Producing lower grades across its Pilbara operations, Rio Tinto has detailed a strategy to revitalise its iron ore business.
This will involve the introduction of replacement projects to supersede ageing mines, many of which have been in the pipeline for years.
A pre-feasibility study is due for the Rhodes Ridge operation in 2025, set to support a 40-million-tonnes-per-annum (Mtpa) production profile. Here, Rio will replicate the plant it has built at its Gudai-Darri operation, which commenced production in 2022.
Rhodes Ridge is still a few years away, so Rio is also working to introduce new mines before then, including the Western Range operation, which is scheduled to produce first ore in the first half of 2025.
West Angelas, Hope Downs 1, Brockman 4 and Greater Nammuldi are four other Pilbara mines set to add production in the coming years.
These five new projects are expected to produce a combined 130Mtpa of iron ore in the coming years, offsetting the 19Mt of production depletion expected in 2025 and the 5–10Mt of production depletion expected in 2026 and 2027.
While Rio is forecasting between 323–338Mt of iron ore shipments in 2025, this expected to rise to 345–360Mtpa in the medium-term.
The company is also unlocking greater efficiencies across its Pilbara value chain, harnessing its Safe Production System to deliver six per cent higher drill productivity, 2.5-tonne higher average payload and a three per cent increase in volume per train in the nine months to September 2024 (compared with 2023).
Looking globally, with the introduction of the Simandou iron ore mine in Guinea, which is set to produce 60Mtpa of iron ore, Rio Tinto will look to blend iron ore from its various global operations to optimise the product.
Boasting grades of around 65 per cent iron (Fe), usurping the 62 per cent Fe grade of Pilbara Blend, Simandou should help in elevating Rio’s overall iron ore grade, which will be essential in an era where steelmakers are prioritising higher-grade iron ore more than ever.
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