Koolyanobbing, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Koolyanobbing is located 54 km NNE of the town of Southern Cross, Western Australia
.
Iron ore is mined here by a subsidiary of Cliffs Natural Resources of Cleveland, Ohio
. Ore is railed to port at Esperance
for export. The current operations commenced in 1993.
The first European to visit the area was Charles Cooke Hunt
in 1864 who explored the Koolyanobbing range that is situated nearby.
The next European to visit the area, in 1887 and later in 1891, was a gold
prospector
named Henry Dowd, who thought that the rocks in the area were of no value. He recorded his findings and stored them in a bottle that was buried next to a survey peg and which was found again in 1963 at what is now known as Dowd Hill.
The town was established to service a new iron ore mine in the 1960s at Dowd Hill. The town was gazetted in 1965. The former Eastern Goldfields railway between Southern Cross and Kalgoorlie was realigned for change to standard gauge, and to service the Koolyanobbing mine
The name is of local Aboriginal origin, meaning "place of large rocks".
Dampier Mining Co Ltd, a subsidiary of The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited
(BHP), mined iron ore between 1967 and 1983. Ore was shipped by rail to Kwinana
, near Perth, to supply Australian Iron and Steel
's (also BHP) blast furnace. The closure of the Kwinana blast furnace in 1982 resulted in suspension of iron ore mining at Koolyanobbing until 1993.
WA Salt Supply produces salt
at Lake Deborah, 20 km to the north, which is railed from Koolyanobbing to Kwinana
.
The Koolyanobbing Range supports many endemic, priority and one declared rare flora species.
Southern Cross, Western Australia
Southern Cross is a town in Western Australia, 371 kilometres east of Perth on the Great Eastern Highway. It was founded by gold prospectors in 1888, and gazetted in 1890. It is the major town and administrative centre of the Shire of Yilgarn...
.
Iron ore is mined here by a subsidiary of Cliffs Natural Resources of Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. Ore is railed to port at Esperance
Esperance, Western Australia
Esperance is a large town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, located on the Southern Ocean coastline approximately east-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The shire of Esperance is home to 9,536 people as of the 2006 census, its major industries are tourism, agriculture,...
for export. The current operations commenced in 1993.
The first European to visit the area was Charles Cooke Hunt
Charles Cooke Hunt
Charles Cooke Hunt was an explorer who led four expeditions into the interior of Western Australia between 1864 and 1866. He died in Geraldton....
in 1864 who explored the Koolyanobbing range that is situated nearby.
The next European to visit the area, in 1887 and later in 1891, was a gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
prospector
Prospecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
named Henry Dowd, who thought that the rocks in the area were of no value. He recorded his findings and stored them in a bottle that was buried next to a survey peg and which was found again in 1963 at what is now known as Dowd Hill.
The town was established to service a new iron ore mine in the 1960s at Dowd Hill. The town was gazetted in 1965. The former Eastern Goldfields railway between Southern Cross and Kalgoorlie was realigned for change to standard gauge, and to service the Koolyanobbing mine
The name is of local Aboriginal origin, meaning "place of large rocks".
Dampier Mining Co Ltd, a subsidiary of The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited
BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...
(BHP), mined iron ore between 1967 and 1983. Ore was shipped by rail to Kwinana
Kwinana Beach, Western Australia
Kwinana Beach is an industrial suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the Town of Kwinana.Kwinana is firstly a local indigenous Australian word meaning either "young woman" or "pretty maiden". The ship SS Kwinana was wrecked on Cockburn Sound in 1922 and blown onto Kwinana Beach. The...
, near Perth, to supply Australian Iron and Steel
BlueScope Steel
BlueScope Steel is a flat product steel producer with operations in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Pacific and North America. It was spun off from BHP Billiton in 2002 as BHP Steel and renamed BlueScope Steel on 17 November 2003...
's (also BHP) blast furnace. The closure of the Kwinana blast furnace in 1982 resulted in suspension of iron ore mining at Koolyanobbing until 1993.
WA Salt Supply produces salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
at Lake Deborah, 20 km to the north, which is railed from Koolyanobbing to Kwinana
Kwinana Beach, Western Australia
Kwinana Beach is an industrial suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the Town of Kwinana.Kwinana is firstly a local indigenous Australian word meaning either "young woman" or "pretty maiden". The ship SS Kwinana was wrecked on Cockburn Sound in 1922 and blown onto Kwinana Beach. The...
.
The Koolyanobbing Range supports many endemic, priority and one declared rare flora species.