Rio Tinto has approved a $1 billion investment in its Pilbara iron ore operations, including the rollout of more autonomous trucks, on the same day the state government urged Canberra to support changes designed to fast track approvals for major resources projects.
Rio Tinto has approved a $1 billion investment in its Pilbara iron ore operations, including the rollout of more autonomous trucks, on the same day the state government urged Canberra to support changes designed to fast track approvals for major resources projects.
Rio said it would invest in the Western Turner Syncline Phase 2 (WTS2) mine, which is part of the company’s Greater Tom Price production hub and located about 35 kilometres north-west of Tom Price.
The investment will facilitate mining of existing and new deposits, and fund construction of a new crusher and a 13-kilometre conveyer.
Rio said the conveyer system would help lower greenhouse gas emissions from the mine by 3.5 per cent compared to road haulage, and the company would continue to assess more options to reduce emissions, including renewable energy sources.
The miner said the project is expected to deliver extra production at a cost of $25 per tonne.
Commenting on the investment was Rio Tinto's Iron Ore chief executive Chris Salisbury.
“This significant investment in the Greater Tom Price hub is one of a pipeline of high-quality, low-cost options that will underpin production of our flagship Pilbara blend product well into the future," he said.
Construction is expected to start in the first quarter of 2020, pending final government approvals, with first ore from the crusher expected in 2021.
Rio said its construction workforce is expected to comprise more than 1,000 people as a result of the investment.
The haul truck fleet at the mine will also be fitted with Autonomous Haulage System technology, enabling the fleet to operate autonomously from 2021.
Rio said it would bring significant safety and cost reduction benefits, as well as enhanced productivity.
In a separate announcement, Premier Mark McGowan said he had urged the federal government to establish an Environmental Approvals Bilateral Agreement to fast track approvals for major resources projects in the state.
Mr McGowan said the proposed agreement could reduce approval times by around six months.
“The current approvals process is too slow and there is too much duplication at state and Commonwealth levels,” he said.
“Signing this agreement would complement the recent cooperative work by the state and federal governments to streamline the way we do business.”
Environment Minister Stephen Dawson echoed these statements, urging the federal government to establish the proposed agreement.
“By improving transparency, consistency and timeliness of environmental approvals, the McGowan government’s latest reforms are a genuine win-win for the environment,” he said.
The state government said it would invest a further $1.7 million to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to build a team of assessment professionals to deal specifically with state proposals.
Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA chief executive Paul Everingham said the additional funding to the EPA would ensure timely resourcing for assessments.
“Our members support the additional funding for EPA resources, which will assist in clearing the current backlog among government agencies dealing with environmental approvals,” he said.
The proposed agreement comes only six days after the federal government announced it would reduce red tape for Australian businesses to fast track major resources projects, along with the establishment of an online environmental assessments portal, delivered in partnership with the WA government.
