Mineral Resources Limited (MinRes), a leading Australian mining services and processing company, has announced that it has commenced production at the Upper Cane and Cardo Bore East hub of the Onslow Iron project in Western Australia, marking a significant milestone for the company’s flagship iron ore development.
Strategic context and operations
The hub lies around 16 km south of Ken’s Bore and is the second mining area within Onslow Iron to go online. Ore from the hub is moved on a dedicated intra-mine haul road to Ken’s Bore’s crushing and processing infrastructure, then via a 150 km private haul road to the Port of Ashburton. From there, ore is shipped using trans-shippers 40 km offshore into ocean-going vessels.
MinRes emphasized that the operation is proceeding efficiently and safely, and that the new hub is a key contributor to Onslow’s blended product offering, which remains in strong market demand.
Project scale and market significance
Onslow Iron is a pioneering mine-to-ship model targeting an annual 35 million mt nameplate capacity with a mine life exceeding 30 years. The project has already demonstrated its logistics strength, with the Upper Cane hub joining Ken’s Bore to unlock stranded high-grade deposits in the West Pilbara.
The hub commenced production with high-grade ore contributing to the blended product. In August 2025, the Onslow Iron supply chain achieved record shipments of 3.2 million mt.