Iron-Ore mines in World
Carajas, Brazil
The Vale owned Carajas mine in the state of Para in Northern Brazil is the world’s biggest iron ore mine holding 7.27 billion tonnes of proven and probable reserves as of December 2012.
Carajas is an open pit mining operation targeting the Serra Norte, Serra Sul, and the Serra Leste iron ore deposits in the Carajás District. The mine contained an estimated 4.84 billion tonnes of iron ore (grading 66.7% Fe) in proven reserves and 2.43 billion tonnes of iron ore (66.6% Fe) in probable reserves as of 2012. It produced 115.3 million tonnes iron ore in 2018.
The mining life of Carajas is believed to be extendible up to 2065.
Samarco Alegeria, Brazil
The world’s second biggest iron ore mine, Samarco Alegria is located in the state of Minas Gerais in south-east Brazil. The mine contained 2.97 billion tonnes of iron ore in proven and probable reserves as of December 2012.
Samarco Alegria is an open pit mining operation consisting of two active pits, Alegria South and Alegria North, which have been operational since 2000. Samarco, a 50-50 joint venture between BHP Billiton and Vale, owns and operates the mine.
The mine was estimated to hold 1.89 billion tonnes of proven iron ore reserve (grading 40.2% Fe) and 1.08 billion tonnes of probable iron ore reserve (grading 38.9% Fe) by the end of 2012. Production in 2018 was 22.4 million tonnes.
The mining life of Samarco Alegeria is believed to be extendible up to 2053.
Minas Itabiritos, Brazil
The Vale owned Minas Itabiritos mining site in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, hosts the world’s third biggest iron ore mining operation. The proven and probable ore reserves of Minas Itabirito, which comprises four mines, Segredo, Joao Pereira, Sapecado, and Galinheiro, were 2.78 billion tonnes at the end of 2012.
Iron ore production from Minas Itabiritos during 2018 totalled 32.6 million tonnes.
The estimated mine life of Minas Itabiritos is up to 2047.
Vargem Grande, Brazil
The Vale owned Vargem Grande mine site also located in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, contained 2.53 billion tonnes of proven and probable iron ore reserves as of 2012 end making it the world’s fourth biggest iron ore mining operation. The Vargem Grande site comprises three open-pits namely Tamandua, Capitao do Mato, and Aboboras.
The total iron ore production from Vargem Grande in 2018 was 23.1 million tonnes.
The mine life of Vargem Grande is extendible up to 2058.
Zanaga, Republic of Congo
Zanaga is an open pit iron ore mine under development in the Lekoumou region of Southern Congo. It is estimated to contain 2.5 billion tonnes of iron ore (34% Fe) in probable reserves making it the world’s fifth biggest iron ore mine.
The Zanaga project is being developed in two phases by a joint venture of Glencore Xstrata (51%) and the Zanaga Iron Ore Company (49%).
Production in stage-1 is expected to be 14 million tonnes of iron ore per year, including up to two million tonnes direct shipping ore (DSO). Stage-2 will expand the annual production capacity to 30 million tonnes per annum. The estimated mine life of Zanaga is 30 years.
Simandou, Guinea
The Simandou mine contains 1.84 billion tonnes of iron ore (65.5% Fe) as of 2012 estimates. Rio Tinto, with 50.4% stake in the Simandou integrated iron ore project, is developing the mine in partnership with Aluminium Corporation of China (CHALCO) and the International Finance Corporation, which respectively hold a 44.6% and a 5% interest in the project. The Simandou iron ore operation consists of open pit mines located at Pic de Fon and Oueleba, a railway, and a port. This mine produces up to 95 million tonnes per annum of iron ore over the mine’s projected life of at least 30 years.
Hamersley, Australia
The Hamersley Basin, located about 1,100km north of Perth in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, hosts the world’s seventh biggest iron ore mining operation. The mine site, comprising Rio Tinto’s ten fully owned open pit mines, was estimated to contain 1.72 billion tonnes of proven and probable iron ore reserves at the end of 2012. This mine in the Hamersley Basin produced 133.29 million tonnes of iron ore in 2018.
Chichester Hub, Australia
The Chichester Hub, also located in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, approximately 263km south of Port Hedland, is the world’s eighth biggest iron ore mine containing 1.51 billion tonnes of proven and probable iron ore reserves (57.6% Fe) as of June 2013. The mine is operated by the world’s fourth biggest iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group (FMG).
The Chichester Hub comprises two open-pit iron ore mines in the Chichester Ranges, called Cloudbreak and Christmas Creek. Mining activities at Cloudbreak started in mid-2008, while Christmas Creek, located 50km east of Cloudbreak, became operational one year later.
The total production of the Chichester Hub is approximately 90 million tonnes per annum.
Minas Gerais, Brazil
With 1.45bt of probable iron ore reserves (38.76% Fe) estimated as of 31 December 2012, Anglo American’s wholly-owned Minas-Rio iron ore mine, in the state of Minas Gerais in south-eastern Brazil, is the ninth biggest iron ore mine in the world.
Minas-Rio will be an open-pit mine exploiting iron ore deposits located in the mountain ranges of Serra do Sapo and Itapanhoacanga.
Minas-Rio is expected to produce up to 29.8 million tonnes per annum of iron ore in its first phase of operation.
Karara, Australia
The Karara mine located about 220km east of Geraldton in Western Australia holds 955 million tonnes of iron ore (36.4% Fe) and is the tenth biggest iron ore mine in the world. The mine was officially opened in April 2013 and is expected to produce more than 30 million tonnes per annum of magnetite concentrate for in excess of 30 years.
The mine was developed by Karara Mining Limited (KML), a joint venture between the Western Australia-based iron ore producer Gindalbie Metals, Chinese steel producer Anshan Iron and Steel Group Corporation (Ansteel), which is the life of mine off-taker for all Karara production.
Sishen, South Africa
The Sishen mine, located near the mining town Kathu in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province, holds 918.9 million tonnes of proven and probable iron ore reserves (59.2% Fe), making it the world’s 11th biggest iron ore mine.
Sishen is the biggest among the three mines owned and operated in South Africa by Kumba Iron Ore Limited (Kumba) in which Anglo American holds 69.7% interest. Operational since 1947, it is also one of the world’s biggest open pit mines.
The mine produced 30.9 million tonnes of iron ore in 2018. The mines projected life is estimated to be about 12 more years.