Goldsworthy, Western Australia
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.
Early discoveries
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 license for ore mined at the site.
