Commodities Buzz: Rio Tinto And Baowu To Develop Western Range Iron Ore Mine In Pilbara

21 Sep 2022 , 01:04 PM

Rio Tinto and China Baowu Steel Group Co Ltd (Baowu) have agreed to enter into a joint venture with respect to the Western Range iron ore project in the Pilbara, Western Australia, investing $2 billion to develop the mine. Western Ranges annual production capacity of 25 million tonnes of iron ore will help sustain production of the Pilbara Blend from Rio Tintos existing Paraburdoo mining hub. The project includes construction of a primary crusher and an 18 kilometre conveyor system linking it to the existing Paraburdoo processing plant. Construction is expected to begin in early 2023 with first production anticipated in 2025. The construction phase will support approximately 1,600 jobs with the mine requiring about 800 ongoing operational roles which are expected to be filled by existing workers transitioning from other sites in the Paraburdoo mining hub. Powered by Commodity Insights