Rio Tinto’s Pilbara Expansion Plans Receive Approval

Mining Weekly reported that the government of Western Australia has okayed Rio Tinto plc’s (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO) expansion of two of its Pilbara-based iron ore operations.

As quoted in the market news:

Premier and State Development Minister Colin Barnett said this week that $680-million would be spent to expand Rio’s West Angelas mine production from 29-million tonnes a year to 35-million tonnes a year.

The expansion would extend the mine life by about 13 years and would create more than 290 new jobs in the Pilbara during construction, while the ongoing operational workforce would increase by some 200, to a total of 1 300.

Barnett said the diversified giant would also spend around A$200-million on increasing production at its Western Turner Syncline mine, from 25-million tonnes a year to 30-million tonnes a year.

Click here to read the full Mining Weekly report.