Port Hedland Australia's iron ore boom town - Aussiehome

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Map 2: Pilbara iron ore mines & deposits
Source: FerrAus
available at the centre.
Upon its completion in August 2010,
the centre will replace the existing
Port Hedland health campus as the
central healthcare hub for the Pilbara
Gascoigne Health Region.
4. Marina and Retail Precinct
Development
The largest initiative to improve the
town’s amenities and appeal is the
ambitious $69m Marina and Retail
Precinct Development at Spoil Bank.
This 258-recreational boat pen
marina, mixed use commercial and
residential project will create a complex
comparable to the best marinas in Perth
and Queensland.
Situated at the eastern edge of
the port’s entrance, the tourism-focused
development will involve extensive
dredging and a 300-metre protective
breakwall. Both low and high
density options for development are
being considered.
5. Road infrastructure upgrades
The largest initiative underway is
a $200m infrastructure project to
upgrade and realign major roadways
and build new bridges. This project
is being jointly funded by the federal
government ($160m) and state
government ($60m) and will be
vital to support the increased
commercial, industrial and residential
traffic as the town continues to
rapidly expand.
Other minor but significant projects
include the following:
• $9.6m increase in public amenities
• $9m Finucane Island Community
Function Centre
• $9m Hedland Senior High
School upgrade
• $8.7m JD Hardie Youth Precinct
• $8.2m Marquee Park community
facilities
• $6m in facilities and a new park for
Cemetery Beach and Koombana
• $5.3m Crime Prevention and Safety
Initiative to increase security
• $4.5m Port Hedland General
Practitioner Housing Project to
build nine new dwellings to attract
GPs to the town
Pilbara powerhouse
The Pilbara is Australia’s primary iron
ore region, with more than 20 operating
mines (see Map 2). It is broadly split
into two regions, according to the two
railway networks owned by BHPB (East
Pilbara) and Rio Tinto (West Pilbara).
Port Hedland primarily services
the East Pilbara iron ore mines along
BHPB’s railway network and the
relatively new FMG railway. However,
there are a few smaller mines located on
minor railway networks that the town
also supports.
The West Pilbara Rio Tinto railway
network is serviced by Australia’s
other WA boom town, Karratha, and
its two nearby ports of Dampier and
Cape Lambert.
Since the early 1960s when large
quantities of iron ore were first
discovered, the Pilbara region has been
exporting iron ore to steel mills all
around the world. Initially meeting
the demands of a growing Japan, then
South Korea and now China, the region
has helped create two of the largest
companies in the world – BHP Billiton
and Rio Tinto.
Today, Australia supplies
approximately 16% of the world’s iron
ore (according to the Australian Trade
Commission), with the largest export
markets being China (60%), Japan (25%)
and South Korea (10%).
In 2009 the value of exports reached
$29bn but are expected to soar to $47bn
in 2010, according to the Australian
Bureau of Agriculture and Resource
Economics, as iron ore prices continue
to rise on strengthening demand
from China.
The Pilbara region itself accounts
for 89% of Australia’s iron ore deposits
and, with 65 years of resources left at
current production rates, has more than
enough room to continue its rapid rate
of mining expansion.
Biggest port set to get larger
Port Hedland is not only Australia’s
largest exporting port but it is also the
world’s largest bulk export port and
biggest iron ore port. However, things
are set to become even bigger.
BHP Billiton has nearly completed
its $2.1bn Rapid Group Project (RGP)
4, which will increase its annual export
tonnage by 26 megatonnes. At the
same time construction has already
commenced on RGP 5, a mammoth
$6.1bn project to increase tonnage a
further 50 megatonnes which will lift its
total annual tonnage to 200 megatonnes
– 100% more than 2007 levels.
BHP Billiton is not alone in its
expansion plans: Fortescue Metals
Group, Hancock Prospecting and Atlas
Iron all have ambitious expansion plans
to increase iron ore exports.
In total, iron ore exports from Port
Hedland are forecast to soar from 160
megatonnes in 2009 to 460 megatonnes
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