New Tasmanian iron ore mine approved

Approval has been granted by the Tasmanian Government for the development of a new iron ore mine in the northwest of the island, which the government says will create 200 jobs.

Minister for Resources Paul Harriss announced he had issued a mining lease to Forward Mining for its proposed magnetite iron ore mine at Rogetta. It is to be located approximately 30 km south of Burnie, near the village of Hampshire.

The open-cut mine is expected to produce 1 million tonnes per annum from magnetite ore and to have a proposed life of seven years. Associated infrastructure will include a tailings storage dam, waste rock dump and a processing plant. The ore will be trucked to Burnie for export.

“It is hoped Forward Mining can start construction next year with operations commencing in early 2017,” said Harriss.

“To give some context to how significant this project is, it would increase Tasmania’s net commodity export volume of iron ore from around 2.8 million tonnes to 3.8 million tonnes,” he said. “This is a vote of confidence in Tasmania’s mining industry and shows that mining companies continue to want to invest in our state.”

Source: news.com.au