Southern Ports is committed to facilitating trade across our ports and regularly engages with current and potential customers to consider and assess new trade opportunities as they arise.

One project currently under consideration is the Southdown Magnetite Project, a Grange Resources project. 

This project proposes the construction and operation of an open pit magnetite mine located approximately 90 kilometres east-northeast of Albany, and 10 kilometres south-west of Wellstead in the Great Southern region.

Grange Resources is also proposing a ‘pit to port’ operation that would involve:

• construction of a 110km underground pipeline to transport the magnetite concentrate from the mine site at Wellstead to our Port of Albany;
• construction of a new filtration, storage and handling facility at the Port;
• loading of the magnetite concentrate onto a smaller vessel berthed at the Port via conveyors and a shiploader; and
• transportation of the magnetite concentrate in King George Sound, where it would be loaded from the smaller vessel to a larger vessel in a process known as transhipping.

Southern Ports is working with Grange Resources to better understand and assess the detail of the proposed project and its operations, while the necessary environmental approvals are sought and feasibility studies are completed.

The Southdown Magnetite Project has previously been granted primary environmental approvals by the WA Government, however there are some modifications to the project that require further approvals.  Work is underway by Grange Resources to obtain environmental approvals for the modified aspects of the project. 

In addition, two new environmental approvals will also be sought by Southern Ports in 2023 for:

• the transhipping component of the project in King George Sound, and
• a new Berth 5 to load the transshipment vessel. 

For information about the project, or to register your interest in obtaining more information, visit https://www.grangeresources.com.au/operations/southdown