Paragraph entered by Atlantic migration, in order for SteelFirst articles to display correctly on Metal Bulletin.
The company previously planned to commence production at Blue Hills after current operations at the Koolanooka Hematite DSO mine conclude in early 2013, according to a company announcement received by email.
“This has been a difficult decision, but one that makes business sense given the current state of play in the iron ore industry,” SMC gm Phil Allsopp said in the announcement.
The last shipment of ore from Koolanooka is estimated to be in March 2013.
The company will cut jobs from January to June 2013, with approximately nine roles made redundant.
In June 2011, Sinosteel mothballed its $2 billion Weld Range project due to increasing costs and delay in the construction of infrastructure.