A record 758 million tonnes of iron ore was exported from the Pilbara last financial year as pressure mounts to build more bulk handling facilities.
A record 758 million tonnes of iron ore was exported from the Pilbara last financial year as pressure mounts to build more bulk handling facilities to unlock stranded assets.
Some $173.2 billion worth of iron ore, ore 758.3 million tonnes, was handled through Pilbara Ports’ three export hubs – Port Hedland, Dampier, and Ashburton – in the 2023-24 financial year.
That figure marks the fifth straight export record in the region, accounting for 80 per cent of Australia’s iron ore trade and about 45 per cent of the global market.
Half of Australia’s salt exports were also shipped via the region.
Ports Minister David Michael said the results highlighted the Pilbara’s status as the economic powerhouse of the nation.
“It’s fantastic to see Pilbara Ports continuing to meet industry’s growing export needs, as strong economic conditions across the Pilbara increase demand for port services.”
The export record comes amid increasing demand from junior iron ore companies to open more bulk export space at Pilbara port facilities.
The only space available to juniors presently is Port Hedland’s Utah Point, which was opened specifically for them but is now largely tied up with subsidiaries of Roy Hill and Mineral Resources.
Those junior companies include Red Hawk Mining, Equinox Resources, Alien Metals, Firebird Metals and Macro Metals, all of which are eager to get ore on ships in the next few years.
An Association of Mining and Exploration Companies spokesperson said bottlenecks at WA ports were on the rise due to an “explosion” of projects in the past five years.
“This is the result of investment in infrastructure that hasn’t managed to keep pace with the growth of industry,” he said.
“Users pay significant fees to the state for these commercial operations and those fees should result in more money being re-invested into these ports.
“We understand significant infrastructure development takes time, so we need to be more innovative in how we utilise our current infrastructure, so everyone gets a fair go, from the big miners to the small and medium cap players.”
Mr Michael said the state government was investing in infrastructure to support growth in the region.
The big state government project currently is Lumsden Point in Port Hedland, for which Pilbara Minerals and Mineral Resources have signed on as foundation customers.
Roy Hill and Mineral Resources are considering building new berths in Port Hedland at South West Creek.
Several plans over the past decade to open up a new common user bulk export port between Karratha and Port Hedland to unlock stranded ore resources have failed.
Australian Premium Iron told Business News in April it had no plan to resurrect its deepwater port plan at Anketell Point near Roebourne, ending years of speculation there was still some life in the project.
Red Hawk’s major investor Todd Corporation was behind the failed Balla Balla port, rail and mine project which, among other things, was a key driver of government funds to seal the Karratha to Tom Price Road to ensure the project that never was could have a drive-in, drive-out workforce.
Backers of a US$5 billion desalination plant in the region hinted that dream was not dead yet, noting the proposed project’s proximity to a future port as a key reason for choosing the location.
Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation also remains committed to the project.
Issues are also surfacing in the Mid West’s emerging iron ore district, where the region’s port is unable to accommodate large bulk carriers which can drive down shipping costs.
That shortcoming led Goldfields miner Gold Valley to switch its export route to Esperance, where space has been freed up by Mineral Resources’ decisions to close its Yilgarn iron ore hub.
