Part of the project’s Stage 1 mining activities, Upper Cane and Cardo Bore East are high-grade deposits located around 16km south of the Ken’s Bore mine.
The hub is just the second area to be mined at Onslow Iron, the first being the central Ken’s Bore pit, with both working together to produce the project’s single iron ore blend.
Ore is now being hauled on the intra-mine haul road – built by MinRes’ in-house Engineering and Construction team – to crushing and processing facilities at Ken’s Bore.
At site, CSI Mining Services – a wholly owned subsidiary of MinRes – crushes and processes ore before it's loaded into jumbo road trains and transported via a 150km private haul road to the Port of Ashburton.
Innovative transhippers then ferry product 20,000 tonnes at a time to awaiting ocean going vessels anchored 40km offshore.
MinRes Executive General Manager Onslow Iron Mike Tonkin said bringing the Upper Cane and Cardo Bore East hub into production was another important milestone for the project.
“Onslow Iron continues to develop efficiently and safely,” Tonkin said.
“Alongside Ken’s Bore, this hub is an important contributor to the blended Onslow Iron product, which continues to be in high demand by the market."
Tonkin commended strong performance across the Onslow Iron supply chain, including shipping a record 3.2Mt of iron ore in August 2025.
“I would also like to thank the Robe River Kuruma People – the Traditional Owners of the Country at Upper Cane and Cardo Bore East – for their ongoing support and close engagement in helping us develop the deposits,” he added.
Onslow Iron is one of the most innovative iron ore projects in Australia, with MinRes having developed, constructed and now managing pit-to-ship mining and transport infrastructure unlocking stranded iron ore deposits in the West Pilbara that would otherwise remain undeveloped.
Learn more about the Onslow Iron project.
