Date: January 10, 2019
Location: Pilbara, Western Australia
Address: Cape Lambert Port, 6720
Type: Potential Dust Fire
Fuel: Ore Dust
Industry: Ore Mining (Natural Resources)
Equipment: Conveyor Belt
Company: Rio Tinto
Database Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: No Injuries
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to the company website, Rio Tinto is a metals and mining corporation headquartered in London, England. It has operations on six continents but is primarily concentrated in Canada and Australia and runs its mining operations through a network of wholly and partly owned subsidiaries.
Rio Tinto’s main operation is the production of raw materials including copper, iron ore, diamonds, uranium, and industrial minerals. It also processes some of these materials, with plants dedicated to smelting iron ore into iron and processing bauxite into alumina and aluminum.
Incident Description:
On January 11, 2019, the Weekly Times reported a port fire at an ore mining operation in Pilbara, Australia.
Firefighters were called in early on the morning of January 10 after a fire started in a conveyor belt system at a Cape Lambert Port building that separate’s the company’s Robe Valley lump and fine products. According to the West Australian, the fire occurred during a maintenance shutdown by a contractor.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the company declared force majeure on impacted customers. This is a clause in a contract that allows a seller or buyer not to fulfil contractual terms when they are affected by an extraordinary event or a circumstance beyond their control.
No one was injured and an investigation has been launched into the cause.