English adventurer William Dampier sailed along Australia’s North West coast in 1688. He called it the most barren spot on the globe but noticed that the compass showed a powerful attraction to a range of mountains to the south. For the next 250 years that powerful attraction was ignored, until in the 1960’s it was found there were vast reserves of iron ore, today it is thought there is enough to supply world needs for 400 years. Jack Absalom’s journey into the Pilbara unearths many of the regions treasures. You also get to travel on some of the giant iron ore trains that carry the economic treasure to the ports and onto giant cargo ships headed to Japan and China.