Goldsworthy mine
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Goldsworthy Western Australia |
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1964 photograph showing iron ore outcrops on the top of Mount Goldsworthy before mining commenced
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 Goldsworthy
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| Coordinates | 20°20′31″S 119°31′16″E / 20.34194°S 119.52111°ECoordinates: 20°20′31″S 119°31′16″E / 20.34194°S 119.52111°E |
| Established | 1965 |
| Elevation | 46 m (151 ft) |
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Shire of East Pilbara |
| State electorate(s) | Pilbara |
| Federal Division(s) | Durack |
Goldsworthy (named after the geographical feature Mount Goldsworthy) is a former mining town in Western Australia east of Port Hedland and located in the Shire of East Pilbara. It was the firstiron ore mine in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia.
The explorer Francis Thomas Gregory reported seeing iron ore in the region during his Pilbara explorations in late 1861 and the Government Geologist H.P. Woodward confirmed the discovery of iron ore there in 1890. In 1919 Government Geologist Andrew Gibb Maitland confirmed these deposits but at the time mining them was not an economically viable proposition.
In 1938 Geological Survey of Western Australia geologists Finucane and Telford surveyed Mount Goldsworthy and reported preliminary estimates of more than 6,000,000 tons of iron ore at 65.66%. In the lead up to the Second World War, due to the classification of iron as a strategic material the Commonwealth of Australia placed an embargo on the export of ore. The export embargo was lifted in December 1960 and competition to develop the mine commenced in earnest with the government intending to issue an export licence for ore mined at the site.
Frank Thompson Jr, owner of Pardoo Station had established wells, windmills and paddocks in the area and also pegged mining leases there as they were on the southern end of the station, but he allowed these leases to lapse because of this embargo.
The granting of the export licence did not go without controversy. Ernie Mitchell, Chairman of Directors of an indigenous corporation known as the Pindan Group, called for an iron ore export licence to be issued to his organisation. Mitchell argued in a pamphlet issued in the early 1960s that:
Furthermore: We do not ask for an export licence on terms different from those that would be applied to other persons or groups. We do ask that the following facts be considered:
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