Tom Price

Tom Price, Western Australia

Tom Price, mining town, northwestern Western Australia. It is situated in the Pilbara region, in the Hamersley Range area near Mount Tom Price, the site of major high-grade deposits of hematite.

At an elevation of 2,450 feet (747 metres), Tom Price is the highest populated place in the state. It was built during 1965–66 by Hamersley Iron Proprietary Ltd. as the residential and service centre for workers at the huge open-cut iron-ore mine at Mount Tom Price. The town and the mountain were named for Thomas Moore Price, a vice president of the American company Kaiser Steel Ltd. who encouraged mining development in the Hamersley Range. Millions of tons of iron ore are sent by rail annually 180 miles (290 km) to the deep-sea port of Dampier for shipment, mainly to China and Japan. Mount Nameless, Karijini National Park, and the Karijini Interpretive Centre—which features exhibits on Aboriginal culture, history, and art—are located nearby. Pop. (2006) urban centre, 2,721; (2011) urban centre, 3,134.