Fast Facts

• Over 88,000 square kilometres of tenements
• Over 12 billion tonnes of resources in the Pilbara
• Fortescue has shipped over 137.5 million tonnes since operations commenced in May 2008
• Our expansion plans to 155mtpa are on schedule for completion in mid 2013
• Fortescue exported 100 million tonnes in three years, it took our competitors 40 years
• We have a permanent workforce of over 3,000 and more than 5,000 contractors 

Operations

• Cloudbreak, our flagship mine is located approximately 260 kilometres from Port HedlandChristmas Creek is 50 kilometres to the east of Cloudbreak
• Cloudbreak is a 40 million tonne per annum mining operation, Christmas Creek is currently operating at approximately 18 million tonnes per annum.
• Our state of the art, 40 tonne axle load railway is the heaviest haul in the world
• Up to seven trains a day transport iron ore from the mines to Herb Elliott Port in Port Hedland
• The port was designed with expansion in mind, to seamlessly allow construction to take place without interfering with daily operations due to its streamline design
• Fortescue operations use cutting edge technology and investigate opportunities to improve our cost, efficient and production capacity – we don’t accept the status quo

Development

• Fortescue is undergoing a transformative expansion from a 55 million tonne per annum operation to a 155 million tonne per annum powerhouse by June 2013.
• The 155mtpa project funding is secure with US$1.5 billion (bn) of Senior Unsecured Notes raised in October 2011.
• The 155mtpa expansion involves additional infrastructure at Herb Elliott Port, 120 kilometres of mainline rail duplication, a new 130 kilometre rail spur from Solomon to the mainline, a 60mtpa mine at Solomon and Chichester Hub development to take its combined production capacity to 90 million tonnes per annum (plus 5mtpa from a 50/50 BC Iron Joint Venture).
• The Solomon Project is 120 kilometres to the west of the Chichester Hub, more than 3 billion tonnes have been discovered here and early ore is expected later this year, with full production on target for July 2013.
• Solomon is the largest iron ore start-up in Australia, showcasing innovation to execute in record time and at a lower capital cost/tonne ration than any of our competitors
• Solomon is set to be a production powerhouse within the T155 expansion project with a target of 60 million tonnes per annum.
• Our most recent major discoveries include Nyidinghu and the Western Hub.
• Nyidinghu is less than 35 kilometres from the flagship Chichester Hub.
• Two billion tonnes of high grade Brockman resource has been discovered at Nyidinghu
• We are evaluating early production of the significant Nyidinghu discovery, and expect a full scale project to be our next development step.
• A maiden resource of 625 million tonnes has been declared at the Western Hub. This figure is expected to grow and both Nyidinghu and Western Hub will rival the Chichester Hub in production capacity.
• Fortescue is investigating a ‘two port, three hub’ strategy that would take production to 355 million tonnes per annum which could potentially include a new Pilbara port.

Community

• Fortescue recognises that for the Pilbara to generate wealth and opportunities for Australians for many years, it must host long term, fully sustainable and high quality living communities
• Fortescue is support the Western Australian Government’s Pilbara Cities vision by way of its commitment to a residential workforce at Port Hedland, local employment, training and employment of Aboriginal people and providing opportunities for local business in the Pilbara.
• Fortescue believes our community investments are much more meaningful when we proactively identify and develop projects with community partners – with this in mind Fortescue has a community grants program available to projects within the Town of Port Hedland, the Shire of East Pilbara and the Tom Price area.
• At Fortescue we aim to enhance communities, behave with respect and care for people and the environment, take broad responsibility for the effects of our presence and do what we say we will do. Our focus is on creating self empowerment within communities. We do this by encouraging innovative partnerships and initiatives that build the capacity of the local communities and remove the need for ongoing support and dependency.   

Aboriginal training and employment

• Fortescue firmly believes that training and self empowerment opportunities through employment are the key to ending disparity for Aboriginal people
• Fortescue’s Vocational Training and Employment Centre (VTEC) provide training and support to assist Aboriginal people to improve their employment prospects in the Pilbara.
• Training programs include driver training and licence support, mobile plant operator courses, industrial skills and administrative training, financial management and health/wellbeing courses and support – all designed to prepare students for successful employment.
• Since the establishment of Fortescue’s Vocational Training and Employment Centre (VTEC) in 2006, Fortescue has provided training and employment opportunities and support to over 1000 Aboriginal people.   

Environment

• Fortescue has been developing and operating in the Pilbara since 2005 and has an extensive understanding of the region.
• We strive to maximise benefits to current and future generations by seeking to deliver significant, long-lasting benefits to the environment and communities in which we operate, and see this as essential in ensuring our growth and long-term success.
• Many of the locations in which we operate present challenging environmental sensitivities, and managing the effect of our activities in these areas is always a core focus.
• Wherever possible, we prevent or otherwise minimise, mitigate and remediate the environmental impacts of our operations. We are committed to maintaining sound environmental management practices and meeting our responsibilities throughout the lifecycle of our activities, and continually assessing, controlling, monitoring and reviewing our environmental risks to ensure we are meeting our environmental commitments.