MinRes Lamb Creek iron ore start: production, haul road and cost lens for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on Australian Mining Review – News
30 Second Briefing
Mineral Resources has broken ground on the Lamb Creek open pit iron ore project in the Pilbara, designed for 7.5 Mtpa and targeting first ore in Q4 FY26, 50 km from its existing Iron Valley operation. The project, underpinned by Pilbara hub resources of 161 Mt at 57.0% Fe and reserves of 51 Mt at 57.5% Fe, is expected to extend the hub’s production profile by more than five years with a lower cost base. Wonmunna will be wound down as all staff transfer to Lamb Creek, with in-house teams building a 16 km haul road, crushing plant and associated infrastructure to feed blended product to Utah Point at Port Hedland.
Technical Brief
- Ground-breaking followed receipt of all regulatory approvals, de-risking schedule for mine and haul road construction.
- Lamb Creek lies 50 km from MinRes’ existing Iron Valley operation, enabling short-haul integration and shared services.
- Pilbara hub maiden mineral resource totals 161 Mt at 57.0% Fe, constraining long-term mine planning envelopes.
- Associated ore reserve of 51 Mt at 57.5% Fe provides higher-grade feedstock for blended product optimisation.
- MinRes’ in-house engineering and construction teams are delivering the 16 km haul road and crushing plant, limiting contractor interface risk.
- Wonmunna operation will be progressively wound down, with all site personnel redeployed to Lamb Creek to retain operational experience.
- Product from Lamb Creek and Iron Valley will be blended then hauled to Utah Point for export via Port Hedland, centralising logistics.
Our Take
With Lamb Creek adding 7.5 mtpa and extending the Pilbara hub profile by more than five years, MinRes is signalling that iron ore remains a core cash engine alongside its battery metals portfolio highlighted in the November 2025 leadership-transition coverage.
The 57–57.5% Fe resource and reserve grades at the Pilbara hub place Lamb Creek in the mid-grade bracket, which in our database tends to push operators to focus on low-cost haulage and blending strategies rather than chasing premium lump or high-grade fines pricing alone.
Recent Pilbara items in our coverage, such as Rio Tinto’s local railcar manufacturing and BHP/Rio’s battery-electric truck trials, suggest that MinRes’ 16 km haul-road and Utah Point export pathway will be scrutinised for similar decarbonisation and local-content opportunities as the project moves towards Q4 FY26 first ore.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
Related Articles
Related Industries & Products
Mining
Geotechnical software solutions for mining operations including CMRR analysis, hydrogeological testing, and data management.
Construction
Quality control software for construction companies with material testing, batch tracking, and compliance management.
CMRR-io
Streamline coal mine roof stability assessments with our cloud-based CMRR software featuring automated calculations, multi-scenario analysis, and collaborative workflows.
QCDB-io
Comprehensive quality control database for manufacturing, tunnelling, and civil construction with UCS testing, PSD analysis, and grout mix design management.
HYDROGEO-io
Comprehensive hydrogeological testing platform for managing, analysing, and reporting on packer tests, lugeon values, and hydraulic conductivity assessments.