For years the small Kimberley town of Derby has championed the economic benefits of a proposed mineral sand mine exporting the bulk of its ore from the town's ageing jetty, but moves to export solely out of Broome have come as a blow. 

The proposed Thunderbird mine has had a roller-coaster ride through its development.

It was mothballed in early 2020 when it could not raise sufficient investment but was resurrected six months later when a joint venture with Chinese steel producer Yansteel made the $500 million construction cost possible.

Through that process the proposal for the mine was to export containers of ore out of the Broome port and bulk ore out of Derby. 

But Stuart Pether, the chief executive of the new joint venture, Kimberley Mineral Sands, said the company was reviewing the plan and had started the process of applying for approvals to allow all of the mine's products to be exported via Broome.

Direct loading in Broome is a distinct advantage over Derby, which has a history of bulk ore export but its shallow waters and big tides require trans-shipping.

This involves a barge being loaded, which then travels out to deeper water where the cargo is transferred to a ship for export.

"[Broome] certainly offers some advantages in terms of the risk around logistics," Mr Pether said.

Huge disappointment

The move away from using the Derby port has left Shire of Derby/West Kimberley President Geoff Haerewa questioning the conduct of the company.

"My reaction initially is huge disappointment in the fact that over the last several years it's been planned to go out of Derby," Mr Haerewa said.

"I honestly think we may have been lied to and just led down a garden path for the last few years."

Derby was once the regional centre of the Kimberley but has experienced decline in recent decades, and now has one of the highest unemployment rates in the region at 18.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2021.

"And helping a huge Indigenous population that we have in Derby."

While the mining company is preparing to apply for approvals that would allow export solely from Broome, a final decision has not been made and Mr Haerewa said he would lobby the state government.

"We'll also be talking to all the other groups that may be opposing exporting out of Broome in a bulk fashion," he said.

"We'll do whatever we have to do to lobby hard, to try and entice them to come back to Derby."

Unlikely alliance

Mr Haerewa, a former Liberal candidate for the state parliament, has found an unlikely supporter, albeit for different reasons, in Broome-based conservationist Martin Pritchard, the director of Environs Kimberley.

"The Broome port is obviously in Roebuck Bay; it's a very sensitive area, it's Ramsar listed, it's got vast seagrass beds, and obviously people love it for its recreational fishing," Mr Pritchard said.

"We'd be seeking the EPA (Environmental Protection Authority) to assess this because it is a significant change to the project."

Mr Pritchard also said there were concerns about how an increase in trucking would affect Broome residents.

"We're already getting local residents emailing us, asking us: 'What is the story here?'

"Those people need to be reassured that, for example, they're not going to be having trucks running 24/7 as was the plan through Derby."

Mr Pether said truck movements would reach 40 per day at the peak of mining and that the company would consult with residents. 

"Part of the consultations we have with the community, and part of the discussions we have with the government approvals, is whether the restrictions are around school pick-up and drop-off times when traffic conditions are more busy," he said.

"Or other concerns the community might have, I'm sure they're all taken into account when we reach agreement on our approvals."

Mr Pether said a decision on approvals were expected by mid 2022. If gained, and the decision was made to export solely out of Broome, the benefits would flow across the Kimberley, he said.

"Kimberley Mineral Sands' prime objective is getting the project built.

"Employment and many other business opportunities will also be available for Broome, Derby and the wider Kimberley."