JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Mount Gibson Iron this week shipped its Tallering Peak mine’s tenth anniversary cargo through the Mid West region's Port of Geraldton, on board the Shong Shan Hai headed for China.

The company had exported its first cargo from the Tallering Peak mine in February 23, and since then the mine had supplied more than 23-million tonnes of direct-shipping ore (DSO) to customers in China.

Mount Gibson said that mining at Tallering Peak was scheduled for completion in mid-2014, with final sales from ore stockpiles expected to be completed in the second half of the calendar year.

Including exports from the company’s Extension Hill DSO mine, 260 km south-east of Geraldton, which shipped its first ore in December 2011, Mount Gibson’s cumulative iron-ore exports from Geraldton now totalled more than 28-million tonnes.

Mount Gibson CEO Jim Beyer said the tenth anniversary of exports from Tallering Peak and the Port of Geraldton was an achievement of which the company was extremely proud.

“Everyone who has been involved with Mount Gibson over the last decade can feel justly proud in the role they have played in helping to develop the economic base of the Mid West region, and deepening Western Australia’s relations with China,” he said.

“The statistics demonstrate just how big a contribution mining operations such as Tallering Peak make to regional communities, injecting hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy, employing hundreds of people, and supporting scores of local businesses over the life of the mine.

“Our commitment to the development of the Mid West remains as strong as ever, and we look forward to continuing our key role in the region for the long term. This commitment is evidenced in the substantial exploration programmes under way at our exciting Extension Hill South and Fields Find projects, and our proposed acquisition of the advanced Shine hematite project,” he said.

Beyer added that the company was confident that these initiatives, which formed a part of the Mount Gibson’s broader strategy of identifying and advancing new development opportunities within its Mid West operational halo, would ensure that the company remained a major iron-ore producer in the region for many years to come.