18th Oct 2005 14:57
Rio Tinto PLC18 October 2005 Rio Tinto commits to new phase of iron ore expansion Rio Tinto today announced that it will spend US$1.35 billion on furtherexpansion of wholly owned Hamersley Iron's Yandicoogina mine and Dampier port inthe Pilbara region of Western Australia. Expansion of the Yandicoogina mine will increase its annual capacity from 36million tonnes to 52 million tonnes at an estimated cost of US$530 million. Themine was commissioned in 1998 at an initial rated capacity of 15 million tonnesa year. Since 1999 Hamersley has progressively increased its capacity, with themost recent expansion, from 24 to 36 million tonnes a year, completed in Augustthis year. US$690 million will be invested in further expanding port facilities at Dampier,which will increase its annual shipping capacity from 116 million tonnes to 140million tonnes. The current port expansion, to 116 million tonnes, will becompleted before the end of the year with the first shipment of ore loaded fromthe new shiploader in September 2005. Rio Tinto chief executive Leigh Clifford said, "This new investment represents astrong vote of confidence in the competitiveness of Western Australia's iron oreindustry. On completion at the end of 2007, the expansion will take thecapacity of Rio Tinto's ports in the Pilbara to close to 200 million tonnes." "The investment will make the Yandi mine, with an expanded capacity of 52million tonnes a year, the largest iron ore mine in the Pilbara and acornerstone of Hamersley's operations," he said. Rio Tinto Iron Ore's chief executive Sam Walsh said, "Demand prospects for ironore remain strong. These investments will ensure that we are in the leadingposition to phase in additional mine capacity in line with market demand foriron ore over the coming years." A further US$113 million will be invested in additional rolling stock andassociated infrastructure to support these increased levels of production. Construction of the Yandicoogina mine expansion will begin in December this yearand construction of the Dampier port expansion in the first quarter of 2006,subject to government and regulatory approvals. Both projects are due to becommissioned at the end of 2007, with progressive ramp up during 2008. For further information, please contact: LONDON AUSTRALIA Media Relations Media RelationsMaria Darby-Walker Ian HeadOffice: +44 (0) 20 7753 2305 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3620Mobile: +44 (0) 7725 036 544 Mobile: +61 (0) 408 360 101 Matthew Coomber Office: +61 (0) 8 9327 2975 Mobile: +61 (0) 438 924 975 Investor Relations Investor RelationsNigel Jones Dave SkinnerOffice: +44 (0) 20 7753 2401 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3628Mobile: +44 (0) 7917 227 365 Mobile: +61 (0) 408 335 309 David Ovington Susie CreswellOffice: +44 (0) 20 7753 2326 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3639Mobile: +44 (0) 7920 010 978 Mobile: +61 (0) 418 933 792 Website: www.riotinto.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Rio Tinto