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Iron Baron was a
settlement
Settlement may refer to:
*Human settlement, a community where people live
*Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building
*Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction
*Settlement (fina ...
associated with the Iron Baron
iron ore
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...
mine
() on
Eyre Peninsula
The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north.
Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named aft ...
at the southern edge of
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
's
Far North region, north-west of
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
.
The settlement was situated about 200 metres from the eastern boundary of the mine.
BHP
BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
owned and serviced the settlement, having built it about 1938. There were several dozen houses, a one-teacher primary school, a general store, oval, swimming pool, netball courts, picnic areas and licensed community club.
Before the mine’s re-opening in 2011, BHP bulldozed all the settlement's surface infrastructure, including buildings, into a pit at the mine. Employees now commute from
Whyalla
Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta ...
or elsewhere.
Operation of the nearby mine
The Iron Baron mine is one of several large orebodies in the
Middleback Range
The Middleback Range is a mountain range on the eastern side of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The Middleback Range has been a source of iron ore for over a century, particularly to feed the Whyalla Steelworks. Mines in the region were first d ...
, with a production capacity of about two million tonnes of haematite a year. Built by BHP in 1933, it went out of operation between 1947 and 1958; it was re-opened in 2011.
On-site facilities now include a fully functional ore
beneficiation
In the mining industry or extractive metallurgy, beneficiation is any process that improves (benefits) the economic value of the ore by removing the gangue minerals, which results in a higher grade product (ore concentrate) and a waste stream (tail ...
plant.
Related mines
*
Iron Knob
Iron Knob is a town in the Australian state of South Australia on the Eyre Peninsula immediately south of the Eyre Highway. At the 2006 census, Iron Knob and the surrounding area had a population of 199. The town obtained its name from its prox ...
* Iron Knight
* Iron Duke
See also
*
List of cities and towns in South Australia
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
Towns in South Australia
Mining in South Australia
Far North (South Australia)
Iron ore mines in Australia
Eyre Peninsula
Places in the unincorporated areas of South Australia
{{SouthAustralia-geo-stub