Fortescue’s Iron Bridge mine near Marble Bar rocked by issues with deadly silica dust

Activity at Fortescue’s Iron Bridge magnetite mine has been curtailed as safety inspectors train their sights on the troubled $5.9 billion operation. Multiple sources have told The West Australian that workers at the Iron Bridge project have expressed fears for their health to management. The mine has a dust profile high in crystalline silica, which if inhaled can cause lung cancer, silicosis and a raft of other severe diseases. The average in-situ silica content of the ore at Iron Bridge’s North Star, Eastern Limb and West Star deposits is more than 40 per cent. Sources say the lack of adequate respirators and faulty dust suppression equipment has been an issue at Iron Bridge, leading WorkSafe to recently intervene. A spokesman for WorkSafe confirmed a recent investigation and subsequent action. “Mines Safety inspectors issued one prohibition notice, and four improvement notices in September 2024 related to dust management at Fortescue’s Iron Bridge project,” he said. “The mine operator is responsible for complying with these notices, which may involve suspending certain operations to meet its obligations.” It is unclear to what extent activity has been wound back and if this will materially impact mining output. Prohibition notices are intended to stop a workplace activity that involves a “serious risk” to health or safety, according to the State Government. Operational activity at the affected area of a mine site is barred until the inspector is “satisfied that the risk has been remedied”. A Fortescue spokeswoman said the company is “continuing to work with the regulator”. “Iron Bridge was recently issued with notices regarding dust controls,” she said. “Our dust management measures include dust extraction and suppression, in addition to the use of personal protective equipment. This includes mandatory mask and respirator protection in high-risk areas. We also conduct ongoing air and silica health monitoring.” Australian Workers Union state secretary Brad Gandy said the dust levels and silica concerns at Iron Bridge “are well known” and the union had been on site “twice in the last few months”. He said AWU officials have met with senior Fortescue management to ensure the company increases its onsite dust filter and suppression maintenance, introduces new filters and sprinklers, and puts a system in place to “allow employees to stop working on the bad days”. Iron Bridge, located west of Marble Bar in the Pilbara, is no stranger to problems. The West Australian in May reported that Fortescue and contractor MPC Kinetic were embroiled in a bitter battle over the eye-wateringly expensive fix of a leaky pipeline. The 240km pipeline that feeds water from the Canning Basin into Iron Bridge has sprung multiple leaks. Fortescue in January told investors it would have to overhaul a 65km stretch of the pipeline, setting aside $US100 million ($152.2m) for its share of the anticipated 18-month-long repair job. Fortescue holds the controlling 69 per cent stake in Iron Bridge with the remainder owned by Taiwan’s Formosa Steel and China’s Baowu. Andrew Forrest, Fortescue’s founder, has reportedly described Iron Bridge finally reaching first production in August last year as “the biggest relief of my career”. The magnetite project cost $5.9b to build, well above its original $3.35b budget. Fortescue is aiming to produce between 190 million tonnes and 200mt of iron ore across its WA operations for the 2025 financial year, including between 5mt and 9mt of magnetite from Iron Bridge. Iron Bridge shipped 1.6mt for the September quarter, a performance the company last week labelled as “strong” given that figure was higher than the entirety of Iron Bridge’s FY2024 shipments.