from rammed earth from the satellite Ore Body 25. Through the mine gates then over the railway bridge. A very long train (4 engines & 264 ore cars & 1 driver) was heading to the crushers from one of the other BHP mines. They hold the Guinness Book of Records for the longest and heaviest haul train over 275km  in 2001 – 7.353km long, weighing 99,732.1 tonnes.

Iron ore pouring from the chute ready to load onto the train to head to the ships at Port Hedland.

The main crushing plants.

Up to the lookout on the ‘new’ top of Mt Whaleback. It was originally 805 metres high but was chopped down 135 metres till they didn’t find any more ore. Lots of things to read and photograph.

Fabulous view down into the open cut mine. They are mining at bench 30, each ben is 12-15 metres high. The water table starts at bench 18 so they pump out a lot of water which is used in the processing, keeping the dust down and creating a sporting area for jet boat racing. Tara said they had a great festival event recently combined with speedway etc.

Zoomed in on the ‘little’ machinery.

The drill rigs are preparing the next blast area behind where they are working. Some of the rigs are automated and by next year they all will be. Everything is controlled by the main centre in Perth – they have everything covered, even if you get tired the chair in the truck vibrates.

They are now backfilling this area, eventually the remaining hole will become a lake, like the Super Pit at Kalgoorlie. Though not for a long while as there is still 20 to 60 years of mining from this vein and another 400 years from the other satellite mines. The mine trucks there are automated, they don’t have them here as the levels are changing all the time.

Across the middle where they are dumping waste to the processing area.

View back to Newman then over the rail area to the processing plants. The yellow ochre stuff is another type of iron ore. There are different crushing plants depending on the grade of ore etc. Looks very complicated.

Over the top of the mine we can see Mt Newman.

There were some piles of iron ore to take samples from but I declined – van is heavy enough. 

I asked Tara about the heavy black rocks we found at Marble Bar and she said they are another type of iron ore. I said how they set the detector off and then we got chatting about gold prospecting. She detects with her husband and kids and her friends just found a nice nugget worth $80,000 at Jimblebar which is where Joe had said to go. I had looked and it was under mine and exploration leases but she said heaps of people detect there. She offered to take us out when we come back. Will have to investigate that next year.

Good view over Newman as we head down from the lookout.

The train we saw before unloading its ore in the green shed – two carriages at a time.

Drove through the main buildings where the laboratory is – completely run by 8 robots now. The big tyre shed which houses about $2 million’s worth of tyres. Steve wouldn’t want to have to plug a leak in one of those.

Turned around before the main processing area.

Back to the Visitor Centre where Tara gave us an info sheet so I didn’t have to try and remember all the info!! Should be like Dad and take my tape recorder with me. She also said that BHP run cattle on their land too.

Finished the tour with a cuppa and scones – very nice. Chatted with a couple from Greens Beach, Tassie.

Steve ended up buying new tyres for the truck as the ones we had they couldn’t balance!! I am glad as I was getting worried about getting a blow out on the highway. We now have Mickey Thompsons and it was a pretty good price too.

Steve rang Malcolm to chat about the racing weekend – the car was still fast but was spurting out water so he will have to pull it apart to see where it is coming from. I rang Mum and Dad while Steve topped up the water etc. Headed off towards Goodin Mine where we detected on our way up. Lots of pretty yellow flowers everywhere.

Stopped at the Gascoyne River (Middle Branch) and found a spot along the water hole.

Going to be cooler tonight as we can feel it already as the sun goes down. Another couple from Albany were camped further along and they stopped by for a chat on their walk.

Watched some more of our photos from September 2014.