How Iron Ore Mining Works!

Situated in Western Australia, the Pilbarra looks like a barren orange-red expanse to the untrained eye. But anyone who knows anything about mining knows it's one of the world's most valuable and vital regions.

Why? Iron ore…

Steel makes our world go round — cars, buildings, and power wouldn't exist without the stuff. And steel requires two main ingredients: coal and iron ore, which makes iron ore as critical to humanity as it gets.

In 1968, Western Australian iron ore production was about 20 million tons. Today, the region exports over 850 million tons annually. With new mines still opening and existing mines undergoing expansions, the Pilbara's iron production will continue STRONG for decades.

When I asked Rio Tinto to visit their new mine, Gudai Darri, they also asked if we wanted to check out their rail and port operations. I promptly signed us up!

Rio Tinto has SEVENTEEN iron ore operations in the Pilbara. Gudai Darri started in 2022 and will operate for 40 years at an annual production rate of 40+ million tons. Nuts…

Part two will be out soon!

[mike]

My little Sister drives those Trains for Rio. We're all very proud of her.

[mikewasowski]

Worked on that job nearly 3 years. Helped design it. Great video

[Jipper]

Work sites are way, way more interesting than Las Vegas.

[sergeyf]

This is gotta be the most advanced mine I’ve seen - definitely not something I was expecting

[rtf]

Watching this from my room at that exact mine site, Electrician on the processing plant, not often are exact equipment you’ve worked on in a video like this!

[gregwalker]

Spent most of my engineering career in MN Taconite Mining (USA) ... this video is great! Thanks Aaron!

[J.fromMichigan]

My stepdad worked as a manager for 20 years at an international corporation called Leco. One of the many things they made was an atomic scanner for the elemental breakdown of the steel and aluminum industries. He said if you put a hotdog on that thin that it would tell you every element and exactly how much was in it. They used metal, etc. blanks to get exact recipes of these metals.

[thumperjdm]

Amazing, informative video. I find it amazing how much "science" goes into harvesting what's essentially "dirt."

[troymckenna]

Awesome Video Aaron, I have spent 5 years working with my team to design and commission the IS&T Technology for Gudai Darri, very complex program, but very rewarding to see your video and know that our Rio Tinto IS&T team efforts is enabling mining operations.

[stco]

Amazing and well put together film. Thanks!

[Fattybryce]

I work supporting Rio mining operations in the Pilbara, including this site, here in Perth. Was super neat to see what actually goes on up at the site.

[paulschofield]

I started my apprenticeship in Geelong, 1970, we had the last Blacksmith's shop possibility in Victoria, I did work with them, plus fitting and machining, Iron and steel is everything pushing civilisation forward 💪, love western movies were the Smith keeps the towns running, Im getting an anvil for my hobbies, great video dude 👍 cheers 🍻 from Byron Bay Australia 🇦🇺 ❤❤😊

[bobpegram]

Great Australian Salute at the end...damn flies

[Match]

I was a fit-out driver on the autonomous trains project at 8 Mile (Karratha), then went inland to Paraburdoo as driver. Gudai Darri was just breaking ground for construction when I left. The scale of the rail operations at Rio Tinto are incredible, the video mentions 5 to 6 trains a day, that's just the Gudai Darri loadout! There are 12 lodaouts on the entire Rio Tinto network, and when I left in early 2020 they had 52 "tags" or train consists, of 240 wagons.

[bushmagpie]

Well done on information. I’ve been in iron ore processing for 30yrs now. All Iron Ore plants work same way (wet & dry) and automated plant, to get the most availability out of the equipment and keep cost low.
The plant you’re describing is dry plant, you should go to a wet plant and run through those, they are very interesting.
Yes they make millions but the public don’t see the WA business’s these mines support, the huge dollar donations to charity ( telethon, RFDS), mining town funding, indigenous programs, royalties to government and indigenous etc. A lot of expenses for all to benefit from.
It takes 5 to 10yrs to have a mine approved and millions of $ before a shovel of dirt is raised.

[peternewman]

AARON glad you are learning the Aussie Salute, in other words how to cope with flies. Its quite the thing and better than swallowing them. A tip if you drink beer always keep your hand over the top of the can or bottle cause the little buggers love beer. I’ve progressed from that and you can buy a plastic cap that fits over you can and turns it into a bottle with a screw lid. That guarantees fly free beer.

[nickburke]

Your content is awesome man. I’m a geologist and was quite impressed with how much detail you conveyed. Well done keep it up 👍

[someguyyeti]

I work across these sites as a contractor, mostly across a different iron ore production company, but I do go to Rio Tinto sites from time to time.

[louwclaassens]

I am also working on an iron ore mine in South Africa. Lab specialist. So the video hits home nicely. Everything is red here. But we love the work. Climate here is very similar to the outback. Hot and dry! 😀

[sayedmahbub]

Mining, Construction, Big Factories always fascinates me.