Roadtrip Day 23 - Tom Price Mine

At 9:30 am, we were ready at the tourist center for the mine tour. Everyone received a safety helmet and protective goggles, and closed-toe shoes were mandatory. We took a bus to the mine, which was 5 km away, and the bus driver told us all the important details. The mine has been around for about 40 years and will be empty in the next 5 years. However, a new mine is already being opened nearby. Throughout the entire tour, we had to stay on the bus and were only allowed to get off for one stop.

In the Tom Price Mine, only iron ore is extracted, while all other resources (such as gold) are ignored because they are too complicated to extract. The mine now has a diameter of 56 km. Piece by piece, a part of the Pilbara Range is blasted. The debris is then transported away with huge vehicles (weighing 100 tons and capable of carrying 248 tons). The ore is then washed, sieved, etc. and subsequently transported by trains directly to Port Hedland, where it is shipped away. China is the largest consumer of iron ore. The mine operates 24/7.

A train to Port Hedland is 2.5 km long and has 245 cars/trailers. Each of the 245 trailers weighs 109 tons. Six trains travel to Port Hedland at speeds of up to 70 km/h daily. The total length of the mining rail network to Port Hedland is 1600 km.

We received so much information about the machines and vehicles, which was really interesting. The mine tour was truly fascinating, but also alarming to see how our Earth is being exploited.

We were dropped back off at the tourist center at 11:30 am. We then continued back towards the West Coast. Our next destination was Exmouth. Since the distance was too long or the time too short (you can only drive until 5 pm due to animals on the road), we set up our tent at a rest area on the side of the road.