mid west development
Geraldton Port, the export hub of the Mid West, is currently the focus of a $250 million infrastructure upgrade of harbour, berths, stevedoring facilities and land transport corridors. The upgrade has advanced proposals for a range of iron ore projects in the Mid West that will add to ecomomic development in the region.
The Mid West Development Commission (MWDC) has identified $6.5 billion in new resource projects under consideration or development in the Mid West region. www.mwdc.wa.gov.au
The iron ore sector accounts for the majority of these projects with three direct shipping projects already in production, another four under consideration and three very large magnetite concentrate projects currently performing feasibility studies.
Magnetite concentrate projects involve fine grinding of large quantities of hard magnetite ores which is power intensive. The power requirements of the magnetite projects alone is estimated at 250MW.
| project | demand | total |
| Mt Gibson Magnetite | 60MW | |
| Koolanooka Magnetite | 60MW | |
| Karrara Magnetite | 120MW | |
| Geraldton Port | 10MW | |
| Oakagee Port | 40MW | |
| Dongara Mineral Sands | 10MW | |
| Cataby Mineral Sands | 10MW | |
| Golden Grove | 12MW | |
| Eneabba | 20MW | |
| Narngulu | 10MW | |
| Cataby | 20MW | 372MW |
Other projects within the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) network include existing mineral sands, base metals operations and two new mineral sands developments at Cataby and Dongara. Total power requirements for these projects is estimated at 100MW.
Residential and commercial development is accelerating in Geraldton as the city responds to the demand for labour and services. Residential developments totaling 13,000 lots are currently in the pipeline for Geraldton, and commercial developments in progress include office buildings, retail complexes, supermarkets and industrial facilities.
Economic development in the Mid West region will require substantial electrical energy and Coolimba Power will be key to unlocking the growth potential of the region. Importantly, Coolimba Power will support both the SWIS and the new and existing resource projects in the Mid West region.