PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy (Sacome) has welcomed the state government's magnetite strategy, which aims to secure A$10-billion of investment in iron-ore mining projects over the next five years.

The state government last week revealed the strategy that was aimed at increasing iron-ore exports from South Australia to 50-million tonnes a year by 2030.

The state currently produces around 1.6-million tonnes a year of magnetite from the Middleback ranges, which is fed exclusively into steel works at Whyalla.

“South Australia is blessed with vast magnetite deposits and the aim of this strategy is to leverage that natural endowment and transform it into investment, jobs and exports.

“If we can capitalise on these deposits and increase the amount of iron-ore we export there will also be significant opportunities for growth and jobs in the supply chain around this industry,” said Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis.

“We can’t drag our feet – South Australia needs to plan now so we can capitalise quickly when the inevitable upswing in the commodities cycle happens.

“South Australia is already recognised as a world-class exporter of copper and we want to see the state also gain a reputation as a source of high-quality magnetite. This strategy will help grow the mineral resources sector and provide jobs and growth in South Australia’s regional and remote communities,” the Minister said.

Koutsantonis noted that extensive magnetite resources have been identified in the Eyre Peninsula and Braemar province that could dramatically increase the volume of exports from South Australia.

The proposed strategy sought to identify initiatives that could bring forward these projects and maximise the economic benefits of the state’s vast magnetite deposits.

Sacome CEO Jason Kuchel said this week that the industry had long believed a focused magnetite strategy was a critical step in marketing the benefits of South Australia’s magnetite to global steel mills and developing the resources in a capital constrained market.

“The magnetite strategy is a welcome opportunity which will aim to identify initiatives that can bring some of the state’s extensive magnetite resources forward, including our magnetite rich regions throughout the Eyre Peninsula and Braemer province.”

Kuchel said that the magnetite strategy was a good first step; however, he added that much work still needed to be done to overcome the challenges of the industry, such as escalating power prices, to ensure that the benefits for all South Australians were maximised.