Iron Knob, South Australia
Encyclopedia
Iron Knob is a town in South Australia
on the Eyre Highway
across Eyre Peninsula
. At the 2006 census
, Iron Knob and the surrounding area had a population of 199.
Iron ore was originally mined here for use as flux in the copper smelting industry. The iron ore was of such high quality that it started an iron smelting industry as well. It is referred to as the birth place of the steel industry in Australia. It gets its name for the fact that it has a large amount of iron ore and was a major contributor to Australia's iron industry.
Quarrying for iron at the town ended in 1998. Even though the mine is closed the town remains active. There is talk about a major mine company finding gold in the area, and there are other iron ore mines elsewhere in the Middleback Ranges. The iron ore was transported by railway to Whyalla
where it is smelted
.
New deposits of iron ore were opened at Iron Prince and Iron Duke
. Owing to the high price of iron ore the mine has been reopened.
When the mine closed down in 1998 people began to leave the town in the search for work, turning it into a ghost town. However, because of the recent rise in the price of housing, more people are selling their home in the city and buying or building a house in Iron Knob for a lower price. These days, a home can be purchased for approximately $A35,000–70,000 and vacant land can be purchased for less than $A15,000.
Ships operated by the then BHP
company were similarly named Iron This and Iron That.
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
on the Eyre Highway
Eyre Highway
The Eyre Highway is a highway linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. Signed as National Highway 1/A1, it forms part of Highway 1 and the Australian National Highway network linking Perth and Adelaide. It was named after explorer Edward John Eyre, who was the first to...
across Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded on the east by Spencer Gulf, the west by the Great Australian Bight, and the north by the Gawler Ranges. It is named after explorer Edward John Eyre who explored some of it in 1839-1841. The coastline was first explored by...
. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Iron Knob and the surrounding area had a population of 199.
Iron ore was originally mined here for use as flux in the copper smelting industry. The iron ore was of such high quality that it started an iron smelting industry as well. It is referred to as the birth place of the steel industry in Australia. It gets its name for the fact that it has a large amount of iron ore and was a major contributor to Australia's iron industry.
Quarrying for iron at the town ended in 1998. Even though the mine is closed the town remains active. There is talk about a major mine company finding gold in the area, and there are other iron ore mines elsewhere in the Middleback Ranges. The iron ore was transported by railway to Whyalla
Whyalla, South Australia
-Demographics:According to the 2006 Census the population of the Whyalla census area was 21,122 people, making it the second largest urban area in the state outside of Adelaide...
where it is smelted
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
.
New deposits of iron ore were opened at Iron Prince and Iron Duke
Iron Duke
Iron Duke may refer to:*Two dukes, both military officers, were nicknamed the "Iron Duke" during their lifetimes:**Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington***The Iron Duke , 1934 film starring George Arliss as Wellington...
. Owing to the high price of iron ore the mine has been reopened.
When the mine closed down in 1998 people began to leave the town in the search for work, turning it into a ghost town. However, because of the recent rise in the price of housing, more people are selling their home in the city and buying or building a house in Iron Knob for a lower price. These days, a home can be purchased for approximately $A35,000–70,000 and vacant land can be purchased for less than $A15,000.
Transport
Since only the Government ran trains in the state of South Australia, the mine was connected to the port by a tramway, albeit one that carried 2000T loads.Ships operated by the then BHP
Bhp
BHP, or bhp may refer to:*BHP Billiton, Australian based mining company renowned as being the largest mining company in the world**The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited, company name 1885-2000**BHP Limited, company name 2000-2001...
company were similarly named Iron This and Iron That.