Port Hedland

Port Hedland and Hedland South

The port of Port Hedland is loaded with ~42 ships docked out at sea waiting to come into port to get loaded with iron ore to take (mainly) to China. The facility is being run by computers over 1,650 kms away in Perth. 

We were given a glimpse of one of BHP's many iron ore facilities on a tour of Nelson Point. BHP has seven high grade iron ore mines in the Pilbara that produce lump and fine ore. The ore is crushed, screened and blended at one of four processing hubs before being railed to the port.  A heavy haulage rail line is used to carry the iron ore from their inland mining operations to the port for shipment. Their 426 km rail line from Newman to Port Hedland is one of Australia's longest privately owned railways. The dual track rail is fully automated and is one of the world's most productive heavy haulage railways. 
"Spaghetti Junction".
Trains run 24/7.

Train full of iron ore heading to the Port.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Leaving Melbourne Bound for Lock 9 via Wedderburn

Image
Our plans for leaving early on Friday 24 th June were dashed when Lorraine receive a telephone call telling her that the rose garden at Inala Village in Blackburn South was going to be demolished.  The rose garden was established in 1942 in memory of the men of the Salvation Army who formed the band for the 2/22 nd battalion Lark Force in WWII.  Lorraine’s maternal grandfather was one of those men and his rose bush had to be dug up, bagged up and replanted in our rose garden at home.   So, it wasn’t until 10 pm that we arrived at Hard Hill Tourist Reserve, Wedderburn, having left home at 5.15 pm.  But with Q, we were set up and playing cards with a nice hot cuppa by 10.10 pm.  Bliss!   The township of Wedderburn really took off in the 1850’s with the discovery of gold in 1852 with the population fluctuating between 6000 and several hundred, but in the 1890’s gold ceased to be regarded as a major source of income for Wedderburn.  However, th...
Read more

Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek

Image
7 August - Windjana Gorge Windjana Gorge, Lillimooloora Police Station and Tunnel Creek on the map. The sign at the entrance to the Gorge tells us that, the "Lennard River has carved a 4 km Gorge through the limestone of the Napier Range which is part of an extensive fossilised barrier reef from the Devonian times, 360 million years ago."  The Devonian Reef is a distinctive feature of the Kimberley; the limestone range stands high above the surrounding plain of savannah woodlands and grasslands. It is truly majestic.   View from our campite. Windjana isn't a Gorge where you get to luxuriate in cool waters - it is the territory of crocodiles. "Freshies" as they are, there are still warning notices around telling us not to swim here - and there's also a photo of a mangled foot, courtesy of a croc, on a notice board. On our early morning walk we saw about two dozen crocs sunning themselves on the banks of the river however another camper told...
Read more

Monkey Mia - Hamelin Pool Station - Denham - Shell Beach - 18 September 2017

Image
Monkey Mia We had an early start for the drive to Monkey Mia.  Lorraine was keen to swim with the dolphins - we figure the dolphins don't know where the "imaginary exclusion line" is - but there weren't many dolphins at the early feeding session.  To protect the dolphins and ensure they retain their ability to search for their own food in the wild, only two people are offered one fish each to feed to the dolphins. Tourists patiently waiting like school children! It was a bit cool so we watched a couple of the "feeding sessions", enjoyed a caffeine fix and headed back to Hamelin Pool Station for a Devonshire Tea. Hamelin Pool Telegraph Station Hamelin Pool Devonshire Teahouse. Hamelin Pool Station   The shores of Hamelin Pool are dotted with  stromatolites , the world's largest and oldest living fossils, and they are among the most diverse in the world and show us what marine ecosystems would have looked like three billion years ago...
Read more