Mining Intelligence and News
Australia

Weld Range Project

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Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StatusInactive / Suspended
Commodities
  • Iron Ore
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotFlagship 300Mt high grade Direct Shipping Iron Ore (DSO) Weld Range Project has achieved all primary approval requirements. The Weld Range project was put on hold in June 2011 until further clarification on the development timeline of a port and rail project at Oakajee can be established.

The central location of Weld Range in relation to Sinosteel Midwest Group’s (SMG) other iron ore deposits in the region provides a unique opportunity to create a central processing hub from where these resources can be processed and dispatched. The Project will produce lump and fines products for export.

SMG is continuing to further develop the resource base through exploration.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Sinosteel Corp. 100 % Indirect
Sinosteel Midwest Group comprises Sinosteel Midwest Corporation (SMC), Crosslands Resources Pty Ltd (CR) and Oakajee Port and Rail Pty Ltd (OPR). The group is wholly owned by Sinosteel Corporation and is active in the development, mining and processing of metallurgical mineral resources in the Midwest region of Western Australia.

Key projects areas include Koolanooka, Blue Hills, Weld Range and Jack Hills Site.

Deposit type

  • Banded iron formation

Summary:

Steeply dipping, east-northeast-striking BIFs are known to occur in three ridges at Weld Range: the North, Central and South Ranges.  The BIFs are interleaved with metabasic rocks that show doleritic and lesser basaltic and gabbroic textures.  The BIFs within the North, Central and South Ranges are referred to as the Madoonga, Lulworth and Wilgie Mia beds, respectively.  Iron mineralisation within the three ranges is not continuous and occurs as 44 distinct iron ore lenses, named W1 to W44. 

The Madoonga deposit contains a steeply south southeast-dipping rock sequence that comprises, from north to south, felsic sedimentary rocks, a 60 to 250 m thick BIF and a 20 to 50 m thick zone of deeply weathered and altered rocks within which the iron mineralisation is hosted.  Sediments and sedimentary rocks lie above an erosional unconformity on the iron mineralisation and deeply weathered rocks.  The sedimentary rocks comprise ferruginous conglomerate and pisolitic gravels that have a thickness of up to 20 m and locally have high Fe grades (>60% Fe).

The Beebyn deposit contains numerous steeply southeast dipping BIFs interlayed with dolerite, of which the most economically important is approximately 40 m thick.    Least altered and unweathered BIFs contain millimetre to centimetre thick bands rich in iron, silica and Fe-silicate and some of the bands are carbonate rich.  These mineralised zones are offset by up to 100 m late sub vertical northwest striking faults.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

Summary:

Weld Range is a Direct Ore Shipping Project.

Production

CommodityUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
Iron (hematite) Mt 15150
All production numbers are expressed as lump & fines.

Operational metrics

Metrics
Stripping / waste ratio 5.3 *
Waste tonnes, LOM 723 Mt *
* According to 2010 study.

Production Costs

Commodity production costs have not been reported.

Heavy Mobile Equipment

Fleet data has not been reported.

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Oct 2, 2023

Total WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required 2019

Aerial view:

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