Hope Downs mine
The Hope Downs mine is an iron ore mining complex located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It comprises four large open-pit mines (Hope 1 North, Hope 1 South, Hope 4 and Baby Hope). The mines are co-owned by the Hancock Group and Rio Tinto, and the complex was named after Hope Hancock.
| Location | |
|---|---|
Hope Downs 4 mine Location in Western Australia | |
| Location | Shire of East Pilbara, Pilbara |
| State | Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 23°08′42″S 119°34′19″E |
| Production | |
| Products | Iron ore |
| Production | 30 million tonnes/annum |
| History | |
| Opened | 2007 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Rio Tinto Iron Ore (50%) Hancock Prospecting (50%) |
| Website | Rio Tinto Iron Ore website Hancock Prospecting website |
After the establishment of successful operations at Hope 1 North and South from 2007 onwards, Hope Downs 4 was developed, commencing production in 2013. Hope 4 is about 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Newman, and had a reserve of 162Mt as at 2016. Production at Baby Hope started in 2018.
The Hamersley Range, where the mine is located, contains 80 percent of all identified iron ore reserves in Australia and is one of the world's major iron ore provinces.
In 2009, the combined Pilbara operations produced 202 million tonnes of iron ore, a 15 percent increase from 2008. The Pilbara operations accounted for almost 13 percent of the world's 2009 iron ore production of 1.59 billion tonnes. In 2010, the project leases were estimated to have 1,450 million tonnes of mineable ore and the mines to have an expected life of more than 30 years.