Cape Lambert is a port facility operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is located 40 kilometres north of Karratha. While the names of Cape Lambert and Port Walcott are often used interchangeably, the official name of the port is Port Walcott and the iron ore loading facility within is referred to as "Cape Lambert wharf". In shipping documents, it is often referred to as Port Walcott. Overview Cape Lambert is one of the sea ports for exporting iron ore from Rio Tinto's mining operations in the Pilbara. (The other port is Dampier.) Ore is carried to the two ports on the Hamersley & Robe River railway. Cape Lambert is East of Karratha (59 km), West of Point Samson (11 km) and Port Hedland (220 km) and due North of Wickham (10 km), Roebourne (22 km) and Millstream National Park (108 km). Point Samson Beach Linking the facility at Cape Lambert with the small holiday town of Point Samson is a long white beach. The flawless white beach stretches for over 1 km and is the perfect vantage point to observe queued iron ore bulk tankers waiting to dock, turtles nesting in the sand, or whales migrating just off the cape. Sunsets at the beach can be dramatically red. Boat Beach Boat Beach which is a very popular local swimming and fishing spot situated immediately west of the Port rail and processing facilities, but easiest accessed off Walcott Drive not far from the town of Wickham. Boat Beach offers swimming and fishing and a boat-launching ramp. It is home to the old Port Walcott Yacht Club. Port The port of Cape Lambert was opened in 1972 and is operated by Pilbara Iron on behalf of Rio Tinto. Employees at the Cape Lambert facilities live in the nearby town of Wickham. The port has an annual capacity to handle 80 million tonnes of iron ore. In comparison, the port of Dampier can handle 140 million tonnes annually. The former is approximately 40% of Rio Tinto's annual iron ore production from the Pilbara, as of 2009. Individual ships at the port take between 24 and 36 hours to load. The wharf at Cape Lambert is 3 kilometres long, 30 metres high and one of the highest, longest and deepest wharves in Australia. Rio Tinto expanded the port from a capacity of 55 million tonnes annually