Major hydrothermal and orthomagmatic mineral provinces of Australia

Last updated:7 June 2023

From Blewett RS (ed.) 2012. Shaping a Nation: A Geology of Australia, Geoscience Australia and ANU E Press, Canberra

Mineral provinceLocation Age (Ma) Pre-mining contained metal: value in billion Australian dollars1 Major deposits Societal impacts and comments
Golden Grove Zn–Cu–Au–Ag Youanmi Terrane, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia 2953 2.35 Mt Zn, 0.24 Mt Pb, 0.54 Mt Cu, 1.87 kt Ag and 35.7 t Au: A$13.2b Scuddles, Gossan Hill Discovered in the 1970s, with mining commencing in 1997, the Golden Grove district is geologically the oldest known major volcanic-hosted massive sulphide district in the world.
East Pilbara Ta–Sn East Pilbara Granite– Greenstone Terrane, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia 2880–2840 26.2 kt SnO2, 2.45 kt Ta concentrate and 14.3 kt Ta2O5: A$0.45b (Sn only) Wodgina In 1888, the discovery of gold drew prospectors into the Pilbara, where they soon discovered alluvial cassiterite. The first reported production was in 1893, and production peaked in 1907 at 867 t. Production dropped to less than 40 t/annum after World War I until the early 1950s. It peaked again in 1968 at 1250 t. Tantalum, originally a nuisance for tin mining, came into its own in the early 1900s as a filament for incandescent light globes. During this time the Pilbara produced 80% of the world's supply. The demand for tantalum dropped shortly thereafter as tungsten became the filament of choice, only to rise again during World War II as tantalum found major uses in the electronics industry. The demand for tantalum jumped in the 1980s as the consumer electronics industry took off, and tantalum became the main product of the Pilbara Ta-Sn province.
Boddington Au–Cu Saddleback Greenstone Belt, Southwest Terrane, Western Australia 2707, 2629 1082 t Au and 1.60 Mt Cu: A$69.8b Boddington Boddington was originally an aluminium mine until samples were assayed for gold in 1983, leading to the "discovery" of one of Australia's major gold deposits. This deposit is the product of two different mineral systems, an early (~2707 Ma) porphyry Cu-Au system overprinted by a later (~2629 Ma) lode gold system.
Eastern Goldfields Ni Eastern Goldfields Superterrane and Youanmi Terrane, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia 2705 11.9 Mt Ni: A$215b Kambalda, Forestonia, Mount Keith Discoveries of nickel in Western Australia drove the nickel stock boom of the late 1960s and early 1970s, which, like other booms, ultimately crashed. A defining moment of this boom was the bursting of the Poseidon stock market bubble in 1971. Rumour and speculation drove this stock to unrealistic heights prior to the crash, with the resulting losses and bad press driving tighter regulation of the stock market and the development of mineral resource reporting guidelines. The JORC (Joint Ore Reserves Committee) code for reporting mineral resources and ore reserves was adopted in 1989 and has become the model for the development of similar codes overseas.
Teutonic Zn-Cu Eastern Goldfields Superterrane, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia 2695 0.657 Mt Zn, 0.042 Mt Pb, 0.167 Mt Cu and 0.794 kt Ag: A$3.47b Teutonic Bore, Jaguar, Bentley Discovered in 1974, the Teutonic district is the only significant volcanic-hosted massive sulphide camp in the Eastern Goldfields Superprovince. Mining of the Teutonic Bore deposit began in 1980 and finished in 1985. Exploration for other deposits in the camp continued intermittently with success in 2002 with the discovery of the Jaguar deposit. Mining of the Jaguar deposit began in 2006, and the Bentley deposit was discovered in 2008.
Greenbushes Ta–Sn-Li Southwest Terrane, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia 2527 Greenbushes Upon recommendation from Government Geologist E.T. Hardman, tin was discovered at Greenbushes by prospector D.W. Stinton in 1886. Mining commenced in 1888 and the area has been mined more-or-less continuously since. Initially tin was the metal of interest, with the first tantalum production in the 1940s to supply the needs of the electronics industry. During the latter part of the 20th century, tantalum became the dominant product and tin a by-product. In the last few years, spodumene, a source of lithium, has become the focus of interest. Presently the Greenbushes mine is a major employer in the Bridgetowm-Greenbushes shire.
Eastern Goldfields Au Eastern Goldfields Superterrane, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia 2660; and 2640–2620 > 8500 t Au: > A$455b Golden Mile, Sunrise Dam, Leonora, Plutonic, St Ives, Norseman, Wiluna Discovery of gold at Coolgardie in 1892 and at the Golden Mile in the 1893 began Western Australia's long history of mining that underpinned the state's development. Originally, mining rushes resulted in small towns, but the more recent fly–in/fly–out mining camps have had major impacts on these towns and on the lifestyle and health of mine workers (see Chapter 9).
Mount Weld REE Eastern Goldfields Superterrane, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia 2400 1890 kt REO: A$231b Mount Weld The Mount Weld deposit, discovered in 1969 using aeromagnetic data, is likely the first of a series of mines developed in Australia for so–called "high–tech" metals.
Hamersley iron ore Hamersley Basin, Western Australia 2590-2450; and ~2008 45 Gt2: A$5280b Mount Tom Price, Mount Whaleback, Brockman Although iron-rich rocks were discovered in the Hamersley Basin in 1889, it was not until 1962 that the first of many giant iron–ore deposits was discovered at Mount Tom Price. Development of the Hamersley iron–ore Province, combined with that of the North West Shelf has changed the Pilbara from a sleepy backwater with less than 5000 inhabitants to one of the drivers of Australia's economy. Original deposition of iron occurred at 2590-2450, with upgrading at ~2008 Ma and later during paleoweathering.
Tennant Creek Au-Cu Tennant Province, Northern Territory 1850–1845 173 kg Au, 0.50 Mt Cu, 0.32 Mt Zn, 0.17 Mt Pb, 0.25 kt Ag and 31 kt Bi, with minor Se: A$14.3b (excludes Bi and Se) Juno, Warrego, Nobles Nob, White Devil, Gecko Tennant Creek was the last major goldfield discovered during the prospecting stage of exploration. Discovered in 1925, with first production in 1932. The Tennant Creek goldfield is characterised by an unusual and diverse economic suite including gold, copper, bismuth and selenium, all of which have been extracted at times during the history of the goldfield.
Pine Creek Au Central Domain, Pine Creek Orogen, Northern Territory ~1810 402 t: A$21.5b Mount Todd, Pine Creek, Toms Gully Gold was first discovered south of Darwin in 1865, and by 1881 mining was widespread. The Pine Creek Orogen has a diverse metallogeny that also includes important deposits of uranium, as well as smaller zinc-lead-silver, tin and tungsten deposits.
Tanami Au Tanami Province, Northern Territory 1810–1795 608 t Au: A$32.6b Callie, Tanami, The Granites, Groundrush, Buccaneer, Coyote In 1900, gold was discovered at what became The Granites mine. Early prospecting and production from the area was limited, but in 1932 a gold rush followed the discovery of a small patch of alluvial gold. Small scale mining continued until 1965 but exploration was limited. Modern exploration commenced in the mid- to late- 1980s, with rapid results. The first modern mine, at The Granites, was started in 1986, and deposits have been discovered in each of the following decades. The major discovery was at Callie in 1992, which constitutes well over 50% of production and resources in the province.
Alligator Rivers U Central and Nimbuwah Domains, Pine Creek Orogen, Northern Territory 1740-1640 388 kt U3O8 and 14 t Au: A$42.8b Ranger, Nabarlek, Jabiluka, Rum Jungle Exploration interest in the Alligator Rivers uranium field was sparked by BMR mapping, which culminated with the publication of a 1:500 000 map of the region in 1968. Between 1969 and 1971, major unconformity-related uranium deposits were discovered at Nabarlek, Ranger 1, Jabiluka and Koongarra, with production starting in 1980 following the Fox inquiry of 1977. Although the use of uranium as a energy fuel has, and will, remain controversial, the uranium mined from the Alligator Rivers field had a value of over $200 million in 2004-2005.
Proterozoic Australian zinc belt Zn-Pb-Ag Curnamona Province, South Australia and New South Wales; Mount Isa Province, Queensland; and McArthur Province, Northern Territory ~1690; ~1655; 1640– 1635; and ~1575 103 Mt Zn, 68 Mt Pb, 127.3 kt Ag, 0.392 Mt Cu and 131.6 kt Au: A$504b Broken Hill, Cannington, Mount Isa Zn–Pb, Hilton– George Fisher, McArthur River, Century Discovery of world class zinc-lead ore bodies in the outback resulted in the growth of bush cities at Broken Hill and Mount Isa and a continual history of mining that extends well over a century. The giant Broken Hill deposit was discovered in 1883, and led to the founding of Australia's largest company, BHP-Billiton. The Mount Isa deposit was discovered in 1923 and resulted in the formation of Mount Isa Mines.
Olympic Dam IOCG Province Cu-Au-U Gawler Province, South Australia 1570–1550 2557 kt U3O8, 86.4 Mt Cu, 3430 t Au and 14.6 kt Ag, with significant, but not recovered REE and V: A$1115b Olympic Dam. Carrapateena, Hillside, Prominent Hill The Olympic Dam deposit was the first discovery, in 1975, of a deeply-buried, major ore deposit in the world. The geophysical characteristics of so-called iron-oxide copper-gold (IOCG) deposits have allowed the recent discovery of major deposits at Prominent Hill, Carrapateena and Hillside.
Mount Isa U Mount Isa Province, Queensland 1550–1540 59.3 kt U3O8: A$6.43b Valhalla The Valhalla and nearby deposits in the Mount Isa uranium field comprise the largest uranium resource in Queensland. These deposits were discovered in the 1960s, but have not been developed due in part to the Federal government's three mine policy, which was introduced in 1984 but rescinded in 1996, and the previous Queensland government policy against uranium mining.
Cloncurry Cu- Au-Mo-Re Mount Isa Province, Queensland 1530–1500 429 t Au, 8.47 Mt Cu, 133 kt Mo and 241 t Re: A$85.7b (excludes Mo and Re) Ernest Henry, Mount Dore, Merlin, Selwyn (Starra), Osborne Although the Mount Isa Province is known mainly as a zinc-lead province, the first discoveries in the region, during the 1860s, were of copper deposits. The first mine, the Great Australia near Cloncurry, was developed in 1867, and copper has been mined intermittently for most of the subsequent 14 decades. The last three decades have seen an upsurge in exploration success in the area, with discovery of a number or new deposits, including Cu-Au deposits at Selwyn, Osborne and Ernest Henry in the 1980s and 1990s, and, most recently, the Merlin Mo-Re deposit.
Mount Isa Cu Mount Isa Province, Queensland 1520 8.4 Mt Cu: A$62.2b Mount Isa copper The Mount Isa mine is possibly unique in the world in that two apparently unrelated world class mineral deposits have been juxtaposed. The copper ores are younger and appear to replace the zinc-lead ores. Discovery of the copper ores did not occur until 1927, when a drill hole targeting zinc-lead zones intersected 15 m grading 17% Cu. Although secondary copper ores were mined to a limited extent during World War II, continual production of copper began in 1953, with a large increase in production in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Aileron REO-P-Th-U Aileron Province, Northern Territory >1240 1150 kt REO, 5.06 Mt P2O3 and 8.64 kt U3O8: A$143b Nolans Bore The discovery of the Nolans Bore REE deposit can be traced to the discovery of small apatite exposures within a radiometric anomaly. Following growing interest in rare earth elements, these outcrops were followed up in 2001, confirming their potential. Subsequent drilling has outlined the second largest rare earth element deposit in Australia after Mount Weld.
Argyle diamond Halls Creek Orogen, Western Australia 1178 1045 Mct Argyle Discovered in 1979, the Argyle kimberlite pipe is the largest diamond deposit in Australia. Diamond exploration is difficult as weathering and the formation of regolith (Chapter 5) in Australia has destroyed many indicator minerals used successfully in southern Africa and North America.
Warakurna Ni- Cu-PGE Musgrave Province, Western Australia ~1070 1.2 Mt Cu, 1.2 Mt Ni and 84 t PGE: A$30.6b (excludes PGE) Nebo–Babel The Nebo–Babel deposit is one of the largest accumulations of nickel in Australia, but because of its remoteness, it is economically unviable at the time of writing.
Paterson U-Cu Paterson Orogen, Western Australia 840–810 28.0 kt U3O8 (Kintyre) and 1.73 Mt Cu (Nifty and Maroochydore): A$15.85b Nifty, Maroochydore, Kintyre Following the discovery of the Telfer gold deposit in 1972 (see below), the Paterson Province became the target for a number of commodities. Conceptual exploration led to the discovery of the Nifty Cu and Kintyre U deposits in 1980 and 1985, respectively.
Adelaide Cu Adelaide Rift Complex, South Australia 840-640; poorly constrained 0.987 Mt Cu, 20 kt Co and 0.69 kt Ag: A$7.96b Mount Gunson, Burra, Kapunda The discovery of copper at Kapunda in the hills east of Adelaide in 1843 drove, to a large extent, the development of South Australia. The population quadrupled in the decade following the discovery, and Burra was the largest inland town in Australia prior to the Victorian gold rush in 1851. In the 1870s, South Australia was the world's largest producer of copper, but production had ceased by the end of World War II. It was revitalised in 1969 when the Burra deposit was reopened. Two years later, mines in the Mount Gunson area were reopened, and mining continued until 1989. In the last few years there has been a second revitalisation of mining, with active mining at the Mountain of Light mine.
Paterson Au-W Paterson Orogen, Western Australia 640–605 880 t Au and 1.09 Mt Cu (Telfer); and 0.26 Mt WO3, 0.22 Mt Cu, 0.39 Mt Zn and 0.19 Mt Pb (O'Callaghans): A$58.1b Telfer, O'Callaghans The discovery of the Telfer gold deposit, the fifth largest in Australia in terms of total gold resources, is colourful and controversial. Conventional wisdom attributes the discovery to geologist David Tyrwhitt in 1972, following up gold-rich samples collected by Ronnie Thomson in 1970. However, a prospector, Jean-Paul Turcaud, claims to have discovered the deposit two years earlier. In any case, this discovery highlighted the potential of the remote Paterson Province. Even though there has not been a significant gold discovery since, copper and uranium discoveries were made and there are now two operating mines (Telfer Au-Cu and Nifty Cu [see above]) in the area.
Mount Read Zn- Pb-Cu-Ag-Au Delamerian Orogen, Tasmania 510–500 8.15 Mt Zn, 3.10 Mt Pb, 3.31 Mt Cu, 9.04 kt Ag and 279 t Au: A$72.4b Rosebery, Hellyer, Mount Lyell, Henty Although the discovery of tin (see below) was the impetus that brought prospectors into western Tasmania, copper and zinc-lead mines of the Mount Read Volcanics have been the backbone of mining and development of the west coast. Mining activities in the Mount Lyell copper field have continued for over a century, producing the "moonscape" scenery for which Queenstown is (in)famous. This contrasts with modern mines (e.g., Henty and Hellyer), which have a much smaller footprint on the environment.
Seventy Mile- Balcooma Zn-Pb-Cu Mossman Orogen, north Queensland 480 1.35 Mt Zn, 0.45 Mt Pb, 0.49 Mt Cu, 1.08 kt Ag and 3.9 t Au: A$8.75b Thalanga, Balcooma Although the Liontown deposit was discovered in 1905, the potential of the Seventy Mile-Balcooma mineral province was not realised until the mid- to late-1970s, with the discovery of gossans at the Thalanga, Surveyor 1 and Balcooma deposits. In the 1980s, exploration at depth discovered a second series of deposits at East Thalanga, Waterloo and Reward.
Victorian Goldfields Au Western Lachlan Orogen, Victoria 455–435; ~410; and 380–370 > 2550 t Au: > A$137b Bendigo, Ballarat, Castlemaine, Stawell, Woods Point The discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851 led to the first major gold rush in Australia, resulting in major population shifts into Victoria and the creation of immense wealth for the fledgling colony. This rush commenced a series of gold rushes that progressed anticlockwise around Australia, finally resulting in the discovery of gold in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia in 1892.
Macquarie Cu–Au Central Lachlan Orogen, New South Wales 455–435 5.81 Mt Cu and 1050 t Au: A$99.3b Cadia, Northparkes Porphyry copper-gold deposits are known in several Ordovician volcanic belts in central-west New South Wales that collectively constitute the Macquarie Arc. At present, two mining operations have been developed on these deposits, at Cadia, near Orange, and at Northparkes, near Parkes. Copper mineralisation in the Cadia area was discovered by New South Wales Government Geologist Samuel Stutchbury in 1851, with mining beginning in 1860 and continuing intermittently for the next 90 years. Modern exploration commenced in the 1950s, with discovery of the Cadia Hill deposit in 1992. Mining commenced in 1998. In the Northparkes district, initial exploration interest was in the potential of the host volcanic rocks for volcanic-hosted massive sulphide deposits. This led to the discovery of a zinc-lead skarn deposit in 1975 and recognition of potential for intrusion related styles of mineralisation. The first of several porphyry copper-gold deposits was discovered in 1977, with mining commencing in 1993.
Canning Zn- Pb-Ag Canning Basin, Western Australia 420?, 354 5.4 Mt Zn, 3.2 Mt Pb and 1.4 kt Ag: A$20.1b Admiral Bay, Cadjebut The Canning zinc province consists of a series of small- to moderate-sized deposits on the Lennard Shelf and the laterally extensive Admiral Bay deposit, which is located along the Admiral Bay Fault that marks the boundary between the Broome Arch and the Willara Sub-Basin. Although small-scale mining was carried out on the Lennard Shelf between 1948 and 1964, serious modern exploration in the region did not start until the late 1960s. A series of Mississippi Valley-type zinc-lead deposits were discovered along the Lennard Shelf between 1978 and 1985, with mining commencing at the Cadjebut deposit in 1988. The Admiral Bay deposit, which was discovered by accident during petroleum exploration in 1981, is one of Australia's largest undeveloped zinc-lead resources, but the depth of deposit (over a kilometre) is a major impediment to development.
Central Lachlan Zn-Cu-Pb-Au-Ag Central Lachlan Orogen, Victoria and New South Wales ~410 3.8 Mt Zn, 1.4 Mt Pb, 0.9 Mt Cu, 5.5 kt Ag and 44 t Au: A$25.5b Woodlawn, Captains Flat, Currawong Many small, historic mining towns in southeastern New South Wales, such as Sunny Corner and Captains Flat have been based on the discovery of base metal, silver and gold deposits hosted in Silurian volcanic basins. Recently, interest has been rekindled in these rocks with the discovery of gold mineralisation such as at McPhillamys.
Charters Towers Au Thomson Orogen, Queensland ~410 528 t Au: A$28.3b Charters Towers Gold was discovered on Christmas Day in 1871, beginning a gold rush, with over 3000 diggers arriving by August the following year. By 1899, when peak gold production was achieved, the Charters Towers' population was 25,000, making it one of the largest cities in north Queensland, with its own stock exchange. Between 1871 and 1917, when the mines closed, the district had produced 206 tonnes of gold. The mines reopened in 2006 after a 89 year hiatus, and remain open today.
Cobar Cu-Au- Zn-Pb-Ag Central Lachlan Orogen, New South Wales 405–385 4.20 Mt Zn, 2.47 Mt Pb, 1.76 Mt Cu, 4.94 kt Ag and 139 t Au: A$39.7b CSA, Peake, Endeavor Discovered in 1869, Cobar was the most significant base metal district in New South Wales until the discovery of Broken Hill in 1883. It reinvigorated Australia's copper industry as production was declining in South Australia (see above). The discovery of Cobar encouraged settlement in the central-north of New South Wales, but development was restricted by the availability of timber and the lack of rail transportation. The combination of drought, overgrazing and timber clearing in the early 1890s lead to major dust storms and rabbit plagues. The railroad arrived shortly thereafter, allowing import of cheap coke and the development of blast furnaces to smelt the ores. These new developments and global industrialisation led to a "golden era" in Cobar from the late 1890s until the end of World War I. During this time, the population peaked at 10,000, but during the post-war recession, mines closed, with production virtually ceasing in 1921. Mining recommenced in 1930 based on the high gold price, but again virtually ceased from 1953 to 1962, after which the CSA mine reopened. The most important development in the latter part of the 20th century was the discovery of the Elura deposit in 1973. This deposit differed from other deposits in the district in that it was dominated by zinc and lead. First production from this deposit was in 1983.
Mount Morgan Au-Cu New England Orogen, Queensland ~380 239 t Au and 360 kt Cu: A$15.5b Mount Morgan The Mount Morgan deposit, originally developed in 1882, had almost a century of mining when it closed in 1981. One member of the original mining syndicate, William Knox D'Arcy, went on to invest his earnings into the company that became British Petroleum (BP).
Tasmania Sn- W-Ni Dundas Province, Tasmania 360–350 652 kt Sn, 192 kt WO3 and 136 kt Ni: A$16.7b Renison Bell, King Island, Avebury The discovery of the Mount Bischoff mine in 1871 led to a tin rush to the west coast of Tasmania, with the largest deposit, Renison Bell, discovered in 1891. Most deposits are granite-related skarn, vein or greisen Sn-W deposits, but the last major discovery (in 1997) was the Avebury nickel deposit. It is an unusual hydrothermal deposit hosted by ultramafic rocks, which provided the nickel, but the hydrothermal system was driven by granite intrusion.
Drummond Au-Ag Thomson Orogen, Queensland 342 150 t Au and 46.5 t Ag: A$8.08b Pajingo (Scott and Cindy lodes), Wirralie, Mount Coolon In 1983, gold was discovered at Pajingo in the Drummond Basin in northeast Queensland. This discovery was in an area without previously known gold and of a style (adularia-sericite epithermal vein) previously not known in Australia. In the three decades since discovery the Drummond Basin has become a significant gold province.
North Queensland Sn-W-Au Mossman and Thomson Orogens, and Etheridge Province, Queensland 340–260 157 kt Sn, 4 kt W, 374 t Au, 0.15 Mt Cu and 0.47 kt Ag: A$25.0b Herberton (Great Northern Mine), Collingwood tin, Kidston, Red Dome, Mount Leyshon The 340-260 Ma Kennedy Igneous Association, which has intruded much of northeast Queensland, is associated with three types of deposits, granite-related tin-tungsten, intrusion-related gold, and porphyry copper-gold. Of these, the first two included major deposits. Although the discoverer of the Herberton tin field in 1875, James Mulligan, wrote in his journal "there may be any quantity of it here, but what use is it at present …", payable tin was won from alluvial workings in the field in 1880. Shortly afterwards lode tin was discovered at the Great Northern Mine, which was worked for over 70 years until its closure in 1954. At the Annan River near Cooktown, alluvial tin has been mined for over a century. Gold was also discovered in North Queensland, with small to moderate (major in the case of Charters Towers; see above) production from a number of goldfields into the first half of the 20th century. These historic goldfields were loci of exploration in the 1980s, leading to the development of a number of modern mines such as Kidston, Red Dome and Mount Leyshon.
Cracow Au New England Orogen, Queensland 291 77.2 t Au: A$4.14b Golden Plateau, Klondyke Although gold had been known to exist since 1875, mining did not start in Cracow until 1932. Mining was continuous until 1976 and intermittent until 1992. Redevelopment commenced in late 2003, with first gold production in November 2004.
Tropicana Au Southeast Yilgarn Craton which it has been overprinted by the Albany– Fraser Orogen, Western Australia Unknown 200 t Au: A$10.7b Tropicana Tropicana, located along the southeast margin of the Yilgarn Craton where it has been overprinted by the Albany–Fraser orogen, is the most recent example of a major discovery in a completely greeenfields province. Establishing the timing (i.e., Archean versus Proterozoic) of mineralisation is critical in developing exploration models for this emerging mineral province.

1. Total pre-mining geologic resource. Value is in Australian dollars as of 31 December 2011. Only major metals (Au, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ag, Ni, Sn and U), iron ore, rare earth oxides and phosphate are included in estimation of value. Most prices used are the average prices for the December 2011 quarter as reported by the Australian Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (www.bree.gov.au). The exchange rate used to convert $US to $A is the average daily rate for the December 2011 quarter as reported by the Reserve Bank of Australia (www.rba.gov.au). REO oxide prices for Mount Weld and Nolans Bore (Aileron mineral province) are averages (in US$/kg converted to A$ as described above) reported on company websites (www.lynascorp.com and www.arafuraresources.com.au, respectively) for the December 2011 quarter. For Nolans Bore, the price cited is the average of end-of month prices for October, November and December 2011.
2. Approximate figure for high-grade enriched ore (>54% Fe) as determined from Western Australia production figures from 1967 to end of financial year 2011 (these figures include minor production from the North Pilbara Granite-Greenstone Terrane and the Yilgarn Craton) and published resources as of July 1 2011. Does not include magnetite ores.