Business overview
Rio Tinto's Iron Ore group comprises wholly owned subsidiaries and joint venture initiatives. We own and manage mining and processing operations located in North America and Australia, with development projects located in Africa and India.
We maintain sales offices in Asia and Europe and operate a global marine freight management network. Our corporate headquarters are located in Perth, Western Australia.
In 2008, the Iron Ore group accounted for 13 per cent of Rio Tinto's operating assets, 28 per cent of the Group's gross sales revenue and 58 per cent of underlying earnings.
Our global operations cover:
Pilbara operations
With a network of 11 mines, three shipping terminals and the largest privately owned heavy freight railway in Australia spanning more than 1,300 kilometres, our Pilbara iron ore operations have expanded to an annual capacity of 220 million tonnes, with advanced plans to further expand.
Rio Tinto is a world-class asset manager, operating and maintaining all mining, rail, port and power facilities in the Pilbara on behalf of the asset owners, Hamersley Iron (Rio Tinto: 100 per cent) and Robe River (Rio Tinto: 53 per cent).
Hamersley Iron is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto. Hamersley's Pilbara assets integrate nine mines, including the Hope Downs joint venture between Rio Tinto and Hancock Prospecting Pty Limited and two mines in joint venture with members of the Chinese steel industry, as well as 700 kilometres of railway and port and infrastructure located at Dampier.
Robe River Iron Associates is an unincorporated joint venture in which Mitsui (33 per cent), Nippon Steel (10.5 per cent) and Sumitomo Metal Industries (3.5 per cent) also have interests. Robe's assets include two mines, 470 kilometres of railway and port and infrastructure located at Cape Lambert.
To learn more about our Pilbara iron ore operations, click here.
Expansion Projects
Expansion Projects, a business unit of Rio Tinto's Iron Ore group, manages the portfolio of major expansion activities and studies.
Our role is to take a project from conceptual level, through pre-feasibility and feasibility phases and upon approval, construct and commission the project.
Expansion Projects' works closely with our Pilbara iron ore operations, but is managed independently to minimise the impact on operations during project study and implementation phases of expansion.
Our growth strategy in the Pilbara has seen approximately US$8 billion committed to port, rail, power and mine assets since 2003, resulting in a world class, integrated iron ore network that has expanded to an annual capacity of 220 million tonnes, with advanced plans to further expand.
To learn more about Expansion Projects, click here.
Labrador City and Sept-Îles
The Iron Ore Company of Canada has a head office in Montreal, Québec and operates a mine, concentrator and a pelletizing plant in Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as port facilities located in Sept-Îles, Quebec. The business operates a 418-kilometre rail network that links the mine to the port. Our iron ore growth strategy saw Canadian operations expand production capacity to 18.4 million tonnes by mid-2008.
To learn more about our Canadian operations, click here.
Simandou, Guinea
The Simandou project in eastern Guinea, west Africa, is a Rio Tinto greenfields discovery with potentially significant resources of high grade iron ore. We have been exploring and evaluating the iron ore potential of Simandou since 1997. The project is in the final stages of feasibility studies.
To learn more about Simandou, click here.
Orissa, India
Orissa is one of the key iron ore regions of the world. We have a joint venture partnership with state-owned Orissa Mining Company. The project will focus on meeting domestic demand for iron ore.
To learn more about Orissa, click here.
Kwinana
Rio Tinto's Iron Ore group developed the world's first commercial HIsmelt® plant in Kwinana, Western Australia. HIsmelt is a revolutionary direct smelting technology which smelts iron ore fines and non-coking coal to produce a premium grade iron product.
The process is more environmentally friendly, removing the need for coke ovens and sinter plants used in traditional ironmaking. It is a new source of low cost iron feed stock for electric arc furnaces.
The HIsmelt® plant is owned by Rio Tinto (60 per cent), Nucor Corporation (25 per cent), Mitsubishi Corporation (10 per cent) and Shougang Corporation (5 per cent). Rio Tinto operates the Kwinana facility on behalf of the joint venture.
The HIsmelt® plant is on a 12-month program of care and maintenance to April 2010.
To learn more about HIsmelt, click here.
Dampier Salt
Dampier Salt, the world's largest solar salt producer, has three operations across the Pilbara (Dampier and Port Hedland) and Gascoyne (Lake McLeod) regions of Western Australia.
To learn more about our salt operations, click here.
