Double blow to NT iron ore sector

The Northern Territory iron ore industry has suffered its second hit this month, with an iron ore company announcing it is going into voluntary administration, just weeks after the declared shutdown of a Top End mine.

Sherwin Iron has announced a voluntary administration handover after failing to secure a $10 million loan.

The mining company has been extracting iron ore from its Roper Bar mine, 400 km south-east of Darwin. Over the past year the company has exported 270,000 tonnes of ore to China as part of a bulk sample.

The news comes on the heels of the announcement by Territory Iron that it was shutting down the Frances Creek mine, near Pine Creek, with the expected loss of about 300 jobs.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles said a fall in iron ore prices was one of the main reasons the company was scaling back its operations.

“What we want to see with Territory Iron is for them to continue their mining operations and their stockpiling with a look to exporting when those iron ore prices recover,” Giles said.

Giles says his government will do what it can to support workers affected by the shutdown of the Frances Creek mine.

“For those workers who are out there, those disaffected workers, we will work with them to identify alternative opportunities.”