BHP Billiton awarded a contract to HWE Mining, a division of Leighton Contractors, to provide complete mining services at the Area C Iron Ore Mine. The mine is situated 120 kilometres north-west of the town of Newman and 326 kilometres south of Port Hedland in Western Australia's central Pilbara region. HWE Mining was responsible for the mining of iron ore using conventional drill and blast methods, with overburden and ore removed using excavators and trucks.

• provision of statutory safety manager
• management of safety and health, environment, community and Indigenous affairs, plant, procurement and waste, human and industrial relations, accommmodation and air transport
• preparation of costing and optimisation studies
• drilling and blasting design
• mine scheduling (i.e. short to medium-term)
• design, construction and maintenance of earthworks infrastructure (e.g. dams, roads, drains, stockpile pads,hardstands), structural infrastructure (e.g.workshops, offices, fuel facilities) and services infrastructure (e.g. power, water, communications)
• plant maintenance
• ore quality sampling and control
• surveying and set out
• clearing and grubbing
• topsoil removal
• drilling and blasting
• loading, hauling and dumping waste, ore and ore stockpiles
• de-watering
• ground support installation (e.g. rock bolting, water relief, batter finishing)
• design, construction, operation and maintenance of processing plant earthworks infrastructure (e.g. stockpile pads, reclaim tunnels, disposal and storage dams) and structural infrastructure (e.g. crushers, processing plant, stackers, reclaimers, product loading facilities)
• loading, operation and maintenance of transport infrastructure (e.g. railway, road transport, shipping)
• product quality sampling and control
• dump profiling
• selective capping placement
• topsoil placement, and
• contouring.

In November 2007, BHP Billiton awarded HWE Mining the Area C Iron Ore Mine Extension contract.