Rio Tinto invests in Australian iron ore

15th Sep 2011 08:10

Mining giant Rio Tinto has announced an investment of $833m in power and fuel supply projects as it ramps up its iron ore production capacity in Western Australia. The company aims to produce 283m tonnes of iron ore a year by 2013. It will invest a $417m share of a $520m investment on its integrated power and gas network and a further $289m share of a $313m investment on its fuel infrastructure facilities. The latter will help support Rio's production target of 333m tonnes a year by 2015, it said.Rio did not name the other parties investing in the projects."This investment marks yet another significant step towards the expansion of iron ore production by 50% in the five years to 2015, a timeline we recently brought forward by six months," Rio said. "These projects provide certainty in meeting our power and fuel supply requirements, both now and into the future."---RG