Rio Tinto opens Brockman 4 iron ore mine in the Pilbara

Rio Tinto today celebrated the opening of its US$1.5 billion mine Brockman 4 in Western Australia's Pilbara region. The new mine was officially opened by the Hon. Helen Morton MLC, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier, Treasurer and Minister for State Development and Rio Tinto's chief executive for Iron Ore and Australia, Sam Walsh.

Brockman 4 will have an initial output of 22 million tonnes per annum (Mt/a) of high-grade iron ore, with the opportunity to double that capacity as Rio Tinto's expansion of its Pilbara operations continues.

Brockman 4 is 60 kilometres northwest of Tom Price, making it ideally positioned to serve as a hub for the future development of nearby deposits. It is wholly owned by Rio Tinto.

Mr Walsh said Brockman 4 was the second new iron ore mine to be commissioned in 2010, as well as the high-technology Operations Centre in Perth.

"As we have made clear recently, growth in our Pilbara iron ore operations is back on the agenda and Brockman 4 features significantly in our future plans," he said.

"The initial output from Brockman 4 fits within our 220 Mt/a capacity, demonstrating our ability to add high-value sustaining tonnage, on-time and within budget, as we prepare for our next major phase of expansion."

"The mine has been planned very much for future expansion to double the initial capacity in mind, and we would expect that additional tonnage to form an important component of our planned expansion of Pilbara capacity to 330 Mt/a."

"The size of this deposit and its location in the central Pilbara makes Brockman 4 an ideal hub for our future activities in the Greater Tom Price region. The infrastructure will service not only Brockman 4 but future development in the area."

Brockman 4's current pit designs are expected to yield in the order of 600 million tonnes of high-grade ore (>60% Fe) and 450 million tonnes of lower-grade ore (>50-60% Fe), which will be stockpiled for future processing.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa.

For further information, please contact:

Media Relations, Australia
Gervase Greene
Office: +61 (0) 8 9327 2975
Mobile: +61 (0) 408 098 572
David Luff
Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3620
Mobile: +61 (0) 419 850 205

Media Relations, EMEA / Americas
Tony Shaffer
Office: +44 (0) 20 7781 1138
Mobile: +44 (0) 7920 041 003
Christina Mills
Office: +44 (0) 20 7781 1154
Mobile: +44 (0) 7825 275 605

Media Relations, Canada
Bryan Tucker
Office: +1 (0) 514 848 8151
Mobile: +1 (0) 514 825 8319

Investor Relations, Australia
Dave Skinner
Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3628
Mobile: +61 (0) 408 335 309
Simon Ellinor
Office: +61 (0) 7 3361 4365
Mobile: +61 (0) 439 102 811

Investor Relations, North America
Jason Combes
Office: +1 (0) 801 204 2919
Mobile: +1 (0) 801 558 2645

Investor Relations, London
Mark Shannon
Office: +44 (0) 20 7781 1178
Mobile: +44 (0) 7917 576597
David Ovington
Office: +44 (0) 20 7781 2051
Mobile: +44 (0) 7920 010 978

Websites:
www.riotinto.com
www.riotintoironore.com

Email: media.enquiries@riotinto.com / enquiries.mediaaustralia@riotinto.com

High resolution photographs and media pack available at: http://www.riotinto.com/media

Rio Tinto opens Brockman 4 iron ore mine in the Pilbara [PDF: 28 KB]