Iron Ore Mining in Tasmania

There is evidence that some smelting of iron took place in the North of the state fairly-early, but none were successful or on a large scale. A large magnetite deposit was discovered at Savage River in 1877. Because of the low grade of the ore and access issues, production did not commence until 1968 when an innovative transport method was adopted to get the ore out. It was concentrated and formed into pellets, then mixed with a fluid to form a slurry and then pumped to the coast. The fluid was recovered and the ore loaded onto ships for transport to the customer.
A copy of the History of Iron Ore Mining in Tasmania.pdf is available for download here.