Rio Tinto, Mitsui and Nippon Steel are to invest $733 million to develop the West Angelas Sustaining Project, part of the Robe River Joint Venture in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
The project, to develop new iron ore deposits in the West Angelas hub, has now received all necessary State and Federal Government approvals, Rio Tinto confirmed.
The deposits will maintain the West Angelas hub’s total annual production capacity of 35 Mt, extending mining activity for years to come.
Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive, Matthew Holcz, said: “The West Angelas Sustaining Project is built on strong and committed partnerships, both with the joint venture members Mitsui and Nippon Steel, as well as the Yinhawangka and Ngarlawangga Peoples. The West Angelas hub has been an integral part of Rio Tinto Iron Ore since 2002. Securing these approvals ensures ongoing investment in the hub as we continue to supply high-quality, reliable iron ore to meet our global customers’ demand now and into the future.”
Rio Tinto worked closely with the Yinhawangka and Ngarlawangga Peoples to co-design Social Cultural Heritage Management Plans for the West Angelas Sustaining Project to ensure the ongoing protection and management of cultural heritage and the environment, it says.
The project will leverage existing West Angelas processing infrastructure and includes the construction of new non-process infrastructure precincts and 22 km of haul roads. Ore mined at the new deposits will be autonomously trucked to the West Angelas hub, with first ore scheduled for 2027.
About 600 jobs will be created during construction. Once operational, the project will help sustain a workforce of about 950 full time equivalent roles at the West Angelas hub.
The West Angelas Sustaining Project is part of Rio Tinto’s tranche of replacement projects that underpin the company’s ongoing commitment to the Pilbara, and which will have combined total capacity of about 130 Mt/y.
Additionally, work is well progressed on the prefeasibility study for Rhodes Ridge, one of the world’s largest and highest quality undeveloped iron ore deposits, according to Rio Tinto, which is targeting an initial capacity of up to 40 Mt/y and first ore by 2030.
The Robe River Joint Venture comprises Rio Tinto (53%), Mitsui Iron Ore (33%) and Nippon Steel (14%). The joint venture dates back to 1972, when operations began in the Robe Valley near Pannawonica, followed by an expansion at West Angelas in 2002. It marked its 50th anniversary in 2022.
