The “unique blend” of about 58 per cent hematite iron ore, which is expected to attract healthy premiums from select steel manufacturers, will be trucked to Kalgoorlie before being railed to the port on trains operated by Australia’s biggest rail freight operator, Aurizon.

In a shock development two months ago that will aid Gold Valley’s plans to boost its iron ore exports, Mineral Resources revealed that it would cease shipping ore from its Koolyanobbing hub in the Yandal district after six and a half years, potentially opening-up 8 million tonnes of annual capacity through the Port of Esperance.

Gold Valley plans to ship up to 3 million tonnes of iron ore a year. About 1.5 million tonnes of product is expected to pass through Esperance following a scheduled ramp-up in production.

Gold Valley is a West Perth-based miner privately-owned by Chinese-born businessman Yuzheng Xie and has been making itself known in the WA iron ore sector recently, locking in two iron ore projects in the past year.

The company, which also has interests in the agriculture and energy sectors, currently ships ore to seven countries, including several in Europe, and is recognised internationally as a green iron ore producer.

Macarthur will be looking for Gold Valley to mine every possible tonne of iron ore from Ularring, to generate the type of cash-flow from royalties that will put the company in the box seat to ratchet up development plans for its Moonshine play.

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