The Middleback Range has been a source of iron ore for over a century, particularly to feed the Whyalla Steelworks.

Mines in the region were first developed by BHP from the 1890s and are now owned and operated by Liberty House Group.

The Ironstone Hill Conservation Park is immediately west of the southern part of the ranges.

The Middleback Range is part of the Cleve Subdomain of the Gawler Craton.

The iron ore deposits are primarily of Early Proterozoic metasediments of the Hutchison Group.