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OPENING UP THE PILBARA (Australian Iron Ore Region)
The 1960s saw a huge iron ore development programme in Western Australia, the largest mines being in the Pilbara. Apart from Tom Price, major new mines developed there in the 1960s included Mount Newman (Amax, BHP, Colonial Sugar, Selection Trust), Mount Goldsworthy (Consolidated Gold Fields, Cyprus Mines, Utah Development) and Robe River (Cleveland Cliffs).
One of the key issues that had to be addressed in terms of opening up the Pilbara was transport.
The problem that first exercised Hancock and the international miners drawn to the Pilbara was how these fabulous riches were to be transported to market. The potential size of the deposits meant that the majority of the customers for the ore would come from overseas, with Japan being the obvious first port of call. The steel industry in Australia itself, dominated by BHP, was well served by the traditional supplies coming to it from South Australia where expansion was underway in the 1960s.