Karara project

Karara is a substantial magnetite ore body of world class significance in both quality and size. It also has a very low waste-to-ore stripping ratio that will be able to produce around 30 million tonnes of ore a year for more than 30 years.

Ansteel Purchases all the Karara Mine Production for the Life of the Mine

The company, Karara Mining Limited, was established in 2007 by a joint venture agreement between Gindalbie Metals Limited and Anshan Iron and Steel Group Corporation (Ansteel), one of the biggest steel makers in China and China's largest iron ore miner. Ansteel has also arranged an offtake arrangement with Karara Mining to purchase all its iron ore production for the life of the mine.

Karara Mine is 200 Kilometres from Geraldton

The Karara mine is located 200 kilometres east of Geraldton in Western Australia's mid-west region. The project has required the construction and operation of a large open pit mine and all associated infrastructure, including a processing plant to produce magnetite concentrate.

First Karara Mine Magnetite Concentrate Shipment Left for China in 2013

The Karara mine has a JORC Resource of 2.409 billion tonnes grading at 34.1 percent iron and around one billion tonnes grading at 68.2 percent iron. It also has a JORC Reserve of 955.5 million tonnes grading at 36.4 percent iron. The Karara project incorporates many direct shipping ore (DSO) hematite ore bodies. The first hematite ore was exported from the port at Geraldton in March 2011, however, it was not until January 2013 before the first 55,000 tonnes of magnetite concentrate was shipped to China.

Karara Mine Accommodation Village has Modern Quality Facilities

There were more than 1,500 workers employed during the construction stage of the Karara mine and around 500 permanent employees now working at the mine during its production stage. There are also an additional 300 indirect employees such as contractors etc. Workers at the mine are housed in the mine's accommodation village when rostered on as it is a fly-in-fly-out mining operation. The flight from Perth takes only 45 minutes, about an hour from Bunbury and just 30 minutes from Geraldton. The accommodation village has modern first class facilities that include; vollyball, gymnasium, cricket ground, tennis courts, mini golf course, swimming pool, internet and 3G mobile coverage.

Karara Mine Becomes an Industry Leader in Downstreaming Magnetite ore to Premium Grade Concentrate

The importance of the Karara mine development is that it takes a low grade magnetite iron ore and from it produces a high grade premium concentrate that is used in steel making. It realises the long held belief that the Australian iron ore industry is able to establish downstream processing that value adds its product. The Karara mine is a leader in the unlocking of extensive deposits of low grade magnetite ore that exists in the Mid-West region of Western Australia and processing it into a high grade, quality magnetite concentrate that is highly sought after in China. The eight million tonnes a year capacity concentrator is the heart of the Karara project. Without it the mine would have little value.

The Karara mine is the second largest magnetite project in Australia with production ramping up to its target of eight million tonne of high grade†quality magnetite concentrate grading at 68 percent iron a year. The project's DSO hematite production is running at around two million tonnes a year.