Australian Pictorial of Pilbara Mining and Out-west

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Introduction

The Pilbara covers an immense area of approximately 510,335 sq km in Western Australia's north-west. Larger than the State of Victoria, it extends from the Indian Ocean in the north-west, right across the Great Sandy desert to the Kimberley region in the north, to the border of Northern Territory in the east and to the Gibson Desert and the Tropic of Capricorn to the south.

In the northern Pilbara region, ancient rocks of the so-called Archaean period form the oldest crustal block on the Australian continent. The Hamersley Range and plateau occupies the central Pilbara, with the plateau reaching its most elevated point at Mt Meharry, 1,245 m above sea level and the highest peak in Western Australia.

The combinations of landforms eroded from an ancient continental shield, soil types and the climate, has produced a semi-desert environment over much of the Pilbara. Spinifex is widespread, but special local habitats of shaded gorges, permanent pools and isolated ridge peaks have played an important role in promoting some unusual and some unique flora and fauna.

Powerful springs which rise from the subterranean flow channels have created deep still pools surrounded by fringing vegetation, forming oases throughout the Pilbara.

Although basically a peaceful region with a temperate climate, there are times when droughts parch the earth, or when the usually dry rivers flood the lowlands and cyclones lash the coast.

Widespread evidence indicates that the first inhabitants of the Pilbara were the Aboriginals, who lived in the area for thousands of years before arrival of the first white explorers.

The enormous mineral deposits of iron ore, salt, offshore oil and gas have been the focus of international attention. Against a backdrop of golden spinifex slopes and valleys, plains of mulga and desert, red ridges, water courses, deep gorges and finally the coast, large mining consortiums have invested billions of dollars to establish huge mines, new townships, 1,200 km of rail and large sea ports, which have transformed the landscape forever.

Pilbara has a regional identity that is still surprising, and often beautiful and unique.

Central and East

The Shire of East Pilbara is the largest in Australia, encompassing an area of 377,000 sq km. where major mineral deposits are found.

The eastern border is the boundary of the Northern Territory, taking in the Great Sandy and Gibson Deserts, and on the north and north-west is the Indian Ocean.

On the south is the southern part of Western Australia, which is the most populated. The total population of East Pilbara is just over 10,000 people and most inhabit the western section of the shire.

At the southern border of the Shire and on the Tropic of Capricorn is Mt Whaleback, where there are enormous deposits of iron ore. Here, 1,031 km north of Perth is also the largest town in the Shire, the town of Newman.

Almost in the centre of the Pilbara region is Nullagine, once the principal alluvial goldfield in the north of the State.

Further north, is Marble Bar. The pioneer settlers named Marble Bar for the unique bar of "Marble" that crosses the Coongan River 5km from the present town. In fact the Bar is not Marble at all. It is jasper, a highly coloured cryptocrystalline variety of quartz, with beautiful bands of red, white and blue-black rock. For much of the year the Marble Bar Pool, created where the Bar crosses the Coongan, is a popular swimming spot.

Best known for its reputation as Australia's hottest town Marble Bar has earned this tag from the consistently high temperatures experienced during the summer months, when the mercury climbs over 100 (380C) for days on end. The record is 160 consecutive days of century plus heat, recorded in the sweltering summer of 1923-24. In pleasant contrast, the winter months offer mild daytime temperatures and cool nights.

Telfer is situated 485 road kms east of Port Hedland, in one of Australia's most inhospitable and remote environments, the Great Sandy Desert and is known for its gold deposits which occur in layers of shallow marine sediments varying from a few centimetres up to 3 metres thick. Copper is also present in the ores.

The Telfer - Rundall region is still under active exploration with a large number of companies involved. However, despite the incursion of these explorers, the area remains very dangerous for inexperienced travellers and lives have been lost in recent times.

Water is precious in this dry area and for both domestic and mining needs is drawn from a series of bores and wherever possible is reclaimed and recycled.

Mount Goldsworthy's iron ore was the first Australian iron ore from Pilbara to be exported.

Ecology of Birds at Dampier Salt

The Dampier solar salt-field is located on the north-west coast of Australia.

Salt-fields in general are famous for their birdlife and Dampier Salt is no exception. The highly productive early ponds contain large quantities of algae and detritus which support small crustaceans and marine worms. These feed flocks of wading birds which at times congregate in thousands on the shallow margins of the ponds.

A large population of fish is also supported, the fish themselves preyed upon by species such as cormorants, pelicans, terns, egrets and sea-eagles.

In addition to providing a food supply, the salt-field is a quiet, protected area where many species can nest unmolested. Ospreys, white-bellied sea-eagles and Brahminy kites all nest within the Dampier salt-field.

High salinity brines contain the soft bodied brine shrimps which are a favourite food for red-headed avocets and stilts. These birds rise from the ponds in spectacular clouds of black and white when disturbed.

Dampier Salt is visited each year in the period October to March by migratory wading birds which originate in Siberia. At times thousands of these birds can be observed feeding in the salt-field. Spectacular tropical species such as the jabiru also visit during the warm summer period.

Environmental Rehabilitation

The fact that its mining operations are located in one of Australia's most remote regions does not diminish the mining companies' resolve to minimize the effect their operations have on the environment.

An active environmental programme has been established to cater not only for today's communities, but also for the future well-being of the region, in particular the native flora and fauna.

On-going surveys of plant life are undertaken, with company officers constantly experimenting on the re-vegetation of barren areas. Mine waste dumps have received specific attention. An example which has received recognition, is a system known as "moonscaping", a process that ensures water retention on mine slopes.

This involved building a 28 million cubic metre dam across the Fortescue River to retain water from spasmodic, monsoonal rains. Water is retained in the dam long enough for the silt to settle before being fed to artificial recharge basins and ponds where it filters down to nature's underground aquifers.

Water - a vital life-giving source - is even more important in the dry Pilbara region. To ensure that natural underground water was not depleted, unique water conservation programmes have been developed.

Fauna

The geographic isolation of Australia gave its rare animals excellent survival chances. The large deserts have also restricted the movement of wildlife with consequent marked differences in species between areas, the Pilbara's relative seclusion and mostly arid conditions having prompted unusual and unique fauna.

The ring-tailed dragon is the most common dragon to be found in the rocky country of the Pilbara, with many colour variations to be seen. Around 70 species of the smooth-scaled skink are found in Australia, seen mostly at night around watercourses. The monitor lizard is found in most of the state and preys on smaller animals like snakes, birds and other lizards. The western bearded dragon is a rather sedentary reptile which is most often observed perched on a tree stump or fence post. More formidable is the swift-moving and highly dangerous western brown snake which is found in most parts of Australia.

The Pilbara ningaui is a minute nocturnal marsupial which hunts insects, cockroaches, grasshoppers and centipedes. Although it is the smallest of the Australian marsupials, weighing between only 2 and 9 grams, it is a ferocious fighter and eater. Red kangaroos, which are the largest, are also found here; they are powerful but gracefully built. The males are a rich wine-red colour and the females a smoky blue. The species is fairly gregarious and is usually found in small mobs of a dozen or so. Rothschild's Rock Wallabies are also found in Pilbara.

Also found here is the long-billed corella which travels in pairs or in a flock and frequents plains or timber bordering watercourses. This species was once common but has fallen away in many localities. Another bird is the flightless emu which, next to the ostrich, is the world's largest bird and can run at speeds of 60km per hour.

Gould's wattled bat are widespread throughout Australia. They live in various places from open forest to urban areas. They make a high-pitched sound when flying and a range of buzzes, squeaks and chirps when handled.

Flora

The oceans which isolate Australia from all other great land masses have ensured rare and exquisite native flora.

Landforms, soil types and arid conditions have combined to produce a semi-desert environment over much of the Pilbara.

Spinifex is widespread, but habitats of shaded gorges, permanent pools, ridge peaks, valleys and vast plains promote unique and often spectacular flora.

Gemstones

Of the great variety of semi-precious gemstones found in the Pilbara, the Tiger Eye of the Mt. Brockman area must be the most prized.

The material consists of bands of silicified asbestos contained in a matrix of red and green chert, often marked by thin lustrous veins of haematite and silvery splashes of iron pyrites. It is associated with the Marra Mamba banded iron formation which outcrops extensively throughout the Hamersley Range.

The name Tiger Eye is supposedly derived from the property of chatoyancy produced when bands of light glimmer across the surface as the stone is moved.

Closely associated with the well known Tiger Eye is a similar material popularly termed "Tiger Iron". It is a jaspilite consisting of alternate bands of haematite and red jasper enriched with a golden yellow asbestos which has been silicified.

This stone, abundant in the Ord Range, is especially attractive when the bands are closely packed.

The exquisite carving material Printstone is a fine grained sedimentary clay stone.

Geology

The Pilbara has many important geological areas, the two largest known as the "Pilbara Block" and the "Hamersley Ore Province". The Pilbara Block is the northern sector of the Pilbara, North East of the Fortescue River. This block has some of the world's oldest rocks, whose age exceeds 3,000 million years, making it the oldest crustal block on the Australian continent. The area used to be highlands, which are now almost worn away.

The oldest volcanic rocks were formed as a result of volcanic lava and debris pouring out over many millions of years, after which sedimentary rock was laid down thousands of metres thick.

Much of this rock contains iron ore which is being mined at Shay Gap. Other minerals include gold near Marble Bar and Nullagine plus lead and copper at Whim Creek.

Geological events have changed the form of many rocks, with granite pushed upwards, volcanic rocks changed to greenstones and sedimentary rocks to quartzite and schist.

Today the quartz areas have been worn flat to form sandplains and big round boulders of granite can be seen along the Port Hedland to Wittenoom road.

Sheets of molten rock were pushed into the granite and when it cooled, hot water containing minerals was pushed into surrounding rocks. Some of these rocks are now seen as long dark regions called dykes (one example is the Black Range south west of Marble Bar); they cooled to form quartz and pregmatite and contain valuable minerals including gold, tin, tantalum and beryllium.

The Pilbara's iron ore reserves extend over 80,000sq kms in an area referred to as the Hamersley Ore Province. This is a huge area about twice the size of Tasmania, located between the Fortescue and Ashburton Rivers.

It formed some 2,700 million years ago and contains vast quantities of iron-bearing material. These rocks are considered to have been formed by chemical deposition from ancient seas.

Some time later they were elevated and folded by earth movements, finally eroding to their present form. These include the Ophthalmia and Hamersley Ranges.

Within this area two major Banded Iron Formation horizons occur - the Brockman and Marra Mamba iron formations. Mt. Whaleback, with initial reserves of over 1500 million tonnes, is one of the largest Brockman Iron Formation deposits that contains the hard porous blue haematite (average 65.5% Fe) prized by steelmakers.

Remaining reserves total around 900 million tonnes. Ore Body 29 contains over 140 million tonnes of the distinct yellow/brown martite-limonite ore.

The Brockman Iron Formation is much harder than the surrounding rocks and erosion of these softer rocks over millions of years has resulted in the spectacular hills and gorges such as Mt. Meharry and the Wittenoom and Dales gorges.

Hamersley Range

The Hamersley Range is a remnant of a 2,700 million year old plateau stretching between the Fortescue and Ashburton Rivers in central Pilbara, where there are magnificent rock formations created by the action of water over millions of years, brilliant green foliage, tranquil swimming pools, waterfalls and red terraced cliffs which come as a pleasant surprise after the sparsely vegetated surrounding countryside.

The National Park contains a rolling landscape of spectacular mountains, breath-taking gorges, stony watercourses and dusty plateaux. The park covers 617,606 ha and is one of W.A.'s largest national parks.

Rainfall, an average of 250 to 300 mm, occurs mainly in summer.

The Range consists of ranges of rounded and domed hills separated by broad scree-filled valleys. Most streams on the plateau flow north to the Fortescue River. Over time, heating, cooling and water have eroded and cracked the hard rock, sculpturing deep gorges into the northern landscape.

Springs rising from underground aquifers have created streams and permanent pools in shaded gorges, promoting some unusual and some unique flora.

Just south of the Hamersley Range the country is broken and rough, with many prominent outcrops of iron formation rising above the general level. Mt Meharry, at 1,245 m above sea level, is the highest point in Western Australia.

The Hamersley Range is well known for the mineral deposits it contains. In the Marra Mamba geological formation, there are high grade iron ore reserves - haematite (Fe2O3) with minor impurities - of over 2500 million tonnes. Another 2000 million tonnes of ore is in the Brockman geological formation.

Wittenoom Gorge
A complex of gorges seen from Oxer Lookout within the Hamersley Ranges National Park form the beginning of Wittenoom Gorge. The gorge winds northward, past the settlement and the old asbestos mine site and township, before joining the Fortescue River.

Although Wittenoom Gorge has several permanent pools, the watercourse is mostly dry.

Thunderstorms or the occasional heavy rain brought by cyclonic activities can cause flash flooding. This usually occurs during the summer months and often a wall of water rushes with great force through the gorge before spreading out over the river valley to flow towards the coast.

Millstream - Chichester National Park

The Millstream - Chichester National Park consists of nearly 200,000 hectares of tablelands and basalt ranges of the central Pilbara. The Fortescue River runs through the south west corner of the park.

MilIstream is a beautiful, welcoming oasis, a stark contrast to the arid, surrounding terrain. Here there are deep natural fresh-water springs amidst luxuriant tropical trees, date palms and lilies, and pools in which one can swim.

The landscape of the Chichester Ranges is dominated by rolling hills, hummocks of spinifex, white-barked snappy gums on the uplands and pale coolabahs along the usually dry watercourses.

The area known today as Port Hedland, located 1660 km north of Perth, was discovered in 1863 by Captain Peter Hedland who named it Mangrove Harbour. Attempts to reach Port Hedland from Roebourne by land had been impeded by mangrove swamps and reports indicated a shortage of a natural supply of fresh water. Two months after the discovery, Walter Padbury, who had taken up a lease on the De Grey River, entered Mangrove inlet and renamed the harbour Port Hedland.

West of Port Hedland, and only 60 km from Karratha, there are fine beaches at Point Samson; this is the main seaside recreation area both for locals and for tourists, with an abundance of seafood to be enjoyed.

Off the coast is the Dampier Archipelago, which comprises 42 islands, islets and rocks Iaying within a 45 km radius from the town of Dampier. Twenty-five of these islands are incorporated into nature reserves for the conservation of flora and fauna and are managed by the Department of Conservation and Land Management.

Cossack is situated near the mouth of the Harding River at an inlet known as Butcher's inlet. During the goldrush and pearling years this was a thriving town, but now only a few restored old buildings remain.

West of Millstream is Pannawonica Hill, whose existence is explained in two Aboriginal myths. There are permanent water holes in the area, and shaded ghost gums provide the perfect backdrop to this impressive, special mesa.

Here is also one of the most successful iron ore mines in the world, based on the successful exploitation of low grade iron ore. Robe's ore, which contains 6% less iron than other ores mined in the Pilbara, has unique blending qualities.

North west shelf gas
Located on the Burrup Peninsula near the port of Dampier is the North West Shelf Project, the biggest and one of the most important natural resource developments ever undertaken in Australia.

The large gas fields discovered were in deep water offshore and the costs of development were astronomical. The main offshore facility is the North Rankin "A" natural gas drilling and production platform located 130 km north-west of Dampier. The gas reserves are located 3 km below the sea bed.

The natural gas and condensate (a light crude oil which condenses from the gas during production) drilled here undergoes some processing on the platform itself before its 134 km journey by submarine pipeline to the onshore processing facilities on the Burrup Peninsula.

By tapping the vast reserves of natural gas on the North West Continental Shelf offshore from Dampier, the project has been supplying gas to users in Western Australia since August 1984. Over 200,000 households and more than 95% of industry with the capacity to use natural gas are taking North West Shelf gas.

Solar Salt

The Dampier salt-field is produced by solar evaporation of sea-water and is further processed to yield high quality salt.

Salt (NaCl) itself is formed by the natural combination of two elements, sodium and chlorine. Sodium (Na) is a light soft metal which burns when exposed to air, and is used in the globes of yellow street lights. Chlorine (Cl) is a very poisonous greenish-yellow gas, but when dissolved in small quantities in drinking water it kills bacteria. The white grains used on food are therefore the combination of a metal and a gas. Salt is as essential to life as food and water are. It is also indispensable in the chemical industry where it is a raw material starting point for a vast range of chemical products, including caustic soda, which is used in the production of Alumina.

The Dampier evaporation ponds have a total area of about 90 sq km. On an average day the sun evaporates about half a million tonnes of water from the field. Sixty-five tonnes of sea-water are pumped into the first pond for every tonne of salt harvested two years later, the area being sufficient to produce 2.5 million tonnes of salt per year.

South West

This is a large area of 105,647 sq km, with Tom Price its administrative centre.

Tom Price is known as "Top town in W.A." because of its altitude of 747 m above sea level, and is also an excellent base from which to explore the spectacular gorges of the Hamersley Range National Park. The highest accessible mountain in the state, Mt Nameless, overlooks the town from 1,128 metres. Access to the summit is by car, or by a vigorous walk for the more energetic.

Nyang, named after an Aboriginal word meaning "the junction of two waters", is a sheep station located just within the western boundaries of the Pilbara. It runs on 300,000 acres of country incorporating a variety of vegetation, from spinifex flats to mixed grasses and mulga pine found towards the hills to the north and east. It is a popular stop-over for travellers wanting to experience station life.

Paraburdoo took its name from Paraburdoo Station. The name was derived from the Aboriginal name "Piru-Pardu", which literally means "white meat feathers", referring to the abundance of white cockatoos found in the area.

Twenty one kilometres east of Paraburdoo is a mining area called Chammar, some of the most rugged terrain of the Hamersley Ranges.

Onslow is a coastal retreat offering a lovely climate, beaches and excellent fishing.

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