| Iron Knob South Australia |
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Iron Knob
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| Population: | 199[1] |
| Postcode: | 5601 |
| Location: |
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| LGA: | Outback Areas Community Development Trust |
| State District: | Giles |
| Federal Division: | Grey |
Iron Knob is a town in South Australia on the Eyre Highway across Eyre Peninsula. At the 2006 census, Iron Knob and the surrounding area had a population of 199.[1]
Iron ore was originally mined here for use as flux in the copper smelting industry. The iron ore was of such high quality that it started an iron smelting industry as well. It is referred to as the birth place of the steel industry in Australia. It gets its name for the fact that it has a large amount of iron ore and was a major contributor to Australia's iron industry.
Quarrying for iron at the town ended in 1998. Even though the mine is closed the town remains active. There is talk about a major mine company finding gold in the area, and there are other iron ore mines elsewhere in the Middleback Ranges. The iron ore was transported by railway to Whyalla[2] where it is smelted.
New deposits of iron ore were opened at Iron Prince and Iron Duke. Owing to the high price of iron ore the mine has been reopened.
When the mine closed down in 1998 people began to leave the town in the search for work, turning it into a ghost town. However, because of the recent rise in the price of housing, more people are selling their home in the city and buying or building a house in Iron Knob for a lower price. These days, a home can be purchased for approximately $A35,000–70,000 and vacant land can be purchased for less than $A15,000.
Since only the Government ran trains in the state of South Australia, the mine was connected to the port by a tramway, albeit one that carried 2000T loads.
Ships operated by the then BHP company were similarly named Iron This and Iron That.
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