Mount Tom Price Mine, Tom Price, Ashburton Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Mount Tom Price Mine	Mine
Tom Price	- not defined -
Ashburton Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

Giant iron ore deposit.
Part of the 'West Pilbara Mineral Field'.

Tom Price is located in the central Hamersley Ranges and is the highest town in Western Australia. It is named after the vice-president of the Kaiser Steel Corporation, and was a company town built by Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd to service its mine here. It is now owned by Rio Tinto.

Mount Tom Price refers to the mine. There was an actual mountain here but is significantly lower now due to mining. The mine opened in 1965. The ore is railed to the port of Dampier. The mine produces 28 million tonnes of iron ore per annum.

The deposit occurs near the keel of the large Turner Syncline at its eastern extremity. The ore body is 7.5 kilometres long and up to 1.6 kilometres wide, but only averages 0.6 kilometres wide, and goes to 150-250 metres in depth. It occupies two local synclines and part of an intervening syncline, with later cross folding.

Most of the ore body is hosted by the Brockman Iron Formation, in particular the Dale Gorge Member and the upper levels of the Joffre Member. Some shale has been enriched by iron oxides to 50% Fe, and this is a minor source of iron. The lower most unit is the Marra Mamba Iron Formation; the 150 metre thick Paraburdoo Member; the 157 metre thick Bee Gorge Shale Member; the 30-40 metre thick Mt McRae Member of black pyritic shale (see Millstream locality Mindat); then the Wittenoom Formation, the 12 metre Colonial Chert Member; the 150 metre thick Dales Gorge Member of alternating 17 banded iron formation, and 16 shale bands; the 50 metre Whaleback Shale Member of green to black shale and chert; 360 metre thick Joffre Member of banded iron formation.

Over all this is hydrated goethite averaging 18 metres thick, with minor deposits of hematite and/or banded iron formations cemented by goethite.

The Dale Gorge Member banded iron formations away from enrichment, are dominated by chert, magnetite and minor hematite, carbonates, and Fe silicates. Sometimes this has denser bright metallic fused fine grained microplaty hematite and martite. About 5% is earthy hematite filling voids.

The company runs tours of the mine. Like all Pilbara mining towns, accommodation is virtually non-existent, and camping is the best option.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References