Since its beginnings as Hummock Hill, the town has served as a port for the shipment of iron ore from deposits along the Middleback Range.

The port's first conveyor belt loading system was installed in 1915, and was capable of loading 1,000 tonnes of ore per hour.
In 1943, it took 5½ to 6 hours to load a single 5,000-ton freighter.

In 2007, new transshipment handling processes were implemented, which allowed Arrium (formerly Onesteel) to load iron ore onto larger capesize bulk carrier vessels in deeper water.
The transshipment process involves the filling of barges with ore which is then transferred into the receiving vessels at one of three transshipment anchorages.

In the financial year 2014–15, 12.5 million tonnes of hematite ore was exported from Whyalla, using the transshipment process.

In October 2015 Arrium loaded its largest capesize cargo via transshipment.
The FPMCB Nature was loaded with approximately 205,698 wet metric tonnes (wmt) of iron ore – significantly more than the average load of about 170,000 wmt.

The port's inner harbor receives shipments of coal which is used to produce coke for the Whyalla steelworks and exports smaller cargoes of finished steel products.
Since its beginnings as Hummock Hill, the town has served as a port for the shipment of iron ore from deposits along the Middleback Range.
The port's first conveyor belt loading system was installed in 1915, and was capable of loading 1,000 tonnes of ore per hour. In 1943, it took 5½ to 6 hours to load a single 5,000-ton freighter.
In 2007, new transshipment handling processes were implemented, which allowed Arrium (formerly Onesteel) to load iron ore onto larger capesize bulk carrier vessels in deeper water. The transshipment process involves the filling of barges with ore which is then transferred into the receiving vessels at one of three transshipment anchorages.
In the financial year 2014–15, 12.5 million tonnes of hematite ore was exported from Whyalla, using the transshipment process.
In October 2015 Arrium loaded its largest capesize cargo via transshipment. The FPMCB Nature was loaded with approximately 205,698 wet metric tonnes (wmt) of iron ore – significantly more than the average load of about 170,000 wmt.
The port's inner harbor receives shipments of coal which is used to produce coke for the Whyalla steelworks and exports smaller cargoes of finished steel products.
Whyalla