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West Australian
08-07-2025
- Business
- West Australian
BHP and FMG break export records, MinRes finally delivers, Rio and Roy Hill are cruelled by Mother Nature
BHP and Fortescue shipped record volumes of WA iron ore for the financial year just gone, while Mineral Resources looks to have finally met guidance at its troubled Onslow Iron project. But the 12-month period ended June 30 was not blue sky for all of the Pilbara's key iron ore players, with Rio Tinto and Roy Hill hit hard by stormy weather. Data obtained by The West Australian showed BHP dispatched about 290 million tonnes of the steelmaking commodity during the 2025 financial year. This was up from 287mt in FY2024 and 282mt in FY2023. Fortescue shipped around 198.2mt during FY2025, according to the data, compared with 191.6mt and 192mt across FY2024 and FY2023, respectively. BHP and FMG use Port Hedland to export iron ore and the data quoted by The West typically varies to actual annual results the two companies report in late July by a range of between 0.1mt and 0.5mt. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto, unlike its two main Pilbara iron ore rivals, did not have a bumper year. Rio shipped about 321.2mt from its Dampier and Cape Lambert port facilities to continue a multi-year downward trend. It exported 331.8mt in FY2023 and 328.5mt in FY2024. The FY2025 figure quoted for Rio can vary to the actual output result by about 1mt. Rio's massive iron ore machine was hampered by four cyclones that tore through vast swathes of the Pilbara across January and February. A key piece of equipment needed to ship about 13 per cent of the miner's WA ore was out of action for almost a month, while BHP and FMG came off relatively unscathed after the worst of the weather missed Port Hedland. The West in April revealed the high winds and torrential rain had sunk Rio quarterly iron ore shipments to their lowest level since 2019 and dampened hopes of WA's most prolific miner reaching its annual production target. Gina Rinehart's Roy Hill also suffered significantly at the hands of Mother Nature during cyclone season. Sources told The West the output problems for Roy Hill, which ships from Port Hedland, stemmed from a key haulage route near Marble Bar being blocked for weeks due to flash flooding. Roy Hill's year-on-year production fell about 2.5mt to 64mt, according to the data. Mineral Resources' 147-kilometre Onslow Iron haul road that links the company's flagship Ken's Bore mine to the Port of Ashburton was also badly damaged by wet weather. A spate of truck rollovers on the privately-owned road caused WorkSafe to impose speed restrictions on trucks, which put a further brake on export efficiency. Onslow Iron guidance for the 2025 financial year was trimmed down twice through April and May to currently sit between 13.8mt and 14.1mt. The data shows MinRes shipped about 13.8mt by the end of the financial year but had loaded 14mt onto its transhippers by the July 1 cut-off date, meaning it could potentially go with the larger figure when reporting its results later this month. MinRes shipped maiden ore from Onslow in May last year and aims to ramp up to 35mt per annum.
West Australian
26-06-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Mineral Resources glitzy love-nest FIFO camp in WA's north at its make or break iron mine
Mineral Resources has cut the ribbon on a luxurious accommodation complex fitted with 'love-nest' dongas to house the workers of an iron ore mining operation that could make or break the Chris Ellison-led company. MinRes officially opened its $140 million Mungala Resort at the $3.5 billion Onslow Iron project in the Pilbara on Thursday. Mungala can house up to 500 employees at any one time and is the most extravagant mine site camp to have been built in Western Australia. The plethora of recreational amenities include a resort-style swimming pool, cricket net, football oval, mini golf course, virtual golf driving range, car racing simulators, and tennis, basketball and volleyball courts. The site includes a tavern and an up-scale dining hall slated to dish out six tonnes of crayfish and 18 tonnes of steak each year. Each of the camp's 500 rooms have 45 square metres of living space and contain their own queen-sized bed, kitchenette, en suite, lounge, large-screen TV and washer-dryer. The rooms, which have been colloquially dubbed 'love-nests' within the mining industry, are suitable for singles or couples — according to MinRes. While many mining companies frown upon romantic mingling at their camps, MinRes touts that the resort's population includes 23 couples. It believes rolling out the red carpet for romantic partners to live together on site will 'encourage workforce diversity'. 'We've already seen that diversity, or having an environment that is as beautiful as this, has already attracted a more diverse range of people, people that previously may not have considered FIFO as an option . . . and that includes women,' MinRes director of people Andrea Chapman said. 'But in addition to it being beautiful, it is also safe. You might have seen travelling around the security cameras, the open plan living, the fact that the plants are really low lying, all of that is done really intentional to provide better security outcomes for all of our people.' Ms Chapman said it was 'incredibly competitive' to get a spot at Mungala and MinRes has a long internal wait-list of men and women eager to work at Onslow owing to the luxury camp. Mr Ellison, who was not present at the media tour of the site's opening, in a statement said the company recognised traditional mining camps 'must evolve' in part to 'grow female participation'. Attracting and retaining staff at Onslow is a key priority for MinRes given the project's vital role in digging the company out of a financial hole. MinRes had debts of $5.8 billion and just $450m of cash by the end of the March quarter. The company has cut more than 1740 jobs so far this financial year. With its lithium mines struggling and its other iron ore mines producing relatively small amounts of cash, Onslow is seen by many analysts as MinRes' ticket to pay down its big pile of loans. Onslow produced first iron ore in May last year but faced a series of setbacks in its first year of operation, including severe rain damage to the 147-kilometre private haul road that links mine to port. MinRes is also currently being investigated by Australia's corporate cop, a probe which is set to focus on the alleged dealings of Mr Ellison and his associates.
AU Financial Review
29-05-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Ellison shrugs off MinRes downgrade for haul road charm offensive
Mineral Resources founder Chris Ellison was wrapping up a pep talk to investors and analysts ahead of a site visit to the miner's $3 billion Onslow Iron project when news of a cut to its iron ore production hit the ASX. It was a difficult moment for Ellison, whose efforts to restore confidence in the troubled project and the accident-prone haul road that links its mine to a port were undermined in real-time by an update that highlighted its problems.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Australia's Mineral Resources resumes haulage at Onslow Iron project
(Reuters) - Australia's Mineral Resources said on Monday it had resumed haulage operations on its Onslow Iron project in Western Australia following a pause after a road train accident last week. Operations resumed on March 21 following discussions with WorkSafe WA, part of the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, about controls and risk mitigation. The previously announced works program to upgrade the haul road continues on schedule for completion in the first quarter of 2026, the miner said. The company's transhipper vessel, MinRes Rosily, also commenced operations at the Port of Ashburton on March 22, increasing the Onslow Iron project's transhipping capacity to 28 million tonnes per annum. Mineral Resources added that its Onslow Iron volume guidance for the fiscal year 2025 remained unchanged.
Reuters
23-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Australia's Mineral Resources resumes haulage at Onslow Iron project
March 24 (Reuters) - Australia's Mineral Resources ( opens new tab said on Monday it had resumed haulage operations on its Onslow Iron project in Western Australia following a pause after a road train accident last week. Operations resumed on March 21 following discussions with WorkSafe WA, part of the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, about controls and risk mitigation. Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here. The previously announced works program to upgrade the haul road continues on schedule for completion in the first quarter of 2026, the miner said. The company's transhipper vessel, MinRes Rosily, also commenced operations at the Port of Ashburton on March 22, increasing the Onslow Iron project's transhipping capacity to 28 million tonnes per annum. Mineral Resources added that its Onslow Iron volume guidance for the fiscal year 2025 remained unchanged.
