no doubt the future is good

Asian demand drives WA iron sector growth
The iron ore sector in Western Australia is expanding at an unprecedented rate, driven by demand for steel from India and China.

Geological Survey of Western Australia spokesman Dr Tim Griffin says new technologies will guarantee future supplies.

"As technology changes and we're able to go to lower-grade ores then it does open up new opportunities and the environment is so vast that we really can't say what the limitations are," he said.

"We could even think that some time in the future, [maybe] 50 to 100 years, we might start looking at underground mines in the Pilbara, whereas [currently] we're only contemplating open cut mines."