Australian mining firm BHP will invest $900mn to develop the 20mn t/yr Ministers North iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia (WA), southwest of the firm's existing Yandi mine.
The Ministers North project will leverage existing Yandi infrastructure and will ramp up to produce 20mn t/yr of iron ore, BHP said on 15 July. Site works are scheduled to commence in July, and first ore is expected in the 2029 financial year.
The project supports the firm's medium-term goal to produce 305mn t/yr of iron ore on a 100pc basis. BHP will develop the Ministers North orebodies as a satellite extension of Yandi, which will require the construction of a 13km haul road and land bridge between the two sites. It will also upgrade infrastructure and install a new primary and secondary crusher at Yandi to support additional production.
Ministers North is a joint venture between BHP and Japanese trading houses Mitsui and Itochu, which announced plans to invest in the project in September 2025.
BHP holds an 85pc stake in the project, while Itochu and Mitsui hold interests of 8pc and 7pc, respectively.
Ministers North is positioned as a successor to the existing Yandi iron ore mine jointly owned by the three firms in WA, according to Itochu. Yandi is "scheduled for a gradual decrease in production" before eventual closure on an undisclosed date, an Itochu spokesperson told Argus in September.
