[citation needed] The Mount Lyell company had trucks deliver the ore along the Queenstown to Zeehan road to this siding, until 1994.

[2] The Melba Flats area is the site of numerous historical workings; hand workings and hand constructed mining shafts dating back to the 1880s.

Lead, zinc, silver, tin and nickel have been located in varying quantities in the area.

Allegiance Mining in the 2000s investigated open pit mining of niccolite and pentlandite, copper, gold and platinum minerals from small deposits on Melba Flats.

TasRail has also placed the railway line north of the Melba Flats loading facility to Rosebery into care and maintenance, till a new customer for the loading facility is found.