A couple of days in Tom Price visiting the Rio Tinto open cast mine and camping at the base of Mount Nameless. The mine has been operating for 40 years. Most of Mount Tom Price was high quality iron ore, more than 70% iron, and it has been dug out put on trains 2.6kms long and sent to Dampier for export. Tom Price is one of the nicer towns with grass and normal houses. The drive in cinema is out of action for want of $20,000 for a new projector.
About 5,000 people live in the town which has a really good Coles supermarket with a huge range and reasonable prices. How to they get the goods here when Perth is 1600kms away.
Sat morning left at 8am. 80kms to Paraburdoo another mine town with an airport and a great Coles Express at the Shell garage. Great coffee for $1.60. From here great mountain scenery but all hot and dry to Nanturra roadhouse 300kms away. We passed a lady cycling who we had seen at Karajini. Tent and some stuff on her bike. How does she carry enough water to cycle 3 days with nothing along the way. From Nanturra another 280kms to Exmouth. Nothing for 580kms except one roadhouse. What a big country. Everytime we got out of the car it was so hot. Well done the Polo and airconditioning.
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| 12 hour shifts iron ore mining could be hard work |
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| The giant hole where Mt Tom Price used to be |
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| High grade ore is crushed to right size and lower grade ore has shale removed. Ore then mixed to 64% iron and loaded on long long trains (2.6km long) |
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