Mineral Resources (MinRes) has marked a “major milestone” at its operations in Western Australia following the safe and successful first blast of the North Pit at Iron Valley.
A targeted drilling program was also completed, with strip activities now underway to prepare the site for first ore to be crushed and processed.
Iron Valley, located 75km northwest of Newman, is MinRes’ oldest continuously producing iron ore mine, with the company also controlling Wonmunna and Lamb Creek, which creates the Central Pilbara hub.
The Hub has a capacity of 10 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) across the three sites.
Commenting on the success of the blast, MinRes Central Pilbara general manager Joe Brown noted the development is a key step into its future.
“Once operational, the North Pit will join the Eastern and Central Pits in producing iron ore at Iron Valley as a critical part of our Central Pilbara hub,” he said.
“This is another important milestone for our Central Pilbara team, who has enjoyed a successful year and included milestones such as loading our largest ship to date at Utah Point and setting a record for lump load out.”
Iron Valley recently announced maiden mineral resources of 161 million tonnes (Mt) at 57 per cent iron and ore reserves of 51Mt at 57.5 per cent, as of 30 June 2025.
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