Hi everyone,
We have not posted for a while due to being remote with no or weak internet service for extended periods so we hope you enjoy our next few posts as we bring you up to speed.
After Karajini National Park we made our way south on good road to the mining town of Newman. Newman or should I say Mt. Whaleback is the biggest open cut iron ore mine in the world. It measures 5.5 kilometres long by 2.5 kilometres wide. The day we visited it was a freezing 21 degrees Celsius with a cutting wind.
We marvelled at the huge trucks which have a payload of 200 tonnes & cost $20 million each. The tyres on the trucks are 3.5 metres in diameter & including the rim weigh 5 tonnes each. Another interesting aspect of the mine is the railroad. The 426-kilometre railway is the longest privately owned track in the world. The average train measures 2.6 kilometres long, consisting of 4 locomotives, 264 ore cars & one driver. Each car holds 130-138 tonnes of ore & a loaded train pulls a payload of 33,000 tonnes.After our mine tour, we departed Newman we headed north toward Port Hedland for around 250 kilometres & enjoyed a free camp at Bea Bea rest area. It is one of those little hidden gems we keep finding!
The next day we travelled a further 200 kilometres to Port Hedland for a couple of days. Port Hedland is the biggest bulk handling port in the world. We were amazed at the amount of shipping in the harbour & the magnitude of the infrastructure that supports it. We opted to do a harbour tour on the Seafarers Associations vessel. The Seafarers Association looks after the welfare of sailors.
Chezza & Stephen's Blog 