The Warrego Rehabilitation Project
The Warrego Rehabilitation Project uses an innovative rehabilitation process to produce Northern Australia Magnetite Concentrate, a high-grade magnetite concentrate produced from a low-grade iron ore stockpile found within historic mine by-product at the Warrego Mine site.
The project operates within a 140 hectare project area of already disturbed land within the historic Warrego Mine site located 50 km northwest of Tennant Creek in Australia’s Northern Territory.
The Warrego Mine site began operating in the 1970s and was mined for bismuth, copper and gold until the late 2000s when the site was abandoned.
During the site’s previous operation magnetite was never targeted as a commercially viable product due to a lack of processing technology and market demand. Magnetite from the site was only partially processed before being left in storage as a low-grade iron ore stockpile.
With advancements in technology, Northern Iron has developed a method of reclaiming and processing the historic low-grade iron ore stockpile into a commercially viable and sustainable high-grade product known as Northern Australia Magnetite Concentrate.
To create Northern Australia Magnetite Concentrate, Northern Iron reclaims the historic low-grade iron ore stockpile using one of only two ‘slurry track’ mobile feed units operating in the world. This process is more water efficient than other industry best practices and only utilises water already available at the Warrego Mine site.
Once reclaimed the stockpile is processed through a specifically designed processing facility developed by Northern Iron, which creates Northern Australia Magnetite Concentrate with up to 68% Fe grade.
Through this unique process, Northern Iron will rehabilitate 50% of the historic mine by-product within the Warrego Rehabilitation Project project area, halving the storage liabilities currently held by the Northern Territory Government and reducing health and environmental risks at the site.
Once produced, Northern Australia Magnetite Concentrate is shipped throughout Asia and provides the steel industry with an alternative to traditional iron ore-based steel production methods that significantly reduces carbon emissions.
The Warrego Rehabilitation Project began production in October 2024 and has a 3.5 year operational life, adding a potential $300 million to the Northern Territory economy.
Northern Iron’s first shipment of Northern Australia Magnetite Concentrate is expected to leave the Darwin Port by the end of 2024.
Northern Iron’s Territory Focus
Approximately 70 local jobs will be created.
A potential $100 million per annum will be generated for the local economy.
Northern Iron will become the Territory’s largest iron ore producer.
There will be no increase to the environmental footprint at the Warrego Mine site from the Warrego Rehabilitation Project.