Wodgina - Australia
Wodgina is located approximately 100 kilometres south-east of
Port Hedland in the north-west of Western Australia.
Wodgina is one of the world's largest hard rock tantalum
resources. Since it was discovered in 1902, the ore body has been
mined for tin, tantalum and beryl. Tantalum production began in
1905, with most early production sourced from alluvial and eluvial
deposits.
Our current Wodgina operation was established in 1989 and
progressively expanded during the 1990s. A major expansion in 2002
increased the mine's capacity to 1.4 million pounds of tantalum
pentoxide (Ta2O5) per annum.
The mining operation extracts tantalum bearing pegmatite ores from
the Mount Cassiterite and Tinstone open pits. The ores are crushed,
milled and fed into the Wodgina plant's advanced gravity separation
plant.
At Wodgina we produce a primary tantalum concentrate, which is
then sent to our Greenbushes mining operation
for secondary processing where we produce on-specification,
saleable tantalum products.
In 2011 we established an agreement with our neighbour, Atlas
Iron, that allows them to utilise Wodgina's infrastructure,
camp accommodation and site utilities to support their iron ore
production. This ensures that we are both able to optimise our
respective operations and can take an even more sustainable
approach to resources production.
Wodgina - Australia
Wodgina has one of the world's largest hard rock tantalum resources. Its tantalum ore bodies have been worked for tin, tantalum and beryl since their discovery in 1902. Tantalum production began in 1905 with most early production from alluvial and eluvial deposits.
