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Marandoo
Western Australia, WA, Australia
Main commodities: Fe


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The Marandoo deposit is located some 35 km to the east of Tom Price in the Hamersly Basin and 260 km SSW of its export port of Dampier on the Indian Ocean in north western Western Australia.

See the Hamersley Basin Iron Province record for the regional setting and stratigraphy.

The mine produces ore that is mostly confined to the upper 25 to 28 m of the 50 m thick Mt Newman Member of the Marra Mamba Iron Formation, although at surface the entire member is enriched.   The Mt Newman Member is usually composed of interbedded BIF with carbonate and shale.

The deposit extends over a length of more than 7 km along strike, with a width of 1.6 km.   The ore is composed of an upper hard band and a lower soft material that must be mined in equal quantities and blended.   The orebody is found on the drag folded northern limb of the Milli Milli Anticline, associated with early folds modified by later, open north trending cross-folds.   It is intensely deformed in outcrop, with folds becoming more open down dip where strata dip at 3 to 5 degrees north, and plunge gently east with no major faults or shears.

The deposit comprises mainly martite-goethite ore ranging to martite-ochreous goethite.   Manganese oxides, mainly pyrolusite and cryptomelane, occur sporadically through the ore and shales.

Prior to the commencement of operations in 1994, the measured resource was 360 Mt @ 62.6% Fe with 0.053% P, 2.9% SiO2, 1.7% Al2O3, 0.7% Mn and 4.8% LOI.

Reserves and resources at the end of 2011 (Rio Tinto 2012) were:
    Total proved + probable reserves - 225 Mt @ 63.1% Fe, plus
    Total measured + indicated + inferred resources - 167 Mt @ 62.0% Fe (in addition to reserves).

The most recent source geological information used to prepare this decription was dated: 2002.    
This description is a summary from published sources, the chief of which are listed below.
© Copyright Porter GeoConsultancy Pty Ltd.   Unauthorised copying, reproduction, storage or dissemination prohibited.


  References & Additional Information
   Selected References:
Harmsworth R A, Kneeshaw M, Morris R C, Robinson C J, Shrivastava P K  1990 - BIF Derived Iron Ores of the Hamersley Province: in Hughes FE (Ed.), 1990 Geology of the Mineral Deposits of Australia & Papua New Guinea The AusIMM, Melbourne   v1 pp 617-642
Thorne, W., Dalstra, H., Gordon, J., Paine, M. and Hagermann, S.G.,  2017 - Mt Tom Price, Paraburdoo and Western Hamersley iron ore deposits: in Phillips, G.N., (Ed.), 2017 Australian Ore Deposits, The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy,   Mono 32, pp. 363-368.


Porter GeoConsultancy Pty Ltd (PorterGeo) provides access to this database at no charge.   It is largely based on scientific papers and reports in the public domain, and was current when the sources consulted were published.   While PorterGeo endeavour to ensure the information was accurate at the time of compilation and subsequent updating, PorterGeo, its employees and servants:   i). do not warrant, or make any representation regarding the use, or results of the use of the information contained herein as to its correctness, accuracy, currency, or otherwise; and   ii). expressly disclaim all liability or responsibility to any person using the information or conclusions contained herein.

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