Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and China Baowu Steel Group announced today that the two will form a joint venture to develop the Western Range iron ore project in the Pilbara, Western Australia.
Cost to develop is $2 billion.
Western Range’s annual production capacity of 25 million tonnes of iron ore will help sustain production of the Pilbara Blend from Rio Tinto’s existing Paraburdoo mining hub, said the companies. The project includes construction of a primary crusher and an 18 kilometre conveyor system linking it to the existing Paraburdoo processing plant.
Construction is expected to begin in early 2023 with first production anticipated in 2025.
The construction phase will support approximately 1,600 jobs with the mine requiring about 800 ongoing operational roles which are expected to be filled by existing workers transitioning from other sites in the Paraburdoo mining hub.
