18th Jun 2018 08:21
LONDON (Alliance News) - FTSE 100-listed miner Rio Tinto PLC said on Monday that it has made progress in its Pilbara operations, with the launching of a new drilling programme for the year.
This week, Rio Tinto is conducting an investor site visit to Pilbara in north west Australia. The operations there consist of 16 iron ore mines and a 1,700 kilometre rail network.
Speaking to investors and analysts in Perth ahead of the site visit, Chief Executive Chris Salisbury said Rio Tinto expects rail and mine capacity to be in line with nameplate port capacity by the end of 2019, amid plans to optimise Pilbara's current rail system.
Rio Tinto has scheduled a new drilling programme for 2018, with 700 kilometres of drilling planning on hubs near existing mines an exploration on new leases.
In addition, Rio Tinto has continued on the feasibility study for the Kooldaideri project within Pilbara, which is expected to benefit from an automation roll out, with 95 autonomous trucks and 11 autonomous drills already in operation. The AutoHaul project is expected to be implemented fully by the end of 2018, subject to regulatory approval.
Around 4,500 mine-to-market productivity initiatives have been pursued across the iron ore segment of Rio Tinto, contributing USD500 million in additional cash flow per year by 2021 towards the group's target of USD1.5 billion, the company noted.
CEO Salisbury also talked of the positive impact on Rio Tinto from changes within the Chinese steel industry, with the removing of less efficient steel-making capacity and strong demand supporting steel pricing.
Rio Tinto's shipment guidance for 2018 remains between 330 million and 340 million tonnes of iron ore.
Shares in Rio Tinto were up 1.0% at 4,260.00 pence on Monday.
Related Shares:
Rio Tinto