MinRes completes Koolyanobbing iron ore acquisition in WA

According to Mining News Pro - Mineral Resources has finalised its completion of the Koolyanobbing iron ore assets in the Yilgarn region of Western Australia from former owner Cleveland-Cliffs.

The final arrangements were made with the WA State Government yesterday surrounding MinRes’s access to the Port of Esperance for shipment of up to 6.25 million tonnes of ore per year (6.25Mt/y).

Cliffs closed the Koolyanobbing mine earlier this year, threatening to put hundreds of employees out of work until MinRes decided to purchase the site in June.

While the exact value of the purchase has not been divulged by either company, Cliffs has previously said that the deal would allow its closing costs to be reduced by $US65–75 million ($88–102 million).

MinRes managing director Chris Ellison thanked Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan for the “successful completion of the transaction” and freight rail network management company Arc Infrastructure, which was also involved.

“We are extremely pleased to have resumed iron ore operations in the Yilgarn and look forward to shortly beginning to export our iron ore from Esperance and, in the process of doing so, preserving hundreds of jobs and creating economic benefits for regional Western Australia,” he said.

MinRes expects to start moving iron ore to the Port of Esperance in October, with shipping from the port scheduled to start in November.