Rio Tinto cuts ribbon at 16th iron-ore mine

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Mining major Rio Tinto has officially opened its $338-million Silvergrass iron-ore mine, in Western Australia.

“Silvergrass is a great example of our value-over-volume approach in action as the mine will deliver the high-quality, low-cost ore used to maintain the world-class premium Pilbara blend product our customers love so much,” Rio CEO Jean-Sebastian Jacques said of the company’s sixteenth iron-ore mine.

“Silvergrass is a further demonstration of our long-standing commitment to the Pilbara region in Western Australia where we’ve invested more than $20-billion over the past decade.”

The Silvergrass mine is a satellite deposit adjacent to the Nammuldi mine, and was expected to add some ten-million tonnes a year of production capacity.

The brownfield expansion project will lower mine operating costs as a result of the construction of a 9 km conveyor system that will replace traditional road haulage routes linking Silvergrass to the existing processing plant at Nammuldi.

Production using the new primary crusher and conveyor will begin later in the year, with the project sustaining about 250 ongoing positions once construction is complete.

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowen noted that the project would create around 500 construction jobs, with Rio committing to create 200 apprenticeships, traineeship and vacation work positions next year.

“The Silvergrass mine is the latest in a series of new mine developments by a number of major companies, which show that confidence in the state's sector remains high,” McGowan said.

"Western Australia's leading iron-ore sector produced 38% of the world's iron-ore last year, and plays a vital ongoing role in the state's economy through jobs and royalties.”