Newman

We joined the Mt Whaleback mine tour - we were taken by bus to a lookout from which we had a good birdseye view of the entire operation.

The open-cut iron ore mine of Mt Whaleback is the largest in the world. They load seven trains (each with 360 wagons) per day then transport the ore to Port Hedland 400km away.

This mine has a life expectancy of about 30 years and the region of about 100 years. The photo above shows two of the trains - the longest ever was 7.35 km with 8 locomotives - there is one driver. The other locos are connected by wireless/computer to do exactly as the front one.

To-morrow we set off for Tom Price - still travelling away from Sydney!