BHP Billiton awarded HWE Mining, a division of Leighton Contractors, to provide a complete mining service at Yandi Iron Mine located in Western Australia's Pilbara region, 183 kms north-west of Newman. The iron ore was mined using conventional drill and blast methods, with ore removed using excavators and trucks. 

• management of safety and health, environment, community and indigenous affairs, plant, procurement and waste, human and industrial relations, accommodation 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
• slearing 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 and maintenance of processing plant earthworks infrastructure (e.g. stockpile pads, reclaim tunnels, disposal and storage dams)
• design, construction, operation and maintenance of processing plant structural infrastructure (e.g. crushers, processing plant, stackers, reclaimers, product loading facilities)
• dump profiling
• topsoil placement
• contouring
• construction of rock-lined drains
• mulching and seeding
• tree planting, and
• fauna and habitat rehabilitation.

In 2007, BHP Billiton awarded HWE Mining the Yandi Iron Ore Mine Extension contract.