Northern Iron’s Warrego rehabilitation project in the Northern Territory has dispatched its inaugural magnetite shipment to Asia.
Located 50km northwest of Tennant Creek, the Warrego rehabilitation project produces magnetite concentrate from a low-grade iron ore stockpile situated in historic mine by-product at the Warrego mine site.
To create the magnetite concentrate, Northern Iron reclaims the stockpile by using one of only two ‘slurry track’ mobile feed units operating globally. The process only utilises water already available at the Warrego mine site, making it more water efficient than other industry standard practices.
Once reclaimed, the stockpile is processed through a facility developed by Northern Iron, which creates magnetite concentrate with up to 68 per cent iron grade.
Processing at the Warrego mine site commenced in October 2024, with the inaugural magnetite concentrate shipment railed from Tennant Creek to the Darwin Port two months later.
All shipments from Warrego will be exported to various Asian markets, providing the global steel industry with an alternative to traditional iron ore-based steel production methods that uses less carbon emissions.
Northern Territory Mining and Energy Minister Gerard Maley welcomed the inaugural shipment from Warrego, describing it as a major milestone in legacy mine remediation.
“The Warrego rehabilitation project is exactly the type of innovation the (Northern Territory) Government is supporting – it’s creating jobs, addressing legacy mine issues, and producing a valuable resource,” Maley said.
“The first shipment of 47,100 tonnes of magnetite concentrate shows how historical mining sites can be rehabilitated in a way that creates local jobs while driving economic benefits and long-term sustainability.”
Maley highlighted Warrego’s benefits.
“The modular design of the Warrego processing plant means it can be relocated and reused at other legacy mine sites in the Tennant Creek region, driving further economic activity while continuing to reduce environmental liabilities,” he said.
“The (Northern Territory) Government is committed to unlocking opportunities such as this – where industry innovation and entrepreneurship aligns with our key priority to rebuild and grow the Northern Territory economy.
“I look forward to seeing Northern Iron’s continued progress and hope to see more projects like this emerge across other historical mine sites in the Territory.”
Warrego has a 3.5-year mine life and is forecast to produce up to 1.2 million wet tonnes of magnetite concentrate per annum. The project currently employs about 35 people, but Northern Iron estimates that approximately 70 local jobs will be created.
In other news from the Northern Territory Government, a six-month, $5.5 million program to remediate legacy mine sites in Tennant Creek was finalised last week.