Rio Tinto’s first Pilbara-made railcar

Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) has release its first Pilbara-made iron ore rail car in Karratha, WA, as part of a $150m partnership with Gemco Rail.

The collaboration between Rio Tinto, Gemco Rail and CRRC Qiqihar Rolling Stock will see 100 railcars being manufactured to support local production capacity in WA.

This railcar marks the completion of 40 WA-made iron ore railcars manufactured in Gemco Rail’s Perth facility, with the remaining 60 expected to be manufactured in the new, purpose-built facility in Karratha. The Karratha facility is expected to create up to 25 local jobs.

This collaboration is supported by the WA Government’s $6.9m investment into the Local Manufacturing Investment Fund (LMIF) as part of its Made in WA plan.

WA Premier Roger Cook comments on the state governments involvement.

“We’re proud to see businesses like Rio Tinto and Gemco Rail get behind our state’s industry, build more things here and create WA jobs,” he said.

“I’d like to congratulate Rio Tinto and Gemco Rail on today’s milestone, which has brought Made in WA-railcars to the heart of our country’s economic engine room.”

Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Matthew Holcz comments on the milestone for Pilbara-based iron ore railcar manufacturing.

“Our WA operations haul more than 300mt of iron ore across almost 2000km of rail tracks every year,” he said.

“Local manufacturing strengthens not only our business, it also empowers local communities, supports regional jobs and creates new economic opportunities in the Pilbara.”

Carrying up to 118t of iron ore, these Karratha-made rail cars will begin transporting across 18 of Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore mines to its Dampier and Cape Lambert port facilities this month.