Tag: Rio Tinto

CLEAN-UP operations are underway in the Pilbara after the category 4 Cyclone Damien made its presence felt across the region on February 7. Ports servicing Roy Hill, Rio Tinto, and FMG Iron Ore operations at Dampier and Ashburton went into cyclone preparation mode and shut as the cyclone passed, with the port at Port Hedland remaining closed for 25 hours. Roy Hill and FMG mines received the least of the storm, with Rio Tinto’s port, rail and mine network situated in the direct path of the storm. A report from the company said that it is supporting recovery efforts alongside DFES. Further disruptions were hoped to be avoided as heavy rain continued to fall. The towns of Karratha and Dampier…

AUSTRALIAN miner Rio Tinto is expecting to achieve iron ore production of between 330m and 343mt for the 2020 year after its production for 2019 came in at 327mt, and 3pc lower than the 2018 year. In a statement to the ASX, Rio Tinto said its iron ore production guidance for 2020 is subject to weather and market conditions, and is framed by its expectation of general stability in global economic growth for this year. The mining company achieved an average market price for its Pilbara iron ore of $79/wet metric ton free-on-board basis in 2019, 37pc higher than the average realised price for this product in 2018. Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques said its Pilbara iron ore production…

IT seems Rio Tinto is getting into the Christmas spirit, announcing a $749m (or A$1b) investment in its existing Greater Tom Price operations to help sustain the production capacity of its world-class iron ore business in the Pilbara. The hub includes Tom Price, Western Turner Syncline Phase 1 (WTS1) and Western Turner Syncline Phase 2 (WTS2) satellite hubs, with main investment in WTS2 expected to facilitate mining of existing and new deposits, and includes construction of a new crusher as well as a 13-kilometre conveyor. The new conveyor system will help lower greenhouse gas emissions from the mine by 3.5pc compared to road haulage and, pending final government approvals, is expected to start construction in early 2020 with first ore…

MINING giant Rio Tinto has announced it will invest its considerable resources in a new approach to tackle a looming skills gap in the nation’s future workforce. The company will invest $10m in a four-year national program targeted at school-age learners, that aims to fast-track the development of skills needed for the digital future, including critical thinking, problem-solving, automation, systems design, and data analytics. Developed in partnership with leading education and innovation start-up accelerator BlueChilli and Amazon Web Services (AWS), the program will crowd-source and fund ideas from start-ups and schools – identifying existing EdTech projects aimed at enhancing future skills, that can be scaled up quickly for the use of students, teachers and parents. EdTech refers to software designed…

RIO Tinto, in collaboration with the WA government and South Metropolitan TAFE, has launched Australia’s most advanced automation qualification to date. The Certificate IV in Autonomous Control and Remote Operations was approved by the Training and Accreditation Council (WA), and aims to teach students the knowledge and skills to work at facilities such as Rio’s remote operations centre in Perth. The Resource Industry Collaboration is led by WA state training board chair Jim Walker and includes Rio Tinto, Santos, Yara, Komatsu, BHP, FMG, South32, Roy Hill, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia, TAFE WA, the University of Western Australia and Scitech. The Certificate IV follows the two courses launched earlier this year, the Certificate II in Autonomous…

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 (ASX: RIO) chief executive J-S Jacques waxed philosophical to investors in London on Monday speaking of his vision of the company’s future. He spoke about the ‘deeper world’ awaiting the mining industry in the 2020s, and the importance of recognising the finite nature of the resources being mined. As Rio Tinto moves into the next decade, the shift from excess to discipline will be emphasised. Mr Jacques said that as the world becomes faster, so it becomes deeper too – meaning AI and big data present an opportunity to transform mining majors’ business models toward circular economies. “The world will not wait for us,” he said. “The time for change is now.” China’s insatiable appetite for resources in…

RIO Tinto (ASX: RIO) looks set to take top spot as 2019’s largest iron ore exporter. Its Q3 results show that, after bouncing back from the June blow-out that saw the company lower its iron ore guidance for the second time in the year, the miner shipped 86.1mt of iron ore, up 5pc on Q3 2018, with 87.3mt coming from its Pilbara operations – 6pc higher than Q3 2018, and 10pc higher than Q2 2019 as the company bounced back from Q2. The company has not changed its iron ore guidance, indicating it would ship between 320-330mt in Q4, and said that its unit cost guidance remained between $14-$15/t. Rio has traditionally lagged behind Brazil’s Vale as the second largest…

RIO Tinto (ASX: RIO) has entered into a historic MoU with Chinese steel giant China Baowu Steel Group and Tsinghua University to implement methods that reduce carbon emissions across the steel value chain. Signed at the China International Steel and Raw Materials Conference in Qingdao, the MoU will enable the formation of a working group tasked with identifying a pathway to reduce the carbon emitted across the entire value chain – amounting to between 7-9pc of world emissions. This comes as a major breakthrough to address carbon emission downstream, or scope 3 emissions, as mounting concerns pressure companies such as BHP to address the global climate impact of their products across the whole supply chain. Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques…