Producing export-grade iron concentrate from a vast ironsand deposit on the west coast of the North Island. For more than 50 years, we have supplied steelmakers across Asia. Over that time, we have built specialist expertise in slurry-based mining, mineral processing and offshore bulk loading. Taharoa is one of the world’s few fully integrated slurry-based iron mining systems, combining floating dredging, bespoke mineral processing and offshore loading into a single continuous operation.
Since 1972, Taharoa Ironsands has operated the largest ironsand mine in the world
The Taharoa deposit had been known for generations, but formal exploration did not begin until 1949. In 1959 the New Zealand Government established New Zealand Steel Investigating Co. Ltd to assess its commercial potential. Agreements with local landowners followed in 1968, and mining commenced in early 1972.
The first shipment was exported to Japan later that year, and the operation was officially opened in November 1973. Supply to North Asian customers has continued without interruption ever since.
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