Mount Gibson dumps annual sales outlook as rockfall forces Koolan Island mine shutdown
Mount Gibson Iron withdrew its fiscal 2026 sales guidance on Friday after determining it was no longer viable to resume mining at its Koolan Island operations in Western Australia, following a major rockfall earlier this month.
The iron-ore miner had estimated sales of 3-million to 3.2-million wet metric tons (WMT) at A$80 to A$85 FOB per WMT shipped in July.
Shares of the firm fell as much as 27.7% to A$0.34 and were set for their weakest trading session since December 2014. The stock hit its lowest level since mid-July.
The company said it decided against remediating the affected pit area due to safety risks, the likelihood of further instability and the mine's limited remaining life. Mining has been suspended since the October 16 rockfall, though no personnel were injured.
"Resuming mining is not viable given the safety risks of potential future instability and the time and investment required to mitigate such risks, especially in the context of the operation's limited remaining mine life," the company said.
Processing will continue using existing ore stockpiles, while about 75 employees will remain on site to handle rehabilitation work.
Roughly 250 staff and 200 contractors will be laid off, with total transition costs estimated at A$30-million to A$40-million ($19.49-million to $25.99-million).
The company also said the incident won't affect its plan to acquire a 50% stake in the Central Tanami Gold Project by March 2026, with some Koolan Island personnel and equipment to be redeployed there.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
As one of South Africa's leading manufacturers, Bell Equipment distributes and exports its wide range of heavy equipment globally to mining,...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Supplier & Distributor of the Widest Range of Accurate & Easy-to-Use Alcohol Breathalysers
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
