Tag: Koodaideri

Koodaideri Project: Breaking ground

Koodaideri Project: Breaking ground

THE $3.5b Koodaideri iron ore mine in WA is progressing to plan with engineering, procurement and construction activities on schedule for first production in late 2021. Koodaideri will deliver a new production hub for Rio Tinto’s world-class iron ore business in the Pilbara, incorporating a processing plant and infrastructure including a 166km rail line connecting the mine to the existing network. This includes construction of a new bridge in the Pilbara to carry the Great Northern Highway traffic over the proposed Rio Tinto Iron Ore Koodaideri Rail Line. The bridge project, funded by Rio Tinto and managed by Main Roads, is expected to create a minimum of 40 local jobs with a $23m contract awarded to a joint venture between…

Another Koodaideri gig for Clough

Another Koodaideri gig for Clough

WESTERN Australian engineering and construction company Clough has nabbed the contract for the construction of the Great Northern Highway road-over-rail bridge and access road intersection for Rio’s Koodaideri mine in the Pilbara. Awarded by Main Roads WA as part of the Acciona Clough Joint Venture (ACJV), the contract covers the construction of 3.6 km of road for the approaches to the bridge over rail, the construction of the bridge over rail, and construction of side road upgrades of the Great Northern Highway and Koodaideri Mine Access Road (KMAR) intersection. Clough chief executive and managing director Peter Bennett said he was extremely pleased to win the contract. “Our history with Main Roads started in 1957 and we are proud to continue…

Rio Tinto Iron Ore: a new benchmark

Rio Tinto Iron Ore: a new benchmark

Rio’s new Koodaideri project would feature the latest in automation. Image: Rio Tinto RIO Tinto’s Iron Ore business has a big year ahead of it, as construction at Koodaideri begins, and the benefits start to roll in from a rising iron ore price; an outcome of Vale’s recent dam disaster. For Rio Tinto, its principal focus for the near-term was development of its $3.5 billion Koodaideri project, a replacement for depleting capacity across its Pilbara operations. Koodaideri – approved by the board late November – will be Rio’s most technologically advanced mine to date featuring a digital replica of the processing plant accessible in real time, fully integrated mine automation and simulation systems, and much more. The 43 million tonnes…

Rio Tinto Iron Ore: Centre Stage

Rio Tinto Iron Ore: Centre Stage

All images: Rio Tinto. BY ELIZABETH FABRI IRON ore continues to be a key driver for Rio Tinto, delivering more than 65 per cent of its underlying earnings in the first half of 2018. Now, with coal out of the picture, the miner has plans to grow its Pilbara business and – if the right opportunity presents itself – dip its toes in the battery metals space. Rio Tinto has shed almost $US5 billion in assets from its portfolio over the last year, letting go of its Kestrel, Hail Creek and Winchester South coal projects in QLD, as well as one of its European aluminium smelters; Dunkerque. It’s a new era for the dual-listed Anglo-Australian miner. Coal has been a…

Rio Tinto: The Bottom Line

Rio Tinto: The Bottom Line

All images: Rio Tinto. BY ELIZABETH FABRI IT capped off a strong 2017 calendar year with $US8.8 billion in profit, but Rio Tinto is increasingly focussed on reputation and its social license to operate, both here and abroad. Rio Tinto is riding high on the back of a 90 per cent increase in net profit compared to 2016. It was a successful year on many fronts, with Rio Tinto’s iron ore division celebrating the opening of the $US338 million Silvergrass mine. Iron ore prices were also working in its favour, as China’s increased appetite for higher grade ore continues following the nation’s winter steel curtailment policy. However, like many of its peers, the company’s global ‘social license to operate’ has…

Robots will take over: Hitachi

Robots will take over: Hitachi

Image: Hitachi. BY ELIZABETH FABRI WITHIN a decade Australian mines will be operated almost entirely by autonomous machines, according to global group Hitachi. Game-changing technologies such as remote and integrated operation centres, driverless vehicles, and advanced analytics are set to be “commonplace” across the entire industry by 2030. “Such advances in technology are predicted to increase productivity and reduce costs by up to 25 per cent, which will have a significant impact on retaining Australia’s competitiveness in the Asia Pacific region, in addition to major positive social impacts such as the ability for mining employees to work in metropolitan areas,” Hitachi stated. “Hitachi also predicts that by 2030 most mines will have fully integrated IoT systems that will connect all…