FACTBOX-Australian iron ore growth clogging port system

Sept 17 (Reuters) - The world's single largest iron ore deposit, Australia's 500,000-square-km Pilbara district, is undergoing an unprecedented rate of mine development by BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) (BLT.L), Fortescue Metals (FMG.AX) and other companies, taxing limited export berthing space.

Plans to triple berthing capacity at the Port Hedland inner harbour iron ore export terminal, to 440 million tonnes annually within four years to accommodate growing freighter traffic will be followed by new outer harbour berths.

Here are facts on who will use the new capacity and when:

-- BHP plans to mine 155 million tonnes annually by 2011 under its rapid growth project No. 4 and 200 million by 2015 under rapid growth project No. 5 and potentially 240 million as part of rapid growth project No. 6. -- A public access inner harbour berth under construction at Port Hedland's Utah Point will have a capacity of 18 million tonnes per year and will be able to accommodate Panamax and small Cape size vessels of up to 120,000 dead weight tonnes.

-- Atlas Iron (AGO.AX) and Moly Mines (MOL.AX) have already committed to using Utah Point when it is operational next April.

-- Two additional inner harbour berths are so far reserved for Atlas, Brockman Resources (BRM.AX), BC Iron (BCI.AX) and FerrAus FRS.AX but could also accommodate more miners. The two berths will have iron ore capacity of up to 50 million tonnes per year, starting in 2012.

-- Atlas intends to export 1 million tonnes this year, rising to 3 million tonnes in 2010 and 12 million by 2012. Brockman could be producing 15 million tonnes a year and FerrAus 10 million tonnes by 2012 if preliminary geological work is followed by mine development. -- BHP is looking to develop a 400 million-tonnes-per-year outer harbour terminal, which it calls the Quantum project. Under a yet-to-be finalised plan, BHP Billiton gets 200 million tonnes of additional capacity, with the rest allocated to as-yet unspecified other miners as needed. -- Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) (RIO.L) uses two ports to the south of Port Hedland, Dampier and Cape Lambert, which are forecast to handle a combined 200 million tonnes this year.

-- Fortescue, which exported 26 million tonnes of ore last year and has earmarked up to 55 million tonnes this year, built its own port facilities at Port Hedland. It is also studying development of shared port facilities at Anketell Point near Cape Lambert that could be developed in stages up to annual capacity of 350 million tonnes. (Compiled by James Regan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)