Iron Knob

iron knob

Iron Knob, town, northeastern Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, 247 miles (397 km) northwest of Adelaide by rail. It is the centre for one of the richest deposits of iron ore in the Southern Hemisphere. Mining rights were acquired in 1897, and in 1901 the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, Ltd. (BHP), began developing the deposits of iron ore in Iron Knob hill. The town lies in an extremely arid region and is supplied with water from the Morgan-Whyalla pipelines. The hematite ore is shipped by rail to the port of Whyalla, 35 miles (56 km) southeast. Pop. (2006) 199; (2011) gazetted locality, 166.