Mineral Resources (MinRes) has delivered its final trainload of iron ore from its Yilgarn operations in WA, signalling the end of the company’s involvement in the region.
MinRes faced limited remaining mine life, significant capital cost and lead time to develop new resources at Yilgarn, prompting the company to finish up and focus on other projects.
Many of the MinRes’ Yilgarn workers are set to end up at the company’s emerging Onslow Iron operation in WA.
As one of the largest iron ore projects currently under development in Australia, Onslow Iron is set to unlock billions of tonnes of stranded deposits in the west Pilbara region.
In May 2024, first ore on ship was achieved ahead of schedule and now, this project is expected to ramp up to 35 million tonnes per year, with an expected mine life of more than 30 years.
Onslow Iron is being developed by MinRes on behalf of Red Hill Iron Joint Venture (RHIJV), including partners Baowu, AMCI and POSCO.
“Our teams have done a tremendous job in delivering this world-class transport infrastructure, which highlights the design, engineering and construction capability within our business,” MinRes chief executive engineering and construction Darren Killeen said.
By November, the project had completed a 150km sealed and fenced haul road, supporting transport operations from the Ken’s Bore mine through to the Port of Ashburton and enabling Onslow Iron’s ongoing production ramp-up to nameplate capacity.
The haul road has been specifically designed to support the planned conversion of MinRes road trains to autonomous operation via a series of roadside monitoring bases positioned alongside the roadway.
While MinRes has finished up in the historic Yilgarn iron ore region, which has been a source of iron ore since the 1950s, Gina Rinehart is looking to develop the Mt Bevan magnetite project in the region through her company Hancock Magnetite.
A pre-feasibility study (PFS) exploring Mt Bevan’s development was completed in July 2024, with more than $5 billion of capital expenditure set to be invested in the magnetite project.
According to the PFS, Mt Bevan, which boasts a mineral resource estimate of 1.29 billion tonnes, has the potential to achieve a direct reduction iron (DRI) product grade of more than 70 per cent iron.
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