Balmoral central

The Sino Iron Project in Western Australia is being undertaken by CITIC Pacific Mining on behalf of its parent company, Chinese owned CITIC Pacific Limited. It is the first time in Australia that an iron ore mining company has included major downstream processing as an integral part of the project. It is a world class magnetite iron ore mining undertaking and promises to introduce new methods of mining to the Australian mining industry.

Mining at Balmoral Central is Behind Planing Owing to Problems During Construction

However, such a large development hasn't come easy for any party involved. It has been plagued with numerous serious cost blow outs and when on the verge of overcoming all obstacles CITIC fell out with it's Australian partner and owner of the iron ore deposit, Mineralogy Pty Ltd. Mineralogy Pty Ltd is owned by Queensland mining magnate, Clive Palmer.

Near the end of 2012 CITIC Pacific was successful in stopping Mineralogy Pty Ltd from terminating the eight billion dollar project over the payment of royalties. The Supreme Court of Western Australia granted CITIC an injuction that prevented Minerology from cancelling the lease agreement and mining rights it had previously granted to CITIC.

Balmoral Central Deposit is Part of the Worlds Largest Iron Ore Project

The Balmoral Central iron ore deposit, that is part of the largest magnetite iron ore project ever undertaken in Australia, is situated at Cape Preston in Western Australia 100 kilometres south west of Karratha. The concentrate and pellets to be produced from the project will be used to supply Chinese steel producers as well as CITIC Pacific's own steel plants.

The project being undertaken is a value adding, highly technical mining and processing operation that requires a state of the art processing plant and transport infrastructure that gives the Australian mining industry exposure to the in latest processing technology and the best in international skills.

The Balmoral Central deposit is part of more than six billion tonnes of available magnetite ore that will be processed at the rate of 27.6 million tonnes of concentrate and pellets a year. This particular commodity is important in that it is a raw material used in the making of steel that, during conversion, produces less carbon dioxide. An important factor in today's environmentally conscious steel making industry.

Balmoral Central's George Palmer Deposit is at the Heart of the Giant Project

Mineralogy Pty Ltd has owned the Balmoral magnetite ore deposit since since 1986 and since that time has researched the best methods of processing iron ore based on this particular deposit, before beginning serious discussions with Chinese steel producers in the 1990's and 2000's. These talks bore fruit in March 2006 when final agreement was reached with Chinese state owned CITIC Pacific. The deal meant that CITIC were given the right to mine six billion tonnes of magnetite iron ore from part of the Balmoral deposit known as the George Palmer Deposit.

The development is China's biggest mining foreign investment but has suffered throughout from a shortage of skilled labour as well as higher construction and equipment costs than originally anticipated and several cost overruns. The latest dispute with Mineralogy over the payment of royalties, that could cost CITIC hundreds of millions of dollars, is not helping the project start producing, although advertising for workers to be employed at the mine has commenced and it appears all will be ready to go in the first half of 2013.