Rio Tinto opens Brockman 4 iron ore mine in the Pilbara

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.
Contact: www.riotintoironore.com