Sinosteel Midwest announced that its first shipment of iron ore from its Mid West project has now set sail for China.

MV Hai Lang departed this morning with 60,000 tonnes of ore mined from the Koolanooka Blue Hills project from the Geraldton Port to China steel mills.

The ship’s departure follows the official celebration held in Geraldton last week, where Premier Colin Barnett was joined by Sinosteel Vice President Jiang Hong along with federal, state and local politicians, industry and community leaders, and Chinese delegates to commemorate this significant and historic milestone for the company. A positive Bank Feasibility Study for Weld Range was also unveiled at the event.

Mr Giulio Casello COO of Sinosteel Midwest said that the ship had been delayed by several days due to heavy swells. Mr Casello said that “Going forward, the Koolanooka and Blue Hills mines will produce 1.5 million tonnes of ore per annum for 5 to 7 years, which is expected to equate to around USD 25 million worth of royalties for Western Australia.”

He added that “Progressing the Koolanooka project through planning, approvals and development to its first shipment will lay the foundation for advancing our major project at Weld Range. This will be the largest Direct Shipping Ore project in the Mid West and is expected to produce 15 million tonnes per annum for at least 15 years and create 1000 jobs during peak construction.”