With an expected mine life of more than 30 years, Onslow Iron is the largest commodities project MinRes has developed and is helping unlock previously stranded iron ore in the West Pilbara region.
Onslow Iron’s ramp-up has been impressive since a successful Final Investment Decision announcement in August 2022 – ground was broken less than a year later in June 2023 and first ore on ship was achieved ahead of schedule in May 2024.
MinRes Managing Director Chris Ellison said delivering Onslow Iron was the company’s biggest achievement since listing on the ASX in 2006.
“This is not just another project – it’s a multi-decade asset that will underpin MinRes for years to come,” Chris said.
“Our vision for Onslow Iron was ambitious – to unlock an entire new iron ore mining region in the West Pilbara.”
“Many thought it was too remote, expensive and complex. We’ve proved otherwise.”
As construction finalised and production ramped-up, the milestones came thick and fast in FY25, headlined by shipping 2.7 million wet metric tonnes (wmt) in June – representing an annualised run rate of 32.4 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa).
Strong progress has continued into the new financial year, with the project operating at an annualised run rate of 35Mtpa in the four weeks to 26 August.
Mining
In FY25, 55Mt of material was moved and 23.2Mt of ore was mined – activity supported by a state-of-the-art laboratory commissioned in late 2024.
Now playing a key role in mine planning, the laboratory features Automated Modular Solution Prep Line technology, which has doubled sampling capacity to 500 per day.
Two new deposits – Cardo Bore East and Upper Cane – were successfully and safely blasted, and work continues to prepare both sites for mining and haulage activity.
Both are high-grade deposits which will be linked to the Ken’s Bore crushing and processing area via a private dedicated haul road being built by MinRes’ in-house Engineering and Construction team.
The world-class scale of Onslow Iron’s assets were reconfirmed when MinRes released an updated Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves statement which revealed an 89% increase in Mineral Resources and 73% rise in Ore Reserves.
Crushing and processing
CSI Mining Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of MinRes, took carriage of the third and final NextGen modular crushing plant in January 2025 after construction was completed by MinRes’ in-house team.
The three trains represent a combined capacity of 40.9Mtpa and boast carbon fibre screens, which were developed and manufactured in-house.
Further cementing CSI’s position as an industry leader, the crushing team delivered a strong year with 15.9Mt crushed, while processing was supported by two stackers and a reclaimer.
Haulage
In January 2025, the truck load out facility (TLO) was successfully commissioned – the four-lane facility now helping decrease CSI jumbo road train loading times to just 4-8 minutes.
Nearly 73,000 road train trips to the Port of Ashburton were completed throughout the year, thanks to a fleet of 120 company-owned assets and the support of contractor vehicles.
Underpinning the haulage operation is MinRes’ private dedicated haul road, which achieved practical completion in November 2024.
Flooding from severe tropical cyclones in February 2025, coupled with high temperatures, water and load prompted the decision to upgrade the road and future-proof the asset.
Works included seal binder upgrades, cement stabilisation and asphalting the entire length of the haul road. These upgrades are expected to be completed by the end of September.
The haul road’s value was reinforced in September 2024, when the Foreign Investment Review Board rubber stamped a 49% sale of the asset to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners.
Port and marine
It was a year of expansion at the Port of Ashburton, thanks to the arrival of MinRes Rosily and MinRes Peak, which marked the completion of the initial fleet.
Having grown from two to five vessels throughout the financial year, the transhipping operation currently boasts a capacity of 35.9Mtpa, which will increase when the sixth and seventh vessels arrive in 2026.
MinRes’ shipping team celebrated the first loading of a Newcastlemax ship in November, and was surpassed as the largest ship loaded when the inaugural very large ore carrier (VLOC) took 224,800wmt in January 2025.
Importantly, an ongoing safety focus saw the port operations team achieve 365 days without a lost time injury (LTI) in March 2025.
Facilities
One of the year’s highlights was the formal opening of Mungala Resort – an industry-leading accommodation facility, which boasts 500 rooms – all now occupied. The Resort is also home to 25 couples, while over 20% of employees at the Ken’s Bore mine site are women.
In July 2024, MinRes Air took to the skies for the first time and impressively completed more than 1,000 flights during FY25 – a majority of which were completed to Ken’s Bore Airport located just a short walk to Mungala Resort.
Significantly, a hybrid gas and solar system is supplying energy to key site infrastructure and facilities including crushers, loaders, reclaimers and the Resort.
Bringing the energy solution to life was the result of significant collaboration between MinRes’ Energy and Engineering and Construction teams, which saw a power station and dedicated high-pressure gas pipeline safely delivered. The integrated system also features a 3.8-megawatt solar array comprising 6,600 panels.
With FY25 now in the rear-view mirror, MinRes remains focused on ramping-up the Onslow Iron project to nameplate capacity of 35Mtpa – on track to occur at the back end of Q1 FY26.
“While the immediate focus is to achieve our FY26 volume guidance at Onslow Iron, we have a clear pathway to operate Onslow Iron above nameplate with minimal additional capital investment,” Chris said.
“At today’s iron ore price of around US$100 per tonne and a 35Mtpa run rate, our attributable EBITDA from Mining Services will each year contribute EBITDA in excess of $400 million, and iron ore over $900 million.”
“In addition, we will receive approximately $800 million from our JV partners via the carry loan arrangement and up to $1.3 billion from Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, with these inflows enhancing returns we generate from Onslow Iron.”
Learn more about Onslow Iron.
