Anglo-Australian multinational mining company Rio Tinto will increase its production capacity in the Gudai Darri mine in Pilbara, Western Australia by 7 million tonnes a year to 50 million tonnes a year at a cost of around $70 million, the company announced Wednesday.
Rio Tinto aims to increase the mine's capacity in Pilbara through gradual productivity gains by upgrading the plant as well as utilizing an existing incremental crushing and screening facility that is already on site.
Meanwhile, to accommodate a larger operation, the company said it would possibly need an additional mining fleet, including haul trucks and diggers, as well as a small expansion of the product stockyards. A capacity increase on site is subject to environmental, heritage and other relevant approvals.
The capital intensity of any increase in Gudai Darri mine's capacity is expected to be in the region of $10 per tonne.
Gudai-Darri, Rio Tinto's most technologically advanced iron ore mine, started production last year and reached its planned annual capacity of 43 million tonnes in less than 12 months from its first ore.
Technology used on site ranges from autonomous trucks, trains, and drills that are used in many Rio Tinto mines in Pilbara to a complete digital simulation of the processing plant that enables teams to monitor and react to data gathered from the plant.
These autonomous assets are monitored remotely from the company's operations center, located 1,500 kilometers away in Perth.
'What we have learned during the rapid ramp-up of Gudai-Darri has given us the confidence to find better ways to increase capacity at our newest and most technologically advanced mine,' Rio Tinto Iron Ore Managing Director of Pilbara Mines, Matthew Holcz, was quoted as saying in the statement.
'Rather than taking a capital-intensive approach to replicate existing infrastructure, we have now identified a low-capital pathway to creep capacity to 50 million tonnes a year,' Holcz said.
By Duygu Alhan
Anadolu Agency
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