Atlas Iron has received the final approval from the Federal government for the development of a new iron ore mine in Western Australia.

Located at about 100 kilometers north of the Roy Hill mine and 30 kilometers north of Nullagine, the McPhee Creek mine will be build on Nyamal land, with ore transported through Palyku territory.

Although the mine is projected to produce only 1.5% of Australia’s iron ore exports—the project faced a lengthy approval process, which began in early 2021. Challenges included changes to heritage laws and federal environmental guidelines. Hancock Prospecting’s Chief Executive of Projects, Sanjiv Manchanda, expressed relief at reaching this milestone after extensive discussions.

The $600 million project is expected to bring 800 new jobs to the Pilbara region, including 500 jobs during the construction of the mine and up to 300 permanent jobs once the mine is up and running.

The McPhee Creek project, expected to have a lifespan of 15 years, will produce between 9.5 and 9.7 million tonnes of iron ore annually. Crushed ore will be transported by road to Roy Hill for processing, after which it will be shipped from port.

Mineral Resources’ CSI Services will supply and operate a 10-million-tonne-per-year primary crushing plant for the project, with Atlas Iron managing the transport and stockpiling of the ore.

Source: Link