
The Mount Whaleback open pit iron ore mine is located 6 km west of the town of Newman in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is currently the fifth largest iron mine in the world. The iron occurs in banded iron ore formations, created about 2.5 billion years ago when microorganisms first produced massive amounts of oxygen, oxidizing and precipitating the free iron in the oceans. The image was acquired October 2, 2017, covers an area of 14.4 by 17 km, and is located at 23.3 degrees south, 119.7 degrees east. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24016
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NASA ID
PIA24016
Date Created
July 16, 2020
Center
JPL
Media Type
image
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