Australian metals producer Mineral Resources (MinRes) has sold its 8mn wet metric tonnes (wmt)/yr Yilgarn Hub iron ore complex to private company Yilgarn Iron Investments (YII), after shuttering the project at the end of 2024.
The sale price is confidential and immaterial, MinRes said on 30 June. The deal involves YII taking full ownership of the project, including all fixed assets, licences, and tenements. The company has also agreed to take on all environmental and mine closure responsibilities.
MinRes maintains gold and lithium rights in Yilgarn Hub despite the ownership change.
The company sold Yilgarn Hub to YII because it was the buyer most likely to restart production at the complex, MinRes said.
MinRes closed Yilgarn Hub at the end of 2024 because it was no longer financially viable, the company said in June 2024. It redeployed about 800 workers from the mine to other projects.
Yilgarn Hub ran at a delivered cost of A$139/wmt ($91/wmt) in July-December 2023. Argus' iron ore fines 62pc Fe (ICX) cfr Qingdao was last assessed at $93.30/dry metric tonne (dmt) on 27 June.
MinRes has focused on ramping up production at its 35mn wmt/yr Onslow mine since the start of 2025. But weather and road safety challenges have limited production growth at the site. The company cut its Onslow production guidance for the 2024-25 financial year to 30 June from 8.5mn-8.7mn wmt to 7.8mn-8mn wmt in late May.
