Rio Tinto Group
Rio Tinto Group
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Rio Tinto has reached a new, unspecified, 13-year power supply deal to help secure the long-term future of its 182,000tpa Bell Bay aluminium smelter in Tasmania, Australia.
The 57-year-old smelter is among an estimated $US8B worth of assets bundled by Rio into its newly formed Pacific Aluminium division ahead of a possible divestment.
Bell Bay general manager Ray Mostogl says tough market conditions are expected to continue for some time, with the price of aluminium down more than 20% this year.
Resurgent nationalism in mineral-rich Mongolia, which will vote for a new government this week, will irk foreign investors, but is unlikely to wreck sentiment, with politicians still desperate to keep the dollars flowing in.
Foreign investment in Mongolia’s much coveted mines, like the $US7B Oyu Tolgoi copper project, helped expand the economy at the fastest pace in all of Asia last year. But many of the country's 3M voters say the bulk of the nation's new wealth still lies in the hands of the political elite.
Australia, the world's biggest iron ore producer, has forecast a 10% rise in exports in the next fiscal year as mining companies spend billions of dollars beefing up operations. Coal shipments are also set to soar.
However, current year iron ore production is expected to be down 10Mt to 463Mt, because of bad weather.
The Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE) predicts iron ore exports of 510Mt in the June 2013 financial year after downgrading its forecast for the current year.
A contract valued at $A17 million for the design and construction of several facilities at Rio Tinto's Brockman 4 Phase II site has been awarded to VDM Group.
The six month contract covers engineering design work and construction on a new plant maintenance workshop, heavy vehicle fuel facility and related infrastructure, along with additions to the existing village facilities.
Rio Tinto will invest a further $US4.2B on iron ore operations in Australia and Guinea, backing its belief in the long-term strength of the Chinese economy.
The tier one iron ore development program includes $3.7B to expand the Pilbara operations in Western Australia and $501M for infrastructure development at Simandou in Guinea.
The figures are dramatic but the reasoning behind Rio Tinto’s $US6.2B investment in Chinese demand for iron ore is reasonable ... even conservative
Diavik diamond mine president and chief operating officer Kim Truter has been named as managing director of Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine in Western Australia. Truter will make the move from Canada to take up his new position on July 1.
Despite the announcement in March of a review of the diamond business that includes its possible divestment, Rio Tinto Diamonds MD Bruce Cox says Truter’s extensive experience will be invaluable in leading the future development of the Argyle mine.
Rio Tinto will spend $US660M over seven years on new infrastructure and equipment to extend the life of the Kennecott Utah Copper Bingham Canyon mine in Salt Lake City, USA out to 2029.
The south wall push-back, with first ore due in 2017 for processing through existing facilities, will produce an average 180,000tpa copper, 185,000oz pa gold and 13,800tpa molybdenum from 2019 through 2029.
Delaying environment disputes between the Queensland and Federal govts threatens to cost Gina Rinehart’s big new Alpha Coal Project. Mark Mentiplay reports
Rio Tinto has awarded a contract to Southern Cross Electrical Engineering’s overhead powerline construction business, KJ Johnson & Co, to design and construct a 33kV distribution overhead line for the Yandi Sustaining Project in the Pilbara region, Western Australia.
The upgrade of the existing 33kV overhead line supplying various mine facilities from the Yandi 220kV switchyard and installation of new sections of powerlines will run for six months from June.