On December 21, Cleveland, US-based mining company Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. announced that all Australian commonwealth and state governmental approvals have been finalized for the Mt. Jackson J1 iron ore deposit in Western Australia.
A company statement said that it took the company slightly over two years to complete the obligatory environmental, mining and aboriginal heritages approvals. The Mt. Jackson J1 deposit is an extension of Cliffs' existing Koolyanobbing iron ore deposits in Western Australia. The deposit contains an estimated 30 million mt of iron ore reserves with an approximate 60 percent iron grade.
In September 2010, Cliffs' board of directors approved a AU$320 million (US$318.8 million) capital project at its Koolyanobbing Complex. The Mt. Jackson J1 deposit project is expected to contribute to Cliffs' ability to increase production output at Koolyanobbing from nominally 8.5 million mt to 11 million mt annually.
Cliffs anticipates these improvements to be fully implemented in the second half of 2012.