Irvine Island is located 11 km (6.8 mi) off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia in the Buccaneer Archipelago.
[3] Irvine Island, with two neighbouring islands, Koolan and Cockatoo, is part of a belt of iron ore mineralization formed at the base of the Yampi Formation.
The sediments of the Yampi Formation were deposited near a shoreline where iron-rich heavy minerals were concentrated on a beach or nearshore bar by prolonged reworking.
[3] Australian Iron and Steel, a subsidiary of BHP, explored for iron on Koolan, Cockatoo and Irvine Islands from the early 20th century.
Three mineral claims and two mining leases were granted to AIS on Irvine Island in the mid-1930s and early 1950s.