OUR STORY
Crosslands Resources Ltd is the owner and operator of the Jack Hills iron ore mine, 380km north-east of Geraldton in Western Australia’s mid-west region.
Charles Crossland was the first government explorer to traverse this area in 1889 – his journal entry described “high range lands”. Charles Crossland’s many achievements include naming the Gibb River in the Kimberley and constructing the Perth to Midland Railway, but interestingly he did not name Jack Hills. It’s thought the name came about through common usage – named after John (Jack) Fitzgerald, who was owner of nearby Beringarra Station in the 1950s. Fifty kilometres east of Jack Hills is Crossland Hill.
Exploration at Jack Hills in the 1970s identified the potential for a number of deposits of high grade hematite ore. The area was not developed until recently, however, due to previously low iron ore prices and the ready availability of iron ore from Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
Jack Hills is a significant high grade iron ore resource. Crosslands began mining here in November 2006, with the first shipment of ore in February 2007. Iron ore is mined, crushed and screened at Jack Hills, before being trucked 640 kilometres via Cue to the port of Geraldton, where it is loaded and shipped to customers in China and Korea. Crosslands currently produces and ships in approximatley 2 million tonnes of high grade lump ore and fines a year.
Testing indicates significant iron ore deposits remain untapped at Jack Hills, underpinning Crosslands’ plans for a major expansion. We aim to substantially increase our iron ore production, which will in turn boost the mid-west economy and create many new jobs. Crosslands already employs more than 300 people, either directly or as contractors, and our long-term aim is to further increase our workforce.
To help accommodate this growth, and secure the economic prosperity of Geraldton and the mid-west region, a new rail and port development is required to be built at Oakajee, 25 kilometres north of Geraldton.
This multi-billion dollar deepwater port and new associated rail infrastructure will support Crosslands and other companies operating in the region in the transportation of iron ore, including from our Jack Hills mine. Iron ore is currently trucked from Jack Hills using road trains designed for safety, stability, noise reduction and dust control, but this is only a short-term approach due to the high costs involved.
The Oakajee Port and Rail project is expected to deliver hundreds of jobs. Crosslands anticipates its first exports from this exciting new development will take place in 2014.
